Jj


 * Title:** Hugh Hefner Saves the Hollywood Sign
 * Author:** Scott Huver
 * Publication:** People.com
 * Date of Publication:** April 27, 2010

Hugh Hefner recently donated $900,000 to fund the preservation of the historic and iconic Hollywood sign. Landowners were faced with this $900,000 debt and were almost forced to sell. The developers that were eying the property were planning to tear down the sign in order to make way for a strand of luxury mansions. I say Good Job to Hef for preserving a sign that is more than a sign. It represents the dream of fame. And obtaining riches and women like my boi Hugh Hefner.




 * Title:** Iceland Volcano Ash coming to America
 * Author:** None listed
 * Publication:** FOXNews.com
 * Date of Publication:** April 19, 2010

For those who don't know a massive volcanic eruption occurred in Iceland over our spring break, leaving flights in Europe stranded due to the considerable amounts of ash in the air. Government officials are reporting that that ash is now headed for America. There's no need for worry, though. Officials say it's headed toward North America, but shouldn't get past Newfoundland or Greenland. It would suck to be any sort of traveling businessman being stuck due to volcanic ash.


 * Title:** Heaven is a pizza expo in Las Vegas
 * Author:** Ken Hoffman
 * Publication:** Houston Chronicle
 * Date of Publication:** April 5, 2010

With over 6,000 attendees, 32 different kinds of pepperoni, and 24 different kinds of cheese the 2010 International Pizza Expo occurred Monday in Las Vegas, Nevada. Being a $30 billion a year industry, of course, the turnout was expected to be large. With so many people they had to be satisfied. There were free samples everywhere you looked, booths promoting pizza ovens, pizza ingredients, dough machines, chicken wings, salads, desserts, soft drinks, beer, vino and video games for kids to play while waiting for their pizza. To add there were awesome contests such as freestyle acrobatic dough tossing, pizza-making speed contest, dough stretching and pizza box folding. A video of the acrobatic dough tossing competition can be seen here- http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5058276&categoryid=2378529. Even celebs, such as hottie Carmen Electra, showed up for the event. I wish I could have been there to bask in all of the pizza goodiness.


 * Title:** [|They did it! The Nets aren't the worst team ever!]
 * Author:** Trey Kirby
 * Publication:** YahooSports.com
 * Date of Publication:** March 30, 2010

The New Jersey Nets avoided unwanted history last night by defeating the San Antonio Spurs, 90-84. That gives them their 10th win of the season, putting them past the worst win-loss record in NBA history, which belongs to the 72-73 Philadelphia 76ers' record of 9-73. I personally would have liked to see the Nets have 9 wins or less because I wanted to see some history be made. GO CLIPPERS!


 * Title:** Simon Cowell Endorses Crystal Bowersox
 * Author:** Kyle Anderson
 * Publication:** MTV.com
 * Date of Publication:** March 9, 2010

Has Simon been "grumpier" this season and how will his departure effect the ratings? These questions were asked and answered during his Tonight Show interview with Jay Leno. He confirmed he is engaged, but doesn't like talking much about his personal life. He stated that he's been see-sawing about leaving Idol for some time now and has been telling producers "to find the worst possible person. You don't want to leave and have the show be successful after you leave." Of course, he was joking. On the subject of Paula Abdul and he and Ellen's dispute: "I thought we were getting along, but then she moved to the other side of the table," he said. "We get along fine, though I did take it quite personally when she moved away from me. I'm kidding! But she's getting nearer and working her way back." "So by the end of the season, she'll be in your lap?" Leno asked. "That's what normally happens," Cowell quipped. "That's what happened with Paula. She ended up on my lap — off the show as well." After eading the article, Cowell seemed to say "I'm joking" a lot. I question a majority of things about him, but he's always been my least favorite judge.


 * Title:** COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP Without Hummel, Purdue falls to Michigan State
 * Author:** None listed
 * Publication:** Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle
 * Date of Publication:** March 1, 2010

Today is the 1st of March, which means March Madness has begun! In a weekend full of top teams being upset, the #3 Purdue Boilermakers lost to the #14 Michigan State Spartans. It wasn't because of a lack of effort, though. It was because of the lack of Robbie Hummel, their 6 foot 8 star forward. Hummel tore the ACL in his right knee in a game last week against Minnesota. Without their #2 scorer, number one rebounder in the nation, the best Big Ten free throw shooter, and #2 in the nation from 3-point range, it's obvious that Purdue may be in trouble. Also losing their games this weekends include #1 Kansas losing to Oklahoma State and #2 Kentucky losing to fellow SEC team #19 Tennessee. With the top three teams in the nation drawing losses, who does that leave? Ranked at #4 are the Syracuse Orange, who has already grasped the top spot once this season. The official March Madness starts on March 16th, but I am excited to see who will come on on top this year. Will it be rookie sensation John Wall and Kentucky, will Kansas get their second national championship in three years, will the Orange get revenge for their loss in last year's finals, or will there be an upset team such as Ohio State, Villinova, Kansas State, or even Vanderbilt?


 * Title:** Waking its Neighbors, U.S. upsets Canada
 * Author:** Jeff Z. Klein
 * Publication:** The New York Times
 * Date of Publication:** February 21, 2010

There are two things that I think of when I hear Canada: hockey and free healthcare. On Sunday, the United States hockey team was an immense underdog going into their Olympic matchup against Canada. ESPN Hockey analyst Barry Melrose is even quoted to saying that this is "the best Canadian team ever". Mind you, this was no Miracle on Ice, but, for Canada, it was almost like their version of the Superbowl. Canada had plenty of chances to put the Americans down with a loss, shooting 45 shots in comparison to the United States' 22. Despite that, the Americans upset Canada. Only 41 seconds into the game, Brian Raflaski took the Canadian crowd out of the game by scoring the first goal. Canada answered quickly--18 seconds later--with a goal of their own. Raflaski would, arguably, be the player of the games, scoring two goals. Other Americans scoring goals include Jamie Langenbrunner and Chris Drury. The US Goalie, Ryan Miller, also had an amazing performance, blocking 43 shots. The final score was 5-3. This doesn't mean the Canadians are out of it (they now have to play Germany to stay alive), but this is a huge burst of confidence for an already first-class American Hockey team.


 * Title:** McMurray survives Earnhardt's late rally
 * Author:** No Author found
 * Publication:** ESPN
 * Date of Publication:** February 15th, 2010

After more than two cumulative hours of delay due to potholes, Jamie McMurray won NASCAR's Superbowl sunday, fighting off a late charge from NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. In the waning laps, fans saw two green-white-checkers instead of just one--a new rule NASCAR has issued starting this year. Another new rule that was certainly apparent was the allowance of bump drafting, or "bumping" the hind bumper of the car in front of you in an attempt to gain more speed. This made for more excitement and the most aggresion since Earnhardt. Sr. last bumped Rusty Wallace in Daytona in 2001. NASCAR had disallowed this in an attempt to keep the drivers safe due to wrecks caused by this technique. After the race, McMurray was in tears and rightfully so. I've been a very educated NASCAR fan for years, and I can honestly say that I have never seen a driver with so much emotion after a race.



'Vegetative state' man responds to questions Peter Wilkinson February 4, 2010
 * Title:**
 * Author:**
 * Publication:** CNN
 * Date of Publication:**

The article tells of a man who has been in a vegetative state for five years has communicated. A car accident put him in this state in 2003. The experiment proving his consciousness is done using an MRI. The doctors tested already concious people to answer yes or no questions in order to know what the brain waves look like. An example is given here:



After putting the man through an MRI, doctors found that he was still responsive. Full article can be seen here: []

This is a huge breakthrough for science and medicine as they try to uncover the mysteries of the controversial issues of "pulling the plug". As great as this achievement is, I am scared about one thing--this brings the world that much closer to being able to read each others thoughts.


 * Title:** Taylor Swift wins Album of the Year at the Grammys!
 * Author:** NEKESA MUMBI MOODY
 * Publication:** Associated Press
 * Date of Publication:** February 2, 2010

One of my all time favorite artists, Taylor Swift, won the most prestigious Grammy: Album of the Year. This is a huge step is an already amazing career for the young singer. It is well deserved by Miss Swift and I would like to send a congratulations her way!


 * Title:** Johnny Depp still isn't dead
 * Author:** Roddy Mansfield
 * Publication:** Sky News
 * Date of Publication:** January 26, 2010

The man who seems to have nine lives is still alive and well. Over the weekend multiple reports came out that Johnny Depp had died in a car crash in France. News spread quickly and twitter ran rapid with posts of "RIP Johnny Depp". Once again, he is not dead and Hollywood's quietest superstar is actually in post-production of a movie called //The Rum Diary//, which he is also producing. This isn't the first time Depp or other actors have been falsely pronounced dead. The most recent one being last year when many reports surfaced that actor Jeff Gioldblum had died. Do people really have no lives where all they do is think of what celebrity to "kill"?

Date of Publication:** January 18, 2010
 * Title:** Glen W. Bell Jr., Founder of Taco Bell, Dies at 86
 * Author:** Dennis Hevesi
 * Publication: The New York Times


 * Response:** It is sad to hear that the creator of my favorite restaurant has passed away. It is understandable, though, given that he was 86 years old. He made many great products and idea such as selling his cheaply made, but delicious tacos for only 19 cents.He had a great mind of not only cheap food, but in buisness too. He knew just who to partner with and do buisness with in order to expand the business we now know of as Taco Bell. He is even quoted as saying, “I always smile when I hear people say that they never had a taco until Taco Bell came to town.” Here's to the man who made those delicious tacos possible in the United States. may he rest in peace.