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Archives for 2013

Ding Dong the … Oh, Never Mind

November 19, 2013 by

Whoa whoa whoa it's magic, I know, never believe it's not so ...
Whoa whoa whoa it’s magic, I know, never believe it’s not so …
If you click this link it will take you to a list of scientific discoveries. Like any list it’s more of a conversation starter than immutable dictum. I found it a little too Eurocentric, but that’s not the point. The point is that, without much effort, they were able to assemble a list celebrating rational thought, research and the human spirit. All things that seem more and more like after thoughts these days. Robert Heinlein once opined that in the 1920’s astrologers and psychics were, at best, oddities and lived on the fringe. By the 1960’s people were asking him his sign and seriously using this bit of useless knowledge to make judgments on what type of person he was. There are apocryphal reports that he would reply “Not an idiot” when asked. Which is a very good reply in my book. Anyway one would think that, by now, people would have put the superstitions of their youth behind them. You would be wrong but you could be forgiven got thinking so. A while back I wrote about how James Fox, a scam artist and charlatan, offered $100,000 to anyone who could prove they had alien technology. This generous offer blithely ignores the fact that any possessor of true alien tech would be a billionaire. Of course he also offered to sell you his DVD that proves that aliens exist. One is funny because the evidence that he’s wrong is actually an integral part of his last cinematic effort. In case it gets confusing, just remember the phrase “human DNA” and you’ll be fine. Alien life wouldn’t be blessed with that particular anomaly. That’s why it would be alien.

But, while I can understand why the uneducated might think the lights in the sky are from Alpha Centauri, I am completely baffled by people like guy who paid for a soul cleansing at Wal Mart.

Yes, you read that right.

They said they’d cleanse his soul, but instead they just cleaned him out.

According to KOAT, a Santa Fe, N.M., man was leaving Walmart when three “witches” approached him and offered to cleanse his soul of a dark spirit that was following him.

Amazingly, the man went for their offer and followed the women to a white van, where he turned over jewelry and cash after they allegedly told him that money was the root of his problems. The man even went so far as to cash a $500 check at the Walmart, then return the money to the women, whom he said tore it up and kept it.

“At one time or another we are all gullible, but that was a little over the top,” Walmart shopper Joy Dale told KOAT.

The supposed cleanse must not have worked, because the victim of the scam reported the incident to police a few days later. The women were traced to a hotel, where they said the man had voluntarily given them the jewelry. There was no cash. Police returned the jewelry to the owner, but couldn’t charge the women because they hadn’t technically committed a crime.

Although most people would spot a scam like this a mile away, other people have used fear of demonic possession as a way of exorcising money from the purses of believers.

In 2011, a New York artist began selling $197 pendants to ward off demons that possess pets. She claimed to have designed the charm after her pet poodle became inhabited by an evil spirit.

Sadly, tales of demonic possession have turned deadly in the past. In 2012, a man and his family were convicted of killing a six-months pregnant English woman because they thought she was possessed by a demon.

According to prosecutors, Mohammed Mumtaz told police that his wife “started to grab her own face and was screaming in anger… [then] suffocated herself by putting her hand in her mouth and she tried to strangle herself.”

The jury did not believe that the woman had killed herself, and found Mumtaz, his parents, and his brother guilty of murder.

Believe it or not, even though we have a socialist Muslim president, it is still not illegal to just randomly do stupid things with your money. Although I have long posited that if we did make that illegal and made pot legal the whole economy would right itself in 3 weeks.

And I don’t smoke pot, that’s how you know it’s a good idea.

Now the above story is slightly different than the below. What Stephanie Thompson did was malicious and illegal. Even in Florida.

This just keeps happening again and again. This week, Boca Raton Police tossed the cuffs on another psychic accused to using her connection to the spirit realm to line her pockets with cash. Stephanie Thompson — who did her cosmic business under the name Stephanie Lee — had a plan of attack that was so textbook, it’s like reading a primer on psychic scams.

According to the Palm Beach Post, Lee first met her victim in May 2012 at the Psychic Tea Room on North Federal Highway in Boca. Below we’ve broken Thompson’s scam down into the familiar particulars.

The Curse. Thompson sank the hook into her client by announcing that the woman was cursed and that she’d need $2,000 to complete the psychic work necessary to smash the spell.

Shhhhh. The psychic then allegedly kept asking the woman for more money for the work. She also told the victim not to tell anyone else about the payments. Spreading the word would ruin everything, the psychic said.

You’ll Get It Back, No Worries. Besides, the sales pitch went, the psychic was just going to pray over the money and give it back to the victim. Once this was all over — the curse broken and happiness restored — the victim would have the money back.

The Cancer. Oh, but if the woman didn’t hand over the money, she might get the same cancer that befell her mother, the psychic promised, not only sinking that hook but twisting it a couple of times to prove the point.

In the end, the victim allegedly forked over somewhere in the neighborhood of $108,000. Thompson is being charged with grand theft and organized fraud. The 23-year-old psychic reportedly told police she lost the money at a casino (Peanut gallery: NOT VERY GOOD AT PREDICTING THINGS, RIGHT? RIGHT?).

One thing we’d like to point out here is that a year or so ago, very few psychic scams ever made it inside a courtroom. In part, this was due to the hurtles prosecutors faced — in the end, this is a crime in which the victim willingly handed over the money. But since the prosecution of Rose Marks, not to mention increased attention to the trend, more psychic cases are going to court.

Another problem is that people who believe in psychics don’t believe they’ve been conned. They naturally assume they did something wrong. And those rare ones who do realize they’ve been had often hate being humiliated in court.

This next con is actually impressive. It has been going on for years, is clearly financial fraud on an epic scale and this dude still walks among us right here in Chicago.

Say hi to the Ed Hubbard With School.

Witch School AKA Ed Hubbard Witch School, The cons and scams of Ed Hubbard Chicago, Hoopstown, Illinois Illinois

Witch School actually does have a valid teaching program for those interested in Wicca and the craft, it is the management that uses the good faith of students to solicit illicit gain. Here are a few points of fact.

Witch School owner, Ed Hubbard placed Witch School for sale on eBay in 2007. He became irate when it was suggested that he would not go through with the sale and that it was a sham. Several days later he stated that his computer crashed and prevented the sale never explaining how his computer mishap affected eBay’s servers. According to eBay the sale was pulled by the lister.

The real reason for the phony eBay sale came to light shortly thereafter in early 2008. After causing considerable concern among students who had purchased a “lifetime” membership Ed announced there was another way. He would incorporate and sell shares, which he did with great success. As of yet no one has received a dime in dividends and holders promised a buyback are still waiting. Stock reports have not been published for years.

Ed then tried to re-incorporate as non-profit. When he learned that would not relieve his financial misdeeds of the past the plan was dropped.

Ed’s next plan was to exploit a small group of young women in what he called the “Young Witches Project” or “Young Witches of Salem”. The young women worked for little or no pay, were forced by circumstance to live in less than suitable conditions and even work other jobs to help support the project. All the time being fed a series of lies by Ed Hubbard concerning interested producers and writers, along with movie and television companies promising big money just around the corner. Of course there were none.

Ed Hubbard says his latest project will cost $20.000 and he already claims to have collected half of that from donations. It is a book he wishes to put together although true to character he will not actually write any of it. He is looking for authors to donate all of that as well. Some of us know that Amazon has a company called “Create Space” that allows you to publish a book at little or no cost. I wonder what will happen to the rest of the donations and if we will in fact even see a book.

Ed Hubbard has recently announced his retirement as CEO of Witch School. This is more than likely to install a “Fall Guy” in that position while Ed retains the leadership.

Okay, let’s count the myriad problems with this story;

(1) No actual charges have been filed although I counted, at least, a dozen violations of the law, the least of which was the stuff with the money.
(2) The author has been a willing, if angry, participant since the beginning.
(3) Someone actually believed there was a school for witches in Chicago. Because nothing says “getting in touch with nature” like a day at the Willis Tower.
(4) While the address of the witch school mentions Hoopstown, a quick search there is no such town or neighborhood in Illinois. There is a Hoopestown, which is in east central Illinois and has nothing to do with witches. Or basketball for that matter.

In other words, had these bright and beautiful leaders of the future Wiccan movement spent 10 minutes of research they could have avoided this whole mess.

Joint Fighter Wing Strike Witches Ki AMV NSFW from Al Eclumie on Vimeo.

Listen to Bill McCormick on WBIG (FOX! Sports) every Friday around 9:10 AM.
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You Don’t Need You Anymore

November 17, 2013 by

I sing the body electric.
I sing the body electric.
I’ve written before about our impending robot overlords. Usually I am against this sort of thing. There have been – obvious – exceptions like the development of sexbots. Hey, I’ve been divorced twice, having a solid back up plan isn’t such a bad idea. Still, despite the awesoemeness of sexbots, most developments tend to be making Frank Herbert’s Dune seem like a documentary. And I, for one, would prefer not to live in a world ruled by some box of electrodes named Omnius. Still and all when a good thing comes along, even if it’s cybernetic, you have to laud it. And, speaking as a male who’s been to a doctor, I find myself cheering this invention. Or, to be polite, I am not of an opinion that the doctor needs to play the “how far in can my arm go” game with my butt.

Dr. Benjamin Lok & Dr. Carla Pugh have created a robot butt to train doctors how to perform rectal exams.

Researchers have invented something truly remarkable — no ifs or ands, but definitely a butt.

A robotic one at that.

The result is a plastic posterior is hooked up to a video screen featuring a virtual male named “Patrick” who is bent over a desk.

The derriere-device is designed to train budding doctors how to give a prostate exam, according to Dr. Benjamin Lok, the co-creator of the electronic hiney with Dr. Carla Pugh.

“In the experience, the student talks to a virtual person and is able to practice their communication skills” Lok told Geekosystem. “The mannequin is instrumented with force sensors that can measure where the student is examining and with how much pressure. This enables the system to provide a realistic encounter with a virtual patient that includes communication and physical exam components.”

The device even measures eye contact between the medical student and the virtual patient to help improve the bedside manner.

“Patrick” is also endowed with force sensors that alert the student when he or she is poking and prodding too hard. It can also register the thoroughness of the examination, Medical Daily reported.

“Patrick” is in use at Drexel University in Philadelphia and at the University of Florida and Lok hopes to use the “rear-search” to help improve virtual humans for other types of touchy situations.

This isn’t the first time virtual technology has been used to get to the bottom of the butt.

In 2012, Japanese artist Nobuhiro Takahashi created SHIRI, a robotic rump that can react to “a user’s touch, stroke, or slap” and can twitch or tense up on its own.

Of course the Japanese invented a robotic booty for spanking. This is the country that brought the world Orgasm Wars.

That link is for adults only.

But(t), the new robo-rear is a great idea. Every male who’s heard the snap of the rubber glove will be very grateful to learn that the robo-hiney has groomed your medical professional to not fist bump your colon.

Of course, not all science is all sciencey and stuff. Sometimes, just like the brilliant men and women who slaved to bring us sexbots, sometimes scientists get together and invent the robo-vagina.

Because, well, of course they did. Annalee Newitz at IO9 has the latest.

A programmable robotic vagina that looks sort of like a cake mixer promises to be the most exciting sex toy ever invented for men. Basically, it’s the rabbit pearl vibrator of boy toys.

As our sister site Fleshbot reports, live from a floor show at the Adult Entertainment Expo, AEBN’s Real Touch is a variable speed, textured delight – it even delivers “throbs” at appropriate moments. And it’s programmed to respond to input from porn movies. So plug this baby into your computer, fire up your favorite vid, and the Real Touch will match the speed and intensity of the action on screen.

No word yet on whether you can program it to emulate the stages of the female sexual response cycle, including involuntary muscle spams every 0.7 seconds. But Fleshbot does have a video of the device in action.

That video is VERY NSFW.

As in you should have access to a cold shower before you click the link.

But, that aside, you gotta love science.

Electric Six “Body Shot” (2009) – NSFW 18+ from Another Reybee Productions, Inc. on Vimeo.

Listen to Bill McCormick on WBIG (FOX! Sports) every Friday around 9:10 AM.
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Our Little Princesses

November 14, 2013 by

This is coming. You know it is.
This is coming. You know it is.
People stand, gape mouthed, at the passage of time. They act as though change must never happen. I was reminded again of this trait when I heard that the Billy Goat Tavern might be forced to move. Again. It has moved three times since it originally opened in 1934. The outrage over each move eventually died. Pretty much as soon as the doors opened on the new place. Such will it be again. And, let us not forget, far from the bastion of burger purity immortalized by John Belushi, this is now just another chain pushing fatty food. And beer. You can now buy a Cheezboogah in Washington D.C. And have it historically mispronounced by a highly paid professional. You also still can’t get fries there because, as Ed Debevic’s proved, people are stupid and like to be abused. It is also the same reason people bought 50 Shades of Grey. No, I will not link to that crap.

Anyway, Zoë Triska is fun writer who, today, admits that she is a thief and likes ruining people’s childhoods.

What’s not to like?

When I was a kid, I loved fairy tales. I loved the idea of talking animals and brave girls and boys who overcame cruel care takers. I also really loved Disney movies. They all had happy endings; what’s not to love about that? I could watch “Beauty and the Beast” or “Aladdin” every single day.

When I got a little older, I graduated from watching Disney movies to reading the Brothers Grimm. In the fourth grade, I checked out the “Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers’ Grimm” from my school library and never returned it (a belated “sorry!” to my grade school library!)

I was horrified to find that the origins of many of my favorite Disney movies had much more gruesome details that Disney completely left out.

Below is a collection of horrifying details that Disney chose to leave out of all of these book/fairy tale/play adaptations. Read on only if you want to completely ruin your childhood.

“Cinderella”: In the Brothers Grimm version, one of Cinderella’s evil stepsisters cuts off her toes, and the other her heel so they can both fit into the tiny glass slipper. The prince is notified by little doves that there is blood on the shoe, and finally discovers that the true owner is Cinderella. Once the stepsisters realize that they should try to win favor with Cinderella (after all, she will be queen), they attend her wedding, only to have their eyes pecked out by birds. Did they deserve it? I’ll let you decide, reader.

SOME OTHER SIDENOTES ON THIS STORY: Cinderella doesn’t have a fairy godmother. Rather, she plants a tree by her mother’s grave and prays under it every day. She finds her dresses to wear to each ball under the tree (there are three in the story, not one like in the movie). She is still helped by animals, though specifically birds, not mice. Also, she doesn’t just lose her shoe because she is in a rush. The clever prince covers the steps in pitch to make her stick to them, but she only loses a shoe in the process.

“The Little Mermaid”: Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale is a 180 from the Disney film. Some parts align. She does see the prince from afar in his ship, and she does rescue him from drowning and fall in love with him. He doesn’t see her. She does visit the sea witch who takes her tongue in exchange for legs (and she does do it because the little mermaid has an amazing voice).

The deal is the same: The mermaid can only remain a human if she finds true love’s kiss and the prince falls in love with and marries her. However, the penalty in the movie is only that Ariel will turn back into a mermaid if she fails. In the story, she will DIE if she fails. Also, while the prince remains a main motivator, the mermaid in the story is also motivated because humans have eternal souls, and mermaids don’t. The Disney movie leaves out that the penalty the mermaid pays for having legs: every single step she takes will feel like she is walking on sharp shards of glass. At first, it seems like the plan is working, but then the prince ends up marrying another, a woman he THINKS is the person who saved him (the mermaid can’t exactly tell him the truth, since she can’t talk). She is told that if she KILLS the prince, then she can simply turn back into a mermaid and doesn’t have to die. She just can’t do it, though. She throws herself into the sea, and turns into sea foam. How’s that for a happy ending?

“The Fox and the Hound”: The Fox and the Hound is based on a 1967 novel written by Daniel P. Mannix. In the book, the fox is raised by the dog owner’s/hunter’s family, but eventually returns to the wild. He occasionally returns to taunt the dogs, and flash his cunning fox skills. One of the dogs breaks his chain, and chases him. That dog ends up getting hit by a train. The hunter is devastated, and vows revenge on the fox. He becomes obsessed, but can never catch him (although he does kill the fox’s first mate, second mate, and children). Eventually, Tod the fox DOES die, but of exhaustion from being chased so much. Copper (the dog from “The Fox and the Hound”) is so old that he needs to be shot, and that is the end of the book. Pretty different from the movie, where a puppy and a baby fox become BFFL.

“Beauty and the Beast”: Beauty and the Beast is actually pretty accurate, except for some uninteresting details (like how Belle’s father used to be rich, but got himself into major debt). There is ONE unfortunate detail that the story DOES leave out. In the first believed version of the tale (by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve), Belle has two wicked sisters (lots of wicked family members in fairy tales, unfortunately). The Beast allows Belle to travel home, as long as she is only gone for a week. Her sisters are extremely jealous to hear about her luxurious life, and try to persuade Belle to stay with them longer than a week, in the hopes that the Beast will be infuriated with Belle and eat her alive upon her return. Yikes.

“Pinocchio”: Disney’s “Pinocchio” came from Carlo Collodi’s 1883 Italian classic “The Adventures of Pinocchio.” You might think Pinocchio was mischievous in the movie, but he is far more so in the book. In the book, he runs away as soon as he learns to walk. He is found by the police, who imprison Geppetto because they believe Pinocchio was abused. Pinocchio returns home, where he kills a talking cricket (sorry, Jiminy) who warns him of the dangers of hedonistic pleasures and obedience. Geppetto is released, and insists that Pinocchio goes to school. Pinocchio sells his school books for a ticket to the Great Marionette Theatre. He encounters a fox and a cat, who steal his money and unsuccessfully try to hang him. Luckily, after saving Geppetto from the terrible dogfish (you might know it better as the gigantic, angry whale from the film), Pinocchio shapes up and eventually becomes a real boy (and, you know, all that stuff about boys getting turned into donkeys and then sold to evil circuses did end up making it into the movie, surprisingly).

“Sleeping Beauty”: In Giambattista Basile’s tale (which is the actual origin of the Sleeping Beauty story), a king happens to walk by Sleeping Beauty’s castle and knock on the door. When no one answers, he climbs up a ladder through a window. He finds the princess, and calls to her, but as she is unconscious, she does not wake up. Well, dear reader, he carries her to the bed and rapes her. Then he just leaves. She awakens after she gives birth because one of her twins sucks the flax (from the spindle) out of her finger. The king comes back, and despite him having raped her, they end up falling in love? However, another big problem: the king is still married to someone else. His wife finds out and not only tries to have the twins killed, cooked, and fed to the king, but also tries to burn the princess at the stake. Luckily, she is unsuccessful. The king and the princess get married and live happily ever after (despite the fact that he raped her). Perrault’s adaptation of Basile’s updated adaptation of the story (a much tamer version) is probably what was used for the Disney adaptation, as they are much more similar.

“Tangled”: I know, this is a pretty loose adaptation. But still, I think it’s worth mentioning. In the Brothers Grimm version, Rapunzel gets knocked up by the prince before they escape, and the evil sorceress figures it out. The sorceress cuts off Rapunzel’s hair and throws her out into the wilderness. When the prince shows up to see her, the sorceress dangles Rapunzel’s cut-off hair to lure him, and tells him he will never see Rapunzel again. He jumps out the window in despair and is blinded from the thorns below. He wanders around aimlessly (he is blind). Rapunzel gives birth to twins. He is eventually guided back to her when he hears her voice. Her tears restore his sight. They return to the prince’s kingdom and live happily ever after. (See? Some of these fairy tales actually DO have real happy endings, even when women have babies out of wedlock!)

“The Lion King”: Oh, you didn’t know that “The Lion King” was a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”? Well, fancy that. A jealous brother kills the king, the son finds out about it and wants revenge. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, I mean, Timon and Pumba, distract him. But finally, the son kills the evil jealous brother. Well, actually, in Shakespeare’s version everyone dies, not just the evil, jealous brother (formerly known as “Claudius”).

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”: In the Brothers Grimm version, the evil queen stepmother asks a hunter to take Snow White into the forest and kill her (this also happens in the Disney movie). However, in the story, she asks him to also bring her back Snow White’s heart and liver. He can’t kill Snow White, and so brings back a boar’s heart and liver as well. The queen eats the heart and liver, believing them to be Snow White’s. Yuck. In the book, the queen tries twice unsuccessfully to kill Snow White. The third time, when the queen gives her the apple (just like in the movie), Snow White faints and can’t be revived. She is placed in a glass coffin. A prince comes and wants to take her away (even though she is still asleep, which is pretty weird). The dwarves hesitantly allow it, and while she is being carried, the carriers trip, causing the poisoned apple to become dislodged from Snow White’s throat. She and the prince, of course, get married. The evil queen is invited. As a punishment, she is forced to wear burning-hot iron shoes and dance until she drops dead.

Well, that would have made a much more visually interesting ending in my book.

And it seems I’m not alone. Zenescope Entertainment is producing some heavily sexed up, hyper violent, versions of Grimm’s fairy Tales. I offer Little Red Riding Hood as example “A”.

Little Red Riding Hood

Yeah, you’re right, I’m a better person for knowing about this stuff and sharing it with you.

The point is that nothing remains the same. Not even the song. Change is what makes life vital. It’s what keeps us interested in the world around us. If everything was the same as it was whenever you imagine, we would have stagnated and become extinct.

We’ll embrace diversity later.

In the meantime I give you a video that celebrates marriage equality.

I kid. I have no fucking idea what this thing’s about but it has a nice beach scene and a naked woman wrapped in ropes. That’s all you need sometimes.

Jeux de plage… from Patrice De Bruyne on Vimeo.

Listen to Bill McCormick on WBIG (FOX! Sports) every Friday around 9:10 AM.
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Saying Thanks

November 11, 2013 by

This is what they're fighting for.
This is what they’re fighting for.

We goof around a lot up here. It’s part of the fun. And thank to these new fangled interwebs I get all the electro mails you nice people send me telling me how much you enjoy making fun of Florida, wondering what the hell is happening to the gene pool in red states and getting early news on some of the new superhero movies. Plus, I know that you all like the science and history stuff we pop up from time to time. I still get link requests for our look at the birth of Jesus. I even know that it was once used as part of a mass. It was very cool to find that out. What you may not know is that I, like millions of others, have relatives who served our country. I am named after William Nugent who died by friendly fire in China in WWII. His nephew, also named William, was my uncle. He also served in the Air Force. Useless trivia, he took me to my first Bears game when I was a kid. Anyway, today is Veterans Day. A day for us to set aside some of our silliness and thank the men and women who have fought and died for this country.

Veterans Day has a rich history and, thanks to the Veterans Administration, I can share it with you here today.

History of Veterans Day

World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” – officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

Soldiers of the 353rd Infantry near a church at Stenay, Meuse in France.

Soldiers of the 353rd Infantry near a church at Stenay, Meuse in France, wait for the end of hostilities.  This photo was taken at 10:58 a.m., on November 11, 1918, two minutes before the armistice ending World War I went into effect

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”

The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00 a.m.

The United States Congress officially recognized the end of World War I when it passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926, with these words:

Whereas the 11th of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed, and

Whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations; and

Whereas the legislatures of twenty-seven of our States have already declared November 11 to be a legal holiday: Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), that the President of the United States is requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on November 11 and inviting the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples.

An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday—a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as “Armistice Day.” Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word “Armistice” and inserting in its place the word “Veterans.” With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

Later that same year, on October 8th, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first “Veterans Day Proclamation” which stated: “In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans’ organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose. Toward this end, I am designating the Administrator of Veterans’ Affairs as Chairman of a Veterans Day National Committee, which shall include such other persons as the Chairman may select, and which will coordinate at the national level necessary planning for the observance. I am also requesting the heads of all departments and agencies of the Executive branch of the Government to assist the National Committee in every way possible.”

President Eisenhower signing HR7786, changing Armistice Day to Veterans Day.

President Eisenhower signing HR7786, changing Armistice Day to Veterans Day. From left: Alvin J. King, Wayne Richards, Arthur J. Connell, John T. Nation, Edward Rees, Richard L. Trombla, Howard W. Watts

On that same day, President Eisenhower sent a letter to the Honorable Harvey V. Higley, Administrator of Veterans’ Affairs (VA), designating him as Chairman of the Veterans Day National Committee.

In 1958, the White House advised VA’s General Counsel that the 1954 designation of the VA Administrator as Chairman of the Veterans Day National Committee applied to all subsequent VA Administrators. Since March 1989 when VA was elevated to a cabinet level department, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has served as the committee’s chairman.

The Uniform Holiday Bill (Public Law 90-363 (82 Stat. 250)) was signed on June 28, 1968, and was intended to ensure three-day weekends for Federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day. It was thought that these extended weekends would encourage travel, recreational and cultural activities and stimulate greater industrial and commercial production. Many states did not agree with this decision and continued to celebrate the holidays on their original dates.

The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed with much confusion on October 25, 1971. It was quite apparent that the commemoration of this day was a matter of historic and patriotic significance to a great number of our citizens, and so on September 20th, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed Public Law 94-97 (89 Stat. 479), which returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November 11, beginning in 1978. This action supported the desires of the overwhelming majority of state legislatures, all major veterans service organizations and the American people.

Veterans Day continues to be observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week on which it falls. The restoration of the observance of Veterans Day to November 11 not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

That sums it all up nicely.

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This Is Mahvelous Dahling!

November 7, 2013 by

No, you really do.
No, you really do.

I was coming in to work on the train this morning and saw the loneliest man in the universe. The fact that he’d even bothered to get dressed and walk in public was amazing. Yes, you guessed it, he was watching porn on his i-Phone. I’m not sure what it takes to achieve that level of self loathing, but I am sure I never want to find out.I do know I changed seats. Not because porn bothers me – it doesn’t, I’d probably star in it if I had less inches one place and more in another – but because I know the activity that porn engenders (in fact, I know it well) and didn’t want to be anywhere near him when that occurred. There are just some things I’m uncomfortable sharing with strangers. And you should be too. One thing I’m not afraid to share with strangers is my inner nerd. People who know me well, as well as random strangers, know that I like comic books. And, no, I will never call them graphic fucking novels. I don’t care how cool they are. Now, those who paid attention know that I’m a DC kind of guy. I like me my Batman & Superman and Justice League Unlimited and so on. To this day I can’t look at Black Canary without thinking about a cold shower. But that’s another story. Like I said, I’m a DC kind of guy.

But DC’s been on kind of a hiatus lately and I need a superhero fix from time to time. Oh, sure, there’s Arrow, with its dressed safe for TV version of Black Canary, which is cool and I enjoy it. But it’s well grounded in reality and sometimes you need to escape.

That being said, I have been enjoying the release of all the Marvel related movies. Yes, even Thor. And now, Marvel has upped the ante to the point where I’m not sure anyone will catch them for a while.

I’ll let the press release speak for itself.

Marvel logo

Disney’s Marvel and Netflix Join Forces to Develop Historic Four Series Epic plus a Mini-Series Event

Landmark deal brings Marvel’s flawed heroes of Hell’s Kitchen, led by ‘Daredevil,’ to Netflix in 2015
Posted Nov 7, 2013 9:15 am
Updated Nov 7, 2013 9:10 am

Disney’s Marvel and Netflix Join Forces to Develop Historic Four Series Epic plus a Mini-Series Event Based on Renowned Marvel Characters

Landmark Deal Brings Marvel’s Flawed Heroes of Hell’s Kitchen, led by “Daredevil,” to the World’s Leading Internet TV Network in 2015

Burbank, Calif. – Nov 7, 2013—The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) and Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) today announced an unprecedented deal for Marvel TV to bring multiple original series of live-action adventures of four of Marvel’s most popular characters exclusively to the world’s leading Internet TV Network beginning in 2015. This pioneering agreement calls for Marvel to develop four serialized programs leading to a mini-series programming event.

Led by a series focused on “Daredevil,” followed by “Jessica Jones,” “Iron Fist” and “Luke Cage,” the epic will unfold over multiple years of original programming, taking Netflix members deep into the gritty world of heroes and villains of Hell’s Kitchen, New York.  Netflix has committed to a minimum of four, thirteen episodes series and a culminating Marvel’s “The Defenders” mini-series event that reimagines a dream team of self-sacrificing, heroic characters.

Produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Television Studios, this groundbreaking deal is Marvel’s most ambitious foray yet into live-action TV storytelling.

“This deal is unparalleled in its scope and size, and reinforces our commitment to deliver Marvel’s brand, content and characters across all platforms of storytelling. Netflix offers an incredible platform for the kind of rich storytelling that is Marvel’s specialty,” said Alan Fine, President of Marvel Entertainment. “This serialized epic expands the narrative possibilities of on-demand television and gives fans the flexibility to immerse themselves how and when they want in what’s sure to be a thrilling and engaging adventure.”

“Marvel’s movies, such as ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Marvel’s The Avengers,’ are huge favorites on our service around the world. Like Disney, Marvel is a known and loved brand that travels,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos. “With ‘House of Cards’ and our other original series, we have pioneered new approaches to storytelling and to global distribution and we’re thrilled to be working with Disney and Marvel to take our brand of television to new levels with a creative project of this magnitude.”

This new original TV deal follows last year’s landmark movie distribution deal through which, beginning with 2016 theatrically released feature films, Netflix will be the exclusive U.S. subscription television service for first-run, live-action and animated movies from the Walt Disney Studios, including titles from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Disneynature and Lucasfilm.  Netflix members can currently enjoy a wide range of Disney, ABC TV and Disney Channel films and shows across the 41 countries where Netflix operates.

About The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international entertainment and media enterprise with five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive media. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenues of $42.3 billion in its Fiscal Year 2012.

About Netflix

Netflix is the world’s leading Internet television network with over 40 million members in more than 40 countries enjoying more than one billion hours of TV shows and movies per month, including original series. For one low monthly price, Netflix members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on nearly any Internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

Now, in the Daredevil universe alone there’s enough villains to choke a zombie. They will not want for source material.

There will be ninjas somewhere in there too.

There are always ninjas. And there will be large breasted women in latex and priests (Daredevil has many issues).

In other words, free from the restrictions of broadcast television this could be one hell of a set of series.

Or, to put it in the vernacular, it could be Mahvelous!

Well, it will certainly be better than this.

MAHVEL from legs are just for show on Vimeo.

Listen to Bill McCormick on WBIG (FOX! Sports) every Friday around 9:10 AM.
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