IT HARDLY MATTERS Back to Main Index Browse the Archives	Friday, May 26, 2006 ( 06:09 PM ) Holy jeez!! From the LA Times: Teens Survive 250-Foot Plunge Off Mulholland By Daryl Strickland, Times Staff Writer 3:23 PM PDT, May 26, 2006 Eight teenagers survived a perilous plunge off Mulholland Drive early this morning when their car rolled down a cliff at least 200 feet, authorities said. The white Nissan Sentra was packed with boys and girls -- including at least one in the trunk -- between the ages of 12 and 19 from Anaheim, LAPD officials said. The accident apparently caused some serious but not life-threatening injuries, Los Angeles police officials said, despite the small vehicle tumbling down a hillside the equivalent of at least a 20-story building. "They were not traveling at a high rate of speed, but they were unfamiliar with the hillside," Lou Roupoli, a battalion chief for the Los Angeles Fire Department, told the Associated Press. "These are very, very fortunate kids." Deydi Valle, the 19-year-old driver, was tested for alcohol, but nothing was found in his system or in the car to indicate that he had been drinking, said Jason Lee, an LAPD spokesman. "The speed of the car, and condition of the road" were significant factors in the crash, Lee said. Police have yet to decide whether to pursue child endangerment charges against Valle for having more people than the car, designed for five, could safely carry. "Three others -- even if they wanted to -- couldn't" wear safety belts, Lee said. The group had been to a family party in Hollywood, and were heading home along the famous and dangerous road, with its unfamiliar twists and turns. Near Sherman Oaks, just east of Beverly Glen Boulevard, they crashed into a telephone pole along the road, known for its wide-arching views of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. The car went over an embankment, police said, and rolled several times. Those in the trunk were ejected from the car shortly after the vehicle went over the cliff, as the trunk's lid came unhinged -- a life-saving moment, said Ken Cook, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. Otherwise, he said, "I don't know if they would have made it all the way down the hill." Farther down the hill, two others apparently were thrown from the vehicle. The remaining four were trapped in the vehicle as it reached the bottom of the ravine, Cook said. A homeowner who lives on a hillside below the wreckage called authorities after the crash. A pair of survivors -- it remains unclear which ones -- crawled up the rugged hillside to Mulholland and met rescuers, Cook said. Soon, more than 100 firefighters, three helicopters and two search-and-rescue teams searched for the victims. It took two hours to pull them to safety. Rescuers reached on foot two of those trapped in the automobile, and the others were airlifted and taken to a hospital for treatment. The teenagers were taken to Holy Cross Hospital and UCLA/Sherman Oaks for observation. One 16-year-old passenger sustained a broken back and a collapsed lung, Lee said. A 14-year-old passenger had a fractured skull and required surgery. The others suffered minor fractures, cuts and bruises, Lee said. The automobile stayed largely intact, Cook said. He thought the car may have stayed upright partly down the hill before it rolled. The reason, he said, is that the interior was "not collapsed for that kind of drop." "They're incredibly lucky," he said. Monday, May 22, 2006 ( 12:46 AM ) So I'm borrowing Medal of Honor: Frontline from Matt while he's in Houston and I've got some free time until summer school. It's not as good as Big Red One, but I'll take what I can get for free. The one thing about the game that is cool is the summary report you get after each level which breaks down a whole bunch of info about your performance, such as how many shots you fired, the number of kills you got, and where on the body you shot people. Along with the head, torso, left leg, right leg, left arm, and right arm, one area that is included in the summary is the GROIN. I've been trying to shoot people in the groin as much as possible, except it takes a lot more shots to the groing to kill them than, say, shooting them in the torso or head, so it's not a very wise use of bullets sometimes to shoot them in their wee-wees. DIE NAZIS DIE!! Saturday, May 20, 2006 ( 12:21 PM ) My allergies opened up a giant can of whoop-ass on me this week. I cannot breathe through my nose and I feel like taking a nap. This sucks. Wednesday, May 17, 2006 ( 06:11 PM ) Hi. I don't have much to say right now. Go to himynameismark.com and listen to Mark Hoppus' podcast. It's really fun. My tuition for summer school is due tomorrow. Yippee! Friday, May 12, 2006 ( 09:13 AM ) Oh, BARF. Booted 'Idol' contestant gets new job Chris Daughtry to become lead singer of Fuel Friday, May 12, 2006; Posted: 8:58 a.m. EDT (12:58 GMT) RALEIGH, North Carolina (AP) -- Chris Daughtry is looking to launch his music career after getting booted from "American Idol." Fuel is searching for a lead singer after Brett Scallions quit. The band offered Daughtry a job Thursday, hours after viewers voted him off the Fox television talent show. Thursday, May 11, 2006 ( 10:38 AM ) You are Turk A.K.A. "The Jock with a God Complex" Who's da man? You are! (Or, "da woman" as the case may be.) You're cool without trying. Confident, caring, loyal. Do you ever make a wrong move? Okay, perhaps your enthusiasm for life can get you into trouble with those more inhibited than yourself, but you've got the skills to get yourself out of any sticky situation. The only problem with leading such a blessed life is jealous peers. Don't let them rile up your competitive nature to an unhealthy level! And don't let your good looks drag you down a dangerous path, either! Those infros are tough to treat. Which Scrubs Character are you? Wednesday, May 10, 2006 ( 12:33 PM ) This is just trippy. Lost hikers find backpack, survive 3 nights in mountains Wednesday, May 10, 2006; Posted: 9:36 a.m. EDT (13:36 GMT) IDYLLWILD, California (AP) -- Two lost hikers who survived three nights in the frigid San Jacinto Mountains said they stumbled upon the campsite of a man who vanished a year ago and were able to scavenge food, clothes and matches from his backpack. Brandon Day and Gina Allen were rescued Tuesday after searchers spotted smoke from a fire the Dallas, Texas, couple had started. As Day thanked their rescuers later Tuesday, he said he and Allen were also grateful to the backpack's owner, John Donovan, a retired Virginia social worker who disappeared during a hike in May 2005. "I want to thank him for helping save our lives," Day said. Papers in the orange backpack connected it to Donovan, and searchers planned to scour the area this week for the missing man's remains, Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Earl Quinata said. "Even in his death, he was helping people," Donovan's longtime friend, Chris Hook, said from Richmond, Virginia. Donovan, an experienced hiker, was last seen in the San Jacinto Wilderness on May 3, 2005, about two weeks after he retired from Central State Hospital in Petersburg, Virginia. The 60-year-old planned to hike the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, from Southern California to the Canadian border. Hook said he assumed his friend got hurt and froze to death in a snowstorm that blew on the last night he was seen alive. Day, 28, and Allen, 24, were in Southern California for a financial convention. They got lost west of Palm Springs when they wandered off a trail near the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway during what was supposed to be a day hike. They said they spent Saturday night in a cave, dressed only in light clothing and without any supplies, then followed a creek Sunday and Monday that they hoped would lead them down the mountain to safety. The creek led to a gorge, where they found Donovan's campsite. Searchers in a Riverside County sheriff's helicopter spotted them Tuesday about 2 1/2 miles from the tramway. The two were treated at a hospital for dehydration, bumps and bruises. Saturday, May 6, 2006 ( 07:51 AM ) Taking hyperbole to a whole new level! But wait, I thought the War on Families was WWIII... In actuality, though, WWIII's really the War Against Nature. Bush likens 'war on terror' to WWIII Saturday, May 6, 2006. 10:11am (AEST) US President George W Bush has referred to the "war on terror" as "World War III" during a television interview. Mr Bush told the CNBC television network the revolt of passengers on the hijacked flight 93 on September 11, 2001, was the "first counter-attack to World War III". He said he agreed with the description by David Beamer, whose son Todd died in the crash, in a Wall Street Journal commentary last month the act was "our first successful counter-attack in our homeland in this new global war - World War III". Mr Bush said: "I believe that. I believe that it was the first counter-attack to World War III. "It was unbelievably heroic of those folks on the airplane to recognise the danger and save lives," Mr Bush said. Flight 93 crashed on the morning of September 11, 2001, killing the 33 passengers, seven crew members and four hijackers, after passengers stormed the cockpit and battled the hijackers for control of the aircraft. Mr Bush has repeatedly praised the heroism of the passengers in fighting back and so launching the first blow of what he usually calls the "war on terror". In 2002, then-White House spokesman Ari Fleischer explicitly declined to call the hunt for Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda group and its followers "World War III". Mr Bush says he has yet to see the recently-released film of the uprising, a dramatic portrayal of events on the United Airlines plane before it crashed in a Pennsylvania field. - AFP Friday, May 5, 2006 ( 04:09 PM ) Really, the whole Mac vs. Windows thing is just right-brained vs. left-brained disguised as snooty barfiness. Think about it. If you don't come to the same conclusion, well, you're not approaching it from the right perspective. (Hint: "I want things to be pretty and easy to use" vs. "I will figure this shit out if it kills me") ( 08:23 AM ) Okay, so I'm totally glad I still haven't picked up the Star Wars Box Set because... Unaltered Original "Star Wars" On DVD The Star Wars Official Site reports that in response to overwhelming demand, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release attractively priced individual two-disc releases of "Star Wars", "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi". Each release includes the 2004 digitally remastered special edition version of the movie, as well as the original theatrical edition of the film. That means you'll be able to enjoy Star Wars as it first appeared in 1977, Empire in 1980, and Jedi in 1983. See the title crawl to Star Wars before it was known as Episode IV; see the pioneering, if dated, motion control model work on the attack on the Death Star; groove to Lapti Nek or the Ewok Celebration song like you did when you were a kid; and yes, see Han Solo shoot first. This release will only be available for a limited time: from September 12th to December 31st. International release will follow on or about the same day. Each original theatrical version will feature Dolby 2.0 Surround sound, close-captioning, and subtitles in English, French and Spanish for their U.S. release. International sound and subtitling vary by territory. "Over the years, a truly countless number of fans have told us that they would love to see and own the original version that they remember experiencing in theaters," said Jim Ward, President of LucasArts and Senior Vice President of Lucasfilm Ltd. "We returned to the Lucasfilm Archives to search exhaustively for source material that could be presented on DVD. This is something that we're very excited to be able to give to fans in response to their continuing enthusiasm for Star Wars. Topping it off with a new interactive adventure makes September 12 a red-letter day for Star Wars fans." Thursday, May 4, 2006 ( 07:33 AM ) My favorite part of this report from the Smoking Gun: "They had to be separated because they were trying to kiss each other while being processed." Oh, jailhouses. So romantic. Wednesday, May 3, 2006 ( 01:57 PM ) It's been confirmed: Don't fuck with Dame Edna. 'Dame Edna' slugs photographer Wednesday, May 3, 2006; Posted: 12:40 p.m. EDT (16:40 GMT) SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Dame Edna Everage's alter ego, Barry Humphries, punched a photographer who pursued him outside a restaurant, his publicist said. The 72-year-old Australian actor, who plays the purple-haired character with oversized rhinestone eyeglasses, struck celebrity freelance photographer Malcolm Ladd, 54, said publicist Suzie Howie. "I can confirm to you that Barry did hit him," Howie said. "He was obviously very upset." "But at least he didn't throw a phone," added Howie, referring to Australia-based actor Russell Crowe, who was given a conditional discharge by a New York court last year after pleading guilty to throwing a phone at a hotel receptionist. Humphries became upset when Ladd followed him from Dee Bee's Cafe in Sydney's exclusive Double Bay, where the actor had lunch Wednesday with musical director Andrew Ross, Howie said. New South Wales state police had not received a complaint about the punch, a police spokeswoman said on customary condition of anonymity. Ladd's photos of Humphries at lunch appeared in early editions of News Corp. newspapers in Australia on Thursday. He told News Corp. that Humphries punched his face as he tried to take a close shot outside the restaurant. "It knocked my glasses off. It was a good punch -- it still hurts," Ladd was quoted as saying. "It's the first time I've been attacked and I've photographed just about everyone before." Tuesday, May 2, 2006 ( 10:36 PM ) Killer executed the hard way Tuesday, May 2, 2006; Posted: 3:07 p.m. EDT (19:07 GMT) COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) -- A double murderer was put to death in Ohio Tuesday but not until after one of his veins collapsed, causing the condemned man to sit up and tell his executioners, "It's not working." Added the zombified convict: "OR IS IT???"