Run, Forrest, Run! Tom Hanks Drops Huge F-Bomb on Live TV

Superstar actor Tom Hanks might be quoting a line from his most famous movie role—"Stupid is as stupid does"—after dropping the dreaded F-Bomb on yesterday's Good Morning, America. 

The Oscar winning star of Forrest Gump was in New York to publicize the release of his much-anticipated new film with Halle Berry—Cloud Atlas.  The actor was being interviewed by GMA co-host Elizabeth Vargas. After showing a clip from his new film where Hanks was using an English accent, Vargas asked the affable actor to re-create the dialect for viewers at home. 

Hanks began to ramble on in his version of an English accent, mostly unintelligible, but suddenly let the F word slip out, clear as day. Both Hanks and Vargas immediately covered their mouths in shock horror, with Vargas apologizing, "We are so sorry, Good Morning, America."

Hanks was red-faced and extremely apologetic as well, saying "Man, oh man, I'm sorry. I have never done that before. I want to apologize to the kids in America watching right now. And let me say the next time I'm on the show there will be a seven-second delay. ... Man oh man!"

The remainder of the interview went smoothly, without the use of any more gratuitous profanity.

ABC News released the following official statement regarding the incident, by way of apology:

This morning Tom Hanks accidentally used an expletive during a live interview on GMA with Elizabeth Vargas. They both immediately apologized on air, and the show was corrected for all subsequent feeds.

Cloud Atlas is now playing in theaters.

New Stage Play about End of Days Available, Royalty Free!

We didn't see it coming...

Orbit, a new royalty free drama for the stage, is now available to Kindle users for only .99 cents. The play features an All-American family going about their normal lives until the inconceivable news arrives that today might very well be the last day of their lives. Highly emotional and gut-wrenching, Orbit does not shy away from the terror and anguish of the moment.

It was just an ordinary day.

What would you do if you received only a few hours notice that the entire world you have known would be coming to a shocking, cataclysmic end? Where would you want to be, who would you want to be with and what would you want to say? This is the premise of "Orbit", a new drama for the stage centered around a typical American family facing just such an unimaginable horror and how they must come to terms with a terrifying, inescapable truth...



The play is available to any drama organization, theater group or budding film makers interested in producing a short film. The play would require three young actors and can be adapted to fit your needs. A paperback version will be available soon as well. Anyone interested may contact me by commenting on this page.



The play can be downloaded to a Kindle device directly from Amazon by clicking HERE:

As luck would have it, (if you want to call it luck) a real life massive meteor explosion was seen and felt over a three state area on the very day my play became available on Kindle Amazon. It has been confirmed that a bolide meteor did explode at high velocity over Louisiana shaking homes and breaking windows over Texas and Arkansas as well. Quite a coincidence, if you believe in such things...

More Bad News for Haiti As Wyclef Jean's Charity Goes Bankrupt

Photo credit: Jorge Cruz/AP

More bad news arrived for the long-suffering people of Haiti after it was revealed that Hip Hop superstar Wyclef Jean's charitable organization to help the people of the island nation has crumbled beneath a mass of debt and alleged mismanagement.

The organization named  Yéle was originally founded by Jean, the former member of Grammy-Award winning Hip Hop group The Fugees, in 2003 as a way to help the people of his homeland. The organization did not receive much attention until after the devastating January 2010 earthquake that rocked the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, crippling the entire city and leaving an estimated 250,000 dead, with millions more left injured and/or homeless.

Jean claimed to have raised more than one million US dollars for the charity in only twenty-four hours after pleading for donations via his official Twitter and Facebook accounts following the horrific disaster. Now allegations have come to light that the charitable donations given to the organization were mismanaged, to the tune of almost $16 million US. 

In one alleged incident, it is claimed that money for the Yéle charity—a reported $30,000—was used to fly troubled actress Lindsay Lohan from New Jersey to a charity-raising event in Chicago. The event only raised some $66,000. Another claim is that Jean brought actor Matt Damon and a host of his other celebrity friends to Haiti via private jet at a cost of almost $70,000. 

Jean—who made an unsuccessful bid for the Haitian presidency in 2010—has remained tight-lipped about the closing of the charity as well as the allegations. He directed followers on his official Twitter feed to read his statement posted to his Facebook account. . 

All of this is indeed sad news for the people of Haiti, who continue to suffer in the wake of the catastrophic earthquake as well as the effects of hurricanes, tropical storms and outbreaks of diseases, such as cholera. Some 300,000 people still reside in what was initially designed as "temporary" housing on the outskirts of the city, tens of thousands of tents that have since been battered by the elements. Electricity and potable running water are extremely scarce. 

Although not as grandiose, a percentage of the sales from my book Evangeline, Alive & Well: A Story of Hope in Haiti have been earmarked to help the people of the country, in whatever small way possible. The book is also available for Kindle readers here:

Cheese Cake, Secrets & Sex? The Golden Girls Are Back...

Cheese Cake, Secrets and Sex? Must Be The Golden Girls!

Take four amazing and talented actresses, add clever writing, loads of sex talk and a box of delicious cheese cake and what do you get? Why, The Golden Girls, of course. Test your Golden Girl's knowledge and see how big a fan you truly are! Thank You for Being a Friend: A Golden Girls Trivia Book is a loving tribute to one of the funniest and most popular sitcoms of all time and a must for any fan of the long-running television show!

By far the bestselling book that I have written, Thank You for Being a Friend: A Golden Girls Trivia Book is being relaunched with a brand new cover! The cover is a much-better representation of the show and what it means to its devoted fans. You may check out the new book and cover over at Amazon: 

 Thank You for Being a Friend: A Golden Girls Trivia Book with New Cover:

Dedicated UK fans of the series may check the book out on Amazon.co.uk:

 Thank You for Being a Friend: A Golden Girls Trivia Book Available in the UK:

Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty have all sadly passed away, but at least we still have the amazing and hard-working Betty White to remind us of how incredible this show is. I know whenever I'm feeling a little down, I'll just pop in a season of The Golden Girls in my DVD player and immediately start laughing and feeling better about the world. I know millions upon millions of people around the world feel the same way...

One of my favorite all-time scenes from the show...

Woman Receives Ten Quadrillion Dollar Phone Bill

If you think your cell phone plan is expensive with your kids always texting and downloading useless crap every few seconds, you'll be grateful that your bill has never been as high as the one a woman in France recently received!

The mademoiselle named Solenne San Jose decided that she would cancel her telephone service with French communications giant Bouygues Telecom (probably for shoddy service and continuous billing errors—just saying.) After severing her contract with the company, they promptly sent San Jose a bill in the mail for a staggering €11,721,000,000,000,000 or ten quadrillion US dollars. (That figure does indeed contain twelve sets of zeros, folks!)

After opening the bill, San Jose had a facial reaction that I imagine was quite similar to this:

"There were so many zeros I couldn't even work out how much it was," she said in an interview with French media. After taking a few nitro-glycerin pills, she contacted the company and informed them of what was obviously a colossal billing error.

That wasn't as easy as it sounds, as apparently the company felt that there was at least a slight chance that the bill was correct, but ultimately sanity prevailed and the company admitted that her bill was actually for only €117.21, or $151— and not the amount of the US trade deficit.

Everyone, go check your phone bills now...

What Lies Beneath? Louisiana Sinkhole Continues to Grow

Photo credit: phys.org

Update August 23, 2013: New video from the Louisiana sinkhole shows a large group of trees being swallowed whole by the sinkhole in one giant gulp! 

Update: March 25, 2013: The Assumption Parish sinkhole has continued to grow and as of now covers an incredible 9 acres of land. More methane gas leaks have been detected as well as continued seismic activity. Neighborhoods closest to the sinkhole are still abandoned, with local governments planning for more people to be evacuated should the sinkhole continue to expand, with no word on any plan to prevent the disaster from spreading. More information in the video below:

The mysterious Louisiana sinkhole that began opening earlier in the summer has continued to expand rapidly, and appears to be ready to completely encompass a 1 mile by 3 mile salt dome located beneath the ground.

Authorities have asked more than 150 households and businesses located nearby the sinkhole in the towns of Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou in Assumption Parish to evacuate the area as a safety precaution. The sinkhole was discovered on August 3 in a swamp located between Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou on property owned by Texas Brine Corp., parish officials have stated in blog posts. The sinkhole is about 200 feet away from the Texas Brine's cavern, one of 51 such oil and gas-related storage caverns carved out of the underground Napoleanville Salt Dome.

Local residents had been reporting seeing gas bubbles, hearing odd booms and feeling mysterious tremors in the bayous for several weeks leading up to the discovery of the sinkhole. The sinkhole, on land owned by Houston-based Texas Brine Co., initially began as an acre-sized hole that quickly liquefied into muck, toppling hundreds of cypress trees as it rapidly expanded. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has since declared a state of emergency in Assumption Parish.

The top of the sinkhole expanded to encompass more than 4-acres in the past week, swallowing up more trees as well as part of a road built to help clean up the site, officials have stated. Officials have also stated that the sinkhole will more than likely continue to expand in the coming weeks, months and perhaps even years.

An oil slick within the sinkhole is now so massive the fumes can be smelled by residents more than a mile away, with some complaining the diesel-like vapors are making them ill.

"Great" Comet ISON Will Be Visible in Daytime Sky Next Year

Photo of Comet ISON taken November 10, 2013, shows blue coma and a double tail! Photo by Michael Jäger of Jauerling Austria

 Update: December 31, 2013: Is ISON still there or isn't it? The general public is still getting the runaround regarding if Comet ISON is still alive, but a recent posting from an amateur astronomer claims to have discovered what is believed to be the debris cloud of the comet (above photograph).

Update: Although currently not as bright as astronomers predicted it would be at this time, Comet ISON is still putting on a spectacular show. Scientists believe it will survive its close encounter with the sun and perhaps be visible to the naked eye by mid to late November, 2013!

A recently discovered comet will make an extremely dramatic flyby past Earth and give our planet a spectacular show.

Comet ISON was discovered this week by Russian astronomers Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok. The new comet is officially known as C/2012 S1, with ISON an acronym for the International Scientific Optical Network, the telescope used to discover the comet.

At  its perihelion (its closest point to the sun), due on November 28, 2013, Thanksgiving Day in the United States, the comet will come within 800,000 miles of the sun’s surface and could evolve into a dazzling celestial body, possibly bright enough to be visible in broad daylight. [edit:] National Geographic has stated on their official site that the comet WILL be the brightest in human history and will be brighter than a full moon.]

The possibility of the comet being visible in the daytime skies will make it one of the most exciting comets to whiz past the earth in a long while. Comet ISON will be barely visible to the unaided eye when it is in the predawn sky positioned against the stars of Leo in October 2013. ISON will then travel north after perihelion and become visible during December both in the evening sky after sunset and in the morning sky before sunrise in certain latitudes of the planet. Just how bright it will be and how long the tail may get during this time frame is not yet known, but it is possible it will be one of the greatest comets in history, if it does not break up while approaching the sun, as comets tend to do.

The prophet Nostradamus had quite a bit to say about comets and the 2012 "time frame":
Quatrain II.46
After great misery for mankind an even greater one approaches, when the great cycle of the centuries is renewed. It will rain blood, milk, famine, war and disease. In the sky will be seen a fire, dragging a tail of sparks.
Quatrain II.41
The great star for seven days will burn, The cloud will cause two suns to appear: The big mastiff all night will howl, When the great pontiff changes countries.

The great star in the quatrain is believed to be a comet while the "cloud" is the comet's coma or tail.

Mother Shipton also made similar prophecies:

A fiery dragon will cross the sky - 7A: The first comet cluster appears.
six times before the earth shall die (has died). - 8: It has appeared 6 times before. (Comet ISON is believed to be an "offspring" of the Great Comet of 1680)
Mankind will tremble and frightened be - 2: Pervasive global fear, 1926 - 2026.
for the six heralds in this prophecy. - 1: Mass death - Subject of this Prophecy. 

Simulation of how Comet ISON will look in the sky during daylight hours. Photo credit Universe Today.

No More Jimmy Choo's: Imelda Marcos' Famous Shoe Collection in Ruins

She once possessed the world's most famous shoe collection, but the former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos would be broken hearted to see her shoes today...

It seems that years of neglect have left the 1200 pair plus collection of fashionable footwear in a severe state of disrepair. Boxes of items once belonging to Imelda and her deceased husband Ferdinand Marcos—the longtime dictator of the Asian nation who died in exile in Hawaii in 1989—have been ruined by water damage as well as termites and mildew.

Ironically, many of the items—including some of the First Lady's lavish ball gowns— had been transferred to the National Museum in the capital of Manila for safekeeping two years ago after high levels of humidity and dangerous mold threatened the collection where they were once stored at the National Palace, where the Marcos' resided during their long tenure.

The collection of shoes once boasted more than 3000 pairs and were the object of great media attention after the Marcos' were ousted following a military coup d'état in 1986. The shoe collection was widely seen as an example of  flamboyant excess and political corruption exhibited by the couple, who had been in power since 1965. 

Imelda Marcos, who was dubbed "The Iron Butterfly" by the press, is now 83-years-old and returned to her homeland in 1991 after five years of exile. She is currently a member of the country's House of Representatives. 

The Weather Outside Is Frightful: Snow Discovered Falling on Mars

It would appear that Martians can get into the Christmas spirit after scientists have discovered snow falling on the Red Planet!

A spacecraft orbiting Mars has detected  snow comprised of carbon dioxide falling on the planet, making it the only body in the solar system known to host this strange weather phenomenon—that scientists are aware of as of now.

The snow was detected falling on the planet's south pole during the Martian winter by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) between 2006-2007 but was only recently discovered by scientists sifting through the voluminous amounts of information collected by the satellite. The planet's south pole maintains a frozen carbon dioxide ice cap year round.

The incredible find means that Mars actually experiences two different types of the powder stuff. In 2008, NASA's Phoenix lander observed snow comprised of water and ice—which we earthlings are quite familiar with —falling near the planet's north pole.

No word if any billionaire adventurer is planning on installing a ski resort on the lonely planet...

Scientists: Record Hot Summer Could Lead to Record Cold Winter

The shocking Arctic ice melt witnessed this year may bring about an extra-cold and snowy winter to some areas in the Northern Hemisphere, scientists are now warning.

Satellites have observed an unprecedented melting of the Arctic ice sheet this year, far exceeding any forecast that computer models had calculated. The Greenland ice sheet melted by a staggering 90% over the course of four days, an event that was not believed to be theoretically possible. Scientists and climatologists are now scrambling to analyze data that has made practically all of their research over the past decade useless.

Scientists and experts must now try to make sense of the accelerated nature of the dramatic and undeniable events rapidly transforming our planet into an unrecognizable eco-system that is happening before our very eyes. The massive melting of the Arctic ice sheet has occurred in relatively normal weather conditions, with only one strong summer storm to hasten the break-up of the pack ice.

Scientists now believe that the shifting of the ice pack and the release of fresh water into the oceans will have a dramatic impact on global weather patterns. When there's less ice in the ocean, atmospheric pressure gradients change, claims one researcher. That means less of the wind that carries warmer air into the atmosphere, where it would ordinarily disperse over land masses, bringing a natural thaw to certain locations during the dead of winter. This could mean an extra-cold and snowy winter for parts of the Northern Hemisphere, with possible record-breaking snow storms paralyzing entire regions.

Climate experts are still scratching their heads to explain this year's unprecedented heat wave that saw summer like temperatures for a large part of the northern US and Canada during the winter months that lead into a scorching summer heat wave and record-breaking drought that parched a significant area of the United States. 

Dangerous Super Typhoon Sanba Eyes Japan and South Korea

A large and highly dangerous typhoon has rapidly gained strength in the western Pacific, meteorologists are warning. Super typhoon Sanba, currently positioned 690 miles south of Japan, has peak winds of 155 mph—the equivalent of a strong Category 4 hurricane—and  on the cusp of developing into a dangerous Category 5 storm, the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane strength scale.

At present, the massive storm is headed due north which would take it on a path very close to the Japanese island of Okinawa on late Saturday evening or early Sunday morning local time. The storm is expected to continue its track due north on a path toward the southern tip of South Korea on Monday.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center has issued warnings for a large area alerting residents of the destructive potential of Sanba. Forecasters say conditions in the region are favorable for an intensification of the storm over the next 24 to 36 hours.

Residents of Okinawa, Japan, have already dealt with two serious typhoons this season, Bolaven and Haikui. Weather experts fear that this storm could be far more dangerous and devastating than the previous two storms combined. Heavy amounts of rainfall and massive flooding are the primary concerns in low-lying, coastal areas, with a high storm surge anticipated due to the storm's powerful winds which could top 175 mph.

33,000 People Flee Erupting Volcano in Guatemala

Over 33,000 citizens living near the "Volcano of Fire" (Volcan de Fuego) in the Central American nation of Guatemala have been forced to evacuate their homes after the dangerous volcano erupted violently today, sending a toxic ash cloud over three kilometers into the air and belching out rivers of hot, molten lava down its flanks.

Sergio Cabanas, the head of the country's emergency response administration, says the entire population of at least 17 villages near the volcano were evacuated, adding up to over 33,000 citizens. The nearby colonial city of Antigua— long a popular destination for international tourists— has remained in the safe zone—but experts warn that could change at a moment's notice.

The active volcano—known as Acatenango to the local populace—spewed a lava stream of more than 2000 feet down the slopes of the mountain. The ash cloud produced by the initial explosion has already drifted for miles and ash measuring up to an inch and a half has fallen to the ground in areas near the volcano. The emergency response agency warns that airplane flights in and out of the country may be affected by the ash cloud.

A large portion of the country is under an orange alert—the second highest warning—with communities within the immediate vicinity of the volcano under the more serious red alert. Experts and scientists anticipate that the volcano could continue to erupt over the next few days or as long as a few weeks.

The eruption is a part of a serious uptick in seismic activity in the region since a powerful 7.9 earthquake rocked nearby Costa Rica last week, sending panicked citizens into the streets. Only five days ago, an eruption of the San Cristobal volcano in nearby Nicaragua caused evacuation orders for almost five thousand residents, and several volcanoes in Costa Rica have had their alert levels elevated in the days since the temblor after experiencing increased activity.

No Man Is an Island: 20K People Want to Become Citizens of "Nowhereisland"

The poet John Donne said "No man is an island, entire of itself" but a British artist has decided to create a unique art project by having a small, arctic island towed by boat around the world.

Dubbed "Nowhereisland" (or Nyskjaeret in Norwegian), artist Alex Hartley discovered the unmapped island off the coast of Svalbard, Norway, in 2004. (You are correct, grasshopper...Svalbard is the home of the infamous "Doomsday Seed Vault".) He then asked the Norwegian government if he could haul the 144-foot chunk of rock south, which they agreed to allow him to do.

The aim of the art project is to " encourage people to think about what it would be like to start up a completely new nation," Hartley tells The Telegraph, "to get them to make proposals for what life should be like on Nowhereisland, what the constitution should consist of, and so on."

In that vein, over 20,000 people have requested "citizenship" of Nowhereisland. After requesting to become a citizen of the tiny chunk of rock and ice, potential immigrants can then suggest measures and laws to pass, to make the "country" a unique, safe and happy place to live. Some more inspired suggestions from asylum-seekers include a ban on all telemarketers, a free after-dinner drink for all citizens as well as a national currency based not on money but rather "the ability to tell a good story".

If you would like to request citizenship of this Nirvana-in-the-making, you may visit Nowhereisland's official website here.

American Businesses Planning for Catastrophic Greek Exit from Euro

American big business is making contingency plans in case Greece leaves the Euro Zone, it has been revealed.

Bank of America and Merrill Lynch all have plans in place to get money to their employees living and working in the Mediterranean nation should the banks close suddenly, leaving American citizens stranded and without a way to access money. Merrill Lynch has plans in place to send armored trucks to go door to door with Greece's old monetary unit the drachma in the event that the country reverts back to using it in favor of the Euro.

Many experts believe that Greece—which has been teetering on the brink of complete financial collapse for the past several years—will exit the Euro monetary system as early as this Friday. The New York Times is reporting that many experts anticipate an announcement after the American markets have closed for the day on Friday, in order to prevent financial chaos from spreading around the world.

An announcement on Friday would mean that banks would have to be closed through early next week as government officials scramble to print enough of the "new" currency for its panicked citizens to use. This would undoubtedly create bank "runs", as people rush to exchange their Euros into the new currency.

American automobile manufacturer Ford Motors is so confident that the switch will take place their computers have already been programed to accept the drachma for the Euro in financial transactions. Credit card companies Visa and Mastercard have both stated officially they have back-up plans and protocols in place so that they will be prepared if other countries also decide to leave the Euro currency. 

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Hold On: Canadian School Accidentally Names Self After Wilson Phillips Singer

A school in Canada has been left red-faced after putting up a new sign proclaiming the institute of learning was named after pop trio Wilson Phillips' singer Carnie Wilson and not the first woman appointed to the Canadian Senate Cairine Wilson.

It wasn't long after the sign was erected outside of the school in Orleans, Ottawa, before passersby began to notice the egregious error, with one vandal writing "Yup!" in big black letters with an arrow to point out the glaring mistake. 

School administrators quickly dispatched a worker out to fix the faux pas, changing Carnie to the appropriate Cairine. The school's trustee John Shea who was responsible for acquiring the new sign joked about the incident on his Facebook page, stating "I think people in Orleans are having a pretty good chuckle about it.

Obviously the school is named after [Canada's] first female senator, not the lead singer of Wilson Phillips."

Carnie Wilson is the daughter of reclusive Beach Boy's legend Brian Wilson and  a founding member of the successful pop group Wilson Phillips, who had a string of hits in the early 1990s. 

 

Jonathan Livingston Seagull Author Richard Bach Injured in Plane Crash

Richard Bach, author of the inspirational 1970s bestselling novel Jonathan Livingston Seagull, has been severely injured in a plane crash, his son James has revealed.

Bach, 76, was piloting his own plane to San Juan Island off the coast of Washington State to visit a friend when the small amphibian aircraft's landing gear clipped an electric power line causing the plane to crash on Friday afternoon. Bach was airlifted to a hospital in nearby Seattle, where he is in serious condition and is being treated for head trauma and a broken shoulder.

Bach has been an avid plane enthusiast for most of his life, which perhaps inspired him to write his classic fable about a bored seagull who searches for the meaning of life. Jonathan Livingston Seagull was an immediate bestseller when first published in 1970, going on to sell over three million copies and inspiring a popular movie of the same name.

The novella was possibly inspired by another classic fable The Little Prince written by French WWII pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who died when the airplane he was piloting disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea during a reconnaissance mission in 1944. 

Fans and friends of the author have expressed their support for Bach on his official website.