Cobain Still Raking in the Money

Kurt Cobain, the acclaimed Nirvana frontman who committed suicide in 1994, vaulted to the top of Forbes' sixth annual list of top-earning dead celebrities, dethroning Elvis Presley, who had held the list's top slot since its inception, according to mp3.com. Although Nirvana's music continues to sell--1.1 million units were sold in the US in 2005, according to Nielsen SoundScan--Cobain had never before appeared on the list, as he and his former bandmates Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic had rejected licensing their songs for commercial use. That changed with Cobain widow Courtney Love's sale of a 25 percent stake in his song catalog to New York-based publishing company Primary Wave for a reported $50 million. Cobain's earnings were pegged at $50 million between October 2005 and October 2006, the period on which Forbes based its rankings. Presley wound up in the No. 2 slot with $42 million, down from last year's $45 million, while John Lennon placed fourth at $24 million. Ray Charles and Johnny Cash, whose estates have benefited from biopics and several posthumous releases, placed eighth and 10th, respectively earning $10 million and $8 million. George Harrison and Bob Marley rounded out the 13-member list at $7 million apiece.

It’s amazing how much money someone who is not living can earn annually. The fact that Cobain earned $50 million this past year is astounding. It is proof of the high quality work he did while he was still alive. I think that the fact that he died at such a young age actually was a boost to his music career. People took his lyrics even more literally after he died. Elvis is still going strong as well. His love from his fans is very evident with the fact that he made $42 million last year several years after his death. The families of these rich, once alive icons are raking in the dough. I hope that they do not take the money they are getting for granted and donate some of the money they are getting to help improve our society.

Internet Explorer 7 vs. Mozilla Firefox 2.0

Just two weeks after Microsoft delivered its highly anticipated Internet Exlorer 7, Mozilla has shipped a major update to its Firefox browser, according to cio.com. Firefox 2.0 was officially released just after 2 p.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday, a day after an early version of the software was leaked onto Mozilla’s FTP site. But that early version was not integrated with Mozilla’s Web and add-on sites, making Tuesday’s version the first release that offered the complete Firefox 2.0 user experience, said Mike Beltzner, a user interface expert with the open-source project. New features in this latest version of the open-source browser include a spellchecker for Web forms, antiphishing warnings, and improved search and tabbed browsing capabilities.

As an everyday computer user, I do not find much of a difference between Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. I have heard varying stories from people about which one is safer to use. I have been a long time Internet Explorer user, but have switched to Firefox recently. I don’t feel that the new versions of these search engines will be much different from their predecessors. Maybe I will be surprised and one will stand out to me more than the other.

Bomb Threats to NFL Stadiums

The FBI interviewed a Milwaukee resident today who officials believe was involved in posting Internet threats about dirty bomb attacks on NFL football stadiums this weekend, according to chron.com. The threats, which included Houston's Reliant Stadium, appeared to be phony. The person, described as a 20-year-old man, did not appear to have any ties to terrorist groups, according to an FBI official in Washington who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. The threats about radioactive bombs, posted on a Web site a week ago, were not backed up by intelligence indicating such an attack might be imminent, according to the FBI and the Homeland Security Department. Homeland Security on Wednesday alerted the NFL and authorities in New York, Miami, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Oakland and Cleveland, saying they were acting "out of an abundance of caution."

I hear alot of stories about bomb threats, most of which usually have no merit. People make such threats because they are seeking attention that they obviously are not receiving in their everyday life. If these stadiums were actually attacked, many innocent lives would be lost for no reason. The NFL says that the security at NFL stadiums is top notch, but I am sure that if someone wanted to get a bomb into an NFL stadium, that they would be able to with some careful planning. Our security measures since 9/11 have not been improved very much since 9/11. I think that people who make such threats should be locked up for a while, even if they had no real intention of committing such a crime. After 9/11, all terrorist threats must be taken with extreme caution around the world. To threaten innocent lives is wrong and the person who made the threats to NFL stadiums should be shown no mercy. Terrorist threats are not a joke, they are a crime!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TV Analyst May Get The Axe

Comments made by TV analyst and former Miami player Lamar Thomas during a sideline-clearing brawl involving the Miami Hurricances and Florida International may cost Thomas his job, according to seattlepi.com. Thomas made his comments as dozens of Miami and FIU players fought during the third quarter of theirteams' game at the Orange Bowl in Miami on Saturday. 31 players were suspended as a result of the brawl and officials from both schools were forced to apologize. "Now, that's what I'm talking about," Thomas said as the fight occured on the field. "You come into our house, you should get your behind kicked. You don't come into the OB playing that stuff. You're across the ocean over there. You're across the city. You can't come into our place talking noise like that. You'll get your butt beat. I was about to go down the elevator to get in that thing." The schools have campuses 9 miles apart in Miami-Dade County. It was the first meeting between the two football programs and Miami went on to win 35-0.

Can you honestly expect anything more from a former football player? I think the whole situationis kinda silly and that Thomas should not lose his job over his comments. The fact that he is a former Hurricane player and shows his love for his school is not a big deal in sports. Many athletes are proud of their alma mater and give shout outs to their schools as often as they can. If Thomas actually tried to join the fight or if he used bad language I could see him getting fired, but to get fired for supporting your school is not justified. Come on now, it's football!!!!! This isn't golf or some other non contact game. Football is a man's game and the men who have played the game in the past still have that tough as nails personality throughout most of their life. Thomas should not be fired! A warning to Thomas about his actions would be fine, but any further action taken against him would be criminal.

Amish Mourn Gunman

Dozens of Amish neighbors came out Saturday to mourn the quiet milkman who killed five of their young girls and wounded five more in a brief, unfathomable rampage, according to the Associated Press. Charles Carl Roberts IV, 32, was buried in his wife's family plot behind a small Methodist church, a few miles from the one-room schoolhouse he stormed Monday. His wife, Marie, and their three small children looked on as Roberts was buried beside the pink, heart-shaped grave of the infant daughter whose death nine years ago apparently haunted him. About half of perhaps 75 mourners on hand were Amish. "It's the love, the forgiveness, the heartfelt forgiveness they have toward the family. I broke down and cried seeing it displayed," said Bruce Porter, a fire department chaplain from Morrison, Colo., who had come to Pennsylvania to offer what help he could and attended the burial. He said Marie Roberts was also touched.

The fact that the Amish could be so forgiving so soon after this tragedy is amazing. It shows the purity of these people and the love that they have for their fellow man. I feel really bad for Marie Roberts and her three children. To live their lives knowing what Charles did will be very hard. I give the Amish my total respect for being comforting and showing love to the Roberts family. God bless everyone who has been affected by the horrific event that took place on Monday.

Prep Football Player Dies

A 17-year-old high school football player died shortly after collapsing during a game, according to the Associated Press. Fermin Vialpando, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound center for Harrison High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was running down the field in the third quarter Friday night when he collapsed. Vialpando, a senior, tried to call a huddle just before he collapsed, Harrison cornerback Miki Eltagonde said. "He was running down the field and he just stopped and fell. He tried getting up and then fell back again and it happened again," Eltagonde said. A teammate yelled to coaches that Vialpando was having a seizure, and the game was halted. A doctor was on the field within a minute, athletic director Dave Hogan said. Vialpando died at a hospital.

I find stories like this very sad. A 17-year-old kid has so much life left and when someone so young dies, it is a tragedy. In recent years, I have heard more stories about high school athletes dying in the middle of games. In small towns in the South, high school football is a way of life for these towns. Friday nights are dedicated to high school football in Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, etc. I wonder if some of these kids are being overworked by their tough love coaches. I think that high school football is a good thing to bring these small communities together, but that these kids realize that they are just kids and have fun playing, not hurting themselves to please their coaches.

Google Pursuing YouTube

YouTube, the fast-growing online video site, has received a flurry of interest in recent days from potential suitors including Google, the internet search company, and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, according to MSNBC. The wave of interest comes on the heels of reports that Yahoo, a Google rival, had offered to buy Facebook, a social networking site geared towards university students, for $1.5bn. YouTube, which allows users to upload and share video clips, is the latest in a string of young companies focused on "user-generated content" that have attracted the interest of big media and internet companies in recent months.

This story comes at no surprise to me. Google and Yahoo are trying to take over the world. If Google is successful in it's pursuit of YouTube, Google will further expand its empire. I have watched videos on YouTube and I really don't see what the buzz is all about. Most of the videos on their are of everyday people trying to do something funny. Usually the videos are stupid and a complete waste of time. The popularity of posting videos on YouTube doesn't surprise me, because everybody seems to want to be a celebrity nowadays. If anything, this aqcuisition should it take place will make YouTube even more popular by being part of the Google brand name. What on the internet does Google or Yahoo not own now? If smaller companies don't rise up in the internet business, then these two conglomerates will control everything we read and see online. We need diversity on the internet. Smaller companies need to not sell out to Yahoo and Google and give us more variety on the web.

Amish Tragedy

Under a cold, steady drizzle, the Amish drove in horse and buggy to a farmland cemetery today to bury the fifth of five girls shot to death by a school intruder, according to ABC News. More than 40 buggies splashed along country roads behind a funeral-home car, two mounted state troopers and a carriage with the body of 12-year-old Anna Mae Stoltzfus in a hand-sawn wooden coffin. The four other girls killed during Monday's shootings, two of them sisters, were laid to rest Thursday at the same hilltop graveyard.

The violence that took place in the one room Amish school is unimaginable. It makes me sick to my stomach to just think about why someone would take away the life of innocent Amish schoolgirls. With two other school shottings taking place over the past two weeks, something must be done to protect the innocent who are just trying to get an education. I heard that in Wisconsin that they might make a law that gives the right to schoolteachers to carry a fire arm to protect themselves and their students should such a horrific event take place at their school. I think this is a valid idea with the ever growing violence in our schools. I hope that the Amish don't think that all outsiders are evil like the man who took away their daughters and that more is done by the government to increase the security at schools across the United States.