Wild-Policy To Be Reinstated? – American Idol

There is a rumor spreading around about the wild-policy being reinstated. It is said that five semifinalists who failed to take place in the top ten will return to the American Idol stage for the April 9^th Idol Gives Back charity special. When they return, they will battle out for a wild-card slot on this summer’s American Idol concert tour. So the fans of the five ousted contestants shall rejoice, get ready to vote!

Now, you should keep in the mind that who ever wins the wild-card spot cannot – I repeat, cannot – complete on American Idol once more. The winner is only allowed into the tour, which is quite a bummer. Rumor has it that the two contestants who came closest to make the top 10, Amanda Overmyer and David Hernandez, are already guaranteed a spot in this wild-card competition.

That is pretty cool that they are allowing a wild-card slot, but it really does suck that they can’t complete once again. But hey, it is better than nothing. Am I right?! Well get your phones and fingers ready to dial and vote for your favorite!   http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityrocks/34697/idol-update-wild-policy-to-be-reinstated

Dog Prays at Japanese Zen Temple

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080324/ap_on_fe_st/odd_praying_dog;_ylt=AvBR9QeBtyAcRrQLqrbKl5guQE4F

Even the dog prays, At a Zen Buddhist templein southern Japan. Following the movements of his master, priest Joei Yoshikuni, a 1 1/2-year-old black and white Chihuahua, named Conan, joins in the every day prayers at Naha’s Shuri Kannondo temple, sitting up on his hind legs and putting his front paws as one before the altar.

It took the dog several days to learn the motion and now because of this, he is the talk of the town.

“Word has spread, and we are getting a lot more tourists,” Yoshikuni said Monday.

Yoshikuni said Conan normally goes through his prayer routine at the temple in the capital of Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture without encouragment before his morning and evening meals.

Yoshikuni said, “I think he saw me doing it all the time and got the idea to do it, too.” The priest is now trying to teach him how to meditate.

Well, he is trying at least.

“Basically, I am just trying to get him to sit still while I meditate,” he explained. “It’s not like we can make him cross his legs.”

Wow, that is pretty cool that a dog can pray without any problems. It seems as though one day he just had the initiative to start praying. That is a really talented and smart dog; maybe my idea of dogs might change because of him since I am not a big fan of dogs.   

Man Burned Alive

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080312/od_nm/crime_fire_odd_dc;_ylt=AuV90Svi5WjWrb2DaIBhm4XtiBIF 

A Chinese bride burned her new husband to death after he went to bed following a drunken disagreement without washing his feet, state media reported on Wednesday. 

“Wang and his wife, Luo, were married on February 2. The couple, however, frequently fought over trivial things while still on their honeymoon,” the authorized Xinhua news agency quoted a local newspaper as saying. 

The couple, from the central province of Hubei, got into another quarrel on the night of March 4, “and in frustration they together drank a bottle of liquor to ease their anger.” 

“At about 10 p.m., Luo watched her husband get into bed without cleaning or washing his feet. In a fit of anger and intoxication, she set fire to the sheet he was sleeping in,” the report said. “When he awoke, the two began fighting before a very drunk Wang collapsed. As fire engulfed the bedroom, Luo escaped to the living room, leaving her other half to burn,” it added. 

The woman has been arrested, Xinhua said. 

Wow, this has to be the most outrageous story I have ever heard. This woman is diametrically serious when she says wash your feet before you go to bed. Men out there should take this as a warning: women are crazy.  

Vegas Hepatitis Exposure

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080306/ap_on_re_us/hepatitis_exposure;_ylt=AidwbgxeNUeYXSXJaFF82CjVJRIF 

Health officials used an incomplete patient list to notify people exposed to hepatitis and HIV at a Las Vegas clinic, an epidemiologist testified Thursday. “We know of patients who had been there whose names were not on the list,” Southern Nevada Health District epidemiologist Brian Labus told a state legislative committee on health care.

The public hearing was the first investigating the spread of hepatitis C from dangerous practices at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada. Last week, an outbreak of six cases was made public. The surgical center, along with five other affiliated clinics, has been closed.Approximately 40,000 patients who received treatment at the center from March 2004 to mid-January have received letters notifying them they are at risk for exposure. They also urged for the patients to be tested for hepatitis B and C, and HIV.

Labus said the patient list was provided by the center and were based on financial records. He did not clarify why some patient names would not have appeared on the list.

Health officials suppose the clinic were able to spread the virus by reusing syringes and vials of medication. Health District chief, Lawrence Sands, said it was a well-known violation of universal safety standards.

The clinic’s records show the practice of using single-patient vials of medication to treat more than one patient has been in use since March 2004, during the time the clinic undergone a renovation and expanded operation, Labus said. Inspectors were ambiguous about the practice being in place before March 2004, he said.

The clinic’s main owner and member of the governor’s payment on health care, Dipak Desai, has refused to answer questions about the allegations. He took out a full-page ad in Sunday’s Las Vegas Review-Journal claiming that needles weren’t reused and the chances of contracting an infection at the center in most of the last four years were “extremely low.”           

I can’t even imagine how scared these patients must be feeling. If I was in their position, I would sue. They could contract dangerous viruses because of the carelessness of people. I believe that they reused the needles. It is quite obvious, in my opinion, since during that time a lot of renovating  was done and they expanded their operation. They most likely did not have the funds to pay for a surplus of needles so they could avoid reusing needles.

           

Florida Mom Charged with Hosing Child

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080308/ap_on_re_us/car_wash_abuse;_ylt=AjAmMbhMohU5XfXmS755Loes0NUE

A mother, that was videotaped spraying her young daughter with a high-pressure water hose at a Florida car wash, was arrested by the authorities. The mother, Niruka Ramirez, was arrested in Orlando on a child abuse charge. Ramirez claims that she trying to discipline her 2-year old daughter after the daughter threw a temper tantrum. Ramirez told the authorities that she did not use the high-pressure feature while hosing the child down. A nurse reported the daughter had no visible injuries on her body 11 days after the incident. The mother was released from jail early Saturday on one thousand dollars bail. Jail records don’t list an attorney.           

I find this situation quite humorous in my opinion. It seems as though parents have found new methods for punishing children. Whatever happened to telling the child to calm themselves down? Personally, I am not a big fan of physically punishing children, but if this is the method parents want to use…then go ahead. I don’t judge them. In a way, I find that arresting the mother was a little over the top. In my opinion, they should have left her with a warning. The nurse says the daughter had any damage so there was no real proof that she was physically damaged. The authorities should have been a bit lenient. Maybe my views are a little skewed?

Clinton Using Dirty Tricks?

http://news.aol.com/elections/story/_a/photo-of-obama-with-turban-causes-stir/20080225145809990001

Photographs are circulating in the Internet of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama dressed in traditional local garments during a visit to Kenyain 2006. These photographs are causing an argument in the presidential campaign over what constitutes a smear. The Associated Press photograph portrays Obama wearing a white turban and a wraparound white robe presented to him by elders in Wajir, which resides in northeastern Kenya. Obama’s estranged late father was Kenyan and Obama visited the country in 2006, attracting thousands of well-wishers.

The gossip and news Web site The Drudge Report published the photograph Monday and it was said that it was being circulated by “Clintonstaffers” and quoted an e-mail from an anonymous campaign aide. Obama campaign manager David Plouffe immediately blamed Clinton’s campaign of “the most shameful, offensive fear-mongering we’ve seen from either party in this election.” Obama’s foreign policy adviser, Susan Rice, said the distribution of the photograph was disruptive and insinuates “that the customs and cultures of other parts of the world are worthy of ridicule or condemnation.”The Clintoncampaign did not comment on the distribution of the photo, but campaign manager Maggie Williams said the Obama campaign’s reaction was provoking passions and distracting voters.“Enough,” Williams said in a statement. “If Barack Obama’s campaign wants to suggest that a photo of him wearing traditional Somali clothing is divisive, they should be ashamed. Hillary Clinton has worn the traditional clothing of countries she has visited and had those photos published widely. This is nothing more than an obvious and transparent attempt to distract from the serious issues confronting our country today and to attempt to create the very divisions they claim to decry.” In my opinion, I find that it is desperate and low for someone to start displaying pictures of Barack Obama wearing traditional Somali clothing. There is nothing wrong with him embracing his cultrue since his father is indeed from Kenya. I highly doubt that Clinton (even though she is losing to Barack in the delegates) would use such a despicable move as such.

American Idol: Smithson’s Secret Past Revealed

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityrocks/13980/irish-idol-smithsons-secret-past/?page=2#comments

Although American Idol speaks of giving undiscovered talent a chance in the music business, it seems that they put a discoveredtalent in the top 24. Irish Carly Smithson scored a record deal some time during 2000 with MCA and her record, Ultimate High, was released. It is said that MCA spent an excessive amount of two million dollars on the effort, but sadly the CD managed to only sell hundreds (I am serious, only hundreds) of copies. It failed to make a dent in the music industry.

Sorry to say (after she recorded her MCA album), neither Ms. Hennessy nor MCA were happy with the results so MCA decided to rerecord Hennessy’s album from scratch. In April 2001, even with the album still in progress, MCA decided to try to get Ms. Hennessy some notice by releasing her first single, an energetic tune called ‘I’m Gonna Blow Your Mind’’. MCA spent $250,000 on a video that showed Hennessy dancing in a disco and jumping around with pals in their sleepwear. On a call-in show, Nickelodeon asked viewers to rate 30 seconds of the video, but the audience was unresponsive. The video was quickly disregarded.

It may be true that she did have a chance in the music business, but I believe she should get another one. She failed (and she was young at the time) and in that time span between then and now, I feel she has grown and matured. Actually, she is my personal favorite, but this does not influence my opinion. She has a beautiful voice and I believe that if she is given another chance, she might just make it big. Everybody is given another chance and what is so wrong about her being given another chance to try again and also she is not the only one who had some professional experience in the music business, there are many others in the top 24…

Music Producer Timbaland Throws A Fit

http://omg.yahoo.com/week-in-photos-feb-3-9-2008/photos/1340?nc#id=4

Music producer Timbaland created a disturbance at an event thrown in his honor last Friday night. When some his guest that arrived with him was left out from the party, Timberland burst a bomb of blasphemy from his mouth full of rage. The event was supposed to celebrate Timbaland’s deal with Verizon Wireless, who co-sponsored the event with People.

          After researching the matter further, I scrolled down to comments that were left by commentors of the article and many of these comments left me very disgusted. It is sad that even in 2008 racism still prospers strongly today. An unknown commenter left this comment that disturbed and angered me. The quote says, “that’s what happens when u give a black man money….he gets ni-ga rich and smokes it away like Bob Marley, go back to the ghetto!! Money don’t give u class!” It just shows that no matter how hard a person tries to move further in life and tries to get ahead, some ignorant, idiotic person has to try to bring you down.