mimblr.com

TEN years ago, Michael Roach and Christie McNally, Buddhist teachers with a growing following in the United States and abroad, took vows never to separate, night or day.
By “never part,” they did not mean only their hearts or spirits. They meant their bodies as well. And they gave themselves a range of about 15 feet.
If they cannot be seated near each other on a plane, they do not get on. When she uses an airport restroom, he stands outside the door. And when they are here at home in their yurt in the Arizona desert, which has neither running water nor electricity, and he is inspired by an idea in the middle of the night, she rises from their bed and follows him to their office 100 yards down the road, so he can work.
Their partnership, they say, is celibate. It is, as they describe it, a high level of Buddhist practice that involves confronting their own imperfections and thereby learning to better serve the world.
“It forces you to deal with your own emotions so you can’t say, ‘I’ll take a break,’ ” said Mr. Roach, 55, who trained in the same Tibetan Buddhist tradition as the Dalai Lama. After becoming a monk in 1983, he trained on-and-off in a Buddhist monastery for 20 years, and is one of a handful of Westerners who has earned the title of geshe, the rough equivalent of a religious doctorate. “You are in each other’s faces 24 hours a day,” he said. “You must deal with your anger or your jealousy.”
Ms. McNally said, “From a Buddhist perspective, it purifies your own mind.” Ms. McNally is 35 and uses the title of Lama, or teacher, an honor not traditionally bestowed on women by the Tibetan orders.
Their exacting commitment to this ideal of spiritual partnership has been an inspiration to many. In China and Israel, and in the United States, where they are often surrounded by devotees, their lectures on how laypeople can build spiritual partnerships are often packed with people seeking mates or ways to deepen their marriages. They hope their recently published book, “The Eastern Path to Heaven,” will appeal to Christians and broaden their American audience.

nytimes.com

Joba was largely a disappointment: In his 62-pitch quasi-limit, he couldn’t get through three innings and had more walks (4) than Ks (3).
SN’s Bill Eichenberger was on the scene and writes the buzz at Yankee Stadium subsided when the 22-year-old righthander looked every bit like a pitcher making his first major league start with a ragged 38-pitch first inning.
SN’s Sean Deveney writes the Yankees are gambling the season on Chamberlain’s ability to dominate as a starter. In other words, they’re tossing the 2008 season aside. And SN fantasy experts Bill Bender and Brad Pinkerton debate whether Chamberlain will be worthy of fantasy ace status at season’s end.
Meanwhile, SN’s Gerry Fraley writes with Martinez’s solid performance last night, all is well in the turbulent world of the New York Mets; but just for one game. The remaining 105 games will be more problematic. The Pedro-as-an-uplifting-presence failed last season, and even if Martinez makes 20 more starts, the Mets will have big holes in their rotation.
The Stanley Cup finals are back in Pittsburgh tonight, and Vincent Lara-Cinisomo writes if the Penguins win Games 6 and 7 to complete their improbable comeback, Petr Sykora’s game-winner in the third overtime of Monday night’s Game 5 could end up being forever linked with the “Immaculate Reception” and Bill Mazeroski’s home run in the pantheon of Pittsburgh sports lore.
As we await the NBA finals, rumors swirl that the Heat are willing to trade Dwyane Wade to the Bulls, presumably for the No. 1 pick. … SN’s Stan McNeal reports all signs point to Michael Curry taking over for the fired Flip Saunders in Detroit. … And Sam Smith writes the Lakers-Celtics series may represent the beginning of the debate about whether Kobe is the greatest player in NBA history.

sportingnews.com

The final “American Idol” show of the season is always a shell game: Thirty seconds of information must be stretched to two hours of viewer engagement. The night’s rumored appearances by Britney Spears, Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney soon yielded to the reality of Bette Midler. (We love her, but, you know.)
Here’s a look inside the Nokia on finale night.
And so it begins: The judges make their grand entrance to the Paula-Randy tune, “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow.” Some 7,000 people bark for Randy Jackson and scream for Paula Abdul. Of course, Simon Cowell.
Then the two Davids, dressed in white, bound onto the stage — and here we go!
With Ryan Seacrest’s announcement at the top of the show that one David received 56% of the vote, Dialidol.com watchers wondered whether they now knew who won.
The Nokia is about 100,000 times better for live performance than “Idol’s” former finale home. During breaks at the Kodak, the room would die.
Receptions: It’s hard to tell how Bryan Adams was greeted in the room since we were already standing for the top six men. It seemed like a muted greeting here in the loge. But in the special guest applause-o-meter, the collective gush over Seal is still No. 1.
Jordin Sparks, last year’s queen of “Idol,” took the stage and, awkwardly, did not get a standing ovation. Her effort to excite the crowd worked better toward the song’s end, when she appealed directly to the Jonas Brothers squealers. Carrie Underwood, on the other hand, commanded everyone’s attention instantly.
Bedlam: The top six boys are positioning themselves among the tweens in the pit. Insanity reigned for a moment. But back to normal now.
We will leave it to scholars to debate whether George Michael is in fact the most famous person in the world, or whatever the hype promised. But children did scream, “We love you, George!” as he left the stage.

latimes.com

By John Cordsen
The three incumbents running for re-election to the Upper Thompson Sanitation District board of directors went down to defeat in the May 6 election. John Michael Kearney, Chris Eshelman and Larry Pettyjohn replaced incumbents Doug Fox, Jack E. Reed and Robert M. Ryan.
Kearney defeated Fox, 700 to 596 for a two-year term. Pettyjohn (656) and Eshelman (508) received the most votes in the race for two, four-year terms. Ryan was third with 467 votes and Reed was fourth with 457. Rounding out the field were Reed Smedley with 345 votes and Michael Griffith with 129.
The sanitation district election was held through the mail. Officials mailed ballots to over 5,000 addresses within the district.
Incumbents faired better in Estes Valley Recreation and Park District (EVRPD) election. The two candidates seeking reelection, Jack Holmquist and Mike Richardson, were returned to the EVRPD board. Kathy Asche was the voter’s choice to join the board. She replaces incumbent Steve Wilson who was not eligible to run because of state mandated term limits.
Richardson received the most votes with 231. Asche was second with 205 votes and Holmquist was third with 191 votes. Other candidates for the board included Jim Martinson with 98 votes, Meredith Cox Sloan with 71 votes and Marilee Long-Saxe with 50 votes.
Polling for the recreation district was held at the Estes Park Municipal Building.

eptrail.com

SAN FRANCISCO — The first week of sales of video games publisher Take-Two’s TTWO blockbuster Grand Theft Auto IV is on track with sales expectations but will have little impact on the $2-billion buyout offer for the company.
Take-Two said Wednesday it sold approximately 6 million copies of Grand Theft Auto IV in the first week of its release with an estimated retail value of about $500 million.
That is exactly in line with expectations, say three analysts, and is unlikely to affect industry leader Electronic Arts’ ERTS $2 billion, or $27.74-a- share, bid for Take-Two.
“Six million units is exactly in line with our expectations,” says Arvind Bhatia, an analyst with Sterne, Agee & Leach. “It’s a great opening for the game but it is not surprising.”
“The $500 million in revenue is a little bit higher than expected but that could be because of greater sales of the special edition pack, which is priced higher, or the mix of domestic to international sales,” says Bhatia. Sterne, Agee & Leach does not own shares or have an investment banking relationship with Take-Two.
Grand Theft Auto IV sold approximately 3.6 million units on its opening day with a retail value of approximately $310 million globally, said Take-Two.
Analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan agrees that Grand Theft Auto IV sales are tracking in line with expectations.
That means EA may have made the right assumptions in its proposal for Take-Two. If anything, it strengthens EA’s case that Take-Two becomes less valuable to it over time, say analysts.
Apple and AT&T were among the most searched stocks on TheStreet.com Friday. Here’s what Cramer had to say about them recently.

thestreet.com

Ok, now that the snooker final is over (congrats to Ronnie) I’ve got a bit of time to write about yesterday. Regarding the game, I predicted a 2-0 win to West Brom beforehand and when I looked at the betting slip saw I could have got 7-1 on that score. However, it goes against the grain to put money on the opposing side and the thing was, before our sending off the game had been evenly matched, in fact we were the side creating more, but once that happened it was effectively game over which was a real shame.
Another thing that was a shame was the PA balls up before the match when the mic packed up just as Flavio was just about to address the crowd. Didn’t happen with Fergie at Old Trafford when he told the fans there to enjoy Moscow after their game with the hammers and it was just so typical Rangers really that with all the press and media watching, Flavio’s big moment turned into a Norman Collier one. I wonder if we’ll ever find out what he was going to say? And if any of Les, Gerry etc were going to say a few words?
My man of the match was Ainsworth but Delaney and Zesh did well too. Well done to West Brom but I thought they over egged it a bit but then that’s possibly because we wanted to get away quick but refused to leave until we saw our players come out to do their final walk around the ground.
Onto the evening part of the day. The Player of the Year event was due to get underway from around 7pm but after a panic at home, we didn’t get there until nearly quarter to eight which had one fan sweating as I had his and his mate’s tickets The meal was really poor….the starter was fit only for rabbits, I like my vegetables but that was ridiculous…..the main wasn’t much better…..and the dessert included what was supposed to be some champagne jelly but what was three tiny little blobs on the plate which if you didn’t look properly you would have missed. We all had to be very careful we didn’t get too drunk on that. The coffee was stone cold so good job none of us were there for the meal as such.

clubfanzine.com

The telecommunications industry is working hard to kill a cell phone reform bill at the Minnesota legislature that would guarantee customers accurate information about billing and service area coverage. And it’s using an industry front organization masquerading as a grassroots citizens’ group to do the deed.
Cell phone billing practices and service area coverage limits are among the top consumer complaints both in Minnesota and nationwide. The Minnesota Wireless Telephone Consumer Protection Act (S.F. 833) would require wireless phone salespeople to provide a coverage map to customers at the time of sale, to clearly state both price and fees at the time of sale and to indicate whether that price will remain the same throughout the contract. In addition, providers would have to lay out any early termination fees, and separately list government taxes and fees on billing statements.
The telecom industry has responded by using a nonprofit faux-grassroots organization to spread disinformation about the bill and to encourage unsuspecting consumers to send e-mails opposing its passage to legislators. Mywireless.org presents itself as “a non-profit consumer advocacy organization” that gives wireless consumers “a powerful and unified voice to protect the freedom, value, security and mobility they enjoy with wireless services.”
But in fact, Mywireless.org is staffed almost entirely by telecommunications industry executives, drawn mainly from the ranks of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (also known as CTIA-The Wireless Association), a lobbying group for the mobile phone and telecommunications industry headed by Steve Largent, the former football star and Oklahoma Republican congressman (1994-2002). (There’s more information about Mywireless’ officers below the jump.)
In Minnesota, Mywireless has employed a three-pronged strategy to fight the cell phone reform bill:
* placing ads in outlets such as Startribune.com urging consumers to oppose the bill.* encouraging the public to send a canned and misleading e-mail message condemning the bill to their legislators. The e-mail’s text suggests that the bill would mean higher costs: “Minnesotans already pay over 12% in combined federal, state and local wireless taxes, surcharges and government fees on our cell phone bills each month. Placing additional regulation on wireless service will only drive up our monthly bills even more.”* lobbying at the Capitol.

tcdailyplanet.net

Inside a Cult World Premiere — NEW DATE — APRIL 23 AT 9 PM ET/PT; Encore Wednesday, May 7, at 10 p.m. ET/PT
WASHINGTON, April 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — It’s believed that more than 3,000 cults exist in America today. But as recent news events of a polygamist sect in Texas have reminded us, we seldom get to see what exactly goes on inside — from the benign to the abusive. Who joins cults or renegade sects? What drives their beliefs? How is sex used to ensure devotion to cult leaders? And is it all just a pretext for more earthly desires?
On Wednesday, April 23 at 9 PM ET/PT, National Geographic Channel (NGC) presents a special premiere of Inside a Cult, with an encore on the originally scheduled night of May 7 at 10 PM ET/PT.
Michael Travesser claims he is the Messiah, and the members of his Strong City cult in New Mexico believe him. For 20 years, Travesser has told his Strong City followers to prepare for the end of the world. And now, according to his prophecy, Judgment Day will come at midnight on October 31, 2007.
Convinced the world was going to end, Strong City’s 56 members allowed NGC cameras unprecedented access to their world for seven months prior to the expected Judgment Day. Combining intimate discussions with current and former cult members, detailed testimony from their leader, home movies, expert analysis and comparison to other cults of similar extremes, the film details a world rarely seen.
Understanding Strong City
“I am the embodiment of God. I am divinity and humanity combined.”
Strong City is a religious cult that adheres to an end-time prophecy. NGC introduces us to the man at its heart: 66-year-old Michael Travesser, who led his acolytes to New Mexico seven years ago and declared himself the Messiah.

sunherald.com

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Lewis, a 5-foot-10, 199-pound junior, will have arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder Tuesday, Coach Frank Beamer’s Web site reported last night.
If Lewis can return in four months, he might be ready for preseason practice. The injury moves redshirt junior Jahre Cheeseman to No. 1 on the depth chart.
· OLYMPICS: The cities bidding to host the 2016 Games will get an extra opportunity to make their case to the IOC a few months before next year’s final vote.
The International Olympic Committee executive board approved the change in an effort to give the cities a greater chance to explain their bids to the members. Seven cities are currently in contention — Chicago; Tokyo; Rio de Janeiro; Madrid; Doha, Qatar; Prague; and Baku, Azerbaijan.
· COLLEGE BASKETBALL: UMBC men’s assistant Frankie Allen has been hired as coach at Maryland-Eastern Shore. Allen, 59, a former head coach at Virginia Tech, Tennessee State and Howard, takes over for Meredith Smith. The interim coach’s contract expired last month. UMES went 4-28 in 2007-08. UMBC is coming off its best season in school history and an NCAA tournament bid. . . .
Detroit hired Ray McCallum as its new men’s basketball coach. He replaced Perry Watson, who retired.
· FOOTBALL: Browns wide receiver Joe Jurevicius contracted a staph infection following knee surgery; he is the sixth Cleveland player in four years to suffer from staph. Jurevicius is recovering well and is expected to participate in team activities in May and minicamp in June. The Plain Dealer first reported the infection yesterday citing anonymous sources. . . .

washingtonpost.com

By Terry Canaan
In the Iraq war, nothing is sacred. The Bush administration, deeply entrenched in their failed adventure, has always been shameless — the lies that led us here is proof enough of that.
For the Bush administration, there have always been two enemies to fight; whoever happens to be shooting at US personnel at the moment and those who’d dare suggest that maybe this big invasion wasn’t such a good idea.
Luckily for those of us who belong to the latter group, Bush can’t get away with shooting us too. So other methods, both hamhanded and subtle at once, have to be used to defeat the danger we pose to their war.
Being shameless, nothing is too low, too exploitative. There is no lower limit, other than what they can get away with. The Bush administration actually fights three wars — Iraq, Afghanistan, and the propaganda war against the truth. It’s that third war that this administration has fought the hardest and invested the most time waging. Truth is a rare commodity in the White House.
Being shameless, the neocon dreamers who started this whole thing are above nothing and the tragedies of the other wars become ammunition for the propaganda war. There is no grief that can’t be exploited, no fear that can’t be fostered, and no loss that can’t be turned to political gain. With an administration that politicizes everything, no exploitation is too crass.
In this war against the American people, there’s no such thing as “too low.” We have an example:
Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor fought dozens of battles in the streets of Ramadi, shouldering his MK48 machine gun without complaint in the 130-degree heat of Iraq’s violent Anbar province.
In May 2006, only a month into his first deployment to Iraq, the 25-year-old Navy SEAL from Garden Grove, Calif., ran under fire into a street to drag to safety a wounded comrade who was shot in the leg, earning a Silver Star for his courage.

fogcityjournal.com