Video game already

The Clarion Content ran across this one this morning. We found it newsworthy not so much for the content, but rather for what the turnaround time, the incredible speed of it, said about our world.

Orbs Games Limited has developed and released a game call "Hero on the Hudson" based on US Air Flight 1549's brilliant landing on the Hudson River. According to Newsday the game gives this scenario to open play, "'Both engines are out. The plane is too low and too slow to make it to the airport. You decide to make [an] emergency landing in the river.' - And allows a player to control the aircraft using a computer keyboard's left and right arrows."

The game was the featured game of the day Friday at Tastyplay.com. Newsday reports gamers gave it three and 1/2 out five possible stars rating.

Flight 1549 landed safely in the Hudson River only sixteen days ago.

Blackmail doesn't pay

The Clarion Content happened to see a report about a blackmail~extortion case in Australia. A marina worker who successfully extorted $45,000 from former Aussie cricketing great, Craig McDermott, threatening to put sex tapes of him and his wife on the internet, was sentenced to at least 18 months behind bars. For eight months the criminal promised the millionaire property developer and former cricket star that it was the final payment and that he would turn over the, "tapes of you and your missus." The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the criminal obtained, "the two video tapes from a friend, who worked at the Gold Coast marina where Mr. McDermott kept his boat." (A marina worker who was probably smart enough to know blackmail didn't pay, but not smart enough not to give the tapes to his criminally moronic friend.) When McDermott finally got the cops involved, they busted the con man trying to pick up a further $10 large in hush money.

Bonus pseudo-blackmail link from Greenwood, Indiana.

Up for auction

Guess what's up for on-line auction in Nevada? Natalie Dylan, apparently a pseudonym, a 22-year-old California college graduate is selling her virginity. That is correct, her virginity. In Nevada, where prostitution is legal, the FBI isn't involved and the U.S. attorney doesn't object. States rights, baby! Nevada says the young lady can sell it on-line if she wants to, and the bidding is hot and heavy. If Fox News reports are to be believed, bids through the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, the brothel that is arranging and hosting the setting for the deal, have reached $3.7 million.

Latest global warming victim

California Brown Pelican

The latest of the victims of on-going climate change and global warming were the endangered California Brown Pelican. The birds lured by warming temperatures and mild winters have been moving en mass north to Oregon and even Washington, well beyond their traditional California habitat which ranges from Northern California to Baja California, Mexico.

According to the New York Times as many as 5,000 pelicans may have been roosting on East Sand Island in the Columbia River estuary when a brutal storm hit. The storm packed 60 mile-an-hour winds and temperatures below freezing. The Times quotes Deborah Jaques, an Oregon wildlife biologist specializing in sea birds, "These birds were probably not subject to anything like this in a hundred years." UC Davis avian ecologist Dan Anderson told the Times that, "...once exposed to snow and extreme cold, the birds have a tough time drying off if soaked." This jives with the observations of David Jessup, a senior wildlife veterinarian for the California Department of Fish and Game. Jessup said his department examined many of the over 400 dead birds found in recent weeks and encountered lots of cases where legs, toes and pouches had frozen off.

In the Clarion Content's view this tragedy epitomizes what is likely to come from climate change and global warming. It is quite impossible for humans to wipe the Earth out. However, significant changes in climate will have all sorts of unintended consequences and blowback. It is quite possible for mankind to wipe out many species, including our own.

A Miracle on the Hudson?

The Hudson River is surrounded by densely populated areas

The Clarion Content, like many folks, felt the urge to call yesterday's wonderful job by the pilots of US Airways Flight 1549 La Guardia to Charlotte a miracle. After all they landed a jumbo jet with two dead engines in the middle of the Hudson River after clearing the George Washington Bridge by a mere few hundred feet and everyone on board survived from an infant to an eighty-nine year old granny. No one was hurt worse than a deep cut on the leg experienced by one of the flight attendants.

WOW!

However, our staff has personally had the six P's of planning pounded into us permanently. What are the six P's, you ask? Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. As amazing as the job performed by the pilot, an Air Force Academy graduate, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III was, and it was amazing, aviation experts agree that it was a combination of skilled, decisive piloting and prior planning that prevented the incident from becoming a tragedy. Sullenberger is a planning expert who started an aviation consulting business called Safety Reliability Methods, Inc. He has worked with both the National Transportation Safety Board and the United States Air Force on accident investigations. He is currently a visiting scholar at the University of California's Berkeley's Center for Catastrophic Risk Management.

He had prepared for this moment, as had the aviation industry. Here is how the Christian Science Monitor succinctly put it, "Aviation safety experts are adamant that what happened Thursday afternoon was not simply a 'miracle' but a product of years of disciplined training, invaluable experience, cutting edge engineering and an aviation culture that rigorously and regularly reviews and updates safety related procedures and engineering."

The lesson drawn from this incident should not be simply a "miracle" occurred, but rather that preparation, diligence and hard work can make all the difference. Again the Christian Science Monitor quoting aviation consultant Richard Golaszewski, "He did a fantastic job and made all the right choices. He's a really instinctive, well-trained pilot. But there were a lot of things that happened long before that: Design rules that say how long a plane has to float, training of the flight attendants and pilots. Ditching is something they train for."

Rigorously prepare to do your best. Try to improve everyday. Keep educating yourself, there is always more to learn. There may be no warning before you have to draw on your skills, you may only have one shot. Prior planning and practice will pay huge dividends! Yesterday they saved 155 lives!

Bears are our friends

Here at the Clarion Content our Gaian principles dictate that we respond to non-violent, non-threatening animals in the same manner. We are firm believers that the Golden Rule extends to all the creatures on this Earth. Of course, we recognize that even if you are vegan, you are going to eat some plants that had life (and possibly sentience.) No waste, no unnecessary cruelty, no eating the very old or the very young are our eating guidelines.

Here is a fascinating story in that vein from the LA Times of Mammoth, California's "bear whisperer," a leader who shares our ethic. He is a self-taught volunteer who recognized the inherent cruelty and unfairness in killing bears who interacted with humans. If people leave their trash outside unsecured in bear habitat, bears are going to come and investigate. Who's fault is that? And should bears be killed for their curiosity? Of course, it took California's State Fish and Game officials quite some time to accept Steve Searles methods. For a time, they even had their one of their officers surveilling the "bear whisperer' in an attempt to deny his techniques and accomplishments. Over the years, Searles has had great success educating the bears and the locals on how to live together peacefully.

Let Freedom reign

An 140 year old lobster was freed from a restaurant holding tank where it spent ten days this month. City Crab and Seafood of New York City made the decision this week to release rather than cook the lobster. Hooray for the dignity of our fellow creatures! The lobster, who was captured off the coast of Newfoundland, is to be released near Kennebunkport, Maine, in an area where lobster trapping is forbidden. Read more here from the Associated Press.

Porn Bailout

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In an Andy Kaufman-esque move, porn industry moguls Larry Flynt and Joe Francis said Wednesday that they are asking Washington for a $5 billion federal bailout. Reports from the LA Daily News said that Francis's tone was tongue-in-cheek. However, there have been reports from across the mainstream media of a softening in porn revenues.

Flynt and Francis claim in their press release that porn DVD sales and rentals rates are flaccid, down by 22% in the past year, as individuals devour free porn online. Flynt and Francis say the $5 billion dollar stimulus figure is pulled from the decline in porn industry revenues from a climactic peak of $18 billion three years ago. Obviously, this announcement on the eve of the industry's four-day Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas is a bit of a publicity stunt.

But more hard evidence from the LA Daily News talking to an adult film star named Jenna Presley, she said, "I know companies are reducing their rates. Instead of paying a girl $2,000 for a boy-girl (scene), now they’re trying to pay $1,200. She went on to note that revenues at her on-line site have been less than firm, the LA Daily News says, "Her Web site has seen a 20 percent decline in customers, about 1,000 of whom pay $19.99 a month to watch the 22-year-old perform online."

There is no way Washington, D.C. politicos (Francis and Flynt are petitioning Rep. Barney Frank and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson) or President-elect Obama are going to include the porn industry in any kind of bailout or stimulus package. But it is interesting to reflect on the idea that the sagging economy is hurting the porn industry. Is this a sign of the depth of the economic woes of the American economy? Is it a sign that porn for most people is a cut-able entertainment expense? The Clarion Content thinks it probably means that there is a lot of free porn on-line.

Good grub

Unfortunately, dear readers the Clarion Content's crack correspondent failed to grab a photo of this resplendent meal. It was a terrific combination for the short days that make up the dark, cold depths of Winter. Perhaps, we will be able to lean on our sources for a recipe or a redo.

When the winds are howling, the fireplace is roaring and all you want to do is bundle up, you can't eat much better than this. The main attraction was a delightful turkey and dumplings pairing. Succulent and moist, it had a perfect texture and a hearty, sustaining warmth. It filled up a cold belly just right. The sides accompanying it were wonderful meshes of flavors. The first was a delicious puree of butternut squash with maple syrup and brandy. The second was spinach emulsified in butter with razor thinly slices of fresh garlic, all tossed in apple cider vinegar, a very inventive contrast of flavors.

The whole plate was a unity was beautiful winter colors of brown, orange and green. The strong savory flavor of the turkey dumplings was finely balanced by the sweet squash dish and offset again in a another direction by the distinctive spinach side.

It was another wonderful local meal by a Durham chef.

No new El Camino

New school


Old school



Sorry 50, Pontiac has decided to scrap the G8 sport truck. Pontiac had been planning on producing a new G8 sport truck with a sleek extended bed, reminiscent of its old El Camino. It even had hip hop star 50 Cent help introduce the truck at the New York auto show. However, the economy, plummeting sales of all vehicles and pressure from Washington to make fuel efficient cars combined to help Pontiac see the light. Sure it would have looked cool, but it was an uber-specialty model that would have gotten awful mileage. Besides the Clarion Content sure is 50 got to keep one of the demos.

Gruesome Scientology

Children, one more reason to hope your parents aren't Scientologists: not only won't they get you the medical care required to save your life, but after you croak they may leave you sitting around on the bathroom floor for a few hours, (allegedly.) That is what the Boston Herald is reporting happened to John Travolta's sixteen year old son Thursday night in the Bahamas. The boy had a history of seizures and according to some reports autism (which is not recognized by the cult of Scientology.) He was last seen going into the bathroom in his family's private suite at the Old Bahama Bay Hotel on Grand Bahama Island on Thursday night, a caretaker found him on the bathroom floor around 10am Friday morning.

Gruesome and tragic, our sympathies go out to all involved. All accounts say Travolta and wife Kelly Preston were dearly devoted to their son Jett.