WebProNews

Tag: YouTube

  • Dennis Hopper Fans Assemble for Annual Event

    Film and motorcycle fans from all over the U.S. and Canada descended upon Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico Saturday in honor of Dennis Hopper’s cult classic Easy Rider. Saturday would’ve been the 78th birthday of the late Oscar-nominated actor, and Ranchos de Taos officials hope the gathering will become an annual event called “Dennis Hopper Day.”

    Hopper was once a resident of Ranchos de Taos, and is now buried there, and town manger Rick Bellis stated that ‘Dennis Hopper Day’ is meant to acknowledge and appreciate Hopper’s contributions as a resident of the town, as an actor and director, as a champion of the arts and for simply being a good member of the community.

    Here is the official trailer of Hopper’s Easy Rider from 1969:

    Easy Rider was co-written by Hopper, Peter Fonda and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It relates the story of two bikers (Fonda and Hopper) who ride through the American Southwest and South. Regarded as a landmark counterculture film, Easy Rider was added to the Library of Congress National Registry in 1998.

    “Dennis Hopper Day” commenced with the first-ever “Easy Rider Ride,” when motorcyclists left the town plaza for a 49-mile easy ride with a police escort. A local band kicked off the “Dennis Hopper Commemoration Reception,” with songs from the Easy Rider soundtrack, while some restaurants served Hopper-inspired dishes. Ranchos de Taos mayor Dan Barrone declared May 17 an official holiday for the town and county.

    Here Hopper appears in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet from 1986:

    Hopper was laid to rest in a Native American-style burial mound in the Jesus Nazareno Cemetery in Ranchos de Taos, which is believed to have been the actor’s final request. Hopper first went to New Mexico in the late 1960’s to scout for locations for Easy Rider.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Kim Jong-Un’s ‘Executed’ Ex-Girlfriend Seen Alive

    North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un reportedly ordered the execution of an ex-girlfriend last summer over a sex tape she was involved in, though now the formerly presumed-deceased pop singer Hyon Song-Wol was seen on state television delivering a speech at a national art workers rally in Pyongyang on Friday.

    Song-wol, who was a lover of Jong-un when they both were teenagers, had incurred the disdain the 31-year-old Supreme Leader’s wife Ri Sol-ju, after the pop star was involved in a sex scandal. Jong-un was initially forced to separate from Song-wol years before, at the command of his late father, Dear Leader Kim Jong-il.

    It was reported last August by the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo that Song-wol and eleven other well-known entertainers had been caught making a sex tape, and then executed by firing squad. Though on Friday, Hyon conveyed gratitude for Jong-un’s leadership and pledged to work harder to “stoke up the flame for art and creative work.”

    In North Korea, a “sex tape” could be something considered to be G-rated in the Western world. Here is the clip which supposedly put Hyon in hot water:

    Here is Hyon Song-wol’s rock video for Excellent Horse Like Lady (A Girl in the Saddle Of A Steed) from 2005, which appears to extol the graces of maintaining equine-like stamina in the workplace:

    Hyon’s band, the Unhasu Orchestra, had performed a string of patriotic hits in North Korea, including Footsteps of Soldiers, I Love Pyongyang, She is a Discharged Soldier and We are Troops of the Party. Hyon’s popularity peaked with Excellent Horse-Like Lady.

    It’s not clear if other members of the Wangjaesan Light Band and Moranbong Band, who were also said to be executed for violated North Korean pornography laws are still alive, after it was reported that they were killed by machine guns while their families watched. It was also reported that said families were then sent to prison camps for “guilt by association.”

    Executions in North Korea are said to be particularly fast and brutal, with prisoners force-fed liquor and gagged, before being killed with no chance for reprieve.

    In related news, Jong-un now has his own video game called Glorious Leader!, in which he battles drones, entire armies and the Statue of Liberty, with the help of his flaming unicorn and Dennis Rodman.

    Here is the trailer:

    Image via YouTube

  • Kim Jong-Un Stars in ‘Glorious Leader!’ Video Game

    Independent video game developer Moneyhorse has announced a title for PC and mobile called Glorious Leader!, which stars North Korea’s Great Successor Kim Jong-un as the main playable character.

    Players can guide the rotund despot through seven levels in the old-school shoot-’em-up, in scenarios that describe Kim Jong-un life-facts generated by the propaganda machine of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

    These faithfully reproduced side-scrolling facts include the time when the Dear Leader thwarted the United States when it attacked his homeland with an aircraft carrier and the Statue of Liberty.

    Other playable trials (the game recalls Konami’s classic Contra series) include the the time when Kim Jong-un was involved in the epic unicorn battle of North Hamgyong, where the puppet dictator vanquished 10,000 invading imperialists and destroyed 200 drones. Here the plump leader rides his faithful flaming unicorn:

    kim jong un

    Here is a shot of the aforementioned Statue of Liberty invasion scenario:

    kim jong un

    Here is the Glorious Leader! teaser trailer, which features NBA Hall of Famer and Kim Jong-un BFF Dennis Rodman:

    Rodman, seen below singing happy birthday to Jong-un during a bizarre basketball exhibition in North Korea in January, reportedly entered alcohol rehab soon after returning to the U.S.

    Kim Jong-un has held the titles of the First Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, First Chairman of the National Defense Commission of North Korea, the Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army and presidium member of the Politburo of the Workers’ Party of Korea. He was officially declared the Supreme Leader following the state funeral for his father Kim Jong-il on December 28, 2011.

    Here the people of North Korea cry hysterically over the passing of Kim Jong-il:

    Moneyhorse hasn’t set a release date, and the CEO of that company commented that his team has tried to “carefully walk the line of satire without being an apologist for the (North Korean) regime.”

    Images via YouTube

  • Shannen Doherty’s ‘Heart Breaks’ for Tori Spelling

    During a guest spot on the Arsenio Hall Show Thursday, Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed actress Shannen Doherty commented on the marital woes of former 90210 co-star Tori Spelling, and responded to former TV-twin Jason Priestley’s newly-released memoir.

    Doherty admitted to Hall that she watches Lifetime’s reality series True Tori, and revealed that each episode leaves her shocked. “Wow, it’s just all out there!,” Doherty exclaimed, adding, “She is baring her soul and I think that everybody has their process of what’s cathartic for them in how to deal with something, and this might be hers.”

    “My heart does break for her,” said Doherty. “It breaks for anybody that’s in that situation. I mean, that’s pretty awful and I certainly hope everything works out for the best. And in meantime, it’s making for some amazing TV – I just hope that Tori loves herself. She’s a beautiful girl and she needs to ignore the haters.”

    Commenting on tidbits related in Priestley’s tell-all book, Hall recalled, “Back in the day, there was always stuff on my card about who you were battling with – They would say you’re battling with Tori, you’re battling with Jason, you’re battling with (Luke Perry)’s pig. Remember, Luke had a pig?”

    Doherty responded, “I mean, I only met it once. It didn’t like me, I guess, but I hear it’s writing a memoir! Can’t wait for that!”

    Here a stalwart Brandon (Priestley) gives twin sister Brenda (Doherty) a guilt trip over cigarette smoking, in a clip from the original Beverly Hills, 90210:

    Doherty’s general take on pal Priestley’s tell-all was “let it be.” The actress, who will appear in Animal Planet’s Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys on May 25, added, “It was so long ago,” referring to her time on 90210. “I always say that everyone has their own version of the truth, and memories are very funny things.”

    Check out the Blood Lake Trailer:

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Tara the Cat to Throw Ceremonial First Pitch

    Viral YouTube feline hero Tara the Cat is scheduled to symbolically throw the first pitch at a Class A baseball game between the Bakersfield Blaze and the Lancaster JetHawks next Tuesday.

    A surveillance video of Tara scaring off a dog who was attacking 4-year-old Jeremy Triantafilo in his family’s driveway has garnered over 18 million views after being posted on May 14. An 8-month-old neighborhood Labrador-Chow mix came from behind a parked SUV and attacked preschooler Triantafilo as he was riding his bike Tuesday, biting him in the left calf, and knocking him to the ground.

    Gray tabby Tara, a former stray who had bonded with Jeremy when he was an infant, quickly barreled in, pushing the dog off the boy:

    Jeremy’s mother Erica Triantafilo quickly rushed in and took Jeremy to an urgent care center, where he received 10 stitches and an antibiotic shot. The preschooler took the rest of the week off from class, and during a Wednesday interview with ABC Network News Correspondent David Wright, Jeremy commented, “A mean dog hurt me. He tried to bite me. The cat saved me. My kitty’s a hero.”

    Tara the Cat, with the help of the Triantafilo family, will “throw” the first ceremonial pitch at 7:15 p.m. on May 20 at Historic Sam Lynn Ballpark in Bakersfield, followed by the minor-league game’s first pitch at 7:30.

    Bakersfield police spokesman Sgt. Joe Grubbs said the offending dog will be quarantined for 10 days and subsequently put down.

    Jeremy’s father Roger Triantafilo commented, “A lot of people have gotten comments about our neighbors, and I want to say I am not blaming, we are not blaming them. Accidents happen. It was a dog and things happen.”

    In other cat news, organic kitty litter has been suspected of causing a nuclear waste containment breach in New Mexico.

    Image via Twitter

  • Julie Schenecker Guilty of First-Degree Murder

    A Tampa, Florida jury deliberated for less than two hours Thursday evening before finding Julie Schenecker guilty of first-degree murder for the shooting deaths of her two teenage children in 2011.

    Schenecker’s attorneys had been pitching an insanity defense, which the jury of eight men and four women rejected, and the defendant was handed a mandatory life sentence. A red-eyed Schenecker reacted to the ruling apathetically, before being shackled by bailiffs and lead from the courtroom.

    The Schenecker double homicide occurred on January 28, 2011, when Calyx and Beau Schenecker were found dead in their Tampa home by police. Julie Powers Schenecker was arrested on suspicion of their murder after an alleged confession. At the scene of the crime, the teens were found with gunshot wounds to their heads and covered in blankets, and Schenecker herself was found covered in blood on the back porch of the house.

    Schenecker had initally admitted to police that she shot her children because they “talked back and were mouthy,” and proceeded to describe the murders in detail. Police arrested Schenecker at the scene.

    Schenecker, 53, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, made a statement to the court after being found guilty.

    “I apologize. I apologize to everybody in this courtroom … the lives I have destroyed,” Schenecker said in a wispy, almost childlike voice, adding, “I take responsibility. I was there. I know … I know I shot my son and daughter. I don’t know why.”

    After praising the U.S. court system, Hillsborough Circuit Judge Emmett L. Battles and the public defenders appointed to her during the trial, former U.S. military member Schenecker went on to describe herself as being akin to a “battle-tested soldier about to receive the Purple Heart.”

    The convicted then apologized again for the shooting, “I understand that there are people who are affected by this who may have just read about it in the paper. Or maybe a child looked at their mommy and said, ‘Mommy, are you ever going to shoot me?’ I know this could happen and I apologize for what happened, what I did.”

    Judge Battles then addressed the court, “It’s almost too much for us to comprehend what brings us here. Regrettably, there’s nothing this court can say or do to bring comfort to all those touched by this tragedy.”

    After the verdict was read, former Army Col. Parker Schenecker, Julie Schenecker’s ex-husband and father of the deceased, gave a brief statement to a slew of reporters. “Today’s decision, for many reasons, gives my family a great sense of relief,” he said. “As I have consistently mentioned for the past three years, the most important thing in all of this is Calyx and Beau, my lovely children, my smart, beautiful, loved and missed children.”

    Prosecutors were initially seeking the death penalty in the case, though Schenecker’s history of mental illness spared her from capital punishment.

    Image via Twitter

  • ‘Dracula Castle’ For Sale to the Right Buyer

    ‘Dracula Castle’ For Sale to the Right Buyer

    Bran Castle, a national monument and landmark in Romania commonly known as “Dracula’s Castle,” is not formally on the market for a disclosed sum, but the present owner says the property is up for grabs if the price and buyer are right.

    Mark Meyer of the firm Herzfeld & Rubin helped the current owners, Archduke Dominic and his sisters Maria-Magdalena Holzhausen and Elisabet Sandhoferregain, regain possession of the castle in 2009, after a legal battle with the Romanian Parliament over the property. According to Meyer, the Archduke would consider a buyer “if it were an interesting offer and they were the right people – It doesn’t have to do with class, it has to do with who will preserve the castle.” Archduke Dominic has previously offered to sell the castle to the Romanian government for $80 million.

    Once a prison of Vlad the Impaler (the historical figure who very loosely inspired Bram Stoker’s iconic Dracula character), Bran Castle presently hosts roughly 560,000 tourists per year. The fortress was built in 1388, features 57 rooms, has zero bathrooms and is situated on 22 acres, in a fairly remote location.

    Here is a photo montage Bran Castle:

    Interestingly, Bram Stoker never visited Romania, and Vlad the Impaler’s actual castle is sitting in ruins in the Principality of Wallachia (Vlad III merely spent two months in Bran as a prisoner.)

    Here is the trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula of 1992, the definitive horror-fantasy erotic-drama adaptation of Stoker’s text:

    Which somehow lead to this:

    “If someone comes in with a reasonable offer, we will look at who they are, what they are proposing, and will seriously entertain the idea,” Meyer commented, adding, “What you have to remember is that this castle is the real thing. We don’t need men going around dressed up in old-fashioned costumes; the place speaks for itself.”

    Bran Castle currently functions as a museum displaying a collection of art and antique furniture from its previous owner Queen Marie of Romania

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Kitty Litter May Have Caused Radiation Leak

    A nuclear waster storage facility in New Mexico was shut down weeks ago after researchers discovered unsafe levels of radiation, which affected 21 workers. Now scientists have attributed kitty litter to a possible cause of the nuclear decontainment.

    The underground Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP), located east of Carlsbad, houses drums of plutonium-tinged refuse that are buried 2,100 feet below ground. On February 14, scientists found that radiation levels had spiked in a containment chamber holding waste from Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory. It has been theorized that a chemical reaction had weakened the seals on the drums, releasing plutonium particles.

    Jill Turner, spokeswoman for the New Mexico Environment Department, commented that “kitty litter is in the field of theories.” The litter is used to absorb liquid in the debris, Turner explained, and may have ignited the chemical reaction which weakened the seals.

    Here is a segment on the WIPP facility, reminiscent of a Dharma Initiative instructional video from ABC’s Lost:

    Due to the leak, the WIPP containment facility will remain out of commission for 18 months, and won’t be fully functional again for up to 3 years. Apparently due to a lax security protocol that had developed over time at the facility, organic kitty litter was somehow incorporated in nuclear containment. Jim Conca, a scientist who worked at WIPP from 2000 to 2010, commented, “I’m just dying to know why this happened and who approved it, because it was a dumb idea. You just can’t make a change to the procedure without reviewing it.”

    Conca added, “Cat litter has been used for decades in radiochemistry labs and nuclear facilities to stabilize certain radwastes (radioactive wastes), like liquid scintillation solutions, evaporator bottoms and other materials.” Still, a switch from traditional bentonite clay-based kitty litter to an organic, “green” kitty litter, which is typically composed of wheat, corn and recycled paper or pine sawdust, may have contributed to the chemical reaction that caused the WIPP decontainment.

    Studies have shown that kitty litter also houses Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that exists in cat feces. Human exposure to the parasite has been linked to instances of schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, rheumatoid arthritis and brain cancer.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • San Andreas Fault Affected by Irrigation

    The San Andreas Fault, a continental transform that runs roughly 810 miles through California, is being affected by irrigation practices in the area, according to a study by Geologist Colin Amos from Western Washington University.

    Readings from GPS technology have shown that water levels in the San Joaquin Valley aquifer have lowered and that the mountains nearby have simultaneously risen, which has caused the San Andreas Fault to undergo changes in pressure levels. Though, Amos points out that stress changed due to lower water levels are minuscule compared to pressure-changes seen on the fault before a major earthquake.

    The San Andreas Fault forms a tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, and a study in 2006 concluded that the fault has achieved a level of stress sufficient to facilitate the next “big one”, or an earthquake greater than magnitude 7.0. In 1906, a rupture in the San Andreas Fault caused a magnitude 7.7-8.25 earthquake in San Francisco that destroyed almost 80% of the city and killed 3,000 people. The earthquake and resulting fire are regarded as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States.

    Here is a small documentary on San Andreas:

    Amos’ study, which was published in Nature journal on Wednesday, suggests that human-related activities can cause the San Andreas Fault to unclamp, resulting in the possibility of greater future volatility. At present, seismologists have found that the San Andreas Fault produces a magnitude 6.0 earthquake approximately once every 22 years. The last occurred in the Parkfield area in 2004.

    Satellite data has shown that groundwater in and near the California Central Valley has been depleted more quickly than it can be re-filled over the past decade, and Amos’ study related the water in association to the mountains in the area as being akin to a weight sitting atop a piece of bendable wood. As the water is depleted, its weight is lifted, which in turn pushes the mountains to rise from the Earth’s crust.

    Amos confirmed that seasonal fluctuations in water usage have coincided with minor earthquakes around the San Andreas Fault, and that new developments for water usage and natural groundwater retention need to be implemented.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Atlanta Shootings: One Victim Now Critical

    Seventeen-year-old Marcellus Brooks was arrested and faces five counts of aggravated assault after allegedly shooting five people near Therrell High School in Atlanta on Tuesday.

    Brooks, a tenth-grader, allegedly began shooting roughly 100 yards away from the school at around 4 p.m., which left four students wounded. All five victims were transported to Grady Memorial Hospital. None of the injuries were initially thought to be life-threatening, though one victim’s status has been upgraded to critical. As of late Tuesday, three of the shooting victims remained hospitalized. Brooks is being held at the Fulton County jail, and was previously out of custody on bond after a robbery charge.

    Less than a week before the shooting, Brooks had pleaded not guilty to a felony robbery charge in Fulton County Superior Court. The teen had been arrested by MARTA police over a March 29 incident, and spent 15 days in jail before being released on an $8,000 bond. Brooks was awaiting an August trial for the robbery charge, and now faces five counts of aggravated assault, and is presently being held without bond and will be charged as an adult.

    Atlanta Public Schools and the Atlanta Police Department have provided extra security at Therrell High School, and students are no longer allowed to carry bags or backpacks through the end of the semester. Atlanta Public Schools Associate Superintendent Steve Smith reported that attendance at Therrell High was down by roughly 100 students at the 800-student school.

    The wounded have been identified as Lamarcritus Wilson, 20, Domonic Clark, 17, Trevion Morgan, 18, Tekevious Redding, 17, and Morgan Evans, 15. Redding has a bullet lodged in her leg, according to mother Shavien Dennis. Dennis told reporters outside Grady Memorial, that “she (Redding) tried to run and realized she wasn’t running anymore. She was on the ground and she said blood was everywhere.”

    Atlanta Police Officer John Chafee said in a statement, “At this moment the motive has not been established. Investigators are following up on information and we are progressing the investigation.”

    Image via Twitter

  • Joran van der Sloot Getting Married in Peru Prison

    Joran van der Sloot, the Dutch national presently serving a 28-year prison sentence for murder in Peru, plans to be married in lockup and is expecting a child. Van der Sloot made international headlines as the prime suspect in the disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway, who vanished in Aruba on May 30, 2005.

    Van der Sloot was never formally charged with murdering Holloway, and her disappearance remains unsolved, but the Dutchman was indicted by a federal grand jury in the United States for wire fraud and extortion related to the teen’s whereabouts. Van der Sloot killed Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramírez on May 30, 2010, five years to the day after Holloway vanished, and is now sitting in a Lima prison for the next couple of decades.

    According to Maximo Altez, van der Sloot’s Peruvian defense attorney, the 26-year-old Dutchman is getting married to Leydi Carol Figueroa Uceda, 23, some time in late May or early June. Altez said, “They met when she was visiting a relative in prison. They became friends and spent a lot of time together in his cell. Unlike The United States, here in Peru loved ones or relatives can see inmates inside their jails.”

    Uceda is expecting a baby boy fathered by van der Sloot, and is five months’ pregnant. Altez added, “He’s very happy about getting married. Since his girlfriend is pregnant, he wants his child to be born to a married couple and he’s anxiously awaiting the day he can get married.” The small, private wedding will be held in a chapel in Piedras Gordas Prison, located in Lima’s Ancon district.

    Here is a glimpse of Piedras Gordas:

    Van der Sloot is scheduled to be released on June 10, 2038, though his prison stint can be reduced considerably for good behavior. Some have speculated that the marriage might be a maneuver to avoid extradition to the United States once his Peruvian sentence ends. Altez commented, “He’s getting married because he’s in love and is having a child. There are no hidden agendas.” Van der Sloot is presently teaching English to other inmates to pass his time.

    As for Uceda, her attraction to a convicted killer might be tied to hybristophilia, also known a “Bonnie and Clyde Syndrome,” which is a paraphilia of the predatory type in which sexual arousal, facilitation, and attainment of orgasm are responsive to and contingent upon being with a partner known to have committed an outrage, cheating, lying, known infidelities or crime, such as rape, murder, or armed robbery.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Gracie Gold Backs Out of Malibu Prom Date

    Figure skater and 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics bronze medalist Gracie Gold has backed out of a prom date with a teenage suitor from Malibu, California, who asked her via a YouTube clip, and later in person during an awkward taping of an episode of NBC’s Extra.

    Malibu High School student Dyer Pettijohn, 17, compiled a video clip asking Gold, 18, to be his senior prom date, which he describes as the sort of “quintessential high school experience, that (she) was never able to have.” The clip went relatively viral on YouTube, garnering over 275,000 views. While Gold was making an appearance on Extra, she was asked if she’d seen the video, only to have gentleman caller Pettijohn appear, holding a bouquet of flowers.

    Gold agreed to go to the prom in Malibu, and told Pettijohn, “If it works out, I would love to.”

    Here is Pettijohn’s initial YouTube peacockery:

    Here is the clip from the Extra taping:

    Gracie’s twin sister Carly approves:

    Alas, it’s been reported that due to her new gig with figure skating tour Stars On Ice, Gold was forced to cancel. Pettijohn claims to not be too let down, is keeping his options open, and commented, “She (Gold) was incredibly gracious and gave me tickets to see her show last Saturday in Anaheim. I talked to her after, and we’re still trying to meet up once her busy schedule permits.”

    Gold will join Olympic gold medalist team Charlie White and Maryl Davis, as well as Ashley Wagner and Jason Brown during her Stars on Ice appearance on May 16.

    According to the Malibu High School newspaper The MHS Current, Gold is disappointed about not being able to attend Pettijohn’s prom, and told Access Hollywood, “I want to say yes, but logistically it might be no.” Pettijohn commented, “It’s truly brilliant how they (Olympians) are able to balance their rigor of training with entertaining their fans and family. This experience has been absolutely amazing and hopefully my relationship with Ms. Gold will continue for years to come.”

    Image via Twitter

  • 1805 Letter Penned by Thomas Jefferson Goes on Sale

    A July 24, 1805 letter written by United States Founding Father and President Thomas Jefferson went on sale for $35,000 in Philadelphia.

    The Raab Collection is handling the transaction, after an anonymous private collector came forth with the one-page historical note, which had never before been seen by the public, or examined by scholars.

    The letter was penned by Jefferson when he was 62, and was sent to his friend and estate manager, regarding the appraisal of the president’s Poplar Forest Plantation in Virginia. The president wanted to commence dividing parts of his acreage to leave to his grandchildren. Jefferson had six children with wife Martha Wayles Skelton, though only two lived into adulthood.

    Raab Collection president Nathan Raab commented, “This important historical discovery shows our nation’s third President as family man, looking to ensure that he would be able to leave something of value to his grandchildren.”

    Jefferson, April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826, was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and served two terms as the third President of the United States between 1801 and 1809. During the American Revolution, Jefferson served as the Governor of Virginia between 1779 and 1781. From 1784 he was a U.S. diplomat stationed in Paris, and in May, 1785, he became the U.S. Minister to France. Jefferson was a polymath who spoke five languages and had a keen interest in science, invention, architecture, religion and philosophy.

    Here is a condensed biography on Jefferson:

    Raab added, “This letter is an important contribution to the historical record. Such discoveries of Thomas Jefferson letters are uncommon particularly when the topic is so important and gives such a rare glimpse into the personal and family lives of people we only know from their public persona.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Girl Hit With Shovel Is Not Dead

    Girl Hit With Shovel Is Not Dead

    A YouTube video, showing a girl getting hit in the head with a shovel, instantly went viral with hundreds of thousands of people viewing it.

    The video shows two girls, 14-year-olds Miranda Fugate and Emily Olinger, in an altercation. The trash talking quickly escalates and leads to one of the girls smacking the other girl with a shovel, knocking her to the ground. Despite recent reports, Miranda Fugate (the girl who suffered the shovel blow) is not dead. She is alive and well, and only suffered minor injuries.

    “Miranda Fugate Lockwood died of serious head injuries after being hit with a shovel in the head by an old friend of hers named Emily Powers. The whole thing was caught on video and posted all over the internet and generated around 500,000 video views in just 2 days,” a report from Huzlers.com read.

    Conflicting reports have argued whether or not the fight was staged, which has led to the Miami County (Ohio) police launching an investigation. “When we have these types of videos, we need to explore to make sure that they’re authentic and not staged, as far as an investigation,” Sheriff’s Major Steve Lord said.

    “Anytime you’re dealing with an assault that’s potentially deadly, you run a risk. In this case, what the law is going to look at in Ohio is whether that injury is substantial physical harm or less than serious physical harm. If it’s determined to be serious physical harm then that could be a felony,” Lord added. “Also, if you start hitting people in the head with a shovel, it can lead to death.”

    Josh Officer, the 14-year-old who recorded the fight, said that it was not a hoax and was completely real. It was real fight. People were thinking it was fake and stuff on the Dr. Drew Show. It was completely real. They have been wanting to fight for about a year now,” he said.

    Lord revealed that Olinger could possibly be charged with disorderly conduct. The video has been removed from YouTube.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Jamaica Crash Landing Caused by Pilot Error

    The investigation of a Jamaican plane crash that occurred almost five years ago has cited a botched landing coupled with pilot fatigue as being the cause of the incident which seriously injured fourteen passengers.

    On Dec. 22, 2009, an American Airlines Boeing 737-829 overshot a rain-soaked landing strip at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica, and split into segments. The plane crashed through the seaside airport’s perimeter fence, skidded across a road and came to a stop in sand dunes on the shore of the Caribbean Sea.

    Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson Ava Marie Ingram commented on the slow process of compiling the final report on the crash of flight AA331, explaining that “the investigation involved a number of very involved processes.” Ingram said a copy of the report was forwarded to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.

    The report concludes that aside from the experienced crew being fatigued, “after being on duty for nearly 12 hours, and awake for more than 14 hours,” the pilot decided to land in heavy rain, and was unaware of a standing water warning on the runways which was included in manuals at the time. There was also a tail wind close to the landing limit.

    The report added that the crew did not do an adequate landing distance calculation and crossed the runway threshold 20 feet above the ideal height, touching down farther along the runway than what would have been safe. The plane landed “4,100 feet down the runway or 1,130 feet beyond the touchdown zone, as defined by the AA flight manual.” The 737 bounced once, before crashing down another 200 feet further down the runway. The crew slammed on the brakes but was unable to stop the plane before it slid off the end of the runway.

    The fuselage of the 737 broke into three segments and the right wing’s tanks spilled jet fuel. All 154 people aboard survived, though 92 people were taken to the hospital, and no life-threatening injuries reported. American Airlines provided each passenger $5,000 to compensate for the lengthy quarantine of baggage.

    Image via YouTube

  • Miley Cyrus Denies Drug Overdose

    Miley Cyrus Denies Drug Overdose

    Twerking sensation Miley Cyrus has denied rumors that her recent illness was the result of a drug overdose, and asserts that she is “the poster child for good health.”

    While addressing talk that her recent hospital stint was actually due to illicit drug use, Cyrus insisted that this was not the case, during a press conference at London’s O2 Arena Tuesday, in anticipation of the relaunch of the European leg of her Bangerz tour. “I didn’t have a drug overdose,” Cyrus explained, adding, “I took some shitty antibiotics that a doctor gave me for a sinus infection and I had a reaction.”

    The potty-mouthed superstar, 21, commented, “I’m probably the only one on this tour who doesn’t drink or smoke before a show, as I take this really seriously. It’s almost like being an athlete being up here, because if someone was fucked up, they definitely couldn’t do my show.”

    Cyrus attributes her recovery to vitamins and honey, and called her hospital stay “the most miserable two weeks of (her) life.” The pop idol made her rounds on social media as she prepared to return to her Bangerz stage:


    Cyrus, back in form, at the O2 Arena in London Tuesday:

    Cyrus was forced to cancel the last of her North American Bangerz tour dates after falling ill in mid-April due to an extremely adverse reaction of antibiotics. The singer ended up being hospitalized for several days, and tour dates had to be rescheduled. It’s been speculated that Cyrus’ loss of her beloved dog Floyd might have compounded her illness. Just before getting sick, Cyrus had apologized in advance to Boston fans for her April 2nd gig. “I’m sorry in advance if I am not myself tomorrow Boston. I will try my best to be my best,” Cyrus said.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Crater Lake Snowshoe Hiker Missing

    Crater Lake Snowshoe Hiker Missing

    Rangers at Crater Lake National Park are searching for a snowshoe hiker who has been missing since April 28. Authorities said the hiker rented snowshoes from the Oregon park’s general store and set forth to hike and snap photos, before vanishing. Park rangers found the missing hiker’s vehicle near Rim Village.

    Rescuers questioned other hikers who had traversed the area, and were directed to a set of tracks which led to a collapsed snow cornice near the rim of the crater.

    Crater Lake spokesperson Marsha McCabe explained that “snow cornices pose a serious hazard. Cornices are formed when snow is blown over sharp terrain like the rim of Crater Lake. The snow forms an overhang with no solid ground beneath it for support.” Snow cornices are common around the park this time of year, and park patrons are urged to take extreme caution, as they are prone to collapse.

    Crater Lake National Park was established in 1902, and is situated in southern Oregon. The park comprises the caldera of Crater Lake, a remnant of the volcano Mount Mazama, and the surrounding hills and forests. Crater Lake itself is 1,943 feet deep, making it the deepest lake in the United States, the second deepest in North America and the ninth deepest in the world.

    Here is a documentary on the park:

    Crater Lake is fully accessible during the summer months, though heavy snowfalls during the fall, winter and spring months force many road and trail closures.

    Mccabe added that “extensive search efforts in that area by ground and air have not located the individual. The search has been scaled back, but is ongoing as weather and snow conditions permit.” Authorities plan to incorporate a boat in the search, once the lake shore can be accessed.

    The name and gender of the missing hiker has not yet been released.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • X-15 Test Pilot Bill Dana Dies at 83

    X-15 Test Pilot Bill Dana Dies at 83

    NASA test pilot and astronaut William Harvey “Bill” Dana passed away Tuesday at age 83.

    According to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, Dana, famed as a research test pilot who flew the X-15 rocket plane and other pioneering aircraft at the dawn of the space age, died at an assisted living facility in a suburb of Phoenix.

    Beginning in the 1950s, Dana piloted more than 60 types of aircraft, ranging from helicopters and sailplanes to the hypersonic X-15, which he flew to a maximum altitude of nearly 59 miles up, while reaching a speed of 3,897 mph.

    Dana developed an interest in aircraft while growing up in Bakersfield, California, and told Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine, “I remember seeing B-25s and P-38s flying over at the start of World War II and there was something very glorious and exciting about the warbirds, and I was attracted to it and I never really lost my ambition to fly those airplane(s).”

    Here is some 1968 X-15 newsreel featuring Dana:

    Dana graduated from West Point, became an Air Force officer and was a fighter pilot in the Korean War. In 1958, he was hired as an aeronautical research engineer at NASA’s High-Speed Flight Station in the Mojave Desert, which now called Armstrong Flight Research Center. He became a test pilot the following year.

    Commenting on his X-15 test flight, Dana said that the plane had a “great big engine and lots of acceleration and things happening very, very fast and I really didn’t catch up with the airplane until I was back down to about Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound), where I had been before in fighter airplanes. There’s a whole staff of engineers in the control room watching every move you make and my fear was that I would do something that would embarrass myself in the eyes of my peers, and that was the fear.” Dana added, “I don’t ever remember being afraid I was going to die.”

    Aviation enthusiasts pay their respects:

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Yingluck Shinawatra Ousted from Office by Thai Court

    The Constitutional Court in Thailand ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra Wednesday, along with nine members of her cabinet, in an abuse-of-power case that will likely push the politically fragile democracy into further turmoil and violence.

    Thailand’s highest court cited a relatively obscure case involving the transfer of a senior civil servant three years ago, which had a “hidden agenda” that allowed Yingluck to help a relative become police chief. The court said in its ruling, which was broadcast on national television for over an hour, that “Transferring government officials must be done in accordance with moral principle.”

    The decision handed down by the court was final and immediate, and it removed all cabinet members who held posts at the time of the illegal personnel decision. The ten individuals whose caretaker status has ended include Yingluck, Surapong Tovichakchaikul, Chalerm Yubamrung, Kittiratt Na-Ranong, Santi Prompat, Anudith Nakornthap, Siriwat Kachornprasart, Pracha Promnok, Yutthasak Sasriprapa and Plodprasop Suraswadi.

    The remaining cabinet members swiftly appointed Niwatthamrong Bunsongphaisan as acting prime minister. After the ruling, Yingluck, 46, denied the abuse-of-power allegation, and said her administration “never acted corruptly.”

    Over the past six months, urban political protesters have taken to the streets in Bangkok, rallying against Shinawatra’s administration, in contrast to rural citizens, who were generally in favor of the ousted prime minister. This divide between rural and urban voters has persisted for roughly a decade, since Yingluck’s older brother Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted as Thailand’s first populist leader during a military coup in 2006.

    Since 2006, a pattern has emerged in which Thaksin-backing voters put members of that party into office, and then Thai courts summarily remove them.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • ‘Danzig Getting Knocked Out’ Is Still Recommended Viewing Like A Decade Later

    Roughly a decade ago, a famous video hit the web featuring Glenn Danzig getting knocked out by the guy from the Northside Kings. If you’re reading this article, you’re probably familiar with it or have at least heard of it.

    A couple years ago, the guy that punched him talked to Vice about it.

    Now, Danzig is in the news because he’s suing former bandmate Jerry Only over some lame Misfits merchandise that Danzig never signed off on (they had an agreement that all merch would require the approval of both men).

    Anyway, Danzig enthusiasts (yes, my dog is named after him), who see stories about him on Facebook, for example, are still being encouraged to view this classic piece of Internet nostalgia.

    A lesson in how your reputation on the Internet follows you for a really long time.

    It doesn’t help when Google returns images like this for a simple name search either.

    The knockout video somehow manages to stay off the first page of search results, though Google does treat searchers to a video called “Glenn Danzig is an Asshole” as the sixth organic result.

    Images: Google, Facebook

  • Pussy Riot Urges Congress to Crack Down on Russia

    Russian punk band Pussy Riot members Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were on Capitol Hill Tuesday lobbying for further sanctions against Russia, citing human rights violations they had witnessed first-hand under President Vladimir Putin’s administration.

    In a private meeting, the two activists requested that senators on the Foreign Relations Committee crack down even harder against Russia, and that Congress add 16 additional names to the list of Russian human rights violators who currently face sanctions, including the Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev.

    Speaking through a translator, Tolokonnikova commented, “These sanctions allow a huge number of people to talk about the human rights violations as a result.” Tolokonnikova added, “Putin is not leading Russia to stability, but to complete instability and chaos. Silence is the most dangerous thing for a political prisoner.”

    Alekhina and Tolokonnikova were found guilty of hooliganism with religious undertones of hatred after a live set at Moscow’s main cathedral in March, 2012, and were sentenced to two years in prison. A third member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was released on a suspended sentence just months after the hooliganism conviction.

    Here is a clip of the antics that garnered Pussy Riot their charges of hooliganism, after engaging in their “punk prayer”:

    Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut was in attendance at the Tuesday meeting, and commented that further U.S. sanctions against Russia would foster an economic blow that would create a “domino effect,” which would in turn encourage Russians to stand up to human rights offenders. “People will start to care much more about the fact the they, like these two brave women standing next to us, have lost their ability to grieve their government,” Murphy said.

    Tolokonnikova and Alekhina were freed from prison due to an amnesty legislation which some watchdog groups viewed as a Kremlin public relations stunt in time for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. During an appearance on NBC’s Today Show, Matt Lauer asked the activists if they thought Vladimir Putin had ordered their release to display his “softer side” to the world.

    Tolokonnikova replied, “When we got released, we didn’t have any illusions at all that Putin’s regime became more liberal.”

    A wearisome looking Pussy Riot also attended a few parties associated with the White House Correspondents’ Dinner over the weekend:

    Image via YouTube