Thursday, September 28, 2006

Lonely Girl 15 isn't real

It's a sad day in the You Tube world. Lonely Girl 15 is "real" no more. Long suspected to be a hoax or a marketing ploy for a commercial product by many of her dedicated fans. Bree is a new form of publishing. Not a short film, but a series of interconnected "real" videos telling a story. The story of Lonely Girl 15 may not be "real" but it is entertaining, having hooked a legion of loyal fans that analysed her every posting.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Big Bad Dog Jumps Bail?

U.S. Federal Marshals arrested Duane Chapman, his son Leland, and his "blood brother" Tim Chapman for allegedly jumping bail in Mexico. Bounty Hunting is illegal in Mexico without prior written permission from local Law Enforcement. Unlawful detention and deprivation of freedom were the charges brought against the Chapmans at the time of their original arrest. Released on $1500 bail each, they were not to leave Jalisco, Mexico until trial. With the statute of limitations about to run out, Mexican authorities asked the U.S. Federal Marshals to arrest them to extradite them back to Mexico from Hawaii where they could face up to four years in prison.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Reality of Real-Life

This week in the news really brings home the reality of real-life. It turns out reality TV is no more real than a soap opera. Dog the Bounty Hunter arrests people week after week on A&E TV for jumping bail. So what happens to the big bad Dog? Duane "Dog" Chapman gets himself arrested for jumping bail! And Lonely Girl 15 is no longer "real". Nor is she even 15 or 16 but is in fact 19 years old! What do you do when reality isn't even real anymore?

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Is Neptune Next?

Is Neptune next? Will Neptune be the next planet to be demoted to Dwarf Planet status like Pluto? The International Astronomical Union (IAU) at their 2006 contentious conference in Prague recently downgraded Pluto. U.S. Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh first discovered Pluto in 1930.

According to the new IAU planetary definition, a planet is a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit. Pluto does not pass the last requirement because its orbit crosses into Neptune’s. However, by that very fact, Neptune also does not meet the requirement since it clearly does not clear Pluto from its orbit.

Monday, September 11, 2006

September 11: The World Remembers

At 0846 hours on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, a Boeing 767, American Airlines Flight 11, struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City between the 93rd and 99th floors. At 0903 hours, another Boeing 767, United Airlines Flight 175, struck the South Tower of the World Trade Center between the 77th and 85th floors. At 0937 hours, a Boeing 757, American Airlines Flight 77, struck the West wall of the U.S. Pentagon penetrating three of the five rings. At 0959 hours, the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed. At 1003 hours, another Boeing 757, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania apparently brought down by those on board. Its target unknown but surmised to be either the White House or the U.S. Capitol Building. And at 1028 hours, the North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Noteworthy News

Several noteworthy things have happened in the news recently. Is Neptune next now that Pluto is not a planet anymore? A small minority of planetary scientists voted on a flawed linguistic planetary definition. Can these planetary scientists ever reach consensus on this issue? On the five-year anniversary of 9/11, it’s still obvious the world remembers. But that was an event that transcended politics, religion, and geographical location. A very small minority of humanity affected the rest of society very deeply on that day. September 11th should be remembered as a lesson to the world, a day when everyday people rose up to become heroes. Never forget. And what does The Holy Father, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, feel about all of this?