SundayPaper.com

Let's be careful out there

Kevin — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 18:06:00 GMT

A seasonal Wal-Mart worker trampled to death by hordes of eager shoppers. A shootout at a toy store in California. People, let's try to maintain some perspective, shall we?

This one's for the ladies ...

Kevin — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Usher Raymond may be happily married and a proud father, but that doesn’t mean the Grammy-winning R&B singer isn’t up for a one-night stand with a few thousand willing fans. In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Usher revealed that he’s planning a special ladies-only “One Night Stand” tour that would take place at smaller, intimate venues.

“I feel like I’ve had such a connection with my audience,” the renowned ladies’ man said, presumably referring to his onstage relationship with his fans, as opposed to the ones formed backstage, in limousines and in hotel rooms during his single-guy heyday. In the interview, Usher discussed his sex-symbol status, remarking that “the ladies like to see that masculine build. They question if I still got it.” (Women aren’t the only ones wondering if Usher’s “still got it,” given the relatively modest performance of his latest CD, “Here I Stand.”)

Final details for the tour haven’t yet been disclosed, although we have to believe that the stage set-up will include candles, casual lighting, a heart-shaped bed and perhaps an Al Green CD to set the mood.

Photo: Spark St. Jude

Find some new blogs to read (besides ours)

Kirsten — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:20:00 GMT

Regator, the blog aggregator that acts like a mix between a standard RSS reader and Digg, has launched in public beta. Check it out at regator.com.

What we're looking at

Kevin — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT

1. Mr. Belding in Vegas: The gossip Web site TMZ’s pics of 57-year-old “Saved by the Bell” alum Dennis Haskins partying down with a bevy of tanorexic table-dancer types is the most troubling collection of drunken photos we’ve seen in many months.

2. The new Facebook: As if you’re not spending enough time on the social networking site already, a beta version of its new look means you have to figure out how to use it all over again.

3. Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog: We can’t get enough of this online musical created by “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” guru Joss Whedon, starring Neil Patrick Harris (pictured) as a not terribly menacing supervillain.

4. Outer space snapshots: Since we can’t really see stars ITP, try browsing NASA’s brand-new space archive to get your interstellar fix. www.nasaimages.org.

Photo: Hulu.com

Boil and bubble, toil and trouble

Kirsten — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:39:00 GMT

Just a word to the folks in DeKalb County. The county has issued a Boil Water Alert for all of DeKalb County. This includes all areas within the City of Decatur. DeKalb County is currently working to resolve this issue. However, it is unknown how long this situation will last. For further information, you may call the DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management at 770-621-7200 or stay tuned to your local news broadcasts. Click here to read more.

99 bottles of beer on the wall...

Kirsten — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:14:00 GMT

Having a party anytime soon? (Maybe that T-Mobile housewarming thing we just discussed?) Check out this drink calculator I found at Evite. You just enter in the amount of people that are coming, along with how long you'll be partying, and if you'll be serving wine, liquor or beer (we like all three), and if your guests are light, average or heavy drinkers (guess which category we fall under). And voila! You'll instantly know how many bottles of liquor, wine and beer to have on hand. Don't forget to collect everyone's keys at the beginning of the evening!

Has NZ put an end to frivolous lawsuits?

Kristina — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:12:00 GMT

The two women who drank dishwashing liquid last July are still in the news. They're just now receiving their awards (about $1,500 in damages each) after being served a dangerous chemical in place of mulled wine in an Old Man Rock Cafe (presumably the gentler kiwi version of the Hard Rock?) in New Zealand. But how, after being served and imbibing a genuinely harmful chemical in a restaurant, are these women collecting damages that cover only their medical bills and time out of work? Had this happened in the U.S., wouldn't they be living off this lawsuit for the rest of their lives?

New Zealand does things differently. The government handles all accidents through a Crown entity called the Accident Compensation program. To prevent time-wasting, big-ticket lawsuits, all accidents that take place within New Zealand's borders are insured under this program, and victims automatically recover any resulting bills or lost wages. The keyword here is "accidents" — not "negligence," which is what took McDonald's for a $2.86 million-dollar ride back in ’94. Negligence implies that the responsible party performed a criminal act by overlooking, and not preventing, the thing that turned out to be dangerous. But heating up a customer's hot coffee is certainly nowhere near as hazardous a mistake as filling a mulled wine container with sodium hydroxide, which is what the staff at Old Man Rock did last year.

Does that mean you should only move to New Zealand if you plan to be a liability, and make sure you're somewhere else if you happen to be wronged? Not necessarily. Accident Compensation covers just about everything, including road accidents, streamlining the resolution process by eliminating petty litigation, so that's good for everybody. But if you're a slip-and-fall lawyer or an insurance company, yeah, you're probably going to want to stay stateside where the money's good.

Whatever peace of mind the people of New Zealand are afforded by it, ACC has seen harsh criticism, and is subject to a few major pitfalls. The program is paid for by a flat tax to the residents and businesses of the nation, a levy which favors the clumsy. And, unfortunately, while visiting New Zealand, you are logically a lot more likely to be served lye by a careless waitstaff — the restaurant knows it can't be sued, and has essentially paid in advance for any negligence it may eventually commit. So if you plan to drop by, you can relax if you rear-end somebody in your rental car. But look out for greased sidewalks and nails sticking out of the furniture. It's nobody's fault.