Three very notable humans left this earth recently. The world will be a lesser place without them.

Bill DeCinces, an art director who ended his 53-year stint at Universal as senior VP of the studios operation group, died on Feb. 10 from complications of Parkinson’s disease in Tarzana, Calif. He was 84. He designed the Universal Studios Florida production facilities in Orlando. Thanks Bill! We love it!

Maria Colvin was a world famous war journalist who died today while covering the war in Syria. While many feel that journalists put themselves in this kind of location thinking they won’t get or die, this is not true. They know they are going into harm’s way and could possibly lose their lives. But they go anyway to bring the world an objective piece of history taking place. She died along with a young French photographer. His age and lack of experience in a combat zone is an entirely different conversation. Your work did not go unnoticed.

Whitney Houston-passed way quietly. Her going home service was loud, spiritual, emotional and loving. Which is just the way her fans remember her. All at once, you were gone.

Perhaps you’ve heard of this condition that’s making the news. Nomophobia is the fear being out of mobile phone contact. Yes, really.

Not a baby Boomer

There are billions of people in the US with a mobile phone.

People between the ages of 18 and 24 are more likely to be affected by this odd anxiety other than those in the boomer age bracket of 48-65. That’s because the boomers didn’t grow up with a cell phone attached to the ear. Long, long ago, people had to rely on (EEK!) land lines. And even if the boomers only rely on a mobile phone for their sole telecom device, not having service is no big deal. A little peace and quiet is preferable to a ringing phone, mobile or not.

We’ve been too hard to LeBron James.  So in all fairness,  we have included a video from Yahoo Sports that shows how the tall one crashed into some stadium seats and landed on a little kid. Watch for yourself and see how the good guy takes care of it.

Planning to drive around the U.S. any time soon?  If so, there are wacky pit stops you should plan to take.

"Mystery of the Desert"

Going from East to West:

Dillion, SC- South of the Border-a store that used to sell beer across a county border before alcohol sales were allowed.
Cave City, Kentucky-Wigwam Village Motel-guest rooms shaped like tee pees. The motel also has a office and a restaurant shaped the same way.
Scottsboro, Alabama-Unclaimed Baggage Center-A local family first started buying the unwanted baggage and sold items from card tables in their house. The business grew and now items like slippers and cameras are sold in a 40,000 square foot facility.
Sussex, NJ – Space Farms Zoo and Museum-an 80 year old farm and zoo that includes enough land to feed all 500 kinds of animals. Local road kill is served to the big cats there.
Shartlesville, PA -Roadside America Miniature Village-Eight miniature villages from different time periods make up this unique road stop.
Walcott, IA – Iowa 80-Unequivocally, the world’s largest truck stop. Features a spa for the spoiled 18 wheeler and its driver.
Arcadia, OK-Pops-As in soda pop. Not your grandpa or pop. Actually, the cool place is named for his dad and his favorite kind of drink, this nifty stop features a 66 foot LED lit soda pop bottle. On Route 66 of course.
Amando, AZ-Longhorn Bar and Grill-a 40 foot steer skull always gets passers-by to stop.  Hey, we’d stop!
Dragoon, AZ-The Thing-Okay. Even the owners don’t know what this supposed to be. But the 50 billboards spanning over 300 miles certainly does the trick of bring tourists to it. But now we know why they all it the “Mystery of the Desert”.
Wall, South Dakota-Wall Drugs-Started in the depths of the Depression, the owner’s grandmother handed out ice water and a sign to travelers with the name of her husband’s pharmacy on it. Today, this famous place sells more than just stomach aids. It also sells over a half a million dollars in cowboy boots per year. Yowza!

LeBron James-Miami Heat or Cleveland Cavalier?

Update:  In a recent interview with USA Today LeBron claims he is not leaving but staying and furthermore loves the Miami Heat fans. Glad to hear that. Let’s hope it sticks.

There is talk in the sports world that LeBron James, who left the Cleveland Cavaliers, after 7 seasons, to join The Miami Heat is thinking that he may go back to Cleveland.

One has to ask what is with the younger athletes and their apparent lack of loyalty to their team. It must be about the money. Don’t they realize that it’s not cool to dump your loyal fans?

Gone are the days when athletes like Today in America TV host Terry Bradshaw stayed with the team for well over ten years.  Take a look at the Pittsburgh Steelers news these days and you’ll learn that Hines Ward, another 10 plus year player as well as QB Ben Roethlisberger and James Harrison are wiling to restructure their contracts for the betterment of the team.  LeBron could stand to learn a few lessons about team and fan loyalty from the Pittsburgh Steelers football team.

Recently, the movie studios have been lobbying congress for stricter anti-piracy laws due to widespread theft of their films around the world. It is said that that the longer the studios wait to release a film in a foreign country after its US release, the more the film becomes pirated in that country. A recent study suggests that the studios can curtail some of the theft by simply releasing a film in a foreign country sooner. Don’t know how true that is given all the legalities of the industry.

What are pirated films and other original, creative works?

Films, and other creative pieces like music and books, are copy written by the creators as original works. When pirate groups, or warez groups, steal them, they make copies of them and sell them without paying the fees and royalties that the owners deserve. How do they steal them? They sit in the theater where the film is playing and record the film using specific equipment. The film is then available to download. This is a simplistic explanation.

So let’s be clear about pirated film, television shows, songs and other creative original content. It doesn’t matter if the studios will lose millions of dollars on it. It doesn’t matter if songwriter or musician will lose millions of dollar on it. It doesn’t matter if someone lifts content from your web page and puts it on theirs. It is theft no matter what is stolen.  If you buy it, download it or copy it, its theft. Theft of someone else’s right to earn money from something they created.

Do you want to wear these?

SSC for the Baby Boomer Group

Terry Bradshaw, the host of Today in America TV was born in 1948.  This period of time got its name from the boom of births following WWII.

That means he was born near the beginning of the baby boom period which runs from 1946-1964.  We thought it would be fun to post some cool trivia about “baby boomers”.

• There are about 75 million baby boomers in the U.S. (about 29% of the population)
• There are 6 million “boomies” in Canada.
• Ever so proper, the British call people in this age bracket “the bulge”.
• The vast majority of people in this time period are still working.
• Boomers born the early part of it are soon to retire. (The first boomers turned 65 in 2011)

Now you know why there is so much concern about Social Security benefits running out.

Major Events of the Baby Boomer Age

• In 1954, the first color TV set was made
• In 1958, the first Pizza Hut opened
• In 1959, the “Barbie” doll is born
• In 1961,Russia and the US both put men in space.
• In 1962, K-Mart and Wal-Mart opened
• In 1964, The Beatles take America by storm and the GI Joe action figure hits stores

(You didn’t expect a history lesson, did you?)

It will take a person more than 400 years to watch all the videos on YouTube.
There are 2 billion videos watched per day on YouTube.
Every minute, 24 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube, or about 200,000 videos per day.

Ever hear of  MYOB?

The first TV commercial was a 20-second ad for a Bulova clock, broadcasted by WNBT, New York during a game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies in July 1941. Bulova paid $9 for that first TV spot. Bulova also was the first watch in space.

Time to buy a new Bulova watch! (Pun intended.)

The Miami Marlins baseball franchise has a new stadium, new uniforms and a new reality TV show from Showtime and TLC called “The Franchise”.  Maybe now they can use the footage from the show as post-game analysis to determine why they win or lost a game.

Those of us who were the same age or near the same age as music idol Whitney Houston remember how stellar her rise to the music world top was back in the mid 80′s t0 90′s.  Her clear, strong, gospel trained voice wrung strong emotions out of the listener. Her music made you want to dance, smile, laugh and cry. You felt like this beautiful woman was your friend and therefore you cheered her successes.

As the writer remembers her-Whitney Houston

It was later after she married, and her behavior was erratic and alarming that made you cringe as you watched her slip down and almost completely out of sight. Where did your friend, the one with the smooth, strong voice, pretty face and enviable figure go? She seemed to have disappeared into oblivion. Where were the fans who stood behind her when she was a hit?  They seemed to have slipped away also.

In Whitney’s defense, she DID  work hard to get her life back together. She went to rehab, (albeit several times) and the last time seemed to stick. She divorced the man who aided her into oblivion. She was a good mom. She had a movie in the can that’s coming out in August. But then, she slipped away forever in a bathtub in Beverly Hills on February 11.  She was 48 years old and left behind an 18 year old young woman who seems to be following in her mom’s footsteps.

The people in Bobbi Kristina Brown’s life must fight every single demon that tries to take her down. She wants to be a singer like her mother. If mom Whitney’s mentor puts this young woman under his wings, then he is partly responsible for her well being.  All those who love and support BK must fight from letting her slip into that good night that was her mother’s demise.

Sir Paul McCartney finally get his Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on fabled Vine Street across from Capital Records.

It's about time!

‘Nuff said.