Stuxnet to Nyet

Advertisements

Stuxnet to Nyet. Thousands of activists from left-wing movements and human rights organizations marched in Tel Aviv on Saturday in protest of the Knesset’s decision to set up a committee of inquiry to probe the funding sources of leftist groups.

The protest march, under the headline “Demonstration (since it’s still possible) for democracy”, left from Tel Aviv’s Meir Park toward the plaza in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, where a rally took place in which Knesset members from Kadima, Meretz, and Hadash as well as officials from Peace Now and human rights groups delivered speeches.

Protesters chanted in support of democracy and free speech, and carried signs with slogans such as “Awaiting Democracy”, “Danger! End of Democracy Ahead”, “Fighting the Government of Darkness” and “Democracy is Screaming.

Miss America Pageant 2011

Advertisements

Miss America Pageant 2011. A petite corn-fed Midwestern girl was crowned the 2011 Miss America when Miss Nebraska Teresa Scanlan took home the tiara during the 90th anniversary of the pageant.

At 17 years old, Teresa is the youngest pageant winner since the first winner in 1921, Margaret Gorman, who was only 15.

For her talent, Teresa performed "White Water Chopsticks" on the piano. She was the only contestant who didn't dance or sing, so that was refreshing (though the yodeling ventriloquist Miss Arkansas was the best.

or her question, she got asked about WikiLeaks and balancing the public's right to know versus national security. She said that national security comes before the public's right to know, which is a good Miss America answer, especially in the literally 10 seconds they were given to answer their questions.Congratulations to Teresa on becoming the new Miss America! If you need a recap of the pageant

Mustang Sally

Advertisements

Mustang Sally. The end of a year – great time for navel-gazing and doomed quests for self-improvement. When it comes to New Year's resolutions, I usually go with something easily attainable, such as striving to watch more television or swear more around kids.

But enough about me. This is for you, the local musician. Well, also me. Full disclosure: I play in approximately 1.3 bands, by which I mean one active band and another that does nothing, but never bothered to officially break up. So, after another year in the trenches, it's my pleasure to present my fourth-annual collection of suggested resolutions for participants in the Grand Rapids music scene.

The list keeps growing (you may notice a few holdovers from previous years), but it's time to bid adieu to an old friend. With this year's list, I'm retiring, “Total Request Live”-style, the three-years-and-running No. 1 entry: “I will not cover 'Mustang Sally'.” I think we've all learned by now. If not, consider this your last reminder. But in recognition of the years we have spent together, I'm officially naming this column in that horribly ubiquitous song's honor.

When having our promo photo taken, we will avoid: brick-wall background; chain-link fence background/foreground; decayed urban setting; easily resolved game of “guess the singer”; standing on train tracks; standing knee-deep in water; everybody jumping into the air at the same time; everybody looking at the camera except one person; everybody looking in different directions; photographer lays on his/her back while band stands in a circle and peers down.

Syndal Gorden

Advertisements

Syndal Gorden. Syndal Gorden is Chad Gaudin girlfriend Her name is pronounced Sin-dl which sounds a lot like ‘single’ and can make for some awkward social introductions. She has been dating the Chicago Cubs pitcher for about a year and a half.

Syndal and Chad lived with Nick Swisher last year when Gaudin and Swisher were playing for the A’s. I mention this mostly because I like the dynamic of one of the hairiest dudes in baseball (early 2007 Swisher) living with a guy who could probably sneak his way into the stands for military appreciation day.

Syndal is close to earning a Liberal Studies degree with a concentration in Human Development. She plans to be a kindergarten teacher, because she loves kids and thinks that teaching will be a great job once she has some kids of her own.

She has won two pageants in Fresno (including Miss Melt the Ice 2007 at the Fresno Falcon’s hockey arena), and used the prize money to help with her college tuition. She has also worked as a Hooters girl and nanny to pay her way through college, which sure beats my college job of washing dishes.

Syndal and Chad spend the off season in Chad’s hometown of New Orleans, where he spends his time hunting and playing golf.

Peter Fonda finds dead body in a car

Advertisements

Peter Fonda finds dead body in a car. Peter Fonda, the American actor best known for his role in 1969's counterculture movie Easy Rider, yesterday discovered a dead body in a parked car in Los Angeles.

Fonda, 70, immediately contacted the police, who are investigating the death. The actor was not being considered as a suspect, said Sergeant Carlton Cook of the West Los Angeles community police station.

According to the gossip site TMZ, which first reported the incident, Fonda got out of his own car and found the man slumped over in the front seat of another vehicle. The son of Henry Fonda and younger brother of Jane, the actor also took writing duties on Easy Rider, which was directed by his friend Dennis Hopper and introduced the w orld to a young Jack Nicholson.

Fonda also played the lead in the 1966 Roger Corman film The Wild Angels, in which he delivered the famous monologue sampled by Primal Scream on their 1991 track Loaded. More recently he appeared with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale in James Mangold's 2007 remake of the 1957 western 3: 10 to Yuma.