No secret at CBS: show dumped after one episode

Did you watch the first episode of Secret Talents of the Stars?

I missed it too but I don’t think we missed much.

Not sure how many shows they filmed but the series was cancelled after the first episode.

It was to be a reality series intended to showcase the unknown talents of stars.

The first airing Wednesday had former "Star Trek" actor George Takei singing "On the Road Again." Only 4.6 million people tuned in -- and thousands tuned away as the hour continued.

The reality show also had Clint Black doing standup comedy and Mya tap-dancing. Danny Bonaduce is among the celebrities whose secret talents will be kept to himself.

Some of the proposed acts included:

- Wrestler Ric Flair salsa dancing

- Professional boxer Joe Frazier singing R&B

- Actress and model Bridget Marquardt soaring as a trapeze artist with the former masters of Cirque du Soleil

- Singer/actress Mya tap-dancing

- Professional boxer Roy Jones, Jr. rapping

- Actress and former Celebrity Cooking Showdown finalist Cindy Margolis performing magic

- Comedian Ben Stein dancing the jitterbug

Warning: to see Ben Stein (pictured) doing the jitterbug could be nauseating.

It’s probably just as well that secret ‘talents’ of celebrities will remain hidden.

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Suicide claims two men who shared one heart

This story is about two men who shared the same heart, were married to the same woman and their lives both ended in suicide.

After Terry Cottle killed himself more than 12 years ago, his heart beat on in former Hilton Head Island resident Sonny Graham.

Grateful for the transplant that saved his life, Graham wrote to thank the Cottle family.

Through that correspondence, he met Cheryl Cottle, his donor's widow. Then the unexpected happened -- they fell in love and married.

Earlier this week, the unexpected happened again, when Graham's life ended the same way Terry Cottle's did.

On Tuesday, Graham took his own life at his home in Vidalia, Ga. He was 69.

Last Friday the heart that gave two men life was finally laid to rest.

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Vodka Maker Absolut apologizes for ads

An advertising firm in Mexico released an advertisement for Swedish Vodka maker Absolut showing the southwestern U.S. as part of Mexico.

The Absolut vodka company apologized Saturday for an ad campaign depicting the southwestern U.S. as part of Mexico amid angry calls for a boycott by U.S. consumers.



The campaign, which promotes ideal scenarios under the slogan "In an Absolut World," showed a 1830s-era map when Mexico included California, Texas and other southwestern states. Mexico still resents losing that territory in the 1848 Mexican-American War and the fight for Texas independence.

The ads, which ran only in Mexico and have since ended, came as the United States builds up its border security amid an emotional debate over illegal immigration from their southern neighbor.

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About that last Clinton - Obama debate

Now that the dust has settled, it’s time to take an objective look at that last debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

It was the first debate between Democratic candidates in recent memory that included tough questions.

The reaction by Democrats was swift and brutal as they showed their outrage toward the moderators (pictured below).



Charlie Gibson is a liberal news anchor for a liberal television network and George Stephanopoulos was once a Clinton insider. How dare they ask tough questions? Tough questions should be reserved for Republican candidates.

Typical of the liberal outrage came from The Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Daily News and The Washington Post -- liberal newspapers all:

The Boston Globe called it “A tawdry affair!” link.

The Philadelphia Daily News said it was “A televised train wreck!” link.

The Washington Post described it as “Shoddy, despicable!” link.

There was no such outrage in the liberal media when MSNBC liberal hack Chris Matthews asked totally immaterial and inappropriate questions during a Republican debate.

US friend Berlusconi returned to power in Italy

Silvio Berlusconi (pictured) won a decisive victory last week in Italy's parliamentary election.

The conservative media billionaire returns to power as premier.

The victory in voting Sunday and Monday by parties supporting the 71- year-old Berlusconi avenged his loss two years ago to a center-left coalition.

Berlusconi once said he agreed with the United States regardless of Washington's position. He calls President Bush a friend, and his return to power is lkely to make relations with Washington warmer, no matter who becomes the next American president.

Berlusconi is the fourth conservative world leader to be elected in the last three years. All four are friends of the United States. All four replaced leaders who had contentious relationships with the U.S.

Angela Merkel defeated Gerhard Schröder as Chancellor of Germany in 2005.

Stephen Harper defeated Paul Martin as prime Minister of Canada in 2006.

Nicolas Sarkozy was elected President of France in 2007 replacing Jacques Chirac who retired.

Link to the Berlusconi story here

Texas prison inmate on Idaho primary ballot

A federal prison inmate in Texas has "conned" his way onto Idaho's May 27th Democratic presidential primary ballot.

Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa says Judd qualified for the ballot by submitting a notarized form and paying the required $1,000 fee.

It's Judd's second presidential bid in Idaho. In 2004, he declared as a write-in candidate for president. That requires only the submission of a declaration. He got no votes.

If you are voting in the Idaho Democratic primary, you can choose between Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama or a Texas federal prison inmate.

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Watch Dukes of Hazzard car race in traffic

(click on picture to see video)

In this video an orange '69 Dodge Charger, painted like the General Lee from the Dukes of Hazzard TV series, does a high speed “drift” in city traffic. Don’t try this at home.

British man loses 17th-century violin on train

A retired shipping consultant took a train from London to Bedwyn (about 70 miles west of London). Only thing is, 67-year-old Rob Napier left his $390,000 violin on the train.

The violin was made by master Venetian craftsman Matteo Goffriller in 1698.

Napier said the violin belonged to his mother, who died in 2006. A professional violinist, she bought the Goffriller from a dealer in 1945.

She said later she had wanted a fine instrument to match the quality of those played by her colleagues in the well-known Ebsworth String Quartet, an all-female group, Napier said.

A reward of up to 10,000 pounds (about US$20,000; euro12,000) was being offered for the instrument's recovery, he said.

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Zealotry: the real inconvenient truth

Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth has enraged some who claim it is inaccurate propaganda.

If the film is fact, why does Mr. Gore (pictured) refuse to debate any part of the movie? Also, why does Mr. Gore ban the media from his lectures on the environment?

The quotes below are from an article in the Daily Mail (found at the link below) claiming that zealotry over global warming could damage our Earth far more than climate change.

Over the past half-century, we have become used to planetary scares. In the late Sixties, we were told of a population explosion that would lead to global starvation.

Then, a little later, we were warned the world was running out of natural resources. By the Seventies, when global temperatures began to dip, many eminent scientists warned us that we faced a new Ice Age.

But the latest scare, global warming, has engaged the political and opinion-forming classes to a greater extent than any of these.

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Homeless man no longer up a tree

A homeless Seattle man living in a treehouse gets a new home just before his eviction.

David "Squirrelman" Csaky has been living in living in a treehouse.

For two years, Csaky, 52, has lived about 30 feet above the ground in a 300-square-foot self-made platform, accessible by a ladder counterweighted with sandbags on pulleys on city land.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer photos by Joshua Trujillo

Csaky outfitted the treehouse with a tent, wood stove, three chairs, shelves and a counter with an unplumbed sink. His pets include Lucky, a rat; Rainbow, a ferret; and Tilt, a squirrel.

He was lately threatened with eviction because the treehouse is a health and safety concern.

Neiboors found a 22-foot RV for Csaky to move into and are looking for a place to park the trailer.

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