The Luis Jimenez Show

Los pelos de los oido mas largos del mundo

2009-07-08T04:53:00.000-07:00

mide unos 25cm de largo y sigue creciendo,

pero el comerciante indio Radhakant Baijpai no tiene intención de recortar,
no importa lo que diga su esposa.
Oficialmente fue reconocido por Guinness en 2003 como el pelo de areja más largo
en el mundo, señor Radhakant ha cuidado de su oídofolículos de lo que fue un récord
de 13.2cm de longitud.

Considerado por el Sr. Radhakant, 58, a ser símbolo de la suerte y la prosperidad,
la oreja, el pelo ha ido creciendo desde que tenía 18 años y nunca ha sido cortado.

Primer transplante de cara en USA

2009-05-22T03:46:00.000-07:00

Un hombre de Massachusetts, quien se ha convertido en el segundo caso de trasplante de cara en EE.UU. declaró que está "feliz" con los resultados y ahora sólo quiere regresar a la vida normal' publicó The Boston Globe.

En su primera aparición pública durante una conferencia de prensa, James Maki, declaró que no podía creer que luciera tan parecido a como lucía antes. La operación de Maki les tomó a los médicos 17 horas en el quirófano el pasado abril, en un hospital de Boston.

Maki, de 59 años, perdió la nariz, el labio superior, las mejillas, el cielo de su boca, así como músculo, hueso y los nervios del área después de una caída sobre un rail con carga eléctrica del tren subterráneo de Boston en el 2005.

Por años, declaró, que raramente salía a la calle porque la gente reaccionaba mal al verlo.

Kyle Maynard, a quadruple amputee, is making his debut as a mixed martial arts fighter this weekend

2009-04-24T03:43:00.000-07:00

Polar bear attacks woman at Berlin Zoo

2009-04-13T03:26:00.000-07:00

Ver Video

Piglet has two mouths and three eyes

2009-04-07T03:11:00.000-07:00

Ananova:

Piglet has two mouths and three eyes

A Chinese farmer was shocked when one of his new piglets was born with three eyes and two mouths.

The piglet was among eight newborn piglets at Liu Dingsheng's farm in Chongren County, Zhejiang province.

"We were shocked to see such a weird looking creature," said Liu, "I don't really know what to do with it."

Liu told People's Daily that the mother was a four-year-old sow which was completely healthy and normal.

A local vet said the abnormality may have been caused by genetic mutation or feed pollution.

As the world's fastest developing industrial nation, China suffers heavily from environmental pollution.

HIDDEN PARKING SPACES

2009-03-25T03:41:00.000-07:00

Hidden parking spaces which pop up from your drive have become a must-have home-improvement in London. The $60,000 parking spots can be hidden beneath a flowerbed, lawn, or even another parking space. Owners simply press a button on a keyring to raise they car out of the ground. There is already a four month waiting list to get the sci-fi style parking space installed. (Watch one in action.)

THE WORLD'S OLDEST CONJOINED TWINS ARE 57 YEARS OLD (AND THEY SHARE ONE SET OF GENITALS!!!):

2009-03-09T03:38:00.001-07:00

Twins Ronnie and Donnie Galyon of Dayton, Ohio (--in the western part of the state, about 50 miles northeast of Cincinnati), were born in 1951.

--Now, at age 57, they've officially been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest set of conjoined twins.

--OTHER INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT RONNIE AND DONNIE:

--When Ronnie and Donnie were born, their doctors didn't think they would make it through the night . . . much less to the age of 57.

--Ronnie and Donnie sometimes get so annoyed with one another that they get into PHYSICAL FIGHTS. A few months ago, Donnie actually gave Ronnie a black eye.

--Ronnie and Donnie are joined at the torso. They have FOUR arms and FOUR legs, but only ONE SET OF GENITALIA . . . which Donnie controls. (Sun)

Los Restaurantes Mas extraños

2009-03-03T07:11:00.000-08:00

Undersea Restaurant (Maldives)

Toilet Restaurant (Taiwan)

Robot Restaurant: Run by two identical couples (China)

Restaurant in the Sky (Belgium)

Restaurant in a Prison (Italy)

Medical Restaurant (Taipei)

Dark Restaurant (China)

Condom Restaurant (Thailand)

Cannibalistic Restaurant (Japan)

2009-02-27T03:14:00.000-08:00

A carnival float depicting a flying U.S. President Obama with Europe being dragged along is seen during the traditional carnival parade in Duesseldorf, Germany, on Monday, Feb. 23, 2009. Rose-Monday-Parades in the carnival strongholds of Duesseldorf, Mainz and Cologne are watched by hundreds of thousands of revelers and mark the highlights of Germany's carnival season.

BOY STUCK IN GAME MACHINE

2009-02-26T03:27:00.000-08:00

About once a year we hear the story of a young tot who finds himself stuck up inside one of those crane game machines. Somehow the little tyke crawls up through the prize hatch and gets trapped inside. If it weren't for the pictures and the speed of the Internet, we might never hear about these little David Blaine-wannabes. But, because we DO have the Internet, we can report that it has happened once again -- this time in Australia, where Lachlan Stevens grinned at spectators who couldn't help but giggle away as he stared at them from inside the toy vending machine. It took rescue personnel about 30 minutes to free Lachlan. When they opened the machine and freed the boy, everyone said he should be given a toy but his mother refused. "He definitely didn't get a toy," she said. "They did try to give him one but I said don't you dare -- he'll do it again."

She misses her fligh

2009-02-17T03:26:00.000-08:00

This woman at the Hong Kong airport goes nuts when she misses her flight.

a fireball seen in the sky over Texas on Sunday

2009-02-17T03:25:00.000-08:00

Here's video of a fireball seen in the sky over Texas on Sunday. The

U.S.

military said it's NOT debris from the satellites that collided in space last week, so it could have been a meteor. The people in the video running away . . . were in a local marathon.

THE WOMAN WITH THE WORLD'S LONGEST FINGERNAILS GOT INTO A CAR ACCIDENT . . . AND BROKE HER NAILS:

2009-02-13T03:56:00.000-08:00

I have some bad news to report this morning. On Wednesday, Lee Redmond of Salt Lake City, Utah, got into a car accident . . . and broke a fingernail.

--I know what you're thinking . . . it's just a fingernail, so who cares? Ordinarily I'd feel the same way. Except Lee had been growing her fingernails since 1979 and with a combined length of more than 28 feet . . . Lee had the LONGEST FINGERNAILS IN THE WORLD.

--According to the police, Lee was taken to the hospital in serious condition . . . but she's expected to survive. Guinness World Records hasn't announced who the new record holder is yet.

CHECK OUT SALMA HAYEK BREASTFEEDING A BABY THAT'S NOT HERS!!!

2009-02-12T02:59:00.000-08:00

We often joke that SALMA HAYEK'S post-pregnancy breasts are big enough to FEED THE WORLD. But to Salma, that's NOT A JOKE. She really DOES want to feed the world with those warlocks . . . one baby at a time.

--Salma was in the African nation of Sierra Leone recently . . . and cameras from ABC's "Nightline" filmed her breastfeeding some kid that wasn't even hers!!!

--Salma says that at first, she was worried she was giving away her daughter's milk.

--But then she decided, quote, "I actually think that my baby would be very proud to be able to share her milk, and when she grows up, I'm going to make sure she continues to be a caring, generous person."

Salma Hayek amamanta bebé africano

La actriz dijo que no pudo soportar ver al bebé llorar de hambre porque a su mamá se le había acabado la leche. Vídeo

Por El Universal de México/ GDA La actriz mexicana Salma Hayek mostró su espíritu caritativo y amamantó a un bebé africano como parte de un viaje que hizo a Sierra Leona.
Hayek, quien la semana pasada presentó una nueva faceta de la campaña contra el tétanos en la que colabora, se mostró conmovida luego de conocer el caso de una mujer que se había quedado sin leche para alimentar a su hijo, informó la página huffingtonpost.com.
En dicha página también puede apreciarse un video en el que la mexicana aparece cargando al pequeño y alimentándolo con su propia leche, pues en aquel entonces tenía poco de haber dejado de amamantar a su hija Valentina.
"El bebé estaba perfectamente saludable, pero la mamá no tenía leche. Estaba muy hambriento. Yo estaba dejando de amamantar a Valentina, pero aún tenía mucha leche, así que alimenté al bebé. Deberías haber visto sus ojos. Cuando sintió el alimento dejó de llorar de inmediato", relató Salma.

2009-02-05T03:31:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, 80-year-old Mary Feeney of Indianapolis, Indiana, was on her way home from the hair salon when her accelerator got stuck and she lost control of her SUV.

--Once everything was said and done, Mary had hit a bush, a fence, a gas meter a building . . . and SIX other cars. Take a look at the wreckage: (WISH News 8 - Indianapolis)

13 of his teeth with a pair of pliers.

2009-02-05T03:29:00.000-08:00

42-year-old Ian Boynton of Beverley, England (--in the eastern part of the country), couldn't afford to go to a dentist. So he decided to take care of his toothache on his own . . . by removing 13 of his teeth with a pair of pliers. (!!!) (Sun)

Police arrested 45-year-old Teresa Brock for pimping out her 19-year-old daughter Danielle.

2009-02-05T03:24:00.000-08:00

Have you ever fantasized about being double-teamed by a mother-daughter duo? You have, haven't you, you sick bastard. Well next time you do, I want you to remember THIS . . .

--Last Thursday, 45-year-old Teresa Brock and her daughter, 19-year-old Danielle, of Dayton, Ohio, were arrested after Teresa offered Danielle's sexual services to an undercover cop. Take a look at these beauties' mugshots: (WDTN News 2 - Dayton)

Her twin dreams: a 38KKK

2009-02-04T08:04:00.000-08:00

Breaking Breasts One woman stopped at nothing to achieve her twin dreams: a 38KKK bust, and a world record By ELIZABETH BOUGEROL

SheylaHershey.net

Sheyla Hershey was denied further enhancement by Houston law. So she went elsewhere for her KKK breast enhancement.

GOOD MORNING, MR. PRESIDENT

2009-01-21T03:01:00.000-08:00

By TERENCE HUNT

WASHINGTON (AP) - Stepping into history, Barack Hussein Obama grasps the reins of power as America's first black president in a high-noon inauguration amid grave economic worries and high expectations.

Braving icy temperatures and possible snow flurries, hundreds of thousands of people descended on the heavily guarded capital city Tuesday for the first change of administrations since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The capital city, a quick starter on even the most ordinary of days, took on the kind of frenetic predawn life rarely seen. The streets were becoming populated well before daybreak, and competition for space on the Metro subway system was fierce. Several suburban parking lots for subway riders were filled to capacity well before 6 a.m.

Two years after beginning his improbable quest as a little-known, first-term Illinois senator with a foreign-sounding name, Obama moves into the Oval Office as the nation's fourth youngest president, at 47, and the first African-American, a racial barrier-breaking achievement believed impossible by generations of minorities.

Around the world, Obama's election electrified millions with the hope that America will be more embracing, more open to change.

The dawn of the new Democratic era - with Obama allies in charge of both houses of Congress - ends eight years of Republican control of the White House by George W. Bush. He leaves Washington as one of the nation's most unpopular and divisive presidents, the architect of two unfinished wars and the man in charge at a time of economic calamity that swept away many Americans' jobs, savings, homes and dreams - leaving behind a sickening feeling of insecurity.

Bush - following tradition - is leaving a note for Obama in the top drawer of his desk in the Oval Office.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said the theme of the message - which Bush wrote on Monday - is similar to what he has said since election night about how Obama is about to start a "fabulous new chapter" in the United States, and that he wishes him well.

The unfinished business of the Bush administration thrusts an enormous burden onto Obama's shoulders. Pre-inauguration polls show Americans believe Obama is on track to succeed and are confident he can turn the economy around. He has cautioned that improvements will take time and that things will get worse before they get better.

Culminating four days of celebration, the script for Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden at the nation's 56th inauguration was to begin with a traditional morning worship service at St. John's Episcopal Church, across Lafayette Park from the White House, and end with dancing and partying at 10 inaugural balls lasting deep into the night.

By custom, Obama and his wife, Michelle, were invited to the White House for coffee with Bush and his wife, Laura, followed by a shared ride in a sleek, heavily armored Cadillac limousine to the U.S. Capitol for the transfer of power, an event flashed around the world in television and radio broadcasts, podcasts and Internet streaming. On Monday, Vice President Dick Cheney pulled a muscle in his back, leaving him in a wheelchair for the inauguration.

Before noon, Obama steps forward on the West Front of the Capitol to lay his left hand on the same Bible that President Abraham Lincoln used at his first inauguration in 1861. The 35-word oath of office, administered by Chief Justice John Roberts, has been uttered by every president since George Washington. Obama was one of 22 Democratic senators to vote against Roberts' confirmation to the Supreme Court in 2005.

The son of a Kansas-born mother and Kenya-born father, Obama decided to use his full name in the swearing-in ceremony.

The Constitution says the clock - not the pomp, ceremony and oaths - signals the transfer of the office from the old president to the new one.

The 20th Amendment to the Constitution specifies that the terms of office of the president and vice president "shall end at noon on the 20th day of January ... and the terms of their successors shall then begin."

To the dismay of liberals, Obama invited conservative evangelical pastor Rick Warren - an opponent of gay rights - to give the inaugural invocation.

About a dozen members of Obama's Cabinet and top appointees - including Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton - were ready for Senate confirmation Tuesday, provided no objections were raised.

More than 10,000 people from all 50 states - including bands and military units - were assembled to follow Obama and Biden from the Capitol on the 1.5-mile inaugural parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue, concluding at a bulletproof reviewing stand in front of the White House. Security was unprecedented. Most bridges into Washington and about 3.5 square miles of downtown were closed.

Obama's inauguration represents a time of renewal and optimism for a nation gripped by fear and anxiety. Stark numbers tell the story of an economic debacle unrivaled since the 1930s:

_Eleven million people have lost their jobs, pushing the unemployment rate to 7.2 percent, a 16-year high.

_One in 10 U.S. homeowners is delinquent on mortgage payments or in arrears.

_The Dow Jones industrial average fell by 33.8 percent in 2008, the worst decline since 1931, and stocks lost $10 trillion in value between October 2007 and November 2008.

Obama and congressional Democrats are working on an $825 billion economic recovery bill that would provide an enormous infusion of public spending and tax cuts. Obama also will have at his disposal the remaining $350 billion in the federal financial bailout fund. His goal is to save or create 3 million jobs and put banks back in the job of lending to customers.

In an appeal for bipartisanship, Obama honored defeated Republican presidential rival John McCain at a dinner Monday night. "There are few Americans who understand this need for common purpose and common effort better than John McCain," Obama said.

Young and untested, Obama is a man of enormous confidence and electrifying oratorical skills. Hopes for Obama are extremely high, suggesting that Americans are willing to give him a long honeymoon to strengthen the economy and lift the financial gloom.

On Wednesday, his first working day in office, Obama is expected to redeem his campaign promise to begin the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq under a 16-month timetable. Aides said he would summon the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Oval Office and order that the pullout commence.

6-year-old killed in Monster truck mishap at Tacoma Dome

2009-01-18T16:52:00.000-08:00

TACOMA, Wash. – A 6-year-old boy died and a man was injured when a piece from a truck flew into the stands at the Monster Jam monster truck show Friday night at the Tacoma Dome.

Police and fire officials said the victims were taken to the hospital and KING 5 News received confirmation early this morning that the boy had died. Earlier reports that the two were related were incorrect.

»»»VIDEO«««

KING 5 has confirmed that the boy attended Graham Elementary School.

Christine Moe was there with her family and saw the horrifying accident.

"When they came over to the end of the grandstands, the truck broke. Parts were falling off and a piece flew up and hit a little boy. He couldn't have been more than 5 years old," Moe said, her voice full of emotion.

"I talked to the people sitting next to them. Their little girl had blood all over them. It was just so horrible," said Moe. "You just saw the mother just sitting there holding her son and the whole top of his head was just gushing with blood."

It was right after intermission during the free-style competition when witnesses say the incident occurred.

Witnesses say a truck driver started doing donuts when debris flew into the stands.

Witnesses who were sitting behind the victims say debris from a red truck flew some 30 to 50 feet into the stands. They say there was no netting or glass between the stands and the arena floor.

"There was everybody running down towards him and people were putting towels over his head," witness Adrian Kelley said.

"The poor dad was just collapsed at the top of the stairs," Moe said. "Just because he was in such shock."

Those who witnessed it wonder why it took so long for the boy to get help, and why the show continued.

Witnesses say they had to throw cups off the stands to try and get the attention of medics.

"They didn't even stop the damn show," Moe said. "They just kept going. We grabbed our kids and just beelined out of there."

According to the Tacoma Dome's Web site, four more Monster Jam shows are scheduled for today and Sunday.

All 155 safe after pilot ditches jet in NYC river

2009-01-16T03:12:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK (AP) - A US Airways pilot ditched his disabled jetliner into the frigid Hudson River on Thursday afternoon after a collision with a flock of birds apparently knocked out both engines, but officials said rescuers pulled all 155 people on board into boats as the plane sank.

There were no immediate reports of any serious injuries.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an experienced pilot, said it appeared the pilot did "a masterful job of landing the plane in the river and then making sure everybody got out." And Gov. David Patterson pronounced it "a miracle on the Hudson."

Flight 1549 went down minutes after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport for Charlotte, N.C., splashing into the river near 48th Street in midtown Manhattan.

"There were eyewitness reports the plane may have flown into a flock of birds," said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown. "Right now we don't have any indication this was anything other than an accident."

Passenger Jeff Kolodjay of Norwalk, Conn., said he heard an explosion two or three minutes into the flight, looked out the left side of the Airbus A320 and saw one of the engines on fire.

"The captain said, `Brace for impact because we're going down,'" Kolodjay said. He said passengers put their heads in their laps and started praying. He said the plane hit the water pretty hard, but he was fine.

"It was intense. It was intense. You've got to give it to the pilot. He made a hell of a landing," Kolodjay said.

The plane was submerged in the icy waters up to the windows when rescuers in police and

vessels and ferry boats arrived, opened the door and pulled passengers in yellow life vests from the aircraft, whose fuselage appeared intact. The plane was sinking in the near-freezing water on one of the coldest days of the year, with the mercury around 20 degrees.

Police divers rescued a few people from the water, Bloomberg said. Other passengers were able to walk out onto the wings, then onto rescue boats.

Paramedics treated at least 78 patients, fire officials said. The Coast Guard said it rescued 35 people who were immersed in the cold water and ferried them to shore. Most were sent to hospitals. No information was released on their condition.

Witnesses said the pilot appeared to guide the plane down.

"I see a commercial airliner coming down, looking like it's landing right in the water," said Bob Read, who saw it from his office at the television newsmagazine "Inside Edition." "This looked like a controlled descent."

Barbara Sambriski, a researcher at The Associated Press, saw the plane go down from the news organization's high-rise office. "I just thought, 'Why is it so low?' And, splash, it hit the water," she said.

The pilot reported a "double bird strike" less than a minute after taking off, said Doug Church, a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Union. The controller sent the aircraft back toward LaGuardia, but the pilot saw an airport below him and asked what it was, Church said. It was Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, and the pilot asked to land there, Church said.

The instruction to land at Teterboro was the last communication with the plane before it went into the river, Church said.

US Airways said 150 passengers, three flight attendants and two pilots were on board the jetliner.

"This is really a potential tragedy that may have become one of the most spectacular days in the history of New York City's agencies, its coordination and the greatness of the people that work here and all they did for those passengers who are now tonight going to go home to their families," the governor said.

Joe Mazzone, a retired Delta Air Lines pilot, said it is not unusual for birds to strike planes. In fact, he said, when planes get ready to take off, if there are birds in the area, the tower will alert the crew.

In the rare cases in which birds get sucked into an engine, "they literally just choke out the engine and it quits," Mazzone said.

Twenty-seven years ago this week, an Air Florida plane bound for Tampa crashed into the Potomac River after hitting a bridge just after takeoff from Washington National Airport. The crash on Jan. 13, 1982, killed 78 people including four people in their cars on the bridge. Five people on the plane survived.

On Dec. 20, a Continental Airlines plane veered off a runway and slid into a snowy field at the Denver airport, injuring 38 people. That was the first major crash of a commercial airliner in the United States since Aug. 27, 2006, when 49 people were killed after a Comair jetliner mistakenly took off from the wrong runway in Lexington, Ky.

Ricardo Montalban muere a los 88 años

2009-01-15T06:01:00.000-08:00

El actor Ricardo Montalban, reconocido por su papel de "Mr. Roarke" en la serie de televisión ´La Isla de la Fantasía´, murió hoy a los 88 años de edad en su casa de Los Angeles por complicaciones de salud debido a su edad.

El artista mexicano, que durante su juventud era el icono del "amante latino", fue uno de los primeros hispanos en llegar lejos en Hollywood. Montalban era un personaje muy respetado por su trabajo fuera y dentro del mundo latino de la industria del cine.

A principios de los años 40, Montalban actuó en decenas de films al lado de distinguidas personalidades del mundo del cine como Clark Gable y Lana Turner.

El fallecimiento fue confirmado por el titular del Concejo Municipal de Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti. "El Teatro Ricardo Montalbán de mi distrito, donde las próximas generaciones de actores participan en obras de teatro, musicales y conciertos, se mantiene como un tributo a este consumado artista", dijo en un comunicado.

El actor había llegado a Hollywood en 1946, cuando ya era una estrella del cine mexicano. Allí filmó películas como "Fiesta", "On an Island With You", o "Neptune´s

Sin embargo, alcanzó fama mundial por su interpretación del misterioso señor Roarke en la serie de la cadena ABC "La isla de la fantasía", que se emitió entre 1978 y 1984. Allí compartió el papel protagónico con el inolvidable "Tatoo".

A lo largo de su dilatada carrera, Montalbán se alzó con un premio Emmy al mejor actor secundario por la serie "How the West Was Won" (1978), y recibió el galardón del Sindicato de Actores de EE.UU. a su carrera en 1994.

THIS JUST MIGHT BE THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD:

2009-01-13T08:37:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for a new job, then you're going to want to pay attention . . . because this just might be the BEST JOB IN THE WORLD.

--An Australian company called Tourism Queensland has announced that they're looking for a caretaker for Hamilton Island . . . which is a private island off Australia's northeastern coast in the Great Barrier Reef.

--So what are the job duties?

#1.) Maintain a weekly blog . . . including a photo diary and video updates . . . about Hamilton Island

and the unique life there.

#2.) Clean the pool, feed the fish and pick up the mail at the three-bedroom residence which the company will provide.

--That's all. But that's not even the best part. Get this:

--The job only requires you to work for six months a year, all your living costs will be completely paid for . . . and the salary is just over $106,000 a year. (!!!)

--Tourism Queensland will interview 11 job candidates in May . . . and the winner will start work on July 1st. (Scotsman)

(--You can learn more about the job and fill out an online application here . . .)

http://www.islandreefjob.com/

Abigail and Brittany Hensel are Dicephalus twins - conjoined twins who share one body.

2009-01-13T03:41:00.001-08:00

The flying car

2009-01-12T03:26:00.001-08:00

It is the ultimate off-roader and it is coming to an airstrip near you. The flying car has been talked about for almost as long as cars have existed, and now a prototype built by a small American company is finally ready to make the idea a reality.

The Terrafugia Transition is a two-seater plane that at the touch of a button converts into a road-legal car. It takes its maiden flight next month and is scheduled to hit the showrooms by next year. You can’t help but wonder whether, if Bob Nardelli and Rick Wagoner, of Chrysler and General Motors respectively, had been forward-thinking enough to fly into Washington DC in swept-wing Dodge Vipers and Cadillac Escalades instead of corporate jets when they were seeking bailout cash, they would have been showered with government money, downturn or no downturn.

“It’s like a little Transformer,” says Carl Dietrich, the Terrafugia boss, proudly. “This is the first really integrated design where the wings fold up automatically and all the parts are in one vehicle. All we have is one simple folding wing, and that means the Transition takes just 15 seconds to switch between flying and driving.”

Dietrich has a well-rehearsed list of reasons why “roadable aircraft” make financial sense. They promise to be quicker than cars for intercity commuting, fit into a normal garage (saving hangar fees) and even run on plain old premium unleaded. However, he’s missing the real reason the Transition is causing such a stir in the automotive as well as the aviation world: flying cars are cool. They’re James Bond. They’re Blade Runner. They’re Back to the Future.

At the moment, though, Terrafugia’s car looks more like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang than The Jetsons. The prototype Transition has been made at Terrafugia’s small workshop in Woburn, Massachusetts, by a team of young engineers recruited from MIT and Nasa. The ungainly vehicle has a single engine — a 100bhp petrol motor that drives either the wheels or a rear-facing propeller. As a car, it has a normal steering wheel, accelerator and brake pedals, but no gearstick (the Transition has a continuously variable transmission).

With its wings deployed and the propeller spinning, the Transition can take off from any airfield, although not from roads — it’s illegal everywhere in the US except in sparsely populated Alaska. It can fly up to 500 miles on a single tank of petrol at a cruising speed of about 115mph. That’s the plan, at least. Though it has reached 90mph in test drives, the prototype Transition’s wheels have yet to leave the ground.

That’s not for technical reasons; it’s because the various road and aircraft licensing authorities have been wondering how to classify it. “It took six months just to get our \plate,” says Dick Gersh, a former lawyer with the car insurance industry and now a vice-president at Terrafugia. “The government, insurance companies and lawyers have never contemplated a flying car. I wanted a car that could fly and drive but you couldn’t do either because you couldn’t get insured.”

Gersh is confident that he will be able to insure the Transition once it makes a successful test flight — and a safe landing. The Transition has a safety cage and crumple zones, although it will not have to pack the latest safety features or undergo a crash test before it takes to the air.

“There are already exemption policies for low-volume manufacturers like Lamborghini,” says Dietrich. “We can’t afford the huge amounts of research and development for motion-sensing airbags, and we certainly can’t afford to crash-test our only prototype. If it makes you feel safer, Boeing doesn’t crash-test its big jets either.”

Terrafugia hopes to deliver the first production flying car by the middle of next year. The company already has orders for 40 aircraft. “The majority of our customers are retired or near-retired couples who want a fun vehicle to putter around the country in. They’ve worked hard their whole lives and now they can have a flying car, a technology that they’ve been promised in films and TV since they were a kid,” says Dietrich. “We even have a couple of orders from people who are not pilots but will learn because of this vehicle. They’re willing to put money down on a vehicle that they can’t fly yet.”

Terrafugia’s Transition will set them back a cool $200,000 (£132,000). “For an airplane, that’s very reasonable, but for a car, that’s very much at the high end,” Dietrich admits. “It’s got to start there. You can’t make a $10,000 flying car yet. This is not going to change overnight and it won’t become a mass-market item any time in the near future. But in the long term we have the potential to make air travel practical for individuals at a price that would meet or beat driving, with huge time savings. And that could be a real game-changer for aviation as well as driving.”

The flying car has been technically possible for years but the legal runway was cleared for take-off only four years ago. The American Federal Aviation Authority created a new category of plane called light sports aircraft. These planes are subject to fewer rules and regulations than traditional passenger aircraft and can be flown by pilots after just 20 hours of training, half the normal American requirement.

At the same time, advances in avionics (the systems that allow you to pilot the plane) have made flying much simpler. Gone are the days when a plane’s cockpit was a kaleidoscope of flashing buttons and switchgear. Instead, new technology means that the inside of a cockpit is little different from that of a luxury car. Navigation can be taken care of by GPS, weather patterns can be displayed on a simple colour screen and automatic throttles help to keep control of the aircraft.

So the next time you remind the passengers in your car to fasten their seatbelts, it might be in preparation for take-off.

Blue-sky thinking: the rivals

PARAJET SKYCAR

What is it? A lightweight two-seater buggy that uses a giant fan mounted on the back and a paraglide-style chute to keep it airborne.

Are they serious? It seems so. The Skycar is due to take off on Tuesday on its maiden flight. It has been developed by British engineers, who are proving its worth by flying and driving it 3,730 miles from London to Timbuktu. On the road it has a top speed of 110mph; in fly mode it can reach 80mph with a range of 180 miles. The wing takes about three minutes to deploy manually and the Skycar can take off in only 200 yards. If the trip is successful, the team aims to put the design into production, with prices from £40,000 for a basic model up to £60,000 for a sports version.

A5 ICON AIRCRAFT

What is it? The world’s first multi-purpose recreational flying vehicle.

Are they serious? Yes. The A5 has made several test flights and the Los Angeles company plans to bring it to market this year. Not strictly speaking a flying car, the A5 requires a trailer to transport it to its take-off point. This is made possible by the fact that it has folding wings, meaning it can also be housed in a garage. The A5 is also amphibious and so doesn’t need a runway to get airborne — a lake or river will do. It comes complete with parachute to lower the plane to the ground (or water). The engine runs on ordinary unleaded fuel and Icon says the A5 will cost $139,000 (£92,000).

PAL-V EUROPE BV

What is it? A three-wheeled girocopter, capable of vertical take-off and landing.

Are they serious? Possibly. After six years of concept work, the project has entered the final phase of development: building the first commercial prototype to prove all the technologies work. The Dutch company hopes to begin marketing the vehicle this year and customers can sign up to buy one, although prices are yet to be decided. On the road it has the agility of a motorbike, and the single rotor and propeller fold away. Airborne, the PAL-V flies below 4,000ft, so pilots don’t need to log a flight plan to use it, and it has a top speed of about 125mph.

Spider-Man has a new sidekick

2009-01-09T03:56:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON (AP) - Spider-Man has a new sidekick: The president-elect.

Barack Obama collected Spider-Man comics as a child, so Marvel Comics wanted to give him a "shout-out back" by featuring him in a bonus story, said Joe Quesada, Marvel's editor-in-chief.

"How great is that? The commander in chief to be is actually a nerd in chief," Quesada said. "It was really, really cool to see that we had a geek in the White House. We're all thrilled with that."

The comic starts with Spider-Man's alter-ego Peter Parker taking photographs at the inauguration, before spotting two identical Obamas.

Parker decides "the future president's gonna need Spider-Man," and springs into action, using basketball to determine the real Obama and punching out the impostor.

Obama thanks him with a fist-bump.

Marvel comics have featured most presidents, but generally in walk-on roles, Quesada said.

"I think President Nixon might have appeared on the cover, but not in a good way," he said.

Obama has said that as a child, he collected Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comic books. His Senate Web site used to have a photo of him posing in front of a Superman statue.

The Obama story is a bonus in Marvel Comic's Amazing Spider-Man #583, available in comic book shops nationwide on Jan. 14 for $3.99 and is expected to sell out, with half the covers devoted to Obama.

pet rat won't leave a cat alone

2009-01-09T03:46:00.000-08:00

This pet rat won't leave a cat alone. It follows the cat everywhere and climbs all over it. The cat doesn't like it at first, but comes around eventually. (--Note: The cat even licks the rat at :36.)

Here's a close-up of someone's Lasik eye

2009-01-09T03:43:00.000-08:00

Here's a close-up of someone's Lasik eye surgery.
(--Note: They cut into the cornea at 1:50, fold back a flap of the cornea at 3:19, and replace the flap at 5:06.)

(--Warning: There's hardly any blood, but this is an extreme close-up of eye surgery.)

A police officer in Oakland, California, shot and killed a guy

2009-01-09T03:41:00.000-08:00

A police officer in Oakland, California, shot and killed a guy who was lying on the ground and seemed to be cooperating. Several people caught the incident on their cell phones. Here's the best angle.

(--Note: You'll have to sign into YouTube to view this video. It's a little hard to see what's happening, but you can clearly hear the gunshot at :07.)

(--WARNING: A man was killed by this gunshot, which you may find disturbing . . .)

74-year-old Gordon Stewart of England got lost in a maze of junk he kept in his home and died of dehydration.

2009-01-08T03:55:00.002-08:00

37-year-old Mirela Gradinaru of Romania got a can of hairspray stuck in her sphincter.

2009-01-08T03:55:00.001-08:00

Diphallia is a condition in which men are born with a second penis.

2009-01-08T03:49:00.001-08:00

Richard Batista donated a kidney to his wife Dawnell back in 2001.

2009-01-08T03:47:00.000-08:00

TCS - Ex-husband wants wife to give back his kidney or pay up

Richard Batista donated a kidney to his wife Dawnell back in 2001.

He found out she was having an affair and they divorced in 2005. Now he wants his kidney back or $1.5 million.

Skier Suffers Exposure

2009-01-06T07:40:00.000-08:00

Man left dangling u
pside down, pantsless after Vail lift mishap

JANUARY 6--In a bizarre incident that will surely lead to litigation (or an out-of-court settlement), a skier at Colorado's ritzy Vail resort was left dangling upside down and pantsless from a chairlift last Friday morning. The January 2 mishap apparently occurred after the male skier and a child boarded a high-speed lift in Vail's Blue Sky Basin. It appears that the chairlift's fold-down seat was somehow not in the lowered position, which caused the man to partially fall through the resulting gap. His right ski got jammed in the ascending chairlift, and that kept him upended since his boot never dislodged from its binding. As seen in the photos on the following pages (which were snapped by fellow skiers), the Skyline Express lift was stopped shortly after the pair's botched 10:30 AM boarding resulted in the man dangling from the lift. The exposed skier was stuck for about 15 minutes before Vail personnel backed the lift up and successfully dislodged the unidentified man from the four-seat chair

A SHARK AT THE ATLANTIS RESORT IN THE BAHAMAS JUMPED OUT OF ITS AQUARIUM . . . AND INTO THE HOTEL POOL:

2008-12-19T03:59:00.000-08:00

At the risk of sounding dumb . . . do you think animals understand the concept of suicide?

--I ask because on Tuesday, a shark at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas somehow leaped out of its tank and onto a nearby water slide . . . which led to the hotel pool.

--According to a statement released by the resort, quote, "a 12-year-old reef shark jumped over an 18-inch wide and one-foot high sustaining structure into the resort's Leap of Faith water slide.

--"Once the shark fell onto the slide and into the chlorinated water, it was in significant distress. The Marine Aquarium Operations team responded immediately and was able to . . . return the animal to the main marine habitat in an attempt to resuscitate her.

--"Despite the team's best efforts to recover the animal, it DIED shortly after the occurrence . . . The entire team at Atlantis is saddened by the loss of this animal who had resided in the Atlantis marine habitat for over ten years."

--The pool wasn't open at the time, and no one was injured (--other than the shark). (TMZ)

Doctors in Colorado found a fully-developed foot growing in 3-day-old Sam Esquibel's brain.

2008-12-18T03:51:00.001-08:00

A BABY IN COLORADO WAS BORN WITH A FOOT GROWING OUT OF HIS BRAIN: (!!!)

On October 1st, Tiffnie Esquibel of Colorado Springs, Colorado (--about 60 miles south of Denver), gave birth to a baby boy named Sam.

--Anyway, shortly after Sam was born, doctors discovered what appeared to be a tumor growing on his brain. So on October 3rd, they performed surgery to remove the growth.

--But instead of finding a tumor like they expected, they found a fully-developed FOOT . . . along with parts of an intestine, a hand and a thigh . . . growing OUT OF HIS BRAIN. (!!!) (KMGH News 7 - Denver)

(--So you know, Sam's surgery was a success and his doctors expect a full recovery. But his doctors can only theorize about WHY he had a foot growing out of his brain.)

(--One theory is that the growth was something called a teratoma . . . which is a congenital brain tumor that's made of foreign tissue like muscle, hair or teeth.)

(--Or it could have been a case of "fetus in fetu" . . . which is when one twin starts to form INSIDE the other. But, like I said, the doctors don't really know.)

AN IRAQI REPORTER THREW HIS SHOES AT PRESIDENT BUSH:

2008-12-15T03:56:00.000-08:00

I could be wrong, but I'm starting to think that PRESIDENT BUSH can't wait until BARACK OBAMA takes over as president next month . . . so he won't have to deal with stuff like THIS anymore . . .

--Yesterday, Bush was in Iraq to meet with Iraqi leaders and to celebrate the recent security agreement which calls for all U.S. troops to withdraw from the country by the end of 2011.

--Anyway, Bush was in the middle of a press conference in Baghdad when an Iraqi news reporter named Muntadar al-Zeidi stood up and shouted, quote, "This is the end!" . . . before hurling his SHOES at Bush's head.

--President Bush dodged both shoes, and Muntadar was tackled and dragged out of the room before the press conference continued.

***POLITICAL NONSENSE - 2 of 2***

AN IRAQI REPORTER THREW HIS SHOES AT PRESIDENT BUSH:

--Bush brushed off the incident saying, quote, "So what if a guy threw his shoe at me? [It's just] one way to gain attention . . . It's like driving down the street and have people not gesturing with all five fingers. I don't know what the guy's cause is."

PULL MY FINGER APP OK'D BY APPLE

2008-12-15T03:55:00.000-08:00

Potty humor has triumphed as Apple Inc. relented and has now agreed to sell the "Pull My Finger" iPhone and iPod Touch application after previously rejecting it, citing "limited utility."

The application does what you'd expect. Choose one of the dozen or so on-screen characters, touch a finger and you hear the passing of gas. "Pull My Finger" developer Sam Magdalein says Apple told him they didn't want to reject it originally, but that they were sorting out how this "genre" of apps would be handled. (Here's video of the app in action.)

Kids who are freaked out by Santa Claus.

2008-12-12T03:43:00.000-08:00

APARICION DE ANGEL EN SAN PEDRO SULA, HONDURAS

2008-12-11T04:33:00.000-08:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fox accidentally aired footage of Minnesota Vikings player Visanthe Shiancoe in the nude.

2008-12-09T03:57:00.000-08:00

GO, GO, GO DANCER WHEELY RISQUé RIDE TURNS ON CITY STREETS

2008-11-24T02:22:00.000-08:00

Call him the flesh pedaler.
Biker Andrew Katzander is taking pole dancing to the streets - on the back of his pimped-out pedicab.
The 44-year-old, a landscaper by day, pedals his racy rickshaw while a sexy dancer shimmies up and down a shiny 8-foot metal pole on a neon-lit platform attached to the back of the bike.
The PoleRider, as he calls it, is already stopping traffic. In one case, he said, cops briefly pulled him over in Times Square.
"It's all legal. The cops can't really stop us - I'm riding my bike and she's exercising," he said of flash dancer Marlo Fisken, 25, a pole-dancing teacher.
"I'm not a stripper. Because you have high heels and you're on a pole, it doesn't mean you're doing anything raunchy," she said. "It's fun, and it's a little bit exhibitionist."
Fisken hooked up with Katzander after answering an ad on Craigslist.
Katzander says he got the idea as he biked past the Hustler strip club in Midtown a few months ago. He wants it to become a $300 per hour party gag.
"It was like two and two makes five. It just came to me like that," said the Upper West Sider.
The avid mountain biker says he put his "crazy idea" to the test after he asked a couple of industrial-design pals from Pratt Institute to help him pimp his ride for the Halloween Parade.
The feedback was so overwhelming, he turned it into a business.
At an eye-popping $300 for the first hour (and $200 after that), Katzander hopes his PoleRider will be a hit at bachelor parties.
Coming soon, he's promised a car hitch for hot-to-trot clients, so customers can be pulled behind the pole and "can start partying right away," he said.

A 530-POUND MAN IS SELLING A NAKED CALENDAR OF HIMSELF:

2008-11-21T03:35:00.000-08:00

It's not uncommon for an attractive, young woman to sell a calendar featuring pictures of herself in various states of undress.

But when an overweight man who still lives with his mother sells a "sexy" calendar with naked pictures of himself . . . well, that's something special.

Enter "Chubby Mikey" . . . a 29-year-old guy from Memphis, Tennessee, who weighs 530 POUNDS. That's right . . . 530 pounds.

According to Chubby Mikey, quote, "I feel sexy and attractive so that's the way I act. I don't see why I can't pose for photos like any other male model."

(Daily Telegraph)

(--Do yourself a favor and check out some ridiculous pictures from Mikey's calendar here . . .)

DO YOU WANT TO SEE A VIDEO OF A WORM BEING REMOVED FROM A WOMAN'S BRAIN???

2008-11-21T03:26:00.000-08:00

Last August, a woman from Phoenix, Arizona, named Rosemary Alvarez (--no age was given, but she looks to be in her late 30s) started experiencing blurred vision and numbness in her arm. So she went to the doctor and was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

--But when Rosemary went under the knife to have the tumor removed, her doctors didn't find a tumor at all. Instead, they found a WORM that was LIVING IN HER BRAIN.

--The doctors removed the worm and Rosemary is doing fine. (--But what you really want to know is HOW Rosemary got a brain worm in the first place, right?)

(--Well, her doctors say there are TWO ways to get one. The first is by eating undercooked pork. And the second is to eat food that was prepared by someone who didn't wash their hands after using the bathroom. Gross.)

(Fox News)

(--You can check out video of the worm-removal procedure here. The actual operation footage starts at 2:42 . . . but you should know that it's pretty graphic. If you have a weak stomach . . . you might not want to watch.)

SECRETS OF THE WHITE HOUSE

2008-11-16T20:52:00.001-08:00

From MomLogic.com

Will the Obamas renovate?

The Obamas will have their own decorator of their choosing who will help them personalize the private residence. This area consists of nine rooms. But it's important to keep in mind that the Lincoln Bedroom and the Queen's Room are part of this and they will remain untouched -- except for any necessary restoration, such as peeling wallpaper. Most likely the girls' bedrooms will have to be changed to cater to their young ages.

What if Barack, Michelle or the kids want a midnight snack?

There is a kitchen in the private residence now. Jackie Kennedy had it put in because she felt frustrated that she had to walk down two stories to grab a snack.

What if the First Couple wants to, well, you know. Is there Secret Service standing outside their bedroom door?

The Secret Service keep an eye on the perimeter of the private residence, but privacy is negotiated with each family.

Is there a TV in their bedroom? What about TiVo?

If they want it, they can have it.

Can Malia and Sasha hang up posters of the Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana?

If they want to, yes.

Do people pick out the President's clothing in the morning?

Clothing is a private concern, although if there is something he should be aware of, such as appropriate attire to meet a Head of State, he has an appointed valet who will help him.

How is the chef picked?

Usually it is someone who is established in the food industry. The Obamas may very well keep the Bush's chef. But if they want a certain specialty of cuisine, they may change the head chef. There is a whole cooking staff who is there to serve at the pleasure of the President.

What if the President is "indisposed" in his bathroom and there's a national emergency?

Someone will knock and let him know he is needed.

Will the Secretary of the Treasury help the girls with their math homework?

If he or she likes the kids then maybe, but it's not like there's a hotline for algebra help.

Could the girls have a slumber part if they want?

Actually Margaret Truman had a slumber party in the Lincoln Bedroom once. The shape is perfect because it's a long room, so all the girls had their sleeping bags lined up perfectly.

Can they order a pizza?

It's not like they can call up and have the delivery person show up at the door 30 minutes later. Every restaurant they eat at and all food that comes in must be examined for security reasons. But, if they planned ahead, of course.

Does the First Lady really pick new china?

She only picks new china if there is too much wear and tear of the older sets. There is no Clinton or Bush china. Nancy Reagan was the last person to pick china in the White House and she was highly criticized for it.

Is there some inside scoop on past First Ladies?

Hillary Clinton once held a scavenger hunt in the White House for Chelsea's birthday.

... Jackie Kennedy cried when she saw how run down the White House was when she arrived. The carpets were worn, the floors were a mess and the curtains were ripped. She's the one who hired a curator and demanded it be treated as a museum.

... Nancy Reagan routinely asked the kitchen staff to take photos of plated food so she could make sure it looked right before serving it at social events.

... On the Nixon's first night, Pat wanted cottage cheese, but the kitchen hadn't anticipated the First Lady may be watching her weight so there was none.

What exactly does the First Lady do?

She does not get paid although she does have an office and a staff, and generally supports a specific cause or charity. Although traditional obligations are to manage the social life of the White House, Hillary Clinton really expanded the roll by having an office in the West Wing.

What First Family do you think The Obamas will be like?

The Kennedys. They are a family with young kids and a sense of history.

Pictured: The forty-something ex-Bunny Girl who has spent half a million pounds having 100 cosmetic surgery operations to turn herself into a real-lif

2008-11-04T03:28:00.001-08:00

Former Bunny Girl Sarah Burge has spent half a million pounds turning herself into a real-life Barbie doll.

The 49-year-old housewife and beautician from St Neots, in Cambridgeshire has spent £539,500 transforming herself - breaking the world record previously held by American Cindy Jackson.

Come on Barbie, let's go party: Sarah Burge has spent half a million pounds perfecting her face and body

The mother-of-three has undergone more than 100 surgical and cosmetic treatments. Her passion for going under the knife having started after she had reconstruction surgery to her face after being beaten up and left for dead.

The half-million pound costs include: £32,000 have her whole face lasered to remove a layer of skin to give it a more youthful look; £26,500 on perfecting her bust - including having it reduced and the nipples moved; £30,000 keeping her jawline firm; nearly £15,000 on her tummy; and £14,000 on keeping her bottom pert.

She has become a walking advert for the surgeons who carried out work on her - sometimes they've even carried out procedures free.

When she married husband Tony three years ago, she dressed as a Barbie bridge in a pink gown and veil
Sarah said: 'It's addictive - you find yourself wondering what you can have done next? It's not that I'm unhappy with the way I look - I've always been confident about my appearance.

'That's why I want to keep my body and face as they are. All the work I've had done has been to stop the ageing process.' Blank canvas: Sarah, aged 14

Second place: Cindy Jackson held the world record for having had the most cosmetic surgery until she was trounced by Sarah

Expertos dudan del volumen de las reservas petroleras en aguas de la Isla

2008-11-04T03:21:00.000-08:00

La semana pasada, un funcionario de Cupet dijo que esas reservas superan los 20.000 millones de barriles de crudo. Los analistas creen que ese dato debería ser verificado de forma independiente.

Expertos de la industria del petróleo tomaron nota del anuncio cubano de que las reservas marítimas de la Isla podrían contener más de 20.000 millones de barriles, pero dijeron que hace falta una verificación independiente, informó Reuters.
Los analistas dicen que Cuba tiene excelentes geólogos, pero quisieran ver sus hallazgos confirmados por especialistas que no tengan intereses en el futuro petrolero de la Isla.
Unas reservas potenciales de 20.000 millones de barriles o más situarían en las grandes ligas de los productores mundiales de petróleo a Cuba, que hoy importa más de la mitad de los recursos que necesita para cubrir sus necesidades energéticas.
La Isla, que trabaja junto a socios extranjeros, produce actualmente 60.000 barriles de petróleo al día, provenientes de sus plataformas en tierra firme, según ha informado el director de producción de la estatal CubaPetróleo (Cupet), Rafael Tenreyro-Pérez.
El mundo petrolero generalmente ha asumido que las reservas mar adentro de Cuba, en su mayoría ubicadas en el Golfo de México, podrían contener cerca de 5.000 millones de barriles de petróleo y 10 billones de pies cúbicos de gas natural, de acuerdo a un estudio de la Inspección Geológica de Estados Unidos.
La Inspección dijo que esas cifras son el promedio de estimaciones que no superan los 9.000 millones de barriles de petróleo y los 21 billones de pies cúbicos de gas natural.
Pero Tenreyro-Pérez dijo que el potencial de petróleo cubano era mucho más grande.
Refiriéndose sólo al cinturón petrolero del norte de la Isla, el funcionario afirmó el 16 de octubre: "Este cinturón ya tiene recursos calculados, no hipotéticos, por más de 20.000, exactamente 21.000 millones de barriles".
"(Estas) son las reservas. Eso podría multiplicarse varias veces", agregó Tenreyro-Pérez.
La geología del cinturón petrolero se extiende una cuenca más al norte, donde estructuras mucho más grandes podrían contener más reservas, según explicó el funcionario.
"El efecto del cinturón se refleja en esta zona en la presencia de estructuras enormes (...) enormes. Aquí estamos hablando de estructuras de 80, 100 y 120 kilómetros cuadrados. Por lo tanto, las reservas se multiplican prácticamente varias veces y los recursos también", señaló.
Sin embargo, el experto en petróleo cubano Jorge Piñón, de la University of Miami, dijo que hay espacio para la duda, debido a que Cuba está basando sus anuncios en comparaciones con otras formaciones geológicas del mundo, no en datos provenientes de pozos ya explotados.
"¿De dónde viene la información? La cifra es muy inverosímil", declaró Piñón. "Debo ponerla en duda debido a la metodología usada", agregó.
"Cupet no es una fuente independiente. Eso es como si Exxon o cualquier otra empresa vendiendo su propio producto. Tienes que tener una fuente independiente que vaya y lo evalúe", dijo.
Un consorcio liderado por la petrolera española Repsol-YPF hizo en el pasado las únicas pruebas de exploración en aguas cubanas.
Tenreyro-Pérez dijo que Repsol-YPF planea perforar otro pozo a mediados de 2009 y que, si todo sale como se espera, la producción en línea comenzaría en tres o cuatro años.
Chistopher Schenk, que dirigió el estudio de la Inspección Geológica de Estados Unidos sobre el petróleo cubano, dijo que los geólogos de la Isla son "realmente buenos" y que sus estimados podrían ser correctos, pero que "le gustaría ver cómo los hicieron".
Tenreyro-Pérez afirmó que el cálculo cubano es mayor que el de Estados Unidos porque los expertos de la Isla tienen "más datos".
Pero Schenk dijo que el embargo comercial de Estados Unidos contra Cuba impide la investigación.
"Ni siquiera puedo enviar un mensaje de correo electrónico" a la Isla, dijo Schenk.
Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado, otro experto en petróleo cubano en la University of Nebraska, dijo que confía en que los cálculos cubanos son "legítimos", pero añadió que "deben ser verificados".

Loo with a view: The world's toilets with the best vistas

2008-10-20T04:18:00.000-07:00

By Mail On Sunday Reporter

Peninsula Hotel, Kowloon, Hong Kong: An ultra-modern mirror and sink - and view - in the ladies' at the Felix Bar

Salir de Uyuni, Bolivia: A relief stop 12,000ft high in the Andes in the middle of the world's largest salt flats, which cover an area of 4,085 square miles

Mumin Papa Cafe, Japan: This ladies' loo in Akashi is built into an aquarium, so you can watch the fishes as you, erm, meditate. But beware of the inquisitive male sea turtle

Mount McKinley, Alaska: A real cool view all round near the 20,320ft summit of the highest mountain in North America

Mount Whitney, California: At an elevation of over 14,500ft, this metal loo was a high spot for climbers. Sadly, it no longer exists

Tasman Glacier, New Zealand: An aerial shot shows just how close this loo is to the edge

Mount Sinai, Egypt: The best place to see sunrise on the mountain is said to be from this toilet, where the early-morning light floods through the bamboo walls

Boulder Pass Campsite, Montana: A wooden loo in Glacier National Park, with a stunning view of Agassiz Glacier

Guard Tower, Alcatraz: Warders at the infamous jail had an all-round view of San Francisco Bay while they took a comfort break

Croagh Patrick, Ireland: This 2,501ft summit in Co Mayo, where St Patrick fasted

Boston Bay High Camp, Washington state: Few loos with a view can beat this one near Johannesburg Mountain in the North Cascades national park

Canton de Chelly, Arizona: A wooden loo at the base of Spider Rock, an 800ft sandstone spire revered by Navajo Indians

The Valley of Longevity, Ecuador: A wooden long-drop that lives up to its description, high in the Andes

Cliff-Top Chateau, France: This 'oasis of pis' overlooks a picturesque bend in the Dordogne River

Changi Airport, Singapore: Plane spotters in the new terminal 3 can take a wee look at the giant Airbus A380

ANIMAL rights groups are up in arms over an annual festival in Peru that serves up hundreds of fried CATS to locals.

2008-10-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

The 'Gastronomical Festival of the Cat' – dubbed the 'Massacre of the Moggies' – sees townsfolk in Canete, near Lima, feast on the fluffy pets for two days.

They believe that eating cat burgers – and fried cat legs and tails – can cure bronchial disease.

It is also believed that feline meat serves as an aphrodisiac.

****VIDEO****

The cats are bred especially for this festival – which takes place at the end of September on the Day of Santa Ifigenia.

But it has generated fury among animal rights groups.

A PETA spokesman said: "“If Peruvians really eat poor old Moggy because they think his meat cures bronchitis, that’s about as bizarre as it gets, although remember that Asians eat monkey bits thinking that will cure their impotence and even Europeans butcher poor old Bessie the cow or Henny Penny the hen, because they see them as nothing more than a bit of nourishment.

“Having toured slaughterhouses for dogs in Taiwan, horses in Texas, and chickens and cows in Europe, PETA’s staff says the last thing we need to do is add yet another poor animal to the list of those being frightened and slaughtered for a taste.”

El Hombre mas pequeño del mundo y la mujer de las piernas mas largas

2008-09-19T03:24:00.001-07:00

CHECK OUT A PICTURE OF THE WORLD'S SMALLEST MAN POSING NEXT TO THE WOMAN WITH THE WORLD'S LONGEST LEGS:The 2009 edition of the "Guinness Book of World Records" went on sale yesterday.

--So, in honor of this momentous occasion, we figured you'd appreciate some pictures of the world's smallest man . . . 20-year-old He Pingping of China . . . posing with 36-year-old Svetlana Pankratova of Russia . . . who is the woman with the world's longest legs. (Sun)

(--So you know, He was born with primordial dwarf syndrome . . . and he stands just TWO-feet, FIVE-inches tall. And Svetlana, well, she just has really long legs. They're almost FOUR-feet, FOUR-inches long . . . which is nearly twice as tall as He is.)

(--But get this . . . it turns out He has a regular-sized girlfriend who he's been seeing for the last six months. Pretty cool, right?)

(--Take a look at some pictures of He and Svetlana here . . .)

Damien Hirst's Offbeat Art Fetches $125 Million

2008-09-18T03:11:00.000-07:00

[FOTOS]

British artist Damien Hirst poses with his work 'The Incredible Journey' at an auction house in London, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008.

More than 200 pieces of Hirst's work are being auctioned in London this week in a sale, title 'Beautiful Inside My Head Forever,' which has already brought in more than $125 million on the auction's first day alone.

The sale is expected to eclipse $200 million, and Sotheby's said it expects the sale to set a new record for an auction of works by just one artist.
(Sang Tan/AP Photo)

El oresudebte bush borracho

2008-08-21T03:50:00.000-07:00

2008-08-20T03:43:00.000-07:00

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: MAN REMAINS UPRIGHT DURING OWN WAKE _ A Puerto Rican was granted his wish to remain standing -- even in death. A funeral home used a special embalming treatment to keep the corpse of 24-year-old Angel Pantoja Medina standing upright for his three-day wake. Dressed in a Yankees baseball cap and sunglasses, Pantoja was mourned by relatives while propped upright in his mother's living room. His brother told a newspaper he'd always wanted to be upright for his own wake.

El Infierno Existe

2008-08-19T06:06:00.001-07:00

Estas son las voces en el centro de la tierra

2008-08-12T03:18:00.001-07:00

2008-08-12T03:03:00.000-07:00

Al Schell, Courier-Post / AP

A New Jersey family has adopted the state's most famous feline, a 44-pound beauty who gained glory after being found waddling the streets last month. "Powder" -- aka "Prince Chunk" -- became homeless when his owner lost her home to foreclosure. M. Alma

Video of Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony Rehearsal

2008-07-31T04:00:00.000-07:00

Video

Chess Boxing

2008-07-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

2008-07-14T02:27:00.001-07:00

JOEY CHESTNUT WINS HOT DOG EATING CONTEST _ The excitement was incredible Friday morning at New York's Coney Island beach for the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Competition. The reigning champ Joey Chestnut and the Japanese firecracker Takeru Kobayashi faced off in a 10 minute competition to see who could eat the most hot dogs. And for the first time in history, after the ten minutes, there was a tie: both Chestnut and Kobayashi had eaten 59 hot dogs. And so, for the first time in the history of the hot dog eating completion, there was a dog off: whoever could eat five more hot dogs the quickest would win. Although it was neck and neck, Joey Chestnut was victorious and walked away with the coveted mustard belt. (Video)

... Kobayashi, the 6 time champ, had been dethroned last year by Chestnut. Jaw problems plagued him at last year's dog fest and he had sought out the help of physicians to assist him regain his dominance.

NOW YOU CAN BUY HIGH HEELS . . . FOR YOUR TODDLER???

2008-06-17T03:31:00.000-07:00

Are you worried that you haven't started objectifying your daughter by dressing her up like a prostitute-in-training at an early enough age? (???)

--Well, don't worry, because now you can buy a pair of high heel shoes . . . for your toddler. Seriously.

--A company called Heelarious has released a line of, quote, "High Heel Crib Shoes" for babies up to SIX MONTHS old. According to the website, you can buy the stiletto pumps in hot pink, black or leopard print

(--Check out some pictures of this nonsense here . . .)

(--And if for some reason you really want these things, you can pick up a pair for $35 here . . .)

http://www.heelarious.com/

Real life phone sex operators

2008-06-13T03:42:00.001-07:00

WE HAVE PICTURES OF REAL-LIFE PHONE SEX OPERATORS . . . AND AS EXPECTED, THEY'RE NOT HOT:

Guys . . . when you're up late at night and you see those sleazy phone sex commercials with super hot chicks . . . do you seriously debate about dropping $3.95 a minute to talk to them?

--Well, in case you still don't know that TV lies to you to get your money . . . actual phone sex operators look NOTHING like the hot models on TV.

--Don't believe me? Check out these pictures of actual phone sex operators from a new book called "Phone Sex".

2008-06-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

We may have MORE babies

Exclusive: Dad-to-be reveals joy..just 4 weeks before HE is due to give birth

By Georgina Dickinson

DAD'S MY BABY: A moment of wonder

THESE extraordinary new pictures show the world's first pregnant man—captured just four weeks from the birth of his baby girl.

In an exclusive and moving interview with the News of the World, sex-change dad Thomas Beatie and his wife Nancy tell of their joy. And he reveals unseen family snaps of his astonishing early life as a teenage beauty queen.

"I feel fantastic," he said. "I cannot wait to see my baby's face."

In a tender and intimate moment, Thomas shares a cuddle with wife Nancy—before telling the News of the World of his secret hopes for the future.

With four weeks to go, he sensationally reveals the couple are ready to have MORE BABIES after the birth of their daughter.

EX-PECT-ING: Thomas at home with pet birds

And as well as posing for these amazing world exclusive pictures, Thomas opens up his family album to show unseen snaps of his life as a teenage beauty queen.
Thomas—who changed sex ten years ago but kept his ovaries and womb so he could have children—told us: "I feel on top of the world.
"I'm 36 weeks now and almost due but I feel fantastic. Every day Nancy a
nd I think about how we just cannot wait to hold our daughter for the first time, to finally get to touch her and see her face.
"We have her nursery ready and her diapers are lined up in her bedroom. Everything is ready to go.
"We have even picked a name which we both love—although we're waiting until she is born before we tell anyone. All the people who really know us and love us, our friends and family, have been incredibly supportive.
"So much so we might even have more children. We will just see what the experience is like with our daughter's arrival first and then give it some thought."

BUBBLING WITH JOY: Thomas with pregnancy pigmentation lines showing

Thomas, 34, posed naked for our
fascinating new pictures which show just how extraordinary this pregnancy is as he even SHAVES while resting his elbow on his baby bump.

Lucky

And the photos from his past document his transformation from a Hawaiian beauty called Tracy Lagondino into the man he is today.
Brave Thomas has caused worldwide controversy over the "reverse" pregnancy, which was the only way he and Nancy could have children.
But at the centre of the storm, all has been calm, as Thomas explains: "Everything has been excellent. I have been so lucky. I didn't have any discomforts or ailments.
"In fact when I found out I was pregnant I went online and read how a lot of women suffer back pain but I haven't had any. It has been remarkably easy.

"And when Nancy and I saw the first scans it was just such an incredible emotional experience we did not care what some people were saying about us.
"To be able to see her face, her lips, her body made all the abuse we have endured worthwhile.
"She went from being a figment of hope to a real person, our baby and the experience has been magical.
"Starting a family was a dream Nancy and I had shared for some time, and in four weeks our dream is about to come true. We just cannot wait."
Thomas had his breasts removed ten years ago but chose to keep his female reproductive organs because Nancy, 45, had undergone a hysterectomy.
When the time came, he had to stop taking his sex-change testosterone hormone so he could start ovulating again.

He fell pregnant with twins on his first attempt using donor sperm bought from a cryogenic sperm bank. Thomas was inseminated by Nancy at home using a special syringe from a VET who looked after their pet birds—because a baby clinic turned them away.
"I asked for a syringe without a needle," said Nancy. "They gave us one and we got our container of sperm."
Thomas had an ectopic pregnancy and lost the embryos and a fallopian tube. But against the odds a second try worked—and the baby will be delivered by caesarean section by obstetrician Dr Kimberly James on July 3.
"It was always a clear decision that we wanted to have children and for me not to remove my organs," said Thomas.
"Wanting to have a child is neither a male nor female desire but a human desire."

Bubbles

Meanwhile at their detached home in Bend, Oregon, Nancy and Thomas—who run a T-shirt business—are keen to portray an air of everyday normality.
Our photographs show Thomas having his daily shave then taking a bath, lying in the bubbles, gazing at his bump.
He poses lovingly with Nancy, clearly showing the scars from his breast operation and pregnancy pigmentation lines on his abdomen.
And he plays with his pet birds, perching them on his arm. Then the amazing couple got out their family albums, revealing just how beautiful Thomas was as Tracy from her early school years to her teens.
Tracy and her two brothers were raised in Hawaii by their father after their mother committed suicide.
The young beauty was a model—even making it to the finals of Miss Hawaii Teen USA.
There are also pictures from their happiest day—when they wed in Hawaii in 2003 five years after they met in Honolulu.
Thomas has no regrets about becoming a woman. He still has female organs but says he and Nancy manage to have a healthy sex life.
Now he is looking forward to a bright future as a father.
"We have come so far together and our daughter will be the icing on the cake for us," Thomas told us. "Finally we will be a complete family."

All pictures copyright Getty Images. No reproduction without authorisation .

2008-06-04T03:37:00.000-07:00

A Romanian woman
who pole-dances on the subways

2008-06-04T03:30:00.000-07:00

Eight-year-old Haley Lents, who
swallowed 30 magnets and steel balls

2008-05-23T03:57:00.000-07:00

A GUY ADMITS TO HAVING SEX WITH OVER 1,000 CARS:

Your garage has probably become a place to store junk. But after hearing this, you may want to clear it out and hide your car immediately.

--That's because 57-year-old Edward Smith of Washington state admits that he's had sex with over 1,000 cars.

--Let me make sure you got that . . . this guy has introduced his male member to over 1,000 automobiles. Most of the cars Ed molested belonged to showrooms or strangers. So Ed is having sex with other people's cars . . . and they don't know it.

--Ed is what you call a mechaphile . . . which means he's sexually attracted to machines instead of women. Ed says he's been this way ever since the Corvette Stingray came out when he was 13 . . . even though he didn't have sex with a car until he was 15.

--There's not a lot of information on mechaphilia . . . so we're not exactly sure what piece of the car Ed inserts his manhood into. We know he's had backdoor relations with a car by lubing up the tailpipe . . . but it's not clear what Ed considers the car's vagina.

--We also know that he likes to violate cars in public by kissing and licking the exterior . . . as well as inserting his fingers into the tailpipe.

--Even though Ed is most attracted to cars . . . he says his most intense sexual experience was making love to the helicopter from the TV show "Airwolf".

--These days, Ed's pretty much settled down with his new girlfriend . . . a white Volkswagon Beetle named Vanilla.

2008-05-19T03:24:00.000-07:00

Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee sprinter
who's trying out for South Africa's Olympic team

2008-05-16T03:59:00.001-07:00


Robotic suit could usher in super soldier era

May 15 01:44 PM US/Eastern
By MARK JEWELL
AP Business Writer

33 Comments

View larger image

Robotic Exoskeleton Turns Grunts Into Super Soldiers

Rocket Man With Jet-Powered Wings Wows Crowd With Fast Flight High Above Alps

Rex Jameson bikes and swims regularly, and plays tennis and skis when time allows. But the 5-foot-11, 180-pound software engineer is lucky if he presses 200 pounds—that is, until he steps into an "exoskeleton" of aluminum and electronics that multiplies his strength and endurance as many as 20 times. With the outfit's claw-like metal hand extensions, he gripped a weight set's bar at a recent demonstration and knocked off hundreds of repetitions. Once, he did 500.

"Everyone gets bored much more quickly than I get tired," Jameson said.

Jameson—who works for robotics firm Sarcos Inc. in Salt Lake City, which is under contract with the U.S. Army—is helping assess the 150-pound suit's viability for the soldiers of tomorrow. The suit works by sensing every movement the wearer makes and almost instantly amplifying it.

The Army believes soldiers may someday wear the suits in combat, but it's focusing for now on applications such as loading cargo or repairing heavy equipment. Sarcos is developing the technology under a two-year contract worth up to $10 million, and the Army plans initial field tests next year.

Before the technology can become practical, the developers must overcome cost barriers and extend the suit's battery life. Jameson was tethered to power cords during his demonstration because the current battery lasts just 30 minutes.

But the technology already offers evidence that robotics can amplify human muscle power in reality—not just in the realm of comic books and movies like the recently debuted "Iron Man," about a wealthy weapons designer who builds a high-tech suit to battle bad guys.

"Everybody likes the idea of being a superhero, and this is all about expanding the capabilities of a human," said Stephen Jacobsen, chief designer of the Sarcos suit.

The Army's exoskeleton research dates to 1995, but has yet to yield practical suits. Sarcos' technology sufficiently impressed Raytheon Co., however, that the Waltham, Mass.-based defense contractor bought Sarcos' robotics business last November. Sarcos also has developed robotic dinosaurs for a Universal Studios' "Jurassic Park" theme park ride.

Jack Obusek, a former colonel now with the Army's Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center in the Boston suburb of Natick, foresees robot-suited soldiers unloading heavy ammunition boxes from helicopters, lugging hundreds of pounds of gear over rough terrain or even relying on the suit's strength-enhancing capabilities to make repairs to tanks that break down in inconvenient locations.

Sarcos' Jacobsen envisions factory workers someday using the technology to perform manual labor more easily, and firefighters more quickly carrying heavy gear up stairwells of burning buildings. Disabled people also may find uses for the technology, he said.

"We see the value being realized when these suits can be built in great numbers for both military and commercial uses, and they start coming down in cost to within the range of the price of a small car," said Jacobsen. He declined to estimate how much the suit might cost in mass production.

But cost isn't the only obstacle. For example, developers eventually hope to lengthen the suit's backpack battery's life and tinker with the suit's design to use less energy. Meanwhile, the suit can draw power from a generator, a tank or helicopter. And there are gas engines that, while noisy, small enough to fit into the suit's backpack.

"The power issue is probably the No. 1 challenge standing in the way of getting this thing in the field," Obusek said.

But he said Sarcos appears to have overcome the key challenge of pairing super-fast microprocessors with sensors that detect movements by the body's joints and transmit data about them to the suit's internal computer.

Much as the brain sends signals to tendons to get muscles to move, the computer sends instructions to hydraulic valves. The valves mimic tendons by driving the suit's mechanical limbs, replicating and amplifying the wearer's movements almost instantly.

"With all the previous attempts at this technology, there has been a slight lag time between the intent of the human, and the actual movement of the machine," Obusek said.

In the demonstration, the bulky suit slowed Jameson a bit, but he could move almost normally. When a soccer ball was thrown at him, he bounced it back off his helmeted head. He repeatedly struck a punching bag and, slowly but surely, he climbed stairs in the suit's clunky aluminum boots, which made him look like a Frankenstein monster.

"It feels less agile than it is," Jameson said. "Because of the way the control laws work, it's ever so slightly slower than I am. And because we are so in tune with our bodies' responses, this tiny delay initially made me tense."

Now, he's used to it.

"I can regain my balance naturally after stumbling—something I discovered completely by accident."

Learning was easy, he said.

"It takes no special training, beyond learning to relax and trust the robot," he said.

2008-05-16T03:58:00.001-07:00

YOU CAN VISIT A MUSEUM THAT SHOWCASES 261 KINDS OF MALE JUNK:

If you're tired of boring museums full of dinosaur bones and mummies . . . how 'bout a museum dedicated to nothing but male genitals?

--It's called the Icelandic Phallological Museum . . . and it houses 261 types of the male member from over 90 different species of animal.

--The largest specimen in the museum belongs to a sperm whale. It's five and a half feet long and weights 154 pounds. The smallest male member is a hamster's. It's only 2 millimeters and you have to look through a magnifying glass to see it.

--Now, I know what you're thinking . . . are their human wangs on display? Not yet . . . but four men have offered to donate their dongs when they die.

(Yahoo News)

(--Here's the official website of the museum . . .)

(--Just to make you feel inadequate, we'd like to remind you that RASPUTIN'S ELEVEN-INCH Johnson is sitting in a Russian museum. Here's the link . . .)

http://www.phallus.is/

2008-05-15T03:33:00.000-07:00

The Butt Bra

2008-05-13T03:16:00.000-07:00

My Guinness World Record!

That's right guys, you're looking at the winner of
the Guinness world record in the category of
"World's Largest Augmented Breasts"

When I first contacted Guinness about applying for the world record back
in August of '03 they told me that they were sorry but they didn't have
a category for implanted breasts. I thought that was the end of it, but
to my surprise they contacted me in January to let me know they'd taken
my suggestion and created the category, and wanted to know if I was still
interested. You know me, of course I was!

They sent me all the application forms and all the documentation
requirements (there are a lot!) and off I went to get measured. The
first place I went took one look at me and said it was beyond them
and they couldn't help me, but then I found the great lingerie store
called Giggle's. The people there were more than happy to lend a
hand and provided me with a professional measurement. They were
truly awesome and very nice to me, so if you're ever in the Sarasota
area please stop in and check them out!

(The funny thing is that when I was a house dancer, my stage name was Giggles.)

The wonderful staff at Giggles

After gathering everything I needed, I submitted it to Guinness and
then had to sit and wait to find out what was going to happen. They
finally let me know that I had won the record! They sent me
my official certificate and the rest you know! I know I won't hold the record
forever but I'm happy that I helped to create the category for me and
the other girls that will follow in the future. I guess I've made my mark
in history but not the way I expected to, that's for sure.

Lots of Love,
Maxi

2008-05-13T03:05:00.000-07:00

12-year-old Nick Santonastasso, who
was born without legs and only one arm and one finger

2008-05-05T03:35:00.000-07:00

Daisy Fuentes topless, with her
boyfriend's head buried in her chest

2008-04-30T03:11:00.000-07:00

A SOCCER PLAYER NAMED RONALDO . . . WHO'S PRETTY FAMOUS EVERYWHERE BUT THE U.S. . . . PICKED UP THREE TRANNY HOOKERS:

If you're a soccer fan, you might know who RONALDO is. But for the majority of Americans who have no idea . . . allow me to fill you in.

--Ronaldo's a 31-year-old Brazilian soccer player. He's won the World Cup twice with the Brazilian national team (in '94 and '02) and he plays professionally for an Italian club called A.C. Milan. He's actually pretty famous worldwide.

--Anyway, on Sunday night, Ronaldo was out at a nightclub in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when he decided he was in the mood for a little group loving . . . so he picked up three compensated dates and headed off to a nearby hotel.

--But when Ronaldo and his escorts got to the hotel, Ronaldo learned that his three lovely ladies . . . weren't ladies AT ALL. They were DELICIOUS TRANNIES!

--Ronaldo freaked out and told the transvestites he wanted nothing to do with them. He offered them each $600 to leave, and two of the "ladies" took the deal. But the third said that unless she got $30,000, she was going to tell the media Ronaldo was into he-shes.

--Ronaldo got upset, and . . . while the details are a little sketchy . . . there was an altercation and the police were called in.

--While being interviewed by the cops, Ronaldo admitted to picking up the prostitutes for group relations . . . but he claims he didn't know the call girls were actually dudes until they got to the hotel.

--Apparently, prostitution isn't illegal in Brazil . . . and Ronaldo hasn't been charged with anything.

2008-04-28T06:32:00.000-07:00

A Russian woman who had 125
pounds of belly fat removed

Fay en CNN

2008-04-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

Out talk show host: Gays and Latinos share struggle

by PageOneQ

During a panel discussion in the CNN newsroom on Tuesday, Fay Carmona, openly gay co-host of Univision's The Luis Jiménez Show, says that Latinos and gays draw unlikely parallels in the current climate.

"I'm very blessed," Carmona says, "to not only only represent Latinos; I also get to represent the gay community."

"It is funny enough," she goes on, "that Latinos and gays don't really know, but they're fighting for almost the same things: They want equal rights. They want health care for their partners."

More is available to view in the video clip below.

2008-03-13T03:00:00.000-07:00

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spitzer's escort's MySpace: Meet Ashley Alexandra Dupre

Ashley Alexandra Dupré's MySpace profile

The New York Times has just found out the true identity of "Kristen," the high-priced hooker that New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer met in February. Ashley Alexandra Dupré is 22, an aspiring R&B singer, the product of "a broken home," and, of course, gorgeous.

But she's so much more. The Times gets a great deal of its biographical data from Dupré's MySpace page, which is really quite something.

The objects of sex scandals once hid in shadows; for much of 1998, much of what we knew about Monica Lewinsky was second- or third-hand, not from the source. We're in a different time now, of course.

Thanks to social networking, Ashley Alexandra Dupré comes to us a woman in full.

Excerpts from her MySpace bio:

When I was 17, I left home. It was my decision and I've never looked back. Left my hometown. Left a broken family. Left abuse. Left an older brother who had already split. Left and learned what it was like to have everything, and lose it, again and again. Learned what it was like to wake up one day and have the people you care about most gone. I have been alone. I have abused drugs. I have been broke and homeless. But, I survived, on my own. I am here, in NY because of my music.

And what about that music? Here's a link to her band's page. For 39 cents, you can buy Dupré 's song "What We Want."

The lyrics go, in part: "Look in my eyes so I can see if you're for real / Can you ride with me boy?"

To give you a taste, press Play below. Yes, it is unsettling that she moans in the song; yes, you do wonder whether the Gov. is familiar with that moan.

Still, what bad could anyone say about a girl who loves Etta James? Ms. Dupré -- the Times informs us that her legal name is Ashley Rae Maika DiPietro, but hey, who cares what's legal anymore? -- doesn't connect to any other real people on MySpace, but she does list as her "friends" Madonna, Amy Winehouse, Mary J. Blige, and Whitney Houston.

In a blog post she put up last August -- her only one -- Dupré describes her approach to relationships.

If you are in a relationship, and it is "doing absolutly nothing" for you, makes you feel bad about yourself or situations, just causing unessesary drama, and ruining things that you may actually care about...why would you want that in your life?? you need to surround yourself with the people that make you feel good, and that will help you get to that next step in your life. that is what a relationship is all about...growing and moving forward.

Though she tells the Times that the past few days have been rough, it's conceivable that the scandal could work out for Dupré. I imagine she could write quite a memoir -- she wouldn't even have to make any of it up.

Here's another pic of Dupré. There are more here.

2008-02-29T02:43:00.000-08:00

The Luis Jimenez Show [Sin Censura]

2008-02-28T21:08:00.000-08:00

2008-02-20T03:28:00.000-08:00

A COP ALLEGEDLY BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF A DRUNK LADY AT A POLICE STATION . . . AND SOME OF IT IS ON VIDEO:

Back in November, 42-year-old Angela Garbarino was taken to jail in Shreveport, Louisiana, after she crashed into some cars outside a casino.

--The cops thought she may have been drunk . . . so they took Angela to a room where they give breathalyzer tests.

--Officer Wiley Willis tried to get Angela to take the test . . . but she was totally uncooperative and demanded a phone call.

--Angela even tried to leave the room. So Officer Willis cuffed her and shoved her into a seat. Then she started yelling and screaming. That's when Officer Willis walked over to a camera that was recording everything in the room . . . and turned it OFF.

--When he turned the camera back on, Angela was lying in a pool of blood. She had a broken nose, two broken teeth, black eyes, a gash across her forehead and bruises all over her body.

--The cop said she fell and injured herself when she tried to leave the room again. Angela says he beat her up. But, since the cop conveniently turned the camera off, no one really knows what happened.

--The Shreveport police put Willis on paid leave while they looked into the whole thing.

--After a three-month investigation, they fired him. And even though this was the FOURTH time Willis had been accused of excessive force, he has not been charged with a crime.

--Angela was taken to the hospital, and she's fine now. But she still has to face reckless driving, hit-and-run and DUI charges. (ABC News / Shreveport Times / KTBS)

(--You can watch the actual interrogation room footage here, but it's pretty graphic . . .)

2008-02-19T03:14:00.000-08:00

THE NEWEST CRAZE SWEEPING THE IVORY COAST IS . . . HAVING AN ENORMOUS BUTT???

In the U.S., we're so obsessed with being skinny that we're literally starving ourselves to be attractive. And I . . . for one . . . am sick of it.

--That's why congratulations go out to the Ivory Coast (--which is a country in West Africa) and its newest dance craze . . . the Bobaraba . . . for celebrating ladies with LARGE BACKSIDES.

--The Bobaraba dance . . . which translates to "big bottom" . . . was inspired by a hit song by DJ Mix and DJ Eloh (--who are musicians in the Ivory Coast).

--DJ Mix says the song . . . which is also titled "Bobaraba" . . . was recorded as a tribute to big, beautiful butts and the African women who are, quote, "defined by the shape of their bottoms."

--And in the Ivory Coast, big butts are such THE THING, women have even begun taking black market supplements which are supposed to enlarge their rears.

--The bottom enhancers . . . which come in liquid or cream form . . . are marked with labels claiming to be "Vitamin

--And even though there's no description about HOW the Vitamin B12 works . . . or even any scientific evidence that it will make your butt bigger if you take it . . . ladies are lining up to get their hands on the stuff.

--Kady Meite . . . who is a dancer on tour with DJ Mix and DJ Eloh . . . says, quote, "There are women today with large bottoms who are embarrassed, so [the bobaraba] is to say don't be ashamed, be comfortable."

(--Amen, Kady. Amen.) (BBC)

(--Check out the official "Bobaraba" video featuring DJ Mix, DJ Eloh and a bunch of some of the finest, biggest backsides the Ivory Coast has to offer . . .)

2008-02-13T03:16:00.000-08:00

Mini-muscleman: Meet the world's smallest bodybuilder!

News » World news

Mini-muscleman: Meet the world's smallest bodybuilder

Last updated at 19:52pm on 12th February 2008 Comments (8)
At just 2ft 9in, Indian muscleman Aditya 'Romeo' Dev is the world's smallest bodybuilder.

Pint-sized Romeo is well-known in his hometown of Phagwara, India - for his ability to lift 1.5kg dumbbells - despite his overall 9kg body weight.

Every day, crowds flock to the local gym to the see the mini-muscleman in training.

Scroll down for more...

Mini muscleman: Romeo, pictured with his trainer Ranjeet Pal, weighs just 1 st 6 lbs

Unlike many dwarfs, Romeo is well proportioned, with a head circumference of 15in and a chest measurement of 20in.

Romeo said: "I've been training as a bodybuilder for the last two years and by now I think I must be the strongest dwarf in the world.

"I have always been fit but since I started working out, I have become famous for my strength.

"My size has never stopped me. I train with dumbbells and do aerobics and dance. People are always pleased to see me. I have been invited on TV shows and dance on stage."

Scroll down for more ...

Howzat: Romeo bats away any doubts about his sporting prowess prompted by his size

His trainer Ranjeet Pal spents hours helping his 19-year-old protege build his small muscles to perfection.

"Because of his small size, I don't assign him hard exercises. But Romeo trains more or less the same as anyone else and he's much more determined.

"When he first started, I insisted he did a month of basic exercises like aerobics, push-ups and basic gymnastics to prepare his body.

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Possibly the strongest dwarf in the world: Romeo and his 1.5kg dumbbells

"After that, I made lightweight dumbbells and taught him basic weight-lifting exercises to shape his biceps and triceps. His size and his weight were taken care of so that he never hurt himself."

Determined Romeo is hoping to have an entertainment career after performing in many local TV shows.

He said: "I earn good money through my dance and bodybuilding shows but being rich doesn't interest me.

"My dream is to travel a lot - I want to perform in London with my idol, Jazzy-B."

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Big dreamer: Romeo hopes to become a famous star both in India and abroad

Weight lifter: Romeo lifts 1.5kg weights every day

M. Alma

Executive Producer

The Luis Jimenez Show

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2008-02-12T03:33:00.000-08:00

Hands free phone...

2008-02-07T03:47:00.001-08:00

Mary Townsen, who fell on a knife and SURVIVED

Mary Townsen

2008-02-05T07:31:00.000-08:00

Today's Flying Cars

When George Jetson first flew across American TV screens in his flying car-like vehicle in 1962, many of us began wondering when we could buy our own Supersonic Suburbanite or Spacion Wagon. Amazingly, that day may be around the corner. After a century of unfulfilled promises, flying cars may fill the skies in the next few decades. There are still some obstacles to overcome, including receiving approval from the FAA, but the cars are close to being finished.

Photo courtesy Moller International
The M200X, the predecessor of the Skycar, flew for the first time in 1989 to a height of 50 feet.

There is no lack of engineers taking on the challenge to design a new breed of flying cars. While sleeker, more advanced cars have been developed in the last decade, no one has come close to opening up a flying car dealership. Here are a few of the individuals attempting to deliver a flying car:

Paul Moller has spent 40 years and millions of dollars developing his Skycar. He is now very close to developing the first mass-marketed flying car. In 1965, he demonstrated his first attempt, the XM-2, which hovered off the ground but didn't go anywhere. In 1989, Moller unveiled the M200X, which has now flown 200 flights and can go as high as 50 feet (15.24 meters).
MACRO Industries in Huntsville, Ala., is developing a flying car that it's calling the SkyRider X2R. This aero car will be able to take off and land vertically. SkyRider incorporates the interior design of a 2-seat sports car with the mobility of a helicopter or airplane. The company said it is also developing 5 and 7-seat models of the SkyRider, and it should fit in most two-car garages. The navigation system will be controlled almost entirely by GPS satellites and cellular services.
In Israel, Dr. Rafi Yoeli of Urban Aeronautics is testing the CityHawk, a prototype of a fly-by-wire car. He's also working on a project centered around the X-Hawk, a rotorless Verticle-Take-Off and Landing vehicle (VTOL). Visit this Web site for more information.
In 1990, Kenneth Wernicke formed Sky Technologies to develop a small-winged flying car. His Aircar has flown at 200 to 400 mph (322 to 644 kph) and driven at 65 mph (105 kph). It's also small enough to fit into an average parking space.
Recently, Branko Sarh, a senior engineer at McDonnell Douglas Aerospace, has attempted to develop a flying car, called the Sokol A400, or Advanced Flying Automobile. Sarh designed a 4-passenger vehicle that would pop out telescoping wings at the push of a button.

Moller's latest design, the Skycar M400, is designed to take off and land vertically, like a Harrier Jet, in small spaces. It can reach speeds of 400 mph (644 kph), but will cruise at around 350 mph (563 kph), and it has a range of 900 miles (1449 km). Gasoline, diesel, alcohol, kerosene and propane can be used to fuel the Skycar, and its fuel mileage will be comparable to that of a medium-sized car, getting 20 miles (32.2 km) to the gallon. The initial cost of a Skycar will be about $1 million, but once it begins to be mass produced that price could come down to as low as $60,000.

Photo courtesy Moller International
The Skycar will be operated completely by computer and guided by GPS satellites.

The four-seat Skycar is powered by eight rotary engines that are housed inside four metal housings, called nacelles, on the side of the vehicle. There are two engines in each nacelle so that if one of the engines in one of the nacelle fails, the other engine can sustain flight. The engines lift the craft with 720 horsepower, and then thrust the craft forward. The Wankel engine replaces pistons of a conventional engine with a single triangular rotor spinning inside an oval-shaped chamber, which creates compression and expansion as the rotor turns. There are three combustion chambers in the Wankel, with a crankshaft between them.

To make the Skycar safe and available to the general public, it will be completely controlled by computers using Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites, which Moller calls a fly-by-wire system. In case of an accident, the vehicle will release a parachute and airbags, internally and externally, to cushion the impact of the crash.

MACRO Industries' SkyRider X2R will also use this fly-by-wire system to safely transport passengers to their desired destinations. Drivers will simply get in, turn on the power and enter the address or phone number of their destination. SkyRider will do the rest. MACRO said that the system will be almost fully automatic, but may allow some manual control. Commands will be entered just by telling the car what you want it to do.

According to their Web site, MACRO is shooting to have a working vehicle produced sometime in 2006. The company is planning to power the vehicle with an enhanced automobile engine to drive four-ducted fans. The unique feature of the SkyRider will be the company's patented rotary cartridge valve, which is expected to increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

The CityHawk is similar to the Skycar and SkyRider in that it also takes off and lands vertically. However, there are some key differences. The CityHawk will be powered by fans that are driven by four internal combustion engines. Much like in the Skycar, this redundancy of engines will allow the vehicle to land even if one of the engines is lost. The CityHawk is about the size of a Chevy Surburban, and will have cruising speeds of 90 to 100 miles per hour (145 to 161 kph). CityHawk developers say that it could be used as an air taxi, for news gathering and for traffic control.

The mass availability of flying cars could be very exciting or very scary, depending on how you look at it. If proper safeguards are put in place, they could be the answer to our ever-worsening traffic jams. Flying cars that can travel at hundreds of miles per hour would not only cut that rush hour commute to a few minutes, but it would allow us to live hundreds of miles farther from work and still make it to the office faster than by road-bound cars today.

Personal Air Vehicle Wouldn't it be great to be able to pack a few bags, grab your friends and fly anywhere in the world in your own personal jet anytime you want? The folks behind start-up "Terrafugia" hope to make your dreams come true by 2009 or 2010. Well, sort of. Change the dream to 'friend' and imagine the flight plan being somewhat limited.

The Terrafugia team is currently working on a personal air vehicle (known as the "Transition") that pretty much looks like an SUV with retractable wings. The Transition won't be able to whisk you off on a non-stop flight to any destination, but you will be able to get as far as 500 miles in one "jump." And, amazingly, the designers hope it will do it on a single tank of premium unleaded gas. Oh, and don't worry about having to rent a car once you reach your getaway -- as hinted at in its name, the Transition gets decent mileage on the road, too! (Planned vehicle specs: In flight, the Transition will fly up to 120 miles per hour and get 30 mpg. On the highway, it will get 40 mpg and around town, it will get 30 mpg.)

A full-size prototype is planned, but for now the designers are working with a one-fifth scale model in the wind tunnel and relying on computer simulations for development.

2008-01-25T03:33:00.000-08:00

La fortuna no le ha sonreído para nada en los últimos meses a Britney Spears, y se desquita con los paparazzi, quienes la siguen como si fueran su sombra a todos lados. Cuando todavía era muy popular, viajó a México para ofrecer algunos conciertos y en vez de hablar con los medios, les hizo una seña obscena, que después fue conocida como la 'Britney-señal'. Y ¿cómo olvidar la vez que furiosa golpeó el auto de un fotógrafo con una sombrilla?

2008-01-25T03:15:00.000-08:00

Asteroid To Make Rare Close Flyby Of Earth January 29

The illustration from an amateur astronomer shows the asteroid's track on the sky for 3 days near the time of the close Earth approach as seen from the city of Philadelphia. (Credit: Dr. Dale Ireland, Silverdale, WA)

ScienceDaily (Jan. 24, 2008) — Scientists are monitoring the orbit of asteroid 2007 TU24. The asteroid, believed to be between 150 meters (500 feet) and 610 meters (2,000 feet) in size, is expected to fly past Earth on Jan. 29, with its closest distance being about 537,500 kilometers (334,000 miles) at 12:33 a.m. Pacific time (3:33 a.m. Eastern time). It should be observable that night by amateur astronomers with modest-sized telescopes.

Asteroid 2007 TU24 was discovered by the NASA-sponsored Catalina Sky Survey on Oct. 11, 2007. Scientists at NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., have determined that there is no possibility of an impact with Earth in the foreseeable future.

"This will be the closest approach by a known asteroid of this size or larger until 2027," said Don Yeomans, manager of the Near Earth Object Program Office at JPL. "As its closest approach is about one-and-a-half times the distance of Earth to the moon, there is no reason for concern. On the contrary, Mother Nature is providing us an excellent opportunity to perform scientific observations."

Asteroid 2007 TU24 will reach an approximate apparent magnitude 10.3 on Jan. 29-30 before quickly becoming fainter as it moves farther from Earth. On that night, the asteroid will be observable in dark and clear skies through amateur telescopes with apertures of at least 7.6 centimeters (3 inches). An object with a magnitude of 10.3 is about 50 times fainter than an object just visible to the naked eye in a clear, dark sky.

NASA detects and tracks asteroids and comets passing close to Earth. The Near Earth Object Observation Program, commonly called "Spaceguard," discovers, characterizes and computes trajectories for these objects to determine if any could be potentially hazardous to our planet.

Adapted from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

A mountain-sized asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth at 6:35 a.m. Pacific Time (9:35 a.m. Eastern Time) September 29, 2004.

Although asteroid 4179 Toutatis will come no closer than four times the distance between Earth and the Moon (approximately 1.5 million kilometers or 961,000 miles), this will be the closest approach of any known asteroid of comparable size this century.

"This is the closest Toutatis will come for another 500 years, and its orbit is very well known," said Dr. Don Yeomans of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manager of NASA's Near Earth Objects Program Office. "What this fly-by provides is an opportunity to study one of our closest solar system neighbors."

Penelope Cruz Besa a Su Hermana

2008-01-07T03:51:00.000-08:00

When you're trying to launch your pop career it helps if you have famous sisters to appear in your videos... especially if it's something of an erotic display.

Hollywood film star Penelope Cruz and her sister Monica agreed to a highly risque performance to accompany their 22-year-old brother Eduardo Cruz's new single.

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Penelope Cruz and actress Mia Maestro share a kiss

Penelope (left) and her sister Monica dance provocatively in plunging red swimsuits

The video for Cosas Que Contar starts with a scene where the Cruz sisters dub a lesbian porn film. They then suck suggestively on lollypops and writhe around in bikini's and ripped stockings.

The actresses whisper in Eduardo's ears and Penelope is even seen in a lesbian clinch with Argentinian actress Mia Maestro.

Spain is proud of their famous 'favourite daughters' who have designed a fashion line for high street store Mango. But there is always frantic speculation about their love lives in the Spanish press, which the footage has fuelled.

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Penelope and Monica Cruz make suggestive poses in Eduardo's music video

The music video has proved an unsurprising hit on media sharing websites, but many may question whether Eduardo relies too heavily on his sister's fame.

One Spanish commentator unkindly noted that Eduardo's singing talent varies "in inverse proportion to the keenness of young heterosexuals to see the Cruz sisters".

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The Cruz siblings enjoy a meal together to celebrate their efforts in the video

Watch the risque video here...

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