Tuesday 10 May 2011

May 21 Judgement Day


First, it was December 21, 2012 and now, it seems that the end of the world just became soon as some evangelical Christians are claiming that a decoded Bible entry is saying that judgement day will be coming by May 21, 2011.
That’s less than two weeks from now and it has definitely stirred the concerns of many people. The date of doom is now being actively advertised in paid billboards and vans in several states.
According to several sources, the information regarding the significance of May 21 came from Family Radio, a Christian radio network owned by Harold Camping. Now 89 years old, he first wrongly predicted that Judgement Day would come last 1994.
When that didn’t happen, he reported that his Bible study was incomplete, thus the mistake.
Lastly, while the news did creat concerns, a significant number of people are not believing theprophecy.

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Gary Coleman


Nearly a year after his death Gary Colemanapparently still hasn't been buried.
Vic Perillo, Coleman's former manager, revealed in an essay obtained by WENN.com that Coleman's body is yet to have been put to rest. Apparently, the legal battle between his parents and his estranged wife have put burial plans on hold.
Perillo's essay apparently also encouraged various networks to pay tribute to the late actor, though he seems to have gotten little response.
“On this, the first anniversary of his death, I have contacted the three major (U.S. TV) networks, asking them to honor Gary, his eight years on Diff’rent Strokes, his seven movies of the week, his work as a spokesman with the National Kidney foundation and the many charitable endeavours he gave of his time and effort to," Perillo wrote according to WENN.com.
Coleman died in late May 2010, after suffering an intercranial hemorrhage. He had been in ill health for some time as he suffered from kidney disease which stunted his growth.
The "Diff'rent Strokes" actor died at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo. He was 42.

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Alicia Silverstone


Alicia Silverstonehad her first baby and her first Mother's Day all in one weekend.
The Clueless one gave birth to a boy on Thursday at a Los Angeles-area birthing center, per People. The 7-pound, 15-ounce tyke is the first child for Silverstone, 34, and rocker hubby Christopher Jarecki.
Now, about that name...
It's Bear Blu!
"Mom and Dad are completely in love" with their "beautiful baby boy," Silverstone's rep said in a statement..
The actress revealed she had a bun in the oven back in January, and said she's always wanted a baby of her own.
"I've been wanting to have a baby since I was 2 years old—I'm destined to be a mother," she said last year.
The 34-year-old and Jarecki, frontman for the punk group S.T.U.N., married in Lake Tahoe in 2005. They've been together since 1997.
Silverstone's been busy plugging her New York Times bestselling vegan nutrition guide, The Kind Diet, and prepping for the baby. She's also had some practice with her parenting skills playing an adoptive mother in the soon to be released indie flick Butter, opposite Jennifer Garner and Hugh Jackman.

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Arbys


Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc. plans to raise menu prices, the latest in a stream of companies saying they will pass along higher costs for the ingredients in their products.
The fast-food giant on Tuesday blamed the rising prices of beef, bacon and cooking oil. It also said it had already raised prices late last year and in March.
The announcement came on the same day that the company reported that it lost $1.4 million in the first quarter and lowered its earnings estimate for the year.
Wendy's/Arby's has struggled through the recession and the economy's halting recovery, losing money for seven of the 10 quarters since the two chains combined in a deal engineered by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz in 2008.
Its leaders have a formidable to-do list. Besides stemming losses and raising prices without upsetting customers, they also need to get a piece of the breakfast action that is benefiting their rivals. And that's on top of selling off the Arby's chain, which represents nearly 40 percent of revenue.
Wendy's/Arby's also blamed the rising beef costs for its decision to lower its predictions for adjusted earnings for the year, to between $330 million and $340 million. In March it had said it expected to make $345 million to $355 million.
Chief Financial Officer Steve Hare said the company expected a 20 percent increase in the price it pays for meat, up from previous predictions of 10 to 15 percent.
Wendy's/Arby's net loss of $1.4 million, or break-even per share, was narrower than the loss of $3.4 million, or 1 cent per share, in the same quarter last year.
Excluding a charge, the most recent quarter's earnings were 1 cent per share. Analysts had expected 2 cents per share.
The company has already factored Arby's sale into its 2011 earnings predictions. CEO Roland Smith tipped his hand slightly on deal news, telling analysts there are "several quality bidders" and that they have all done "significant due diligence."
Though the Arby's brand is the one getting the boot, it was also the chain that drove the first-quarter revenue increase. Overall revenue rose about 1 percent to $848 million, beating analysts' estimates of $820 million. But revenue rose 5 percent at the Arby's stores and fell slightly — less than 1 percent — at Wendy's.
Sara Senatore, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said some of the revenue increase at Arby's could be from last year's launch of a value menu and a $4 fish sandwich combo added in February. Those promotional prices can give Arby's a short-term revenue boost while the restaurant is up for sale, but it could be difficult to maintain that momentum.
"Once you've got this menu in place, once you've promoted these things, how do you (repeat) that the following year?" Senatore said.
It was clear in Tuesday's earnings call which chain company leaders see as the future. Smith spoke enthusiastically about new salads, new fries, a pending makeover for its burgers and chicken sandwiches, and an upcoming new flavor of Frosty at Wendy's.
He spent much less time on Arby's, though he did say the Arby's turnaround is "progressing nicely."
Smith also said that the new products, aimed at competing with "better burger" chains like Five Guys Burgers & Fries, give the company room to raise prices.
The new burgers, to be introduced later this year, will have toasted buns, thicker patties and better toppings, he said.
Besides the revamped basic menu, Wendy's is staking its future on overseas expansion and a national rollout of breakfast.
Wendy's/Arby's has recently announced plans for restaurants — mostly Wendy's — in Singapore, Turkey, Argentina and elsewhere. The first Wendy's franchises in Russia will open this month.
Unlike some rivals, including McDonald's, Wendy's/Arby's does most of its business domestically. Of its 10,200 locations, only about 350 are franchises outside North America.
Wendy's is the only major fast-food hamburger chain that doesn't offer breakfast nationwide. The company launched breakfast in four test markets last year and said Tuesday it plans to expand to about 1,000 of Wendy's 6,500 restaurants by year end. Research groups predict breakfast will be one of the few restaurant segments to gain in sales over the next decade.
Senatore, the analyst, called the first-quarter results "modestly disappointing." She said Wendy's sluggish revenue indicates it's still losing business to McDonald's.

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May 21 2011


Harold Camping. That’s his name, folks. He’s supposedly a Jesus believer, but I just can’t remember Jesus calling anyone to predicting the day of judgement. Camping has long been the voice of Family Radio, a station based in Oakland, California. There are a lot of people who follow his teachings, and are scared and/or excited that an event known as “The Rapture,” is going to occur on May 21.
If you’re freaking out, stop! Seriously.
This Camping cat has been rapping about the rapture for decades.  In 1994 he said that the world was going to end. Now he says that he’s absolutely certain that May 21, 2011, will bring forth the rapture–which he also considers judgment day–due to the fact that it is exactly 7,000 years since Noah boarded the ark with family, animals and what I would imagine were tons and tons of goods. How he pinpointed May 21st? Your guess is as good as his…
So. What is this rapture? Well, there are a few schools of thought on this one. What Camping is suggesting is that all the righteous people who are here on earth are going to be swept away to their heavenly home, while others will be “left behind.”
Apparently being righteous requires that you buy into the fact that May 21st is what Camping says it is. This being the reason that so many of his followers are wigging out–trying to get their families to buy into his apocalyptic prediction. But no worries, if you’re left behind–according to Camping, the world won’t be consumed in fire until October 21, 2011.
I may have to call into Family Radio on May 24th, because I plan to enjoy my weekend, and may catch the St. Louis Cardinals in San Diego on Monday, May 23rd. So. The 24th is the earliest I’ll get around to it. Though I’ll definitely check out the website on the 22nd.

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Sean Avery


Late yesterday the president of a sports agency representing some of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) top players compared gay marriage to bestiality. Don Reynolds, president of the Canadian-based Uptown Sports Management made his comments a day after New York Ranger forward Sean Avery announced that his support for marriage equality in New York state via a video for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Sean Avery was a “trending topic” on Twitter last night and his video on HRC’s YouTube account has been viewed over 148,000 views as of this morning.
In an interview with the National Post of Canada, Reynolds said, “The majority, I think, of Canadians would say that they don’t agree with gay marriage – that man and woman were created to be married, not man and man or man and horse, you know?” Gay and lesbian couples have been getting married legally nationwide in Canada since 2005.
“After Mr. Reynolds is briefed on what marriage is, we call on him to apologize for and retract his outrageous misstatement,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “This is hate and bigotry of the highest order and has no place in sports or in society. We urge the players represented by Mr. Reynolds to reject his ignorant remarks.”
Reynolds’ son Todd sent a series of tweets from the company’s official twitter account yesterday confirming their discriminatory views on the issue:
@uptownhockey Very sad to read Sean Avery's misguided support of same-gender "marriage". [sic] Legal or not, it will always be wrong.
@uptownhockey To clarify. This is not hatred or bigotry towards gays. It is not intolerance in any way shape or form. I believe we are all equal...
@uptownhockey But I believe in the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman. This is my personal viewpoint. I Do not hate anyone.
Uptown Sports represents many NHL players including Mike Fisher, husband of country music superstar Carrie Underwood, and Mike Brenner of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Sports agents and hockey professionals are coming out in support of Avery and against Uptown Sports.
Agent Andrew Warren noted on his Twitter feed, “As an admirer of Brendan Burke I felt the need to return to Twitter due to my distaste of @uptownhockey take on the issue of gay marriage.” NHL Star Paul Bissonnette: “I agree with Sean Avery and his comments on the same sex marriage issue @NortonSports. If 2 people are happy together let them be happy.”

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Stargate Universe


Stargate Universe
After just two short seasons, The Vancouver Sun reports that "Stargate Universe," the newest series in the massively popular "Stargate" sci fi franchise, has received the proverbial axe, effectively cutting off the franchise completely for the first time since it began as "Stargate SG-1" in 1997.
The original Stargate SG-1 dawned in 1997. To give you an idea of how long ago that was, the most-watched shows on TV that year were Seinfeld, ER, Friends, Home Improvement and Touched by an Angel. In the end, Stargate SG-1 lasted 10 seasons -- a full decade -- and in 2004 spun off the companion series Stargate Atlantis, which itself lasted five seasons.
The future looks bleak for "Stargate," but maybe they'll be able to eke out another movie or two before it's lights out.

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