As always, I'm on the free-speech side of this issue. Each site's proprietor has a responsibility to not allow his comment sections to become racist, sexist, violent cesspools, and some sites are better at fostering a decent comment culture than others. But just because some sites become nasty is not a reason to demand regulation of the Internet, as Bill sometimes suggests, or to suggest that because some people in a comment section are juvenile jerks, that a site is Nazi-like in any way. The best way to deal with coarse commentary on the Internet is to point it out, shine a little sunlight, and push site proprietors to foster cultures of decency on their own sites. Comments sections can be nasty places, and there are very few sites that can claim theirs are totally and completely clean (including this one), no matter what moderation policies are in place.

Oscar Viewers Got Clipped, In More Ways Than One

It happens that the Coen Brothers got their start in the movie business with help and support from Jim and Ted Pedas, Washington real estate investors who owned the beloved Circle Theater on Pennsylvania Avenue in the '50s, '60s and '70s. It has since been torn down and an ugly office building erected in its space. The Coens generally make cynical, gloomy movies, with the exception of the breakneck comedy "Raising Arizona."

There were several references to the recent strike by the Writers Guild of America, which, if it had continued, might have meant canceling the 80th Oscars altogether or putting on a much reduced and postponed show later in the year. Actually, that might have been a pleasant change and a blessed relief from the bloated show and the effusive windbags making speeches that Americans endure annually, even as the number of other awards shows on television has grown exponentially.

Apple explains iPhone SDK details, Xcode for iPhone

Developers have access to much of the iPhone's hardware, including the accelerometer sensor and the camera. A sample game, Touch Fighter, uses the accelerometer exclusively to control the player and uses full 3D positional audio. EA has ported a demo version of its upcoming life simulator Spore to the iPhone in as little as two weeks, Apple notes. SEGA has also ported a version of Super Monkey Ball that uses the accelerometer to steer the ball. This effectively puts a Nintendo Wii's remote into the phone, the game developer says. AOL has also created a version of AIM for the iPhone in five days despite its developer's lack of experience for the Mac. Users simply swipe to change active chats. Other examples of third-party development examples include a medicine guide for doctors through ePOCRATES and a SalesForce.com app for customer relationship management (CRM).

What to do about gold stocks?

Gold stocks may have further to fall; updates on current stock selections. Below is an extract from a commentary originally posted at www.speculative-investor.com on 16th December 2007. What to do? In the 26th November Weekly Update, with the HUI at around 430, we wrote the following: "Our expectation is that the upward trends in gold and gold stocks will resume following the completion of a fairly normal correction, but at the same time we are constantly on the lookout for developments that could turn a normal correction into a large one. Unfortunately, prices tend to move so quickly in the markets these days that selling after evidence emerges that things have changed for the worse will often result in selling near a short-term bottom. This means that precautionary steps need to be taken when prices are relatively high.

Britney Spears' Driver's-License Case Postponed; Plus Hayden ...

Since Britney Spears isn't in control of her own affairs at the moment, she can't make a plea bargain in her driving-without-a-license case, a Van Nuys, California, judge decided Wednesday (February 20). Spears' attorney for the criminal case told the court that the singer's conservatorship attorneys don't feel she's capable of making an agreement, giving a deposition or signing a declaration at the moment, so Judge T.K. Herman continued the case until March 20. The misdemeanor charge stems from an incident in August in which Spears was videotaped hitting a parked car and leaving the scene without notifying the other driver (the hit-and-run charge was later dropped). Spears was denied visitation rights with her two sons in an unrelated hearing Tuesday. ...

Hayden Panettiere must have absorbed someone's musical powers, because the "Heroes" star is putting out a debut album later this year on Hollywood Records.

Bagan mark too good to miss

One of his principal rivals for the Arkle, the ante post favourite Noland, is the main attraction at Sandown Park today. He runs in the Durkan Group Novice Chase. After a smooth and very convincing win first time out over fences at Folkestone in January, he has scared off a lot of his potential opposition and faces just four rivals.

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Both seedlings are big enough that I ought to have laid eyes on them before...but it seems like they appeared from nowhere!In the right foreground of this next pic is a yellow sulfur cosmos seedling I planted just this past week. I'm nearly certain there wasn't another plant crowding so close beside it when I did ...which means the upper seedling has popped up pretty quickly since then while I was busy looking elsewhere...like magic.Posted by PicasaA third yellow and brown iris came into bloom today. They are beautiful, and I'm enjoying having them here. Ungrateful bastard that I am, however, I am hoping there'll be some other colors in the vast array of irises which have yet to bloom. Posted by PicasaI think this one is beautiful, especially in the close up (don't get me wrong) but because of the dark falls, it tends to look much smaller at a distance.

Israel kills 20 in Gaza

The latest spike began Wednesday, when five Iranian-trained Hamas militants, including two rocket masterminds, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza. In retaliation, Hamas fired dozens of Gaza-produced Qassam rockets, as well as longer-range Iranian-made Grad rockets smuggled in via Egypt.

February 2006 Archives

Hope you get a kick out of this photo of little ole me with the towering Las Vegas star. The other guys are Jordi Vilasuso, who was on Guiding Light, and Paul Taylor, who was on As the World Turns.