Year: 2013

CNN reports: An acrid blanket of gray shrouded the Chinese capital for a third day Sunday, leading to a rare smog warning as the index hit record levels.

NBC news reports: ‘Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, said that he didn’t believe a lone gunman killed President John F. Kennedy in an interview with journalist Charlie Rose, right, and Rory Kennedy, center, in front of an audience at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas Friday’

Precrime technology is being used in Maryland and Pennsylvania..

Former host of Coast to Coast Art Bell drifted into the night on October 31, 2010. It was his final broadcast as occasional host.. Since then, rumors abounded as to the direction he’d go.. this website, along with many others, have watched closely hoping for his return in some form to radio..

Days ago, Art Bell announced on his Facebook page that he was a free agent and that his non-compete clause with Premiere radio had ended..  But what did that mean?

Just last night, Art Bell posted a message on the popular Coast to Coast AM forum COASTGAB.COM. (I am a member, too)..

Here is Art Bell’s full message:

 Hi All,  I do not wish to string anybody along, stay tuned means just that. Until I was free in terms of non compete there was noreal way I could be on the air anywhere. Premiere has offered me a slot anytime I wish…..I do not wish.  Now that I can indeed return if I wish there is the matter of a venue, I have some offers I am thinking about but have notdecided on anything as of yet. There was a time that I did not want to compete with Coast because I had no wish to destroywhat I built, Premiere has almost managed to change my mind about that.   Doing a show means devoting your life to it, not just “phoning it in”, examples of that can be heard nightly. So a decision toproceed will have to be done right or not at all. This means the creative freedom is first along with the venue.  While doing Coast at one point, instead of taking more money I opted for a restriction on the number of commercial minutes,a dumb move because as soon as I was gone they came back PLUS. I do what I do because I love it, not for the money.  So, I just now have come to the point that I CAN do something, if I will or not depends on the above. I hope this helps someof you understand the process. I would rather do nothing than something half-assed.

We are staying tuned.. hoping.. and waiting..

Developing..

Perhaps it is just an example of how the media over saturates us with everything lately. That are the flu season this year is especially bad, so much so that it warrants the wall to wall coverage being provided by news networks and the ‘Internets’ alike..

Regardless of why the seasonal flu is the top story, it is.. And with it comes fear.

Thousands infected!
Some dead!
Emergency rooms filling up!
Schools shutting down!
The economy is going to slow down!

All of these true headlines may be on your computer screen or smart phone this morning.. Your Twitter feed is no doubt being inundated with flu like symptoms . your Facebook friends are telling their tales of long nights at the emergency room. The fear is palpable. You may catch the flu..

And also with the warnings of impending doom and death from sickness comes media reminders to take you flu shot. Ironically, some news articles have indicated that this year’s whipping flu cannot be stopped by the flu shot being distributed. But that has not stopped anyone from reminding us to still take it–with the suggestion that your flu will be ‘milder’ in comparison to the real deal you can get without the shot..

The most recent example of someone in a high place getting a flu shot was New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who took a break from talking about far reaching gun laws to get the jab. Hopefully the Gov has more luck that the Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomburg. As CBS New York reports, Bloomburg got the shot in the fall.. And then..

Mayor Michael Bloomberg got a flu shot in October but still got the disease last month. Still, Bloomberg said that won’t stop him from getting vaccinated every year, CBS 2′s Marcia Kramer reported. “Anybody that doesn’t think so is just missing an opportunity to protect themselves. There’s no guarantees in life. You can take a flu shot, walk across the street and get hit by a car. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take your flu shot,” Bloomberg said.

The flu currently is the top story on CNN and the Drudge Report. CNBC is running an article about the flu outbreak having an economic effect. . Good Morning America had on doctors to express their desire to have you continue to wash your hands, cover your mouth when you sneeze, and take the shot..

But why is this year’s flu so bad? As some have reported, because H3N2 is circulating, which is more severe than other strains .. And the season started early. And the weather is so weird that it’s warmer than normal…

I am not downplaying this year’s flu at all. It’s a nasty outbreak. It’s larger than last year–but obviously not the largest ever at this point. However, media online and offline alike seem to have a way to take us from crisis to crisis, from flavor of the week to tragedy of the day. They never follow up or give the big picture, instead just instigate ratings by initiating fear.

Should we fear the flu this year? I personally always fear the flu, especially the stomach bug variety. However, with fear comes nothing.. nothing to fear but fear itself. However, this is written while I am healthy and …hopefully…flu-free.

The nominees for best picture are “Argo,” “Django Unchained,” “Life of Pi,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Lincoln,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “Les Miserables”

Statistics and studies can be misleading but there is a lot of data that somewhat condemns the safety levels of diet soda.. The newest information suggests that diet soda drinkers get depressed–more than regular soda drinkers –but that coffee drinkers are happiest..

I’m sure by next month something opposite will come out..

The real goal for any of us is to try to know both who did the study and where the funding steam for I originated ..

See if you can spot it. This image appears to show a flower on Mars… Or just a strange formation on a rock…

I am confused.
On one hand I fear the flu, I fear sickness.. I don’t want to get it nor do I want my family to be hit with it. On the other hand, it’s the flu–something that happens each year and something that people often come down with. This year it seems to be particularly nasty.

Lots of reports, including this CBS report,  explain that tents are being set up outside of hospitals, masks are being worn, people are becoming very afraid. All of the flu.

It has been deadly.. And it has sickened a great number of people in 44 states.

The push is now on for flu shots.

But is this flu, the one hitting now, even going to be hampered by flu shots? Is the flu shot fighting the right strain??

Here is a small snippet from the CBS report:

About 60 miles south in Chadds Ford, the entire Coan family got the vaccine, but eight-year-old Alex came down with the flu anyway.

“You cough a lot,” he said, “kind of sneeze a little, lay in bed all day.”

His mother Christine said: “As a mom, I was very disappointed that he got the flu, because I had to fight him tooth and nail to get the flu shot.”

Yet again I ask myself.. and I ask you, and I ask any medical professional reading this.. DOES THE FLU SHOT EVEN FIGHT THIS STRAIN OF THE FLU!?

Are all of these stories we are seeing about the flu simply propaganda for big pharma? I just don’t know anymore. I thought I used to. But not anymore.