Sammy Sosa? Is that You?

Former Cubs slugger, Sammy Sosa, appeared at an event in Las Vegas looking shockingly lighter.

The photos which circulated on the net created an uproar of speculations, with people wondered if Sammy was going the Michael Jackson route.

The Huffington Post suggested the lighter appearance could be a side effect of steroids. The site quoted the Midwest Sports Fans website as saying, “There appears to be at least some evidence suggesting that steroid use could be one of the lifestyle choices that increases a person’s likelihood of becoming symptomatic with vitiligo.”

It was reported in June, that Sosa, who was extremely famous for his homeruns in the 1990’s and earlier this decade, tested positive for steroids.

Despite all the speculation of vitiligo, Cubs employee and close friend of Sosa, Rebecca Polihronis, says Sosa was undergoing skin rejuvenation.

Polihronis insists that Sosa is not trying to be Michael Jackson. Sosa, who Polihronis says has always been conscious of his appearance, underwent skin rejuvenation to fix what years of playing baseball in the sun did to his skin.

Side effects of some laser skin rejuvenation methods are possible skin discoloration and lightening or darkening of the skin.

Sosa was very shocked at the reaction to the photos. He insists lighting made him appear much lighter than he actually is in person.

Hero Twice in One Night

Yankees manager Joe Girardi was a hero on the diamond and the Cross County Parkway in one night.

After leading his team to their 27th World Series championship, Girardi saved a Connecticut woman who crashed on the Cross County Parkway in Westchester.

While making his way home, around 2 A.M, Girardi came across Marie Henry, who had lost control of her car and slammed into a guardrail. Girardi parked along the right side of the parkway and ran across traffic to help Henry out of her car.

The area on the parkway is apparently notorious for blind spots. Officers say Girardi risked his life by crossing the parkway, where traffic goes by at 80 mph.

Henry was out of the car, by time cops arrived. Shaken with minor cuts, she thanked Girardi as he made his way back across the parkway.

Henry actually did not recognize him, an officer had to inform her she had been saved by none other than Yankees manager Joe Girardi.

A very thankful Henry went on to say, ““It was the middle of the night; my cell phone battery was dying. Most people could have just kept driving. But he stopped. He’s got a good heart…I’m a Yankees fan for life.”

Women’s Soccer Gone Wild

When did women’s college soccer become the UFC?

New Mexico’s defender junior Elizabeth Lambert seemed to think she was in the octagon, instead of the soccer field during her team’s game against top seeded BYU in the Mountain West Conference semifinals.

Lambert can be seen during the game kicking, tackling, throwing elbows, and even yanking BYU forward Kassidy Shumway to the dirt by her hair.

Here is shocking footage shot during the game:

Surprisingly, Lambert was not removed from the game. She went on to finish with her team, who lost 1-0, with only a yellow card for tripping a player.

Luckily, none of the BYU girls were seriously injured by her unsportsmanlike tactics.

Following the game, New Mexico coach Kit Vela announced that Lambert has been suspended indefinitely. Lambert got the deserved punishment of not taking part in practices, games and conditioning.

Lambert has since apologized saying, “I let my emotions get the best of me in a heated situation. I take full responsibility for my actions and accept any punishment felt necessary. This is in no way indicative of my character or the soccer player that I am. I am sorry to my coaches and teammates for any and all damages I have brought upon them.”

Dogs Are Killing the Planet!

According to two New Zealand researchers, dogs have greater eco-footprints than SUVs.

Yes, you read that correctly. Little Fluffy over there is apparently doing more damage to the Earth than a gas guzzler.

Does that mean you can get rid of the dog and go out and get that SUV you want? Not quite.

The study, called Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living, claims it takes slightly more than 2 acres of land to produce the amount of food consumed by a medium sized dog each year.

On the other hand, less than half that amount of land would be required to produce the energy it takes to power an SUV driven 10,000 miles a year.

Of course this does not mean its okay to go out and purchase a SUV. They’re still gas guzzlers that do incredible harm to the Earth.

According to the researchers, the findings mean people have to start putting their animals on less resource-intensive diets.

There’s the secret to the environmental crisis, animal diets.

If you’re thinking this sounds fishy, you aren’t the only one. Clark Williams – Derry, chief researcher at the Sightline Institute, has spoken out against the research to the Seattle Times.

Williams – Derry says if one were to do the math, for the findings to be true a dog would have to eat twice as much food as an average person. Considering the fact people are generally heavier than dogs this means the research makes no sense.

However, Williams – Derry does go on to say just because the statistics are questionable does not mean dogs do not have a big impact.

Somali Man Robs the Cradle

A 112 year old Somali man has married a 17 year old, marking the first marriage of its kind in a decade in the African nation.

Hundreds gathered for the wedding of Ahmed Muhamed Dove and Safia Abdulleh.

Dove was quoted by the BBC on the day of his wedding as saying, “Today God has helped me realize my dream.”

The bride’s family was okay with the marriage saying Abdulleh was happy with her decision to marry Dove.

Reactions to the marriage were mixed. Many were worried about the age gap, while others were happy love could transcend such an age barrier.

Dove, who is old enough to be Abdulleh’s great-great-grandfather, says he, “used my experience to convince her of my love.”

Despite his old age he hopes to have children with his new wife. He already has 114 children and grandchildren from six marriages; his oldest son is 80 years old.

The marriage is definitely shocking. It is a wonder what a man who was born in 1897 can have in common with a teen born in 1992, practically a century later.

Robbing the cradle almost seems like an understatement here.

Photo Source: bbc.co.uk

Saudi King Saves Journalist from Lashings

Luck was on the side of one Saudi journalist.

Rozanna Al-Yami, who was sentenced to 60 lashings for her part in a controversial episode of the Saudi-Arabian TV show “Bold Red Line,” was saved by Saudi King Abdullah.

During the controversial episode a man opened up about extra and pre-martial sex, which is one of the top taboos in the ultra-conservative country.

Al-Yami was charged with involvement in the preparation of the show and advertising the episode online. For her participation she was sentenced to 60 lashings.

Al Yami, who is only 22 years old, denied involvement in the controversial episode.

After worldwide media attention to the sentencing, Saudi King Abdullah stepped in waiving Al-Yami’s punishment.

The second journalist, Iman Rajab, has also had her case referred to the Information Ministry committee, which deals with media-related violations.

Mazen Abdul-Jawad, the man at the center of the controversy, remains imprisoned sentenced to 5 years and 1,000 lashings.

Photo Source: Guardian.co.uk

Airing Your Vices Can Cost You

It’s a good time to not be a journalist in Saudi Arabia.

A female journalist has been sentenced to 60 lashes for her part in a show where a Saudi man aired his dirty laundry.

Mazen Abdul Jawad went on the show, “Bold Red Line,”  and described his extra-martial sex life, including a tale about losing his virginity at 14.

“Bold Red Line” examines taboos in the Arab world. According to some, they went too far with Abdul Jawad’s episode, where unmarried sex amongst Saudis was discussed, one of the biggest taboos.

For airing his vices Abdul Jawad was sentenced to 5 years in prison and 1,000 lashes.

During the episode Abdul Jawad discussed in detail sex and foreplay, going so far as displaying his various sex toys and books.

Abdul Jawad’s friends, who appeared on the episode with him, were also arrested and sentenced to two years in prison each.

Here is video of the interview (make sure the closed captions are on in the bottom right hand corner):

About 100 people filed complaints about Abdul Jawad. Many claiming he violated Shariah principle by publicizing his vices. Shariah are the sacred laws taken from the Quran, which covers almost every aspect of life.

Even though the video clearly shows Abdul Jawad speaking openly and freely about his vices, he placed all blame on the shows producers. He claims they took his quotes out of context.

Take a look at the video yourself. I don’t see how the shows producers can be completely at fault. He was putting everything on display.

However, that being said I still do not agree with the punishment. 5 years of your life taken from you for airing your vices?

I understand they are conservative and to many this is a gross offense, but I sure am glad I live in a place where airing your vices isn’t punishable.

Leno Show Wrecking Havoc for NBC Affiliates

NBC took a huge risk taking on The Jay Leno Show in its 10 P.M time slot. The time slot is almost always exclusively reserved for dramas across all the networks. At the time, NBC argued it was for economic reasons. It is far cheaper to produce a talk show than it is a drama.

NBC affiliates however, are beginning to question how much they can take as they watch viewership of their 11 P.M newscasts decline. For many of these affiliated stations their newscasts bring in a third of their revenue.

Not only are affiliates upset about The Jay Leno Show but other TV Shows on NBC and their fans are feeling the “leno effect”. A popular drama, Southland, was cancelled before its sophomore debut this season. Many believe the cancellation was directly affected by the arrival of The Jay Leno Show.

Leno’s viewership has declined by less than a half since its premiere, and is attracting more than a third less than last years dramas used to.

The question now is how long will affiliates be willing to hold out and give the new show a try. NBC holds out hope for the show, arguing that ratings will improve once fans get used to the talk show and its timeslot.

Wild Things Take Over Box Office

Where The Wild Things Are helped make this weekend the highest grossing October weekend in history. The top 20 films altogether helped haul in a record breaking $135 million.

Where the Wild Things Are came in at number one with reportedly $32.5 million. The Spike Jonze directed film is the highly anticipated adaptation of the children’s book of the same name. The story, which was originally told in 9 sentences, is about a disobedient boy who is sent to his room where he creates his own world, a forest full of wild creatures who make him king.

Law Abiding Citizen starring Gerard Butler came in second place with reportedly $21.3 million. The action drama, also starring Academy Award winning actor Jamie Foxx, is the story of a man that plots a series of assassinations from behind bars in retaliation for the murder of his family.

In its first week in full release the horror film Paranormal Activity came in third with $20.2 million. The story follows the lives of a couple in their suburban home being traumatized by something paranormal. The movies total gross now stands at $33.7 million. Paramount plans to expand the release next week to compete with the debut of the horror film Saw VI.

Rounding out the top five were Couples Retreat and The Stepfather. Couples Retreat dropped 48% from last weekend, collecting an estimated $17.9 million. Penn Badgley of Gossip Girl fame seemed to not be enough to make the horror film The Stepfather a success. The film debuted in 5th place with $12.5 million.

The weekends top ten:

1. Where the Wild Things Are – $32,470,000
2. Law Abiding Citizen – $21,250,000
3. Paranormal Activity -$20,163,000
4. Couples Retreat – $17,949,000
5. The Stepfather – $12,300,000
6. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs – $8,100,000
7. Zombieland – $7,800,000
8. Toy Story & Toy Story 2 (3D) – $3,011,000
9. Surrogates – $1,922,000
10. The Invention of Lying- $1,905,000

Paranormal Activity’s Abnormal Success

Paranormal Activity was released everywhere this weekend after a successful viral marketing campaign.

Last weekend the film successfully achieved a record with its haul of 7.9 million dollars, while being shown in less than 200 theatres.

Paranormal Activity follows the lives of a couple as they go about their day to day lives in their suburban home. The problem is they are being tormented by something at night, something that won’t leave them alone.

Directed by first time director and former video game creator Oren Peli, the film’s cast consists of newcomers Micah Sloat and Katie Featherston (who go by their first names in the film). The movie was reportedly shot for a cheap $15,000.

The movie is charging up memories of a horror movie which shook the web exactly 10 years ago, The Blair Witch Project.

The comparisons between the films are running rampant, shot in similar styles and following similar marketing campaigns it’s no wonder. The two films also came from film festivals (The Blair Witch showing at Sundance, Paranormal Activity at the smaller Slamdance) and were both originally released in limited screenings.

Paranormal Activity Audiences were originally marketed to by word of mouth and then commercials (below) , which also relied on audience reactions to the film.

One of the ways Paranormal Activity differs from The Blair Witch Project is it asked the audience to demand theaters show the movie. It proudly boasts on its website that it is “the first major motion picture decided by you”. The movie was able to accumulate 1 million demands.

Exactly one decade after the successful Blair Witch Project, everyone is waiting to see if Paranormal Activity will be able to achieve the same level of success. The Blair Witch Project at the end of its run reached a haul of $140 million.

The question following this weekend, it’s first in full release, is will it be able to?