Pluto No Longer a Planet

i feel bad for pluto, the ninth planet of our childhoods.
the headlines are so personal: Pluto Demoted; Loses Planetary Status
but the planet, kicked out for its eccentric orbit and tiny size, may live on as a marketing hook.

Rock Star Supernova

the best show on tv right now -- rock star supernova. i'm such a sucker for tommy lee to start. my next life, i'm going to be a drummer.

other than that, navarro is a great host and the rest of the supernova band have a great chemistry. love the rockers.

Dark Matter

astronomers are saying gravity is not enough to make up the universe. they say they've proved that "dark matter" is out there, which means they don't really know what's out there else why would they name it dark matter.
this story in new scientists not too long ago says gravity theory dispenses with dark matter.

Bear Killer

i never say this... but what an idiot

from cnn
Country star accused of illegally killing tame bear

DULUTH, Minnesota (AP) -- Troy Lee Gentry, of the country singing duo Montgomery Gentry, has been accused of killing a tame black bear that federal officials say he tagged as killed in the wild.

Gentry, 39, of Franklin, Tennessee, and Lee Marvin Greenly, 46, of Sandstone, appeared Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Raymond Erickson in connection with a sealed indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Minneapolis.

Authorities allege that Gentry purchased the bear from Greenly, a wildlife photographer and hunting guide, then killed it with a bow and arrow in an enclosed pen on Greenly's property in October 2004.

The government alleges that Gentry and Greenly tagged the bear with a Minnesota hunting license and registered the animal with the state Department of Natural Resources as a wild kill.

Gentry allegedly paid about $4,650 for the bear, named Cubby. The bear's death was videotaped, and the tape later edited so Gentry appeared to shoot the animal in a "fair chase" hunting situation, the government alleges.

If convicted, both Gentry and Greenly face a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a $20,000 fine.

Gentry's manager, Johnny Dorris, said Wednesday that Gentry, an outdoorsman and hunter, expects to be exonerated.

Gentry "relied on the knowledge and expertise of a local guide to obtain the proper permit," Dorris said in a written statement. "Troy felt what he did was legal and in full compliance of the law and was surprised to hear of the indictment."

Greenly did not return a phone message seeking comment.

No Chemo for Starchild

i don't have a cool name like starchild but i soooooo get this. if i ever have cancer, i will NEVER have chemotherapy. i find it hard to believe starchild had to fight to NOT have chemo. what an odd world.

Teen with cancer can forgo chemotherapy

By SONJA BARISIC, Associated Press WriterWed Aug 16, 8:11 PM ET

A 16-year-old cancer patient 's legal fight ended in victory Wednesday when his family's attorneys and social services officials reached an agreement that would allow him to forgo chemotherapy.

At the start of what was scheduled to be a two-day hearing, Accomack County Circuit Judge Glen A. Tyler announced that both sides had reached a consent decree, which Tyler approved.

Under the decree, Starchild Abraham Cherrix, who is battling Hodgkin's disease, will be treated by an oncologist of his choice who is board-certified in radiation therapy and interested in alternative treatments. The family must provide the court updates on Abraham's treatment and condition every three months until he's cured or turns 18.

Tyler emphasized that the decree states that the parents weren't medically neglectful.

Abraham saw the doctor last week, and defense attorneys told the judge that the doctor has indicated that he thinks that Abraham can be cured.

After the short hearing, the judge looked at Abraham and said, "God bless you, Mr. Cherrix."

Last summer, the teen was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymphatic system considered very treatable in its early stages. He was so debilitated by three months of chemotherapy that he declined a second, more intensive round that doctors recommended early this year.

He since has been using an alternative herbal treatment called the Hoxsey method, the sale of which was banned in the United States in 1960.

After Abraham chose to go on the sugar-free, organic diet and take liquid herbal supplements under the supervision of a Mexican clinic, a social worker asked a juvenile court judge to intervene to protect the teen's health. Last month, the judge found Abraham's parents neglectful and ordered Abraham to report to a hospital for treatment as doctors deem necessary.

Lawyers for the family appealed, and an Accomack County Circuit Court judge suspended that order and scheduled a new trial to settle the dispute. The judge scheduled the trial for two days but has indicated he would like to finish in one, said John Stepanovich, a lawyer for the parents.

Abraham is still on the Hoxsey method, but Stepanovich stressed that the family hasn't ruled out other possible treatments, such as immunotherapy or radiation treatment in small doses.

According to the American Cancer Society, there is no scientific evidence that Hoxsey is effective in treating cancer in people. The herbal treatment is illegal in the United States but can be obtained through clinics in Mexico, and some U.S. naturopathic practitioners use adapted versions of the formula.

___

On the Net:

Abraham Cherrix: http://www.abrahamsjourney.com

American Cancer Society information about Hoxsey method:

starchild, who goes by abraham actually discovered the Hoxsey treatment at the Edgar Cayce established research institute in virginia beach. i've done research there and have found it helpful. i swear by castor oil for most any ailment:-)

Sawatsky Interviewing Art

this is an interesting bit from NPR.
john sawatsky trains news folks at espn how to interview.

The old saying goes, "There's no such thing as a stupid question." But in the opinion of at least one major television network, there is such a thing, and some of the least effective questions are coming from top broadcast journalists.

ESPN's John Sawatsky is tearing down icons such as Larry King and Mike Wallace as he preaches his guiding principles about how to properly conduct an interview.

ESPN has become a multi-channel sports juggernaut, beaming games, talk shows and news programs into tens of millions of homes. Its nightly newscast, SportsCenter, features spectacular plays, slips and punchlines -- but its interviews needed work, according to one executive.

"I felt that we were missing key questions," says John Walsh, ESPN's senior vice president and executive editor. "We weren't getting key moments ... so I thought we needed help."

Walsh read a journalism review article about a college professor's technique on the art of the interview. Two years ago, that professor, John Sawatsky, joined ESPN full time.

Now, every single editorial employee at ESPN is expected to attend a three-day seminar, where they encounter a lanky, slightly awkward 58-year-old man with little flash. In his efforts to illustrate what he considers the "seven deadly sins of interviewing," John Sawatsky methodically eviscerates the nation's most prominent television journalists.

"I want to change the culture of the journalistic interview," Sawatsky says. "We interview no better now than we did 30 years ago. In some ways, we interview worse."

For years, John Sawatsky was one of Canada's leading investigative reporters. He unmasked a spy, and exposed explosive stories about rampant police abuses. He later became a journalism professor at Ottawa's Carleton University.

Sawatsky says the big-name reporters are failing to plan meticulously how to extract information from their sources, calling their process "haphazard."

"You are hoping that the person being interviewed is a good talker," he says, "and knows how to do something with your inept question."

Sawatsky's rules are simple, but he says they get broken all the time: Don't ask yes-or-no questions, keep questions short and avoid charged words, which can distract people. In his seminar, Sawatsky points to Mike Wallace of CBS' 60 Minutes and CNN's Larry King as examples to avoid. In Sawatsky's illustrative clips, King favors leading questions that generate curt answers, while Wallace's rapid patter fails to get a subject to speak candidly.

Sawatsky says Wallace and the others are better at theatrics than journalism, and that they often trip up their own interviews -- by thinking they should be the focus of attention.

Wallace brushes that aside, saying he asks indiscreet questions that yield compelling conversations. And he asks, if Sawatsky is right, why would ESPN have invited him to be the keynote speaker at a conference of its reporters and producers earlier this year?

King also doesn't think the criticism is valid.

"I pride myself on not getting one-word answers," he says. "That's really rare. [Sawatsky] may have picked out one or two [difficult] interviews."

King also questions Sawatsky's ability to make a fundamental change in the way ESPN staffers conduct interviews, "because you can't teach someone to be curious."

I had been pursuing Sawatsky since I first heard about him and his work 18 months ago. He kept putting me off, saying his teaching hadn’t taken enough root yet. Sawatsky felt comfortable enough this summer to invite me to Bristol and offer unfettered access to his seminar with six ESPN staffers -- three producers, two reporters and an Olympic figure skater-turned-analyst.

And now, John Walsh says, Sawatsky’s influence can be seen all around. He thinks it's not long before Sawatsky's name becomes a noun or a verb that comes up around the office in association with interviewing -- doing "the Sawatsky," or saying, "I Sawatskied" an interview subject.

Every day, Sawatsky shows up at his office in Bristol, Conn., to review tapes of ESPN shows. It's only a matter of time before the rest of journalism tries to catch up to his method, he says. It's inevitable, like the tides. For Sawatsky, there's no question about it.

Oprah Stages Powwow

one writer is hoping Oprah will "keep it real" after her peeps requested a powwow while visiting the navajo nation.
excerpt

Asking the Navajo to stage a powwow is like asking Catholics to get Evangelical. But when Oprah's Harpo Productions asked Navajo Nation representatives to get some dancers together for a powwow in June, it was done.

read the story. really interesting.

Lollapallooza Chili Peppers

from detroit metro times, a review of the lollapalooza show, starring Johnny!

After Queens, Red Hot Chili Peppers took the stage for their festival-closing performance. Dinosaurs from way back when Lollapalooza was only a gleam in Perry Farrell’s eye, RHCP can still make a live show boil with tightly wound energy. It wasn’t Flea’s multicolored Riddler-style unisuit, or Anthony Kiedis’ silky hair and calculated shirt-removal moments. It was the quartet’s sense of themselves as a band, often playing together at the center of the stage, arranged in a loose star shape, Flea slapping away at his bass while John Frusciante played his beat-up Stratocaster like a man possessed. Which, in a way, he is. Frusciante’s struggles with heroin are documented, so when he’s on stage with RHCP, the frailness of his face and body hidden not only by long hair and a baggy suit but his furious, impossibly focused guitar playing, you stop and thank someone that addiction works both ways. The Chili Peppers didn’t play enough of the truly durable hits from their deep catalog, and more than one bass solo is never necessary. But Frusciante even reined in the jamming, and when the onstage camera captured him in close-up, his eyes squeezed shut and a look of rabid concentration on his face, you knew his performance was about joy and pain in competing amounts.

Toward the end of the band’s set, the stage emptied but for Frusciante, who played a brilliant solo version of Simon and Garfunkel’s "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her." It wasn’t accompanied by any VH1 Storytellers intro. Frusciante didn’t even notice that the majority of the crowd — jackasses seemingly more happy to crowd-surf and mosh lamely than enjoy the set — weren’t even listening. He just played the song, the onstage camera displaying his POV on the enormous big screen, one skinny guy with long hair playing a folk ballad for 30,000 people who didn’t know how good they had it. It was another moment inside a massive weekend of music, and it made everything — Jared Leto, mismatched bookings, outsized sponsorships and almost being kicked in the face by an Afro-headed Australian — more than worth it.

note to frusciante fans: yes, we know that John has been free and clear of drugs for quite some time, living the life of a man possessed by music.
"Ascending endlessly and I don't even have to try," John Frusciante, Curtains

Holsum Art

this is a former bread factory turned art space in las vegas.

Calico Ghost Town

these were taken yesterday on the way back from vegas.
calico is a really cool ghost town. it's one of those places that's so quiet that you stop and listen to the silence.
this is the calico cemetery. everyone is buried under rocks. most people have no headstone. there are some worn wooden headstones as well. the poem on Tumbleweed's gravestone is lovely.

this is my new favorite photo
















peggy sue's diner in calico
peggy sue's is a fun place to eat. the pizza is actually good. you can eat outside with the turtles. the bats come out at night.

Moulin Rouge, First Friday

it's a grind, henderson NV:
i've started counting sirens and traffic accidents. so far, about 15 sirens. accidents, 6.

more photos for you. i've been so busy running up and down the city avoiding the strip at all costs. today, i had coffee with mark, a homeless man in Las Vegas. i've learned so much about the homeless i don't even know where to start. let me say first, that they are all different. you can't say that they're all this or all that.

they have problems like everyone else, histories like everyone else, they listen to music and watch movies and read books and have girlfriends and keep up with politics.

here are some more gritty LV photos. today is first friday in downtown LV. it's where thousands of tourists and locals come to check out the art galleries.

these are of the moulin rouge on bonanza. this is apparently the "bad" part of town. the moulin rouge development co. is working to renovate this casino, which was, in its day, a place for "colored" people. many black people weren't accepted as patrons in LV's other casinos. it's where a who's who in entertainers performed. the desert breeze apartments are next to the moulin rouge. a 3-bedroom apartment goes for $900. stan, in the office, says it's the best deal in town.





these murals are downtown on or near charleston:





the gambler's store

lv has way too many political signs. they're big and they're everywhere





frank in a new light. taken at the arts factory






art made of albums and 45s