Last week when the protests began in Egypt, Dictator Hosni Mubarak used an internet kill switch in Egypt in order to thwart the organization of further protests. This proved to be a futile measure as the nation is on the verge of upheavel.
Now, some people are pushing the panic button in the United States - afraid that President Obama will implement an internet kill switch, aptly referred to as "The Obama Kill Switch." After all, Senator Joseph Lieberman is looking to push a bill through which will allow the government to shut off the internet so as to prevent the further spread of a catastrophic cyber attack.
Alas, many bloggers and conspiracy theorists are taking to the internet to decry the new boogyman - the Obama kill switch, which will be used to thwart uprisings and protests. A blogger from the site Deathandtaxes proposes a scenario in which a "dual internet" exists which would allow business as usual to continue while "us plebes were stuck with a permanent Fail Whale" after the Obama kill switch was pushed.
According to wired.com internet kill switch legislation is back on the table and could become a reality, which would grant Obama the same power that Mubarak used to cause an internet blackout in Egypt.
It's a big stretch to suggest that the Obama Adminstration is going to implement a so-called internet kill switch to trample our freedoms. Anyone with a knowledge of how infrastructure works will tell you that it's easier said than done. Added to that, this would stop our economy and cause a cascading effect throughout the world. Imagine if the United States economy was shut down for a day or a few days; it would spell doom for the global economy.
Furthermore, the situation in Egypt is proof that shutting down the internet cannot stop citizens from mobilizing, which is a testament to the power of humans. The human condition transcends technology and did just fine before the internet. And, it can do fine without it.
Contact The Duke at theduke0000@yahoo.com
As people in the Greater Philadelphia area brace themselves for another round of wintry weather, we can take solace that at least we're not Chicago.
Chicago is set to get hit with a blizzard, which could be legendary. This blizzard is deemed "life threatening" by the National Weather Service. The Chicago Blizzard of 2011 snow totals will not be measured in inches, but rather in feet!
While we have had our share of winter blues in January, at least we aren't getting hit with a storm of this magnitude - at least not yet!
Tomorrow we're expected to get a wintry mix and Wednesday the Philadelphia area could get hit with an ice storm during the morning rush. Take a deep breath and be thankful we're not due to get a life-threatening blizzard.
Contact The People's Blogger at peoplesblogger@yahoo.com
Philly2Philly is giving away free passes to an advanced screening of the thriller "Vanishing on 7th Street" starring Hayden Christensen, Thandie Newton and John Leguizamo
The screening takes place Wednesday, February 16th at Rave Motion Pictures (4012 Walnut Street) at 7:30pm.
You're probably wondering HOW exactly you get these, right?
It's easy! Just email info@philly2philly.com with your name, address, zip and receive one of a limited number of free, advance screening passes for the movie.
Supplies are limited. Winners selected at random from all entries. Must submit your info by February 10th at 12pm EST.
Winners selected at random from all entries. No purchase necessary. Advance screening passes admit two on Wed. 2/16 @ 7:30PM. Seating is not guaranteed. This film is rated R.
Philly2Philly proudly presents: Flirt Fest '11 at Public House
Date: Saturday, Feb. 12th from 8pm to 11pm!
Portions of the proceeds will benefit the American Heart Association, which is a charity close to our hearts at Philly2Philly.
Get your Flirt on for a great cause!!
A $10 donation at the door will get you:
... *1 Complimentary Cocktail
*$3 Select Beers
*$4 Select Wine
*$5 Flirtini Cocktails
*$6 Love Potion
* Raffle Tickets
You will also be eligible to win some amazing prizes, such as a signed baseball by Cole Hamels, restaurant gift certificates, a spa gift certificate, free passes for City Fitness, and much more!
There will also be a fun singles mingle game and a special prize for the Best Dressed Couple! So those of you who are attached AND not attached are urged to come out! Philly2Philly's Most Eligible Singles for February will also be present at the event.
Sponsored by Philly2Philly, Public House, and MJR Sports Integrity! For more information or questions, please message Sean Crosby, Joe Vallee, Helene Eksterowicz on Facebook or email.
Hope to see you all there!
Public House At Logan Square
1801 Arch St.
Philadelphia, PA
Flirt Fest Flyer designed by the talented Margaret Haag: mhstudios09@gmail.com
It was announced this weekend that British actor Henry Cavill has been chosen for the role of Superman in Superman:The Man of Steel, which is now scheduled for a December 2012 release.
Cavill joins fellow Brit Andrew Garfield (Spider Man 4) as the latest actors chosen to revive their respective franchises sagging fortunes.
I was actually part of the select group who didn’t mind Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns. Maybe because it wiped the horrific taste of Superman IV out of my mouth. Superman Returns isn't horrific by any means, but the film is not looked upon fondly by Superman fans, it didn't generate the revenue it hoped for Warner Bros., and now a new crew is at the helm for the sequel. This includes director Zack Snyder, and Batman Begins and Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan as the film’s producer.
Sounds like a winning team. However, people seem to be ignoring the elephant in the room when there might be a more important issue here.
Is Superman a failing franchise because of the quality of the last movie? Or is his message and what he stands for even relevant anymore?
Seriously, did Superman Returns leave THAT much to be desired? Was 
Brandon Routh THAT uncharasmatic? Yes, no matter how great Kevin Spacey was, you can only use one particular villiain SO many times before you milk it to death. The fact is, EVERY Superman movie with the exception of the hilarious Superman III (and it wasn’t supposed to be hilarious) featured Superman’s arch nemesis and his quests for world domination. But I digress.
The fact of the matter is, there are people losing family members in Iraq for the last nine years, people are losing their jobs, unemployment is running rampant, and there are more questions than answers as far as the future of our country is concerned.
Then you see a costumed character flying around who stands for truth, justice, and the American way.
See where I’m going with this.
Who knows? Maybe Superman simply hasn’t held up as well as Spiderman or Batman. Or maybe people have just come to the realization that this bill of goods our country has sold us for years through fictional characters like Superman may very well be a complete and utter load of crap.
Truth? Yeah, try getting THAT out of anybody in our government. Justice? Are you serious? The American Way? What exactly IS that nowadays? Fictional or not, Americans always looked at Superman as a symbol of what was right with America. Only problem now is there so many questions and very little answers with our country. People are scared. There is no Superman to help them.
I can almost guarantee you that I’ll go to see the new Superman movie when it comes out. I’m adult enough to differentiate between make believe and reality.
But maybe that’s the problem.
Henry Cavill photo: CTV News
Brandon Routh photo: nonsensefilm.com
- andrew garfield
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- Brandon Routh
- bryan singer
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- zack snyder
John Bolaris is well known in Philadelphia. Heck, he's a legend. He's as much a part of the Philadelphia news scene as Roy Halladay is a part of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Bolaris (for those of you outside Philly) does the weather on Fox 29. He has officially made it "big time" if you get my drift. When he was covering the snow storm in the Philadelphia region yesterday, he outlined on his weather map which areas would be hardest hit by the storm. And it just so happened the drawing looked like a gigantic penis.
Bolaris had no idea this image was making the rounds until he called into 93.3 WMMR's Preston and Steve Show this morning. They broke the news to him about his phallus-like drawing. And, he was shocked, but was a good sport about it.
John Bolaris' drawing made the rounds all over the web and has gone viral. His image was posted on Deadspin, The Daily What and covered on Huffington Post.
Now, that's going BIG TIME!
Contact The People's Blogger at peoplesblogger@yahoo.com
Michele Bachmann is apparently trying to challenge Sarah Palin (see blood libel comments) for the status of biggest moron in politics. Bachmann wasted little time blasting President Obama after his State of the Union Address last night and made herself look like a complete fool in the process.
Also, Michele Bachmann in her "speech on Monday" brought up slavery with regards to our founding fathers putting an end to it, which is about as historically accurate as chess legend Bobby Fischer's theory on the Holocaust.
Congresswoman Bachmann stated, "the very founders that wrote those documents worked tirelessly until slavery was no more in the United States....Men like John Quincy Adams, who would not rest until slavery was extinguished in the country."
I don't need to rehash this because anyone who has a clue knows that slavery wasn't abolished by the founding fathers. In fact, slavery wasn't abolished until January 31, 1865 when the 13th Amendment was ratified. On a side note, John Quincy Adams wasn't a "founding father", but the son of John Adams. Apparently you don't need a knowledge of history to serve in the Federal Government anymore. Bachmann appeases to the lowest common denominator in this country anyway, so those people are a lost cause. Many of the Tea Party types (Tea Baggers if you will) she appeases to rejected Obama before he ever set foot in office because of the color of his skin. It's still a pretty embarrassing faux pas nonetheless.
Contact The Duke at theduke0000@yahoo.com
When I heard that homeless man-turned Internet sensation Ted Williams left rehab on Tuesday after less than two weeks, I was not the least bit surprised.
Sometimes, addicts fight and defeat their inner demons. Other times they don’t, and their demise is not anything we want to experience first hand.
Let’s not kid ourselves here. We have all been affected by somebody in our lives who has dealt with the problem of addiction.
Drugs were a major part in the demise of my band several years ago. The same band that was on the verge of possibly getting signed to an indie label if we played our cards right. At first, I was very sensitive to the issues my bandmate was having. However, he turned out to be nothing but a selfish bastard who only cared about his pills. He hurt people, used others, endangered their safety, and lied to everyone who entered his life no matter who tried to help, so I washed my hands of him. We eventually kicked him out of the band, but the damage was beyond repair and there was no going back, for him or for the band.
In order to get better, addicts have to WANT to get better. You can lead the horse to water, but if you stick its head in the water and they don’t drink, they drown.
Ted Williams doesn’t want to get better, or at least it doesn't look that way.
It’s a very sad feeling walking in the city during the middle of winter and seeing homeless people sleep under heaters. I could only imagine being out there in the middle of a blizzard. I understand some people in life have been dealt a bad hand. It can happen very easily. Truth be told, a couple wrong decisions here and there over the last five years and I could have been one of those people. In saying that, there are more cases than not where homeless people choose to be homeless.
Up until several weeks ago, Williams was the feel-good story of 2011: The man on the streets of Ohio with a miraculous baritone voice is rescued from the depths of despair. MSNBC and Kraft Foods hired him, the Cleveland Cavaliers wanted to hire him (Now I’ve been doing voice-overs for a while now. And believe me, offers like that don’t just fall out of the sky),he hits the late night talk show circuit. Hollywood is in a scramble, hoping to buy the rights for the movie script of this fairy tale.
This is your life, Ted Williams!
Unfortunately, if something seems to good to be true, it usually isn’t. We soon found out about Williams’ past life rather quickly. The warning signs began on The Today Show, when Williams was reunited with his mother, whom he hadn’t seen in over a decade. It was not the tearful reunion everyone expected. In fact, it was rather one-sided, with Williams quite happy, and his mother quite disappointed in him that his life had even gotten to this point.
Then, Williams was arrested in Los Angeles for having a fight with his daughter. Days later, he appeared on Dr. Phil with his family, and was headed off to rehab at the end of the episode.
So much for that feel good story.
Who knows? Maybe the pressure of his new found fame was too much for Williams to handle and he fell off the wagon again. That could very well be the case. In saying that, is only 12 days of rehab enough for Williams?
I must admit, I was completely rooting for Williams to succeed at his second chance in life. Anyone who knows me understands my soft spot for underdogs.
Then I watched the viral video, and when I heard “And then alcohol, drugs, and a few other things became part of my life” come out of Williams' mouth, I got very skeptical. Those “other things” Williams is referring to are probably the crack whores he was chasing on the streets after he ditched his nine children.
Then I watched Williams on Dr. Phil, and my worst fears were confirmed. It’s hard for me to root for someone like that to begin with, and it’s even harder after they botch a second chance like Williams has (at least at this point and time).
For his sake, I hope Ted Williams finds his way to a happy, successful, and most importantly sober life.
However, I will not be suckered again by him, and neither should the public.
Photo: dailyvsvidz.com
At first glance, there were no real surprises with the 2011 Oscar Nominations, which were announced this morning. Pretty much everybody expected Inception, Social Network, Black Swan, and The King's Speech to get nominated for Best Picture.
James Franco and Jesse Eisenberg were shoe-ins for their Best Actor nominations. And Natalie Portman, who is the favorite to win the whole thing - was nominated for her role in Black Swan. Mila Kunis was expected to get a best actress nomination, but didn't get nominated. It's not the biggest injustice ever, but I feel she should have gotten the nomination. Mark Whalberg also got snubbed.
The Best Director category is where things get really bad. Christopher Nolan, who directed Inception, got screwed royally. Not only is "Inception" the best movie of the year, it may be the best movie in the past ten years. Inception has an extremely convoluted plot, but Nolan's direction combined with the film's editing makes it flow seemlessly. For a director to make a film of this scale with such an intricate plot while not confusing the hell out of the audience is one of the greatest achievements in the history of cinema.
Look up Inception on IMDB.com and you'll see it is rated a 9.0, making the film the 8th ranked film of all time on IMDB. The people put this movie up there with films like Schindler's List, The Godfather, and Citizen Kane! If you see the film and you're objective, you would agree for sure.
The Academy clearly has their heads up their arses on this one. Christopher Nolan's directing job on Inception is right up there with Albert Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick's greatest achievements. Yet the idiots at the Academy would rather nominate a director who directed another one of those British "period pieces." Is The King's Speech really that special of a movie? It's another British-period piece, but the Academy falls in love with these almost every year.
I'll never forget back in 1998, when Shakespeare in Love won almost every award over Saving Private Ryan, which might be the greatest war movie in history. Then again, the liberal pansies in Hollywood seem to have more love for Britain anyway!
I can understand the nominations for David Fincher (The Social Network), David O. Russell (The Fighter), Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan), and Joel and Ethan Coen (True Grit), but to give Tom Hooper the nomination over Christopher Nolan is a joke.
Contact The Duke at theduke0000@yahoo.com
Say what you want about Oprah Winfrey. One thing she is not short of is surprises.
On Monday’s show, Winfrey revealed that she had a half-sister she never knew about.
Allegedly, Winfrey has not known about her half-sister for very long. Her mother hid this fact from her until recently. Winfrey was living with her father when her mother gave birth to her half-sister Patricia, who was then put up for adoption.
Seriously? A half-sister? No wonder Winfrey has made a phenomenal living helping millions of lost souls bearing emotional scars.
From being pregnant at 14, to being sexually abused as a child, from her thoughts of suicide, her battles with drugs, having her half-brother Jeffrey allegedly succumb to AIDS along with the death of another sibling, you need to look no further than the woman whose own show has touched millions upon millions of lives to come to this revelation: In all actuality, Oprah Winfrey’s own show is exactly made for people like....Oprah Winfrey.
I never put two and two together until today, but Winfrey herself could easily be a recurring guest on her own show. You simply can’t make up the scenarios she has encountered in her life. Although some find it ironic that Winfrey revealed this to the public as her successful show is ending its run, having any sibling you never knew about is a pretty damn big deal. One would hope that someone would not be so pretentious with such a sensitive subject matter. After all, it’s not like Winfrey needs the money. She has spent a quarter of a century sharing her life story with the world. It’s part of the reason why she has become what she has. People empathize with her. She has the uncanny ability to shock and entertain while making humanity the number one focus. Borderline exploitation? Possibly. But like I said, it’s not like she’s making this stuff up.
At the end of the day, Monday’s episode was yet another surprise from Oprah Winfrey. And even after 25 years, she continues to outdo herself without even trying.
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