Politics across the nation-a great story from the Washington Post

Every phrase, indeed every word, comes from a real political commercial

aired this year. Here goes:

* * *

ANNOUNCER: It's the big squeeze. Taxes go up every year. Gas prices

through the roof. The cost of living is skyrocketing. The legislature

wastes more and more. Every week brings new scandals. People are leaving

our state. Criminals are coming across the border, victimizing American

citizens.

Are you tired of politics as usual? Do you ever feel like no one's

representing your interests? Isn't it time for a fresh start?

Read the rest of the article

Instant Karma!

Pimp Beaten Up

Instant Karma

This video shows a pimp going after a guy who told him to stop beating on a young woman of the evening. What the pimp doesn't know: The guy who stopped him is a KARATE EXPERT. . . and as soon as the pimp steps up to fight him. . . he gets DROPPED in ONE PUNCH. Enjoy. . .

Awesome Atheletic Contest!

Best Ping Pong point ever!

Check this out! Amazing

Big Baby! Really Big!

Stephon Hendrix Louis-Jean. . .
who was born at 14 pounds, 13 ounces

36-year-old Marie Michel from Norwich, Connecticut gave birth to a MAMMOTH baby on Tuesday night.

Yikes! Bet that boy can eat!

You won't believe your eyes!

IN BRAZIL, THERE'S A GUY WHO MAY BE ABLE TO POP HIS EYES FARTHER OUT OF THEIR SOCKETS THAN ANYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD:

--Claudio Pinto from Belo Horizonte, Brazil (--210 miles north of Rio De Janeiro, in the southeastern part of the country), may be able to POP his eyeballs farther out of their sockets than anyone else on this planet!!!

--See, ever since Claudio was nine years old. . . he has been able to pop his eyeballs completely OUT of their SOCKETS. He can stick them out seven millimeters. . . or 0.2755 inches.

--Lately he's been poppin' em out to scare people in a commercial haunted house. . . but now he's going for a world record for the "furthest eyeball popper" in RankBrasil. . . which is Brazil's version of the "Guinness Book of World Records".

(FOX NEWS)

California Dreaming!

Here's a great letter from a listener reacting to my thoughts on
being broke in Los Angeles!

Travis,

Your take on being broke in LA is not only spot-on, it's an echo of folk
legend Woody Guthrie's "Dough Re Me", a Depression Era song with
the lines:

"California's a Garden of Eden,
A paradise to live in and to see.
But, believe it or not, you won't find it so hot,
If you ain't got the dough re me.
If you ain't got the dough re me, boys.
If you ain't got the dough re me,
Better go back to beautiful Texas,
Kansas, Oklahoma, Georgia, Tennessee."

The Oakie songster nailed it then & nothing's changed except the
numbers. A lot then ain't nuthin' now. Los Angeles has always been
a sea of poverty with conspicuous islands of affluence.

And nothing's worse than being damned in "The Kingdom of The
Blessed".

In fact, that may be the actual definition of "Hell".

THE DOG IS BUSTED! (source TMZ)

---

"Dog" Chapman Arrested, Faces Extradition

2006/09/14

MSNBC's Rita Cosby is reporting that Duane Dog Chapman, star of the A&E reality series "Dog the Bounty Hunter," and two members of his bounty hunting team (including his son) were arrested by U.S. officials today for extradition to Mexico. Cosby is reporting that Mexican government officials wanted the three men sent back there in relation to a three-year-old case.

In 2003, Chapman traveled to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to retrieve Max Factor cosmetics heir Andrew Luster, who was wanted in the U.S. on rape charges. Luster is now in jail, serving a 124-year term. The Chapmans were jailed in Mexico for a brief time for the incident three years ago. Bounty hunting is considered a crime in Mexico.

Dog's wife, Beth Chapman, said 12 armed marshals "came through the door" at 6:00AM this morning. She said they took their daughter's boyfriend down at gunpoint. Dog was sleeping at the time.

TMZ spoke with Nicky Credic from the U.S. Marshals Office. She said, "The arrest warrant was signed by a U.S. magistrate in Hawaii on September 13. The warrant was based on a formal request based on a diplomatic note from the g overnment of Mexico."

Going Organic for Health

We had an interesting chat with a young woman (Michelle Pier)  interested in going the organic way for health. Here's her website!

http://fruitofthewomb.tripod.com

She also sells hand painted kids clothes, cloth diapers and all natural gift baskets for mammas and babies.

Former Anderson PAO "Scud" now Lt. Col Scud!

Longtime listeners of the Big Show will remember former Public Affairs Officer Michel "Scud" Escudie from his days at Anderson Airforce Base-after he left us on Guam he had adventures all over the world..some of them detailed right here on the Big Blog..

Check it out kids..he's a Lt. Colonel! Congrats Colonel Scud! Hey I like the sound of that!

write him at michel_escudie@hotmail.com

The William Hung of the Phillipines!

Keys Me by ALyssa Alano



Tres funny! Seems someone is always hoping their looks will propel them to superstardom. I can tell you this-it won't be her singing!

CNMI Cuts Government Costs!


FOR the first time in its history, the CNMI is shutting down most of its government offices today in accordance with Public Law 15-24 which declares 26 Fridays in fiscal years 2006 and 2007 as unpaid austerity holidays.
Except for government offices with critical functions like the police, public elementary and high schools, the fire department and the hospital, among others, all others will be closed, including the courts, pending the enactment into law of a bill empowering the chief justice or the presiding judge to exempt critically needed employees.


Marianas Variety On-Line Edition

Pope Daddy! Benedict the Sixteenth meets the masses in style!

The Scene:

St. Peter's Square in Vatican City

The Pope chillin in the Popemobile. . . sporting a wide-brimmed RED hat. . . that looks like a mix between a sombrero and a safari hat.

He was wearing it because it was so hot outside that he wanted some protection from the sun. It's the first time he's worn a hat like that in public; Pope John Paul the Second apparently wore the style a few times. (Reuters U.K.)

Write Your Own Caption!

Actually this was taken at a proclamation signing ceremony held at Adelup to promote energy conservation awareness within the local community. The guy on left is Felix Camacho. The pig on the right is the energy hog. :-)

Okinawa to get school backed by U.S. military

Here's proof the US military can play ball if it wants to......

From the Japan Times

The Japanese and U.S. governments are working to establish an
international school in Okinawa Prefecture that promotes English
education among Japanese children with the help of the U.S. military.

In their final report on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, both
countries stressed the importance of enhancing partnerships with local
governments hosting military bases, such as Okinawa Prefecture.

The Japan Times: Sunday, Aug. 20, 2006

Curious George is Back!

Curious George Theme



The Associated Press

BOSTON — He's flown a kite, traveled in a space ship, become a movie
star and had a long friendship with a tall man in a yellow hat.

Now he's coming to public television, and the creative team behind this
new children's series is hoping precocious monkey Curious George will
help turn kids into budding scientists, mathematicians and engineers.

The series, which premiered Monday, is based on the classic books by
Margret and H.A. Rey — dating back to their first Curious George
story in 1941 — and is geared toward children ages 3 to 6. The series is
narrated by actor William H. Macy.

"The global lesson of George ... is telling kids, 'It's your job to
figure out what's going on and to play, don't worry about the rules. Your
job is to be happy, to test the boundaries, that's your job,' and that's a
lovely thing to say," Macy said.

The series started off with "Curious George Flies a Kite," followed by
"From Scratch," in which the clever monkey uses detective work to
prove a cat is innocent of scratching up booths in a restaurant.

Read more!

Interesting Study -Fathers over 40 'more likely to have autistic children'

Tue 5 Sep 2006

Fathers over 40 'more likely to have autistic children'

OLDER men are more likely to have autistic children, according to new

research.

A study found children born to fathers over the age of 40 were six times

more likely to develop autism compared with those born to men under 30.

But the researchers, from King's College London, said they could find no

link between a mother's advancing age and autism.

Read More!

This article: http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1308592006

Guy Gabaldon-American Hero

Posted Wednesday, November 23, 2005; 11:20 a.m. The 'Pied Piper of Saipan' A forgotten hero of World War II almost washed out. He was too short. By Cecilia Rasmussen,, L.A. Times "The Pied Piper of Saipan" almost didn't get into World War II. Guy Louis "Gabby" Gabaldon was just 5 feet 3 and had a perforated eardrum; the Navy rejected him. But when the Marines learned he could speak Japanese — gritty slang picked up on the streets of Boyle Heights — that was a different story. That's how Gabaldon came to capture more than 1,100 Japanese single-handedly, leading soldier and civilian alike to safety. "Japanese prisoners were a bit of an oddity at that time," said Steve Rubin, who produced the documentary "East L.A. Marine: The Untold True Story of Guy Gabaldon," which is to have its premiere this weekend at a Veterans Day celebration at Cal State Fullerton. "The credo of most soldiers of the Japanese army was kill or be killed. Capturing one Japanese was considered a feat. Bringing in 1,100 was unthinkable." Read More! http://www-scf.usc.edu/~rmhender/features.html "Undaunted Courage — Mexican American Patriots of World War II" can be purchased at http://www.latinoadvocates.org .

WWII hero Gabaldon dies
(AP): "

AP - Guy Gabaldon, who as an 18-year-old Marine private single-handedly persuaded more than 1,000 Japanese soldiers to surrender in the World War II battle for Saipan, has died. He was 80.

"

(Via Yahoo! News: Most Emailed.)

I knew him-from my days on Saipan. He was a hero and a man who worked constantly to make the world a better place by fighting to stem the tide of drugs into the United States or helping young people make positive changes in their lives. He was one of a kind and he will surely be missed. -Travis

GWA assigns "actual person" to handle complaints!

This from an actual GWA Media release:

GWA Public Information Officer, Heidi Ballendorf:

“Effective immediately, we have expanded hours at our Water and Wastewater Trouble Desk (formerly known as Dispatch). We now have an actual person to answer water outage calls from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., said Ballendorf.”

“We know it’s been an ongoing problem for our customers to call and get an answering machine, especially in the morning when they wake up and find them selves without water.

We are hoping this will go along way in assisting with the frustrations when it comes to customer service needs. We are also hoping this can reduce the number of calls the media gets when people are upset and out of water”.

(No word on how this "actual person" will improve the GWA response time to water problems-Travis)

Water/Wastewater Trouble Desk is: 646-4211 or 646-7319.
The number for Customer Service is: 647-7831/7800/7808/7824

Aha! I knew it! Homework can be Harmful!

Submitted by Paul, a Big Show listener, and a fan of learning

TIME.com Print Page: TIME Magazine -- The Myth About Homework

Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2006
The Myth About Homework
Think hours of slogging are helping your child make the grade? Think again
By CLAUDIA WALLIS

Sachem was the last straw. Or was it Kiva? My 12-year-old daughter and I had been drilling social-studies key words for more than an hour. It was 11 p.m. Our entire evening had, as usual, consisted of homework and conversations (a.k.a. nagging) about homework. She was tired and fed up. I was tired and fed up. The words wouldn't stick. They meant nothing to her. They didn't mean much to me either. After all, when have I ever used sachem in a sentence--until just now?

As the summer winds down, I'm dreading scenes like that one from seventh grade. Already the carefree August nights have given way to meaningful conversations (a.k.a. nagging) about the summer reading that didn't get done. So what could be more welcome than two new books assailing this bane of modern family life: The Homework Myth (Da Capo Press; 243 pages), by Alfie Kohn, the prolific, perpetual critic of today's test-driven schools, and The Case Against Homework (Crown; 290 pages), a cri de coeur by two moms, lawyer Sara Bennett and journalist Nancy Kalish.

Both books cite studies, surveys, statistics, along with some hair-raising anecdotes, on how a rising tide of dull, useless assignments is oppressing families and making kids hate learning. A few highlights from the books and my own investigation:

Read More

TIME.com Print Page: TIME Magazine -- The Myth About Homework

Trekkie Ecstacy!

Extreme Makeover: "Star Trek" Edition
(E! Online): "

E! Online - The United Federation of Planets has never looked so crisp and
full of dimension.

"

(Via Yahoo! News: Most Emailed.)

More Survivor Cook Islands Facts

The Big Show Listeners are so informed!

Hafa Adai Trav!

According to your Big Blog, Cecilia worked on Guam. Did you know that there will be two Filipino-Americans on the show, too?

Two Fil-Ams Make it to Survivor 13

Momar G. Visaya/Asianjournal.com

For the first time in the history of Survivor, touted as the main purveyor of reality television, two Filipinos are cast in this season, which was shot on the Cook Islands in the heart of the South Pacific.

Brad Virata, a 29-year old fashion director from Los Angeles and Jenny Guzon-Bae, a 36-year-old real estate agent from Lake Forest, Illinois are two of the 20 "castaways" who will be fighting for the million-dollar prize.

-to read more follow the link-

http://www.asianjournal.com/?c=124&a=15415

From bad to worse in the NMI

Northwest to suspend Osaka-Saipan flights


Marianas Variety On-Line Edition

By Gemma Q. Casas
Variety News Staff

THE ailing local tourism industry will suffer another major blow in October with Northwest Airlines’ decision to temporarily suspend its seven flights a week between Osaka and Saipan due to low profitability on the route.
Northwest is the second carrier suspending flights to Saipan this year.
China Southern Airlines is suspending its twice-a-week direct flight service between China’s Guangzhou City and Saipan starting this month.
Marianas Visitors Authority board chairman Jerry Tan admitted that the news is a “major disappointment” since the islands have yet to fully recover almost a year after Japan Airlines discontinued its 14 flights a week between Tokyo and Saipan in October 2005.
Northwest’s decision to withdraw its Osaka-Saipan flights comes after the airline announced it would add three more nighttime flights out of the Tokyo area starting Dec. 17 using 747 jumbo jets.
“The CNMI’s tourism industry was steadily re-building this year with gradually recovering tourist numbers and new Narita nighttime flights, and so the timing of this decision by Northwest to suspend the Osaka flights couldn’t be much worse,” said Tan in a statement.

Barbie has a new friend with accessories you've never imagined!

Barbie.com - Activities and Games for Girls Online!

Check out Barbie's new friend Tanner. Watch the video and you'll see why he reminds me of Tom and Katie's new baby! -Travis