rage2’s ramblings

Nuff said.

If you are a Paris Hilton fan like I am, you might’ve wondered why you didn’t hear anything about her last week. Was she in rehab? Burnt out and hiding out in her hotel room? Turns out, the Associated Press conducted an experiment by blacking out all news items about the hotel heiress for a week. Turns out, nobody cares about her… well, I guess except for me. Since everything from Celeb Blog sites to local newspapers rely on AP and Reuters for their news source, the blackout created a week without our my favorite celeb. None of AP’s clients complained, nor asked about what happened to Paris.

During “blackout week,” the AP didn’t mention Hilton’s second birthday party at a Beverly Hills restaurant, at which a drunken friend reportedly was ejected by security after insulting Paula Abdul and Courtney Love. And editors asked our Puerto Rico bureau not to write about her visit there to hawk her fragrance. However, her name did slip into copy unintentionally three times, as background: in stories about Britney Spears, Nicole Richie, and even in the lead of a story about Democrats in Las Vegas.

At least they choose a good week when she didn’t pop a nipple, or smoke a joint.

Last night, a few of us gathered around and watched Happy Feet, the penguin movie with the environmental message. The movie follow Mumble as an egg, a chick, then as a grown Penguin who can’t sing but can tap dance.

At first, I thought this was going to be one of those cute cartoon movies that’s more suitable for the girlfriends than for the guys. I was pleasantly surprised by the humor in the movie… the writer and director (not to mention the CGI guys) created a cast of characters that appeals both to kids, as well as adults. The humor of “the amigos” definately made the movie for me, as I have a whacked out sense of humor.

With great singing and choreography in the film, it’s a great Friday night movie with the family, or with friends. Nicole Kidman, who also sings in Moulin Rouge, sounds great as Mumble’s mother. Although I’m not a huge fan of Robin Williams (an understatement, I try to avoid many of his movies), he was great here as the voice of both Ramon and Lovelace. The ending seemed kinda rushed, but other than that, a great watch! rage2 recommended!

At first impression, it looks like an Arkansas bank robber is taunting the cops by creating a MySpace page with pictures of him in action. In reality, it was put up by Fort Smith police Sgt. Jarrard Copeland in hopes of catching this guy, suspected of 4 bank robberies across Arkansas. Copeland says, “We figure that might be one way to get this photo outside of the market.”

Definately a different approach, Copeland thinks someone on the popular networking site will recognize the man. “The pictures are definitely clear enough and there’s enough of his face and facial features exposed that someone who knows him will definitely recognize him and hopefully they’ll call police,” Copeland said.

You know, if this works, I expect police departments across America to follow the lead. Unfortunately, usually only the first creative ideas get enough exposure to work. What’s really interesting is that there are some cuties that added the robber, known as “Do You Know Me???”, as a friend. 26 year old Sarge ain’t too bad (except the name). I guess crime does pay!

 

BMW’s Mario Theissen is confident that their team sits 3rd most competitive, right behind tipped leaders McLaren and Ferrari. The BMW squad has made significant improvements this winter season, and has surprised many in the paddock with their performance.

“So far, we are much closer to the top teams Ferrari, McLaren and Renault than we had anticipated… Ferrari and McLaren look like the strongest teams.” says Theissen. He adds, “We will substantially improve this year.”

And improve they must. BMW finished a disappointing 5th last year, 40 points clear of 4th place Honda. For a company that prides itself in it’s performance image, this must change for the better. Things are looking good throughout pre-season testing, with their drivers routinely clocking the fastest times of the day. Reliablity has been a concern, but once that’s ironed out, expect BMW to challenge for the top spot.