] A huge fire engulfed a Rhode Island nightclub during a
] rock concert's pyrotechnics display, causing at least 10
] deaths and dozens of injuries, authorities said.
]
] Fire Capt. Russell McGillivray said an estimated 10 to 20
] people died. More were likely trapped inside.
]
] Great White is a 1980s heavy metal band whose hits include
] "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" and "Rock Me." The concert also
] featured the Canadian group Fathead.

Great White. Ok.

Now, this is one of those stories that at first glance would normally really get to me. I'm in clubs and at shows all the time. That being able to identify with the victims thing should instantally kick in.. But there is something I just can't get past..

Great White.

I feel really sorry for everyone there.. I hate to hear about people getting hurt and killed. I truly feel sorry for these folks.. Not only because they were at a concert where a fire broke out, but because they were at a Great White concert.

Picture their poor reletives.. Having to explain that.. Billy died at the Great White concert. That sounds horrible! And if you survived, and wound up horribly burned or something.. Having to tell folks where/how it happened. So sad..

On the other side of things, if you heard someone you knew died at, lets say, and Neil Young concert. It just sounds . . less tragic. Like, it might have been a worthy place to meet your end.. Of course, Neil Young wouldn't have fireworks blowing up behind him, its not his style really. Metallica has had problems with this. Michael Jackson too. Again, same thing kicks in.. There may be a connection.. Or natural selection in play. A signal from powers beyond our knowledge.

Now there is a good way to judge which shows you go to.. "Would it be ok if I died at this show?" If the answer is no, you skip.. Good filter.

So sad. Just heard on the news that the death toll is over 24. [U: 39 now..] [U: !!! +50!]

] The fire comes four days after 21 people were killed and
] more than 50 injured during a stampede in a Chicago
] nightclub that began when a security guard used pepper
] spray to break up a fight.

Just you watch... New fire code and search restrictions will start to be proposed for clubs. They will seem like really good ideas to the bulk of the population at a glance. But if by nothing other then botched implementations and enforcement, will wind up being a great blow to civil liberties, and somehow manage to force many places out of business. And by extension, wind up effecting the over all big picture of free speech in America.. People often forget the importance of venues.

Cock Rock Kills

Just watch it.

Bush & Blair

] Nasa has revealed its first set of mission criteria for
] the Orbital Space Plane (OSP) - the series of space
] vehicle expected to replace the space shuttle from 2012

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Nasa plans shuttle successor

THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBES THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF FRANCE AT WAR.

Gallic Wars - Lost. In a war whose ending foreshadows the next 2000 years of French history, France is conquered by of all things, an Italian.

Hundred Years War - Mostly lost, saved at last by female schizophrenic who inadvertently creates The First Rule of French Warfare;
"France's armies are victorious only when not led by a Frenchman."

Italian Wars - Lost. France becomes the first and only country to ever lose two wars when fighting Italians.

Wars of Religion - France goes 0-5-4 against the Huguenots

Thirty Years War - France is technically not a participant, but manages to get invaded anyway. Claims a tie on the basis that eventually the other participants started ignoring her.

War of Devolution - Tied. Frenchmen take to wearing red flowerpots as chapeaux.

The Dutch War - Tied

War of the Augsburg League/King William's War/French and Indian War Lost, but claimed as a tie. Three ties in a row induces deluded Frenchophiles the world over to label the period as the height of French military power.

War of the Spanish Succession - Lost. The War also gave the French their first taste of a Marlborough, which they have loved ever since.

American Revolution - In a move that will become quite familiar to future Americans, France claims a win even though the English colonists saw far more action. This is later known as "de Gaulle Syndrome", and leads to the Second Rule of French Warfare;

"France only wins when America does most of the fighting."

French Revolution - Won, primarily due the fact that the opponent was also French.

The Napoleonic Wars - Lost. Temporary victories (remember the First Rule!)
due to leadership of a Corsican, who ended up being no match for a British footwear designer.

The Franco-Prussian War - Lost. Germany first plays the role of drunk Frat boy to France's ugly girl home alone on a Saturday night.

World War I - Tied and on the way to losing, France is saved by the United States. Thousands of French women find out what it's like to not only sleep with a winner, but one who doesn't call her "Fraulein." Sadly, widespread use of condoms by American forces forestalls any improvement in the French bloodline.

World War II - Lost. Conquered French liberated by the United States and Britain just as they finish learning the Horst Wessel Song.

War in Indochina - Lost. French forces plead sickness, take to bed with the Dien Bien Flu

Algerian Rebellion - Lost. Loss marks the first defeat of a western army by a Non-Turkic Muslim force since the Crusades, and produces the First Rule of Muslim Warfare;

"We can always beat the French."

This rule is identical to the First Rules of the Italians, Russians, Germans, English, Dutch, Spanish, Vietnamese and Esquimaux.

War on Terrorism - France, keeping in mind its recent history, surrenders to Germans and Muslims just to be safe. Attempts to surrender to Vietnamese ambassador fail after he takes refuge in a McDonald's.

FRANCE'S POSITION ON IRAQ.

Interviews with anti-war protesters in NYC.

bt: Protesting the Protesters - Devil's Advocate

Great lttle short made up of slightly off-center cartoons.

REJECTED

Those crazy Canadians.

Yahoo! News - Naked Kidnap Fantasy Has Police Scrambling

] MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Think of the famous police teams. Friday
] and Gannon, Starsky and Hutch - and now there's Franks
] and Beans

A police pairing: Franks and Beans

] SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA -- A single-key research utility that
] can open associated Web sites or files as you need them
] is making its appearance as ActiveWords, one of the
] highlights of the Demo 2003 show here.]
] Trying to explain what ActiveWords is can be a little
] like trying to explain TiVo upon its debut; it's a strong
] product that defies easy categorization. Even its
] developers find it hard to make a quick pitch.
]
]
] "It brings the user's vocabulary directly to the
] interface," says Peter Weldon, chief executive officer of
] ActiveWord Systems.]
] The utility can turn a few characters, a word, or a
] phrase into a shortcut for applications, files, and Web
] sites. It can also operate like Word's AutoText, except
] that you can invoke it in any text application. Announced
] Monday at Demo, each of the two versions can be
] downloaded now for a 60-day trial. The basic version,
] ActiveWords SE, costs $10; a deluxe version, ActiveWords
] Plus, costs $50.

I sounds like my next software try. I really like the idea.

PCWorld.com - ActiveWords Turns Words Into Actions

Nope -- now the heat is coming from other media company executives and Beltway lobbyists. They are dismayed that Clear Channel is doing what many might have thought impossible. In an era when Republicans control the government and big business generally gets what it wants, Clear Channel is making deregulation look bad.

Man, the sad thing is that I don't know whether to call this a good thing or a bad thing. It's good that the other media industries are still being regulated from owning too large of a percentage of the market. However, is sucks that throughout America there is hardly any good radio left. You can certainly tell the Clear Channel stations, though, since they all have the same playlist. It doesn't seem to have changed in the past 4 years...

Clear Channel's big, stinking deregulation mess