According to witness statements, Brancheau was performing before an audience when she leaned over and the whale pulled her by her ponytail into the tank. It was then that the animal began to attack Brancheau. The autopsy revealed Brancheau likely died from mulitple traumatic injuries she suffered as well as drowning, according to the Orange County medical examiner.

Evidently, the executives at Sea World have ignored the behavioral patterns of a veteran Orca at the Orlando, FL Park. Hint, hint… this orca may not be content in captivity. The death of Brancheau is being titled an accident, which is completely inappropriate. It is in the animal’s nature to be aggressive at times. It absolutely is a tragedy that a human life was lost, but not exactly shocking when considering the circumstances that were ignored.

The park re-opened Thursday, however as a result of this tragedy, Sea World has indefinitely suspended future performances in the Shamu Stadium until the investigation is complete. There are no plans to euthanize the 12,000 pound whale, and TIlikum (pet name) is currently in the holding tank with the other orcas.

Are we beyond appropriate portion sizes, physical education, and couch potato syndrome? It seems the “normalcy” of over-eating has become too acceptable and available. Should restaurants begin cutting off obese children and adults from cleaning their plates, like a drunk at a bar?

Making headlines this week, a morbidly obese woman in Houston, TX fell in her home, making her way to the bathroom, and she broke her leg. The 38-year-old woman weighs in at approximately 400 pounds, and had to call for emergency help. Unfortunately due to her size, Houston firefighters were unable to remove her from her apartment through the hallway.

As a result, the rescue crew had to cut out a window and part of a wall from her second-floor apartment in order to provide medical treatment for the patient. It has been reported, her housing agency has recommended she move to a lower level of the building because of her “health concerns.” However, the woman explained her use for a wheelchair was only temporary.

Further details regarding the status of the woman’s health have not yet been made available. However, it has been reported her injuries required doctors to amputate her leg.

Forget the rest of the family run down, ABC announced this morning that Bristol Palin is set to grace her presence as herself in the ABC Family series “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” The episode is scheduled to air something this summer. Recently in the show, the main character, Amy’s, reaction to an unexpected pregnancy has been spotlighted on the show. Palin will be playing a supportive and consoling friend to Amy, according to the network.

Bristol says, “I am thrilled to be on this show and to be a part of a program that educates teens and young adults about the consequences of teen pregnancy.” Palin was eighteen years old when she gave birth to her son back in December 2008. At the time, Palin was actually engaged to Johnston, but since have split and now battle over child support. She has a lot of baggage for a nineteen year old, which apparently makes her an excellent addition to the cast of a family television show.

“Secret Life’s” executive producer stated, “We’re thrilled to have Bristol join us, and I think she will bring additional attention to the issues facing teen parents that we’ve been exploring for a couple seasons now.” Understandable, but understated as it is thought Palin has brought too much attention to teen parenting issues and her baby daddy is a porn star. Evidently, this is the desired new path for the show’s exploration.

Andrew Young, a former confidante to John Edwards, has written a disclosing book expected to hit shelves this week. The former Senator from North Carolina confessed his paternity of Hunter’s child to Elizabeth this past summer. It is unknown when the Edwards officially split, however a close source revealed it happened a while ago. On separating, Mr. Edwards has called it “an extraordinarily sad moment, but I love my children more than anything and still care deeply about Elizabeth.” When he says he loves his children, does that include the illegitimate child he has denied fatherhood its whole life? Bottom line, he loves his children, but after 32 years of marriage he does not love Elizabeth. Mr. Edwards has four children with Elizabeth, and his love child with Hunter makes a whole handful.

Edwards has denied his paternity of the child for more than a year saying his affair with Hunter had ended before she became pregnant. Good story… tell it walking John. His future ex-wife has been prepared for a divorce for the better part of a year. However, Elizabeth is still undergoing treatment for breast cancer, therefore she has yet to file the divorce. A close source says her decision to file likely depends of her condition.

More updates to come from this husband/father of the year… stay tuned

The same day his driving citation was issued, Mr. Woods released a statement regarding the recent events regretting his “transgressions”… err adulterous behaviors which have sparked a media whirlwind. John Daly is stoked because he may have just found himself a new Hooters wing man. Nike and Gatorade have both stated they are too heavily invested in Woods to cut his endorsements, and they are absolutely okay with Woods using their endorsements to pay some home wreckers off to keep their promiscuous mouths shut.

Even though his estimated worth is about a billion dollars, his current situation is reasonably undesirable. But who says money can’t buy love? For Tiger Woods anything has its price. He has reportedly offered his wife a seven digit Christmas present to withstand the union as well as renegotiated their prenuptial agreement. Americans and particularly sports fans are very forgiving to personal short comings and unless the big “D” is in Tiger’s near future the media will soon disperse. Especially when he attains his next victory on the Tour.

It is extremely disappointing for Tiger to be chalked up aside Kobe and the likes. However, with this notch on his belt, Tiger is now eligible to follow a career in politics if desired to do so. So if the intentions of his transgressions were political resume building, this media blitz has been a remarkable success.

It is easy to laugh at the lack of intelligence in her statement, but the context in which she uses it is quite funny. Ms. Palin’s statement is poking fun at hosting a vegan for dinner at her home. She says, “I could whip them up a salad, then explain my philosophy on being a carnivore.” Most people can appreciate the humor, however she surely has angered a few PETA activists who “would rather go naked.” She continues, “I love meat… I eat pork chops, thick bacon burgers… But I especially love moose and caribou.” At least she didn’t say she likes to hunt and eat polar bear. She might, but she didn’t say it.

This Thanksgiving, Palin and her family will gather around a feast, celebrating gratitude, and she will be thankful that God made turkeys our of meat… so that we can eat them. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

The number of lives at risk as a result of diseases induced by the state of obesity are far greater than the number of folks suffering from malnourished eating disorders. Yes, they are both clinically diagnosed diseases, however eating disorders can no longer hold a candle to the enormity of obesity. Look at it from the other side, if Kristie Alley were to say, “everything tastes better than being healthy” which as a result becomes a motto on obesity support websites, that is far more concerning to me. If I had an obese child, spouse, parent, brother, or sister living by that motto, I would be very, very concerned. Similarly, there would be mayhem from the “Biggest Loser” trainers in response to something like this.

This is not to determine one is worse than the other, it is just to reveal the bigger picture. Skinny is according to an individual’s state of mind. Skinny is unique to the individual, like fingerprints. If you think about it, Kate Moss’s message could possibly have a positive influence on those battling obesity. Moss’s motto is relative to everyone in their own sense. Personally, her motto is relative because no matter how good the taste of something, nothing is worth carrying an additional 30% or more of weight. The ability to be physically unrestrained, free of heart and blood pressure disease, and diabetes is priceless.

POLITICS:

The Best:

1. Obama, Obama, Obama. The country stepped up, proved it was only partially prejudice, and elected the best person for the job based on qualifications and charisma, and NOT color. No other story dominated the political landscape like this one and deservedly so.
2. Saturday Night Live: Any Sarah Palin or Keith Olbermann parody. Ben Affleck’s Olbermann was his best acting since Good Will Hunting!

The Worst:

1. Sarah Palin, but not for who she is, but for the choice to choose her. Her choice to be the VP running mate of John McCain could go down as one of the biggest political blunders in history. Unproven, unknown, and completely nuts, she proved to be a distraction that could not be overlooked or ignored. The thought of her being one breath away from being President was reason enough to not vote Republican regardless of the other issues.
2. Rudy Giuliani ONLY campaigns in one state (Florida( and quickly fades out of the Presidential race.  Just a terrible decision that he will regret for the next 4 long years.
3. Jeremiah wright: “God Damn America” is all that needs to be said.
4. The War that never ends. Time to bring home the troops as quickly and safely as possible.
5. Governors, Mayors and other CORRUPT public officials. If it was not bribery, X-Rated text messages, or illegal deals, it was something else EVERY WEEK. The negative news stories never seemed to end with politicians abusing their power and positions in 2008.
6. Bailouts: No one understands them or where the money is coming from OR going. Confusion is universal and people perceive billions of their tax dollars going to bail out some rich corporate guys and keep them in their private jets.
7. The fact that Osama bin Laden is still alive (we think)

MOVIES:

The Best:

1. The Dark Knight: Hands down our winner for best picture of the year, and multiple individual awards. You can read our full review here.
2. There Will Be Blood: People forget that it came out in wide release in January of 2008. Daniel Day-Lewis is a scary good actor. Intense and gritty, there were few movies this good in the past year
3. Iron Man: Great comic book action movie with a fantastic plot and actors. Made a boat load of money.
4. Juno: It was released the last week of December 2007, so we will call it 2008. Ellen Page, who we LOVED from Hard Candy steal the entire movie and is a big star in the making.

The Worst: Meet The Spartans (been there, done that), The Love Guru (horrible), The X-Files (so boring, what a let down), Vantage Point (what a let down. A great idea, terrible execution), Superhero Movie (see Meet The Spartans), The Strangers (not scary), Semi Pro (horrible and not funny), Disaster Movie (see Meet the Apartans and Superhero Movie)

FOOD:

The Best:

1. The grill. Nothing in our house was used more for cooking food in the past year then the grill out on our deck. We literally use it to cook our dinners 3-4 days a week when I am in town and not traveling for business. We cooked steaks, burgers, chicken, many different types of sausages, endless grilled veggies, and much much more. I am out there if it is cold, raining, or a perfectly clear night.
2. Five Guys. Unquestionably the best burgers in my opinion. The chain is growing FAST and it seems like they are in every town I visit now.
3. Sweet Tomatoes. We LOVE Sweet Tomatoes. It is the greatest all you can eat salad bar in our opinion. Add in the soups, pastas, and deserts and it is a perfect meal every time. Highly recommended if there is a location in your area.

The Worst: Coming Soon, but in general, I love all food.

TRAVEL:
The Best: none.
The Worst: That there were no personal vacations in 2008. We just could not afford to go away with rising costs of everything and less coming in. There was just less money available to spend on non essential items.

Best KIDS SHOWS As Voted By My 2 Year Old Son: This was a year DOMINATED by 2 shows - Little Einsteins and Mickey Mouse Club House. My son was COMPLETELY brainwashed by Disney and he now basically starts his day saying “More Mickey!”. It is both cute, and scary at the same time.

Best Electronic GADGET: For the first 9-10 months our choice would have been the Blackberry Curve, if it had not been taken over by the HTC Fuze in early November 2008. The Fuze is my new phone, music player, movie player, calendar, organizer, email, text, work, 32GB mini computer power gadget. It does everything and is awesome. I posted a full review here and you will understand why it is so great.
- Best Gadget Application. For me this was Spb Mobile Shell. This program REALLY made my touch scree mobile phone TAKE OFF. It is feature rich and really allows you to take advantage of everything windows mobile has to offer.

Best INTERNET SITES: I spent a lot of time online this year. Here are the sites that I really like and visited on a regular basis. The list is in no particular order.

1. http://www.smartphonejunkie.com/ - Smart Phone Junkie is a GREAT Windows Mobile site with a ton of information and programs for people with a windows mobile or smartphone. Highly recommended and I visit this site daily.
2. http://www.mockforums.com - not for the faint of heart, Mock is a place where insulting and mocking is welcome and encouraged. While sometimes mean spirited, it also is filled with a ton of interesting threads and information worth checking out if you like all of the cool stuff the internet has to offer. I visit this site daily.
3. http://forum.xda-developers.com - xda developers is the main site for smartphone and windows mobile customization, hacking, and specialty programing. Some very smart people are doing some great things to your favorite gadgets on this site. I visit it daily.
4. http://www.perezhilton.com/ - I admit it. I l love the gossip and read this site sometimes a few times a day. The stories and gossip are endless and fun.
5. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ - whether I agreed with the stories on this site or not, during the election I did visit The Huffington Post multiple times a day.  It is the 485th busiest website in the world and is very well done.
6. The Daily Duke - http://thedailyduke.com/ - has become one of my favorite sites to visit on a daily basis. Duke has a unique perspective on the world around us, and one that I enjoy reading.

MUSIC: I listen to a VERY wide wide range of music and always have 700-1000 songs on my player and am always adding, removing, and searching for new tunes that move me.

The Best:

1. Estelle featuring Kanye West - American Boy. Every year there are a few songs that just stand out as fresh, new, and memorable. You don’t necessarily have to like the artist or the music, but you can appreciate that it is memorable. This artist and the song, was one of those moments in 2008. Obviously having Kanye West on the track helped the song. The song seemed to be in my head all year and is my song of the year.
2. Beyonce - Single Ladies. It seems that Beyonce puts out big music every single year. And she always seems to have one or two songs that become huge. Single Ladies was another song that just crossed over and everyone seemed to react to. It also created one of the BEST comedy moments of the year on Saturday Night Live with Justin Timberlake in a leotard and high heals as one of the back up dancers in Beyonce’s video for this song.
3. Everything Lil Wayne in 2008 was strong. He was easily the most seen and influential rapper this past year and to his credit the music he produced was quality in my opinion.
4. Kevin Rudolf featuring Lil Wayne - Let It Rock. On top of being on my top music list for his own music he was part of this song that I am still obsessed with.
5. Joshua Radin. I love this guy and especially 2 songs - Only You and One Of Those Days. Really a nice voice.
6. Brett Dennen is one of the most unique and strange new singer I have heard in a while - and I love it. Check out these songs Ain’t No Reason and There is So Much More.
7. Britney Spears - Womanizer. The song is a GREAT pop and dance song. You can not deny it and she still has “it”, whatever that is.
8. Rihanna - Please Don’t Stop The Music and just about everything she put out. Rihanna is a strong contender to be the biggest female singer on the planet every year. Her songs are well produced, impossible to get out of your head and fun. Please Don’t Stop The Music with the Michael Jackson sample was one of the biggest of the year and one of my favorites.
9. M.I.A. - Paper Planes. We might NEVER hear from this group again, BUT this song was AWESOME. It had a real “80’s” feel. I could have easily imagined it in a John Hughes movie with Anthony Michael Hall. Good song.

The Worst:

1. Kid Rock - All Summer Long. I TRIED to like this song and it drove me nuts that they played it literally 5 million times a week on every channel. But in the end the entire song is a rip off of 3-4 other songs and Kid Rock can do better. I am a big Kid Rock fan, and while this song was a HUGE commercial success and he made a ton of money, it was not his best in my opinion.
2. Katie Perry - I Kissed A Girl. Once you got past the taboo topic (to some, not me), the song was a maddening teenage pop song that finally went away after about 20 endless weeks of being overplayed to no end.
3. Many more “worst” music to come soon…..

Biggest Musical Disappointment: Guns N Roses. I waited 20 years for that?? I SO wanted Chinese Democracy to be great. But in the end it was only marginally good. It clearly DID NOT need 15 years of rewrites and revisions. Axl’s obsessiveness and endless delays seemed to only accomplish one thing in the end - the band’s core fans moved on to newer and better things.

SPORTS

The Best:

1. Michael Phelps wins 8 gold medals. For one amazing summer, the entire country came together night after night to cheer on Michael Phelps. This was far and away the biggest story of the year.
2. The US Men’s Basketball team winning the gold medal BUT ALSO playing with class and style and gaining back the respect of the world. The best players in the world are still in the United States.
3. Tiger Woods wins the US Open with literally a broken knee that would have put ANYONE else in a wheelchair. The world knew he was hurt, but no one knew how badly until after. He would miss the rest of the year after the tournament, but still BEAT the best in the world with one leg. Just incredible.

The Worst:

1. The Patriots blowing the 16-0 regular season. Sure they still had a great year and still went to the Superbowl, but they lost to the Giants. If they would have won it all they would have been considered the best ever. Instead no one ever remembers the “first loser”. In the end their 16-0 regular season was completely wasted.
2. The Detroit Lions. Even if they win a game, they really suck. They are the perfect example of how to NOT run a professional sports franchise and the players have given up completely on the team and their teammates. It is sad to see.

Television

The Best

1. True Blood: HBO has another winner with the sometimes gory, but always intense and interesting vampire drama. Alan Ball of Six Feet Under fame hits another home run with off beat and deep characters that never fail to surprise week after week.
2. Fringe: The modern X-Files, just better. The show has been a hit, which means it will get a second season. That is important because right now it is still pretty confusing on what exactly is gong on and who is on which side. One thing is for sure, there are some strange things going on in the Boston area.
3. House: I did not think it was possible that this great show could get better, but it did. Hugh Laurie is the best male actor on TV today.
4. Heroes, Prison Break, Lost, CSI: Many of the consistent dramas were equally as good this past year with strong plot lines and acting. Heroes actually got better in 2008 in my opinion

The Worst

1. Knight Rider - just horrible
2. Almost ALL reality shows. Who else is just sick of these already. They get more and more boring with each passing year. We can only hope they will go away soon.
3. Secret Million. Are we really supposed to feel sorry for these rich people who are “roughing it” for a few days? Of course not. It is clearly all set up and gets old very fast.

Shows I Am Not Sure Yet: 90210 has been pretty good, but will it return as strong or at all. Life on Mars is a original idea and so far has been very well written. But the big question is if people come back week after week to see if he finally wakes up in his time again?

More to come between now and December 31st. Check back for regular updates!

You may have heard the story this past week about golfer J.P. Hayes. During a PGA Tour qualifying tournament last week Hayes voluntarily turned himself in for 2 separate rule infractions. This incredible honesty not only disqualified him from the tournament but also for a full time spot on the 2009 PGA Tour and potentially millions of dollars. NO ONE saw the rules infraction happen and NO ONE would have ever known if Hayes had not said anything. It is an incredible story.

In a nutshell and without getting all technical on the PGA golf rules, Hayes broke two different rules. First on the 12th hole he accidentally used a different model ball for two shots then he had used for the rest of the round. No one saw this. Once Hayes realized this rule infraction he voluntarily told officials and was penalized 2 shots for the error.

You would think this would be the end of the story and Hayes just received a two shot penalty and we all move on. BUT it did not end there. HOURS LATER and in his hotel room Hayes realized that the ball he had used for those 2 penalized shots was a Titleist prototype golf ball and not on the PGA tour approved list of balls that could be used in tournament play. So what did Hayes do? He was all alone and LITERALLY NO ONE knew about this additional infraction. He could keep playing and probably earn his extremely valuable PGA tour card for the upcoming year OR turn himself in and be disqualified completely.

Was this a hard choice for Hayes? Did he worry all night about what to do? Apparently not. That night Hayes contacted tour officials about the additional rule that had been broken. He was disqualified and then unable to earn his PGA Tour card for the year. Incredible.

Hayes has said that “everybody out here [on the PGA Tour] would have done the same thing.” I am not so sure. While golf is clearly a game of self policing and there have been more examples of players turning themselves in for rules infractions in golf then any other sport, I still find this entire situation stunning. No one would have ever known. No one that is EXCEPT Hayes. And he could not live with that. Impressive.

But that also begs the question about if Hayes would have done the same thing if he was not already well rich?.  While he only earned $300,000 last year, Hayes has earned OVER 7 MILLION dollars in his career. So assuming he saved and invested well he probably is pretty set financially. Knowing this did that make his decision easier then someone without any money. If he had been a struggling player who had never won any tournaments and was living check to check would he have turned himself in for either infractions? I believe probably not.

And we don’t have to feel to bad for Hayes. This honest act has made him a media darling and he will probably be invited to multiple tournaments anyway this year. The publicity has thrust him into the news and he will end up being fine, if he was not already.

What would you have done?

here is the story from ESPN.com -

J.P. Hayes says anyone else on the PGA Tour in his situation “would have done the same thing.”

During the second stage of the PGA Tour qualifying tournament last week in Texas, Hayes discovered that on two shots on one hole, he had unwittingly used a prototype golf ball not approved for competition by the United States Golf Association.

No one would have known. And a full-time spot on the PGA Tour in 2009 was on the line. But Hayes, honoring the tradition of a game where the players police themselves, turned himself in and was disqualified.

“It’s extremely disappointing,” Hayes said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and this is going to be a bad nightmare.” It happened a week ago, at Deerwood Country Club in Kingwood, Texas. On his 12th hole of the first round, Hayes’ caddie reached into his golf bag and tossed a ball to Hayes, who played two shots — a tee and a chip onto the green — and marked his ball. At that point he realized the ball he was playing was not the same model with which he started the round — by rule, a two-stroke penalty

“I realized there was a penalty and I called an official over,” Hayes said, according to the newspaper. “He said the penalty was two shots and that I had to finish the hole with that ball and then change back to the original ball.”

Hayes shot a 74 Wednesday and a 71 on Thursday, putting him in good shape to finish in the top 20 and advance to the final qualifying stage in December. But on Thursday night in his hotel room, Hayes realized that the errant golf ball might not have been on the approved list. “It was a Titleist prototype, and somehow it had gotten into my bag,” he said, according to the Journal Sentinel. “It had been four weeks since Titleist gave me some prototype balls and I tested them. I have no idea how or why it was still in there.” Hayes had a choice: He could have said nothing and kept playing, with no one aware of his mistake. Or he could turn himself in and let his mistake cost him a 2009 PGA Tour card. He chose the latter.

“I called an official in Houston that night and said, ‘I think I may have a problem,’” Hayes said. “He said they’d call Titleist the next day. I pretty much knew at that point I was going to be disqualified.”

As for his decision to turn himself in?

“I would say everybody out here [on the PGA Tour] would have done the same thing,” Hayes said, according to the report.

Hayes, 43, is refusing to blame his caddie for the error, saying he should have spotted the errant ball because it did not have a model name on the seam. “[The caddie] kind of wanted to take some of the blame, but he knows I’m anal about my equipment,” Hayes said, according to the report. “I go through my bag every night. I want to know what’s in there. It’s almost therapeutic for me.”

According to the report, Hayes said that if the hole had been a par-4 or a par-5, he would have known he had the wrong ball right away, because he uses the label to help him align his driver on tee shots.

“But it was a par-3 and I don’t use the label to line up on par-3s,” he said, according to the Journal Sentinel. “It was my mistake. I had no choice but to take my medicine.” Hayes has two career PGA Tour victories, his last coming in 2002. He was playing in the second stage of the tour’s Q-school tourney because he finished outside of the top 150 on the money list in 2008. He earned $312,152 this season, making just seven cuts in 26 events. He was 176th on the money list — the worst showing of his career. But Hayes has more than $7 million in career earnings. He expects he still will be able to play 10 to 12 lesser tournaments in 2009, thanks to his status as a veteran player and past tourney champion, as well as sponsors’ exemptions, according to the report. “I’m kind of at a point in my career where if I have a light year, it might be a good thing,” he said, according to the Journal Sentinel. “I’m looking forward to playing less and spending more time with my family. “It’s not the end of the world. It will be fine. It is fine.” Story Source