Zach Galifianakis didn't want his 87-year-old friend to be homeless, so he got her an apartment and has paid her rent ever since. He also brought her to the Monday night LA premiere of "The Hangover: Part III."
When I clicked the link I'd hoped there'd be some insight into why the accused kidnapper, Ariel Castro, had committed these vile acts, maybe some evidence or something along those lines. Instead I was just disappointed ... with myself.
Turns out Castro's backyard was just littered with junk more or less, and I clicked on to another article about something else, but I was left with a dirty feeling.
I guess I could be upset with CNN, the piece didn't have much news value, if any. But hey, they knew some photos of this creep's backyard would net them page views galore, so I can't really say I blame them.
I've always been curious about things my whole life. I love to ask questions, get to know people and figure out what makes them tick. Did I think I could learn insight into Castro's life by clicking on the link? Maybe.
Don't get me wrong, I think this was a huge story. It's not every day you see four females rescued from a kidnapper's house who've been held captive for 10-plus years.
But is it just me or do things get taken too far? Are photos from a neighbor who hopped Castro's fence and snapped a few quick shots necessary? What's Jodi Arias going to be eating in jail? How do the jurors sit in the courtroom? Ariel Castro's making Kool-Aid in his jail cell. It's ridiculous.
Does anyone really care about any of that stuff? I guess someone must or the stories wouldn't be getting made.
If I want fluff I'll turn to reality TV, or a sitcom, not the courtroom or a Cleveland house of horror.
Tuesday morning's headlines about Angelina Jolie have brought the breast cancer discussion to the table for everyone.
And while most of us know someone who has won their battle with breast cancer, and medical science can do more than ever to cure the disease, many women still lose. And a lot of women already know they can be tested for the gene most responsible for causing breast cancer.
But Tuesday, because someone who is a household name and Hollywood A-lister has taken matters into her own hands and aggressively, officially disarmed the disease, you can bet that women across the country will want to know how they can do it too.
The science is readily available. The surgery is neither new, nor cutting edge. But the biggest stumbling block for most women won't be the act of asking for a preventive mastectomy.
It will be the cost.
Insurance companies have yet to embrace, for the most part, personalize medicine like the kind Angelina Jolie just went out and got. For most of us, the answer to the question, "Can I have what she is having," is, "No."
Yet, because of genetic research, doctors are now able to treat the specific subtype of a particular disease and their rates of success keep going up. Pretty soon, we will have a test for just about every kind of cancer and doctors will be able to predict with certainty whether or not you ill get it. Maybe they'll even know WHEN you will get it.
Will your insurance company pay for that test? We have to hope so.
Lots of brothers in the news lately and not for good reasons.
The Tsarnaev Brothers, the Castro Brothers, heck, even the Dr. Joyce Brothers made headlines for all the wrong reasons. It's time to shed new light on brotherhood to remind ourselves that brothers are a good thing and that ultimately brothers don't shake hands, brothers gotta hug.
The Five this week breaks down my favorite brothers and their evil antithesis...
He is having a career year with the Atlanta Braves after being traded in the off-season. Arizona Sports 620 has an online poll up on its website, and so far, "Boo Justin Upton" is beating "Applaud Justin Upton" which I think is a shame.
Upton didn't ask for this, and booing almost always looks bad. Don't do it.
Please?
Tesla S
Did you see the sales numbers for the Tesla S?
In the first quarter of this year, more people bought the all-electric Tesla S than a similarly priced Mercedes, BMW or Audi.
Now, this isn't a perfect comparison, as the cars compared here aren't exact equals. Tesla only makes one top model as opposed to the other car makers, but we are talking about expensive cars, ones that are purchased by a demographic who may have never considered electric before. Wwhat it tells us is that Americans WILL buy electric if it's a car they want to drive.
On Thursday, Consumer Reports called the Model S the best car it has ever tested. The only reason it didn't get 100 points because it goes just 300 miles on a single charge.
Still. Does anyone doubt that this kind of technology is the future?
Mother's Day
Hoping all my fellow moms out there had a fantastic, relaxing Mother's Day weekend! I hope your kids spoiled you rotten and you felt happy and loved.
Jodi Arias coverage is everywhere, including "Saturday Night Live."
The clip below is from Saturday night's episode. While the national media was focused on Arias' trial, some were upset that hearings on the attacks on the American embassy in Benghazi were set on the back burner.
In this farce, those hosting the hearings decide to bring in Arias to boost their ratings.
• 1:35p.m.: If something as horrific as the kidnapping in Cleveland happened in a house on your neighborhood block, what would YOU want to do with that house?
• 2:15p.m.: SNL did a terrible skit, it wasn't very funny, but it made an EXCELLENT point about news stories, what's important and what's not, oh, and it had to do with us, Arizona!
What a week in news we had! From Jodi Arias to the Cleveland kidnappings, House hearings on Benghazi and the burial of one of the Boston Bombing suspects.
Lets skip Arias, as we will get our fill of her next week when the penalty phase of her trial begins.
Cleveland abductions
The story of the Cleveland kidnapping gets stranger every day and the details become even harder to read. Friday we learned that one of daughters of kidnapping suspect Ariel Castro is serving time in an Indiana prison for attempted murder of her own child. We heard from two of his other daughters Thursday and they seemed, by most accounts, pretty normal. Both said they are overwhelmed by what their father is accused of having done.
And about himself, Castro said he is cold blooded, and alleges he was both physically and sexually abused as a child. Makes you wonder how we ever stop such a cycle of violence, doesn't it?
What's the truth about Benghazi?
Will the House ever be satisfied about what Obama and his administration knew about Benghazi? My bet is no. I remember thinking that the very public deaths of four Americans in the consulate in Benghazi would be too much for the White House to live down before the election, but I was wrong.
But I think that no matter how many hearings are held and sworn statements taken, not too many minds will be changed at this point about who was at fault. We are just too dug in.
Bombing suspect finally buried
And finally, we now know where the body of Tamerlan Tsarnev was buried. In a small Islamic cemetery in Virginia. That didn't take long. Just goes to prove that secrets are very hard to keep these days.
Did you see this story today? I heard Pamela read this story this morning and I couldn't believe it!
Here goes … .
HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- A judge in Montana has ordered the Fort Harrison VA Medical Center to pay nearly $60,000 to a man who was wrongly diagnosed with brain cancer and told he had just a few months to live. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy wrote that the distress Mark Templin and his family suffered was caused by a doctor's ``negligent failure to meet the standard of care'' in delivering the diagnosis in 2009. The judge says in the months Templin believed he was dying he quit his job, sold his pickup truck, celebrated a "last" birthday and contemplated suicide.
I hope the guy gets his job back. I really do. But mistakes happen, and I think I might be OK with the "living like I am dying" idea, if only for a year. I mean, isn't that what most people say they would do if they could do it over? And we never seem to do it.
I am 99 percent serious when I say that I think instead of a lawsuit, this "victim" should send the doctor a thank-you note.
