Pinup Queen Betty Page Dead at 85

She drove guys crazy with her sultry looks, and there weren't many guys in the 1940s and 1950s that didn't have calendars bearing her sexy poses (of course, that would be different if some of those said guys were married. Damn, those jealous wives!)

But now, she's gone.

Born Betty Mae Page on April 22, 1923, Page altered her first name to 'Bettie'. She was a schoolteacher before becoming the bondage queen that guys- from the 1940s, even up to this present day- would drool over. She also had roles in films and TV. But, she'll forever be immortalized as one of the most sultriest women ever to grace the planet, and one of the earliest Playboy Playmates.

Page died Thursday, in Los Angeles, from pneumonia. She was 85.

You can click on the title for the full story from NFTHE's news partner CNN, or if you're reading this at press time, you can also click at the CNN widget for the story.



(C) 2008 by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.

Let Obama Light Up

It's a well known fact that our president-elect, Barack Obama smokes. But give him credit for working on kicking the habit, after all, smoking's not good for you. And as I can tell you firsthand, it's addictive (for me, it's been a 30-year addiction).

So, if Obama is tempted to light up while dealing with some international crisis, one hopes that he doesn't reach for the Marlboro Reds. But I'll forgive him if I see one lit. You know how hard it is to quit? Very hard! And I'm sure that he'll light up a few more times before he finally quits for good.

We, the American people, can give him all the encouragement he can use. But in the meantime, let him smoke. If that what it takes to calm him down, then so be it.

Okay...next item.

Brrr, Baby. It's Gonna Be a Cold One!: An Arctic blast is barreling down toward the Pacific Northwest, and is expected to bring snow to the Seattle/Tacoma and Portland/Vancouver/Salem metro areas this weekend. It's raining now in Portland, but come Sunday, snow could reach the Willamette Valley floor. Temperatures will dip down to the lower to mid 20s by Sunday night, and further into the teens Monday night (yes, Seattle, we'll be much colder than you. Break out the swimsuits, and swim in the Puget Sound).

Up in the Mount Hood area- just east of Portland- there are already reports of blizzard conditions (click here for the report from KGW-TV/DT: http://www.kgw.com/video/index.html?nvid=312816&shu=1 ).

So I'll be well bundled up this weekend, and much of next week. Stay warm. And if our president-elect needs a smoke, don't hesitiate to float him one.

(C) 2008, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.

O.J. Simpson Sentenced

Today, Orenthal James Simpson faced the music, and was sentenced fifteen years, and up to thirty-three in state prison- but he could be out in nine. Not surprisingly, Simpson's lawyers are appealing the sentence.

Simpson and a co-defendant, Clarence 'C.J.' Stewart were convicted on October for armed robbery and kidnapping a couple of sports memorabilia collectors. Those collectors bought some of Simpson's items, proceeds of the sales going to the families of the late Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Simpson was acquitted of their murders in 1995, but was found civilly liable in their deaths. The families won a $33 million suit again Simpson.



Last year, Simpson, Stewart and several others went to a Las Vegas area hotel, and reported planned to rob collectors Bruce Frommong and Al Beardsley. However, the robbery was botched. Two of Simpson's co-defendants, Walter Alexander and Michael McClinton struck deals with prosecutors in exchange for testimony against Simpson, who was reportedly the ringleader of the robbery.

Simpson apologized for his act of jackassery. However, just like Las Vegas District Court Judge Jackie Glass, who sentenced Simpson and Stewart today, I'm not buying it.



This is the end of what could have been a storied life. Sure, he'll be do the jailhouse rock until 2017- if he's lucky, otherwise, we're talking 2023, when he's 76 and probably suffering from Alzheimer's. That is if he's lucky enough to live that long. Sure, he'll be in solitary confinement, which is a pity on the account that, one, his star got tarnished the day Nicole and Ronald were killed- of course, many say the day he was acquitted of the murders, he got away with killing them. So, with his star forever tarnished, two, he should be out there with the rest of the prison population. Solitary confinement is way too easy on this guy.

And then, there's the sentence itself. Fifteen years is not enough time for this asshole. He faced life in prison, and to be quite honest, judge Glass was much too lenient on Orenthal. Sure, he's 61, but when he gets out as early as 2017, he could very well still be healthy as a house. A life sentence would've been better, in my opinion. I guess he had to kill the collectors to get that- or the death sentence had he killed them.

This may bring closure to many, but for the Goldman and Brown families, there will never be closure.



But at least the monster won't be running amok anytime soon.

You could look at the full story from this blog's news partner, CNN.

(C) 2008 by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.

Washington State Hates Christmas (Okay, O'Reilly Says So...)

Uh-oh, somebody has gotten Bill O'Reilly mad. But then again, who- or what hasn't?

Whether it's calling the Christmas tree a 'holiday' tree, or some Islamic celebration, if Bill O'Reilly of the Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor and Westwood One's The Radio Factor doesn't like it, he'll tell you about it.

Which is fine and dandy to your brother Darren here.

That said, the latest subject of his ire is the atheist display, which is a few feet from the Nativity scene at the Washington state capitol building in Olympia. You can look at the story on the KING 5 TV website, which you can get to by clicking on the title.

But, at the risk of wasting precious storage space on this loon, here's Mr. O'Reilly's gripe fest- in its' entirety:


jbranstetter04/YouTube/Fox News

Mr. O'Reilly calls it "political correction gone mad." That "there's no reason to post an anti-religion sign next to a Christmas display." He goes on to call the Democratic governor Christine Gregoire a "weak and confused leader." Gregoire and the state Attorney General Rob McKenna site that the group who put up the display, the Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (http://www.ffrf.org/ ) went through the submission process- just like those who put up the Nativity scene- and was approved.

O'Really, Bill? (Sorry, couldn't pass up the chance to do a play on Bill's last name). The last time I checked, the Washington state capitol was a government facility, not a place of worship! But, apparently, William James O'Reilly, Jr. differs with me. O'Kay (there's that play on his name again). Fine with me.

Now, if a church allowed an atheist display, would that church be any less Christian or even Jewish? I think not. After all, if a church allows such a display, even if it disagrees with the atheist's beliefs, to me it shows open-mindedness on the church's part. Same goes for performing same sex marriages in churches that may disagree with such, but still allows it.

Look, there will be people who will do anything to burn the atheist sign in the Capitol rotunda. But then, they'd be hurting themselves in the end, because it would infringe on the atheist group's First Amendment rights. So, those of you who feel that Christianity is an endangered species- though I (being Christian myself) have my doubts, I ask you this: why even worry about some atheist or agnostic display or belief? Why are you letting it get to you? Don't you believe the First Amendment applies to them, too? At the risk of straying a bit, myself being black, I don't like what white supremacists say, but all in the same, they have the right to express their views- albeit, hopefully in a civil manner.

So, it goes with the atheist views, only, there are times when I feel that they're right about some of us Christians being a bit intolerant.

Ah, the First Amendment:

chefdices/YouTube/Live Leak

I'm sorry that you feel that way, Bill. But I'm siding with the atheists here.

(C) 2008 by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.

The Sex Lottery

It just seems like I can't get away from my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, can I?

Even as I'm about 2500 miles to the north and west in my adopted hometown (of almost 12 years) Portland, Oregon, I still have a place in my heart for good ol' Cowtown. after all, my family's still there, as are many people I grew up with.

So this being said, there's one thing that Columbus can't get away from: SIN!

Oh, yes, I remember vividly when Donald 'Buz' Lukens had sex with a then-sixteen year-old girl. WSYX, the ABC affiliate in Columbus, secretly
Lukens got convicted on misdemeanor charges of delinquency of a minor. And then, there was a story up the road in Cleveland about some sex scandal that happened in that neck of the woods.

So, it hardly surprises me that the city of my birth has found itself- yet again- in another sex scandal. This time, it involves a faculty advisor from Ohio State University; a realtor, and a caseworker from Franklin County Children Services (the local DFS agency). And, they used that tool criminals seem to love as of late: Craigslist!

OSU nursing advisor Chris Johnson created a sex chat line over the summer, and advertised a monthly raffle while the realtor, Rusty Blades used his house for the brothel in the Brewery District, just south of the city center and west of the historic German Village district. For $10, the lucky players competed for the chance to win the ultimate prize: an hour with FCCS case worker Vanise Dunn. Only, you couldn't bring the snotrags with you (of course, if you did, you'd probably get charged extra for babysitting).

And now Dunn is charged with prostitution, with Blades and Johnson facing charges on promoting prostitution.

The politics of sex. How fun can that be?

Copyright (C) 2008, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.

� 2008, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.