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Scott Hixson

My heroes are predominately literary figures. Some are authors. All are dead. I like to collect antiquated things. My prized possessions in this world are two typewriters and neither one of them has ink. You could say I like useless things, and you’d be right. Between my typewriters, vinyl, library of yellowing pages and English major I am, in essence, utterly useless. In a past life, I was a drop of ink on page 57 of Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None.” I then became a sandy rock and I have not moved since. I often like chain-smoking because I find I would rather worry about killing time than killing myself slowly. I pretend my freckles are constellations. I’ve yet to find any discernible shapes. My teeth are too big for my head. I’m just like everybody else, but stretched out. This has led many to feel like they can criticize, as if skinny people are less conscious about their weight than obese people. I’ve had nicknames ranging from the relatively tame “Tree” to the more absurd, and frankly offensive, “Ethiopian dynamite." I got a brain tattooed on my chest to remind me to think more. It didn’t work. I’ve noticed since I reached manhood that elderly men hit on me more than any other demographic. I can’t quite figure out why. I like ghost stories though I don’t believe in the existence of ghosts. I stole yard gnomes from a neighbor’s garden when I was much younger. I thought I was part of something coined the National Gnome Liberation Front. I’m pretty sure the statute is up for that so I have no qualms. Also, they were mean neighbors. I consider the smell of old books an aphrodisiac, I think it’s the sign of a serious mental condition. I think MDMA is a cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream, cinnamon sugar and an Oreo on top on a rainy day. Whisox!

Courtney Cox is seeking to legally drop Arquette from her name

The “Cougar Town” star is also seeking joint physical and legal custody of her daughter Coco

Courteney Cox Arquette has filed her own divorce papers from husband David Arquette, asking that her maiden name be restored.

 As David Arquette was filing divorce papers of his own on Friday, Courteney Cox Arquette filing papers herself – only it took an extra day for her filing to be discovered. There has been speculation that the couple even filled out the paperwork together as they both have decided to represent themselves, without lawyers, in the divorce.

 David Arquette’s filing occured March 23, 2012, whereas Courteney Cox’s filing had Friday’s date, June 8. The couple has listed their separation date as December 31, 2011, despite the announcement that their “trial separation” began in October 2010.

 Both Courteney Cox and David Arquette listed the same reason for their split, “irreconcilable differences.” In her filings, Courteney Cox also asked for joint physical and legal custody of their daughter Coco, whom turned 8 on Wednesday. Courteney Cox Arquette also asked that her name be restored to Courteney Cox, dropping the name she took from her husband.

 The couple met on the set of the 1996 slasher film Scream and married three years later in June 1999. Courteney Cox, 47, and David Arquette, 40, have been open about their differences throughout their marriage, and their divorce is not expected to be as nasty as other notable Hollywood splits.

 Courteney Cox told InStyle magazine during her marriage, “We’ve done couples therapy in the past. We’re not lazy about our marriage. We have the same arguments we’ve had for years.”

 David Arquette explained to Howard Stern the reasoning behind their split after news of it became public in 2010, saying: “[She said] ‘I don’t wanna be your mother anymore.’ I appreciated that. I respected it. I’ve been going to therapy. I’m trying to grow up. I’m trying to be true to myself. Trying to figure out myself and my world, as is she.”

 In January, Courteney Cox hinted at their amicable split telling People magazine, “He’s my favorite person in the world. He’s my best friend. No matter what happens in our future, he’s my very best friend.”

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Bristol Palin and son to have their own Lifetime reality series

Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp

 

Bristol Palin has announced she will venture into reality television with her new show Bristol Pail: Life’s a Tripp, which will premiere on June 19 on Lifetime. The show will also star her three-year-old son Tripp.

Bristol Palin told Good Morning America in an interview Monday morning, “People are going to see the real Bristol in this show.” Palin added, “[I’m] a grounded, normal mom.”

Bristol Palin is no amateur in the public atmosphere, appearing on the eleventh-season of Dancing with the Stars.

The daughter of former Alaska governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Bristol Palin has said that she has received the full support of her family during the show’s filming.

Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp will document Palin’s life as a single mother in a celebrity family. It is Bristol Palin’s second docu-reality series deal. In 2011, Palin was reportedly offered a reality show by Lifetime’s sister network BIO but, according to The Hollywood Reporter, BIO dismissed the show before it ever aired.

Bristol Palin, 21, admits that it was difficult being filmed every hour of every day, though the attention did not seem to bother her son Tripp.

“I don’t really think you get used to all of it but Tripp was used to it the whole time. He didn’t care if the cameras were there or not. He’s still going to be rowdy, he’s still going to be a little terror, but it was fun. It was a lot of fun,” Palin said, admitting that her public persona will invite constant criticism.

“I think I have tough skin and I know that God is on my side and my faith is everything to me . . . And when people are talking poorly about me, I think it just gives me more motivation to want to do more and want to speak up even louder and they’re just not doing themselves well by doing that. I think the people who don’t like me, I’m not trying to change their opinion on it, but it’s going to be a good show.”

But, of course, reviews for Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp are still out and it will be up to each viewer to determine whether Palin’s conclusion is accurate. 

NBA Finals schedule promises excitement and plenty of it

Miami Heat vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

 

The NBA Finals schedule begins today, Tuesday, and promises to be a competitive and exciting series. The Eastern Conference Champion Miami Heat will face off against the Western Conference Champion Oklahoma City Thunder at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

The NBA Finals schedule will follow the 2-3-2 pattern with Games 1 and 2, and 6 and 7 if necessary, hosted by the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Chesapeake Energy Arena and Games 3, 4 and 5 hosted by the Miami Heat at the AmericanAirlines Arena.

The Miami Heat will look to avenge last season’s loss in the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks behind superstars Dwayne Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh. The Thunder will look to bring an NBA championship to Oklahoma City for the first time in history behind young stars Kevin Durant (23), Russel Westbrook (23), James Harden (22) and Serge Ibaka (22).

LeBron James, who was awarded the MVP title this season, will make his third appearance in the NBA Finals. James is still searching for his first championship ring. Will this be the year he wins it all?

The NBA Finals schedule is as follows, according to NBA.com. All games can be seen on ABC. All times are Eastern. * indicates that games will be played only if necessary.

Game 1 – Tuesday, June 12: Miami at Oklahoma City, 9: 00 p.m.

Game 2 – Thursday, June 14: Miami at Oklahoma City, 9:00 p.m.

Game 3 – Sunday, June 17: Oklahoma City at Miami, 8:00 p.m.

Game 4 – Tuesday, June 19: Oklahoma City at Miami, 9:00 p.m.

Game 5* – Thursday, June 21: Oklahoma City at Miami, 9:00 p.m.

Game 6* – Sunday, June 24: Miami at Oklahoma City, 8:00 p.m.

Game 7* – Tuesday, June 26: Miami at Oklahoma City, 9:00 p.m.

Dingo killed baby rules Australian court in case dating to 1980

The infant’s mother was convicted of murder in the case and served three years in prison

An Australian court has ruled that a dingo killed a baby girl that disappeared in the outback in 1980. The mother of the child served three years in prison after being convicted of murdering the child but, at last, she can breathe a sigh of relief. Though, many continue to doubt her innocence.

The case that inspired Merryl Streep’s 1988 role in the movie A Cry in the Dark and the infinitely quotable line from Seinfeld, “Maybe the dingo ate your baby,” can at last be considered close.

After 32 years, the mystery of Azaria Chamberlain’s disappearance is, at last, resolved. The nine-week-old infant disappeared from her parents’ tent at a campground near Ayers Rock in the Australian outback. Ayers Rock, the red monolith known world-wide as a symbol of the Australian wilderness, is now known by its Aboriginal name, Uluru. No remains of the infant were ever found, but her blood-soaked jumpsuit was found near the camp sight.

The first inquest into the infant’s disappearance occurred in 1981 and found the child was likely abducted by a dingo, a wild dog native to Australia. A second inquest a year later reversed the decision charging Azaria’s mother, Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, with murder and her husband, Michael Chamberlain, with being an accessory after the fact. Chamberlain-Creighton was convicted and served more than three years in prison before that decision was reversed. A third inquest in 1995 failed to determine the infant’s cause of death.

Throughout the ordeal, Chamberlain-Creighton maintained that a dingo killed the baby. Now a coroner in the northern city of Darwin and a fourth inquest has concluded that, indeed, a dingo was responsible for the infant’s disappearance.

Not many in Australia at the time of the incident believed dingoes possessed the strength required to carry a child away. This led many across Australia to suspect the infant’s parents of foul play. A series of dingo-related attacks in recent years has caused many to reevaluate the dangers posed by the wild animals.

In 2001, a nine-year old boy was attacked and killed by two dingoes. In 2007, a four-year old girl was attacked but managed to survive. In 1998, a 13-month-old girl was attacked by a dingo but managed to escape after her father intervened. All three attacks were reported to occur at camping areas at or near Fraser Island.

Coroner Elizabeth Morris said of the Azaria Chamberlain case that she was “satisfied that the evidence is sufficiently adequate, clear, cogent and exact and that the evidence excludes all other reasonable possibilities.”

“We’re relieved and delighted to come to the end of this saga,” Chamberlain-Creighton told reporters outside the court with tears in her eyes.

“I celebrate the final triumph of truth, but I don’t celebrate her death and the two are so intertwined – I have no idea what I feel about that,” Chamberlain-Creighton told Nine Network in a painful interview.

Afghan quake leaves an estimated 50 buried in landslide

Rescue officials believe the landslide buried between 25 and 30 homes

 

An Afghan quake has buried more than 20 homes under mud and debris in the northern Baghlan province. As many as 50 people are feared dead.

The initial Afghan quake struck the Hindu Kush region Monday morning registering at a magnitude of 5.4, that quake was followed by another with an even-greater magnitude of 5.7, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Rescuers have pulled two women’s bodies from the rubble, according to provincial Gov. Abdul Majid. The U.N. has confirmed one other death and has also said that houses were buried or destroyed across five districts.

“It’s impossible to get to the bodies,” Majid said. “They estimate that they are buried in 30 meters of rock. There are tons of rocks and stones covering the village.”

Majid estimates that the landslide buried one hectare (2.5 acres) of land around the remote village of Sayi Hazara.

Nobody will be alive,” added Majid.

The mountain village, home to about 20 families, was so inundated with mud and rocks that there were no visible signs of the buildings underneath. Rescuers have given up trying to use shovels to dig through the earth, according to a spokesman for the provincial police chief Jawed Basharat.

“We need bulldozers or other machinery to remove all this earth and get the bodies out, or the survivors if there are any,” said Basharat.

According to residents of the area, between 25 and 30 houses were buried by the landslide.

It takes more than two hours to drive the approximately 25 miles from the Baghlan provincial capital of Pul-e-Khumri to the site of the landslide, the Burka district.

A team of rescue workers and paramedics were led by police from Pul-e-Khumri. Upon arriving at the scene of the landslide, they realized that those that had survived had already been transported to area clinics.

“The ambulances were there, but there was no one to put in the ambulances,” Basharat said.

Basharat has said that the police team returned to the provincial capital when they realized there was little they could do.

The U.N. has said in a statement that it is working with local authorities to help in the rescue effort.

Robin Roberts inundated with support

The GMA co-anchor has been diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a blood and bone marrow disease

Robin Roberts has received numerous well-wishes after revealing her diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS. The Good Morning America host remains in high spirits convinced she will defeat this crippling blood and bone marrow disease once known as preleukemia.

Robin Roberts has served as co-anchor of ABC’s Good Morning America since 2005 and has become an eloquent and inspirational TV personality for many across our nation.

According to ABC medical correspondent, Dr. Richard Besser, Robin Roberts’ diagnosis with MDS is exceptionally unusual. Roberts underwent breast cancer treatment five years ago, and as a result of the treatment, she developed MDS, a manner of transmission so unusual, according to Besser, that only a few hundred people per year are affected in such a way.

But Besser has said that things look promising for Robin Roberts. Although the typical prognosis for MDS patients is frighteningly bleak, largely due to the disease affecting predominately those over 60, Roberts’ good health and the high possibility of finding a marrow donor provides hope for her recovery.

Robin Roberts, 51, is expected to receive a bone marrow transplant sometime this fall. The GMA host’s older sister, Sally Ann Roberts, an anchor for WWL-TV in New Orleans, is considered by doctors a perfect match for a marrow donor.

Sally Ann Roberts has said that she is thankful that she is a match and that she will be willing to donate marrow to her sister.

“I’m just so very grateful that I did match her because there are many, many people right now who are dying for a match and have no one in their family who are eligible,” said Sally Ann Roberts. “The wonderful thing about being a donor is that it takes so very little.”

“My doctors tell me I’m going to beat this, and I know it’s true,” Robin Roberts told her GMA colleagues Monday. Roberts is hoping her struggle with MDS will raise awareness of the disease and encourage others to register to become donors.

Robin Roberts reported feeling fatigued, more-so than one might expect, and she underwent testing on the same day she found out she had landed one of the biggest interviews of her career, an invitation to the White House to speak with President Obama about such topics as his support for gay marriage. Roberts learned of her MDS diagnosis on the same day that GMA topped Today in the ratings for the first time in more than 16 years.

“The combination of landing the biggest interview of my career and having a drill in my back reminds me that God only gives us what we can handle and that it helps to have a good sense of humor when we run smack into the adversity of life,” she said.

Sympathy from Twitter followers has been pouring in for Robin Roberts, including a message from first lady Michelle Obama that read, “Barack and I have you in our prayers. We believe in you and thank you for bringing awareness and hope to others.”

It is expected that Robin Roberts will take some time off from Good Morning America as she undergoes treatment, but it is unclear how much time the co-host will need in order to fully recover.

Pacquiao investigation: Rematch postponed as investigation is called for

Promoter Bob Arum has called on the Nevada attorney general to initiate an investigation into Bradley’s split-decision victory

An investigation has been called for by boxing promoter Bob Arum into the controversial outcome of Saturday’s Pacquiao-Bradley fight.

Bradley, a 4-1 underdog, was declared the winner against Pacquiao in the split-decision verdict that shook the World Boxing Organization and now could be the impetus for an investigation into alleged misconduct.

Bradley won the welterweight title with the voting between all three judges identical at 115-113. Both Duane Ford and C.J. Ross ruled in favor of Bradley. Jerry Roth disagreed, handing the fight to Pacquiao.

But, the rematch that Bradley might have hoped for may have to wait as promoter Bob Arum, whose company promotes both fighters, remains outraged at what he, and many others across the nation, saw as a wide margin of victory for Pacquiao.

Despite allegations that Arum himself may have somehow rigged the fight, he is calling for an investigation to ascertain the truth behind the matter.

“I want to investigate whether there was any undue influence, whether the [Nevada Athletic Commission] gave any particular instruction and how they came to this conclusion,” Arum said. “But the whole sport is in an uproar. People are going crazy.”

“If this was a subjective view that each of [the judges] honestly held, OK. I would still disagree, but then we’re off the hook in terms of there being no conspiracy,” Arum added. “But there needs to be an independent investigation because it strains credulity that an event everybody saw as so one-sided one way all the three judges saw it as close. It strains credulity.”

One of the judges, Ford, spoke with Yahoo! Sports Sunday about those who are criticizing the final decision.

“If this were ‘American Idol,’ without a doubt, Manny Pacquiao would have won. But it was not. I gave an honest opinion,” Ford said. “I had Pacquiao up 4-2, I think, at the end of six rounds. I thought he hurt Bradley a couple times early in the fight. But when the bell rang to end that round, it was over and what happens in one round doesn’t carry over to the next round. They’re separate units.

“In the second half of the fight, Pacquiao picked off a lot of punches to the head, but Bradley landed some hard body shots. That hurt Pacquiao. I don’t mean it hurt him in the sense of it physically hurting him, but in terms of scoring and piling up points. Bradley did an excellent job standing his ground as a boxer. Remember, it’s a boxing match and Bradley demonstrated his ability to box expertly.”

Promoter Bob Arum has said that he will not schedule a rematch between Bradley and Pacquiao unless Nevada attorney general Catherine Cortez Masto begins an investigation into the decision.

The LA Kings are Stanley Cup champions

For the first time in nearly 45 years

The LA Kings are Stanley Cup champions for the first time in franchise history. By defeating the New Jersey Devils 6-1 in Game 6, the Los Angeles Kings can hoist the cup for the first time in nearly 45 years.

The LA Kings, behind the stellar goaltending of Jonathan Quick, the Conn Symthe trophy recipient for the NHL postseason MVP, managed to dash the hopes of three-time-Cup-winner Martin Brodeur and the Devils as they win the series 4-2.

It was an impressive playoff run for the LA Kings as they become the first eighth-seeded team to win the Stanley Cup in the NHL’s storied history. The LA Kings defeated the Western Conference’s three top-seeded teams in convincing fashion, tying the second-fastest run to a championship in Stanley Cup history. Dustin Brown became only the second American-born captain to win the Stanley Cup, tying Anze Kopitar, the first Slovenian-born Cup winner, for the postseason scoring lead with 20 points.

With a three goal lead after the first period, a victory for the LA Kings was nearly assured but the game remained competitive until the end, despite, at one point, three Devils in the locker room after being ejected and an equal amount in the penalty box. Martin Brodeur stopped 19 shots in the Devils loss, as they become just the third team to force a Game 6 after falling to 0-3 in the finals.

The LA Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick allowed just seven goals in the six games against the Devils. “You get that four-goal lead, you know, it’s hard for it not to creep into your head a little bit,” Quick said. “That’s when you take a big, deep breath, relax a little bit, and know it’s going to happen.”

Quick became just the third American-born Conn Smythe winner, setting NHL records for save percentage (.946) and goals-against average (1.41) among goaltenders who played at least 15 playoff games.

The LA Kings became the first team to win the Stanley Cup at home in five years.

The LA Kings joined the NHL as an expansion team in 1967. At last, the franchise’s deserving players will be able to kiss the Stanley Cup as they hold it high above their heads for all to see, giving patient Kings fans an event to remember for all time.

Zombie apocalypse trend wont stay dead

A Brazilian boy was declared dead only to rise an hour before his funeral to ask for water

 

The zombie apocalypse may indeed be a reality as now it appears children are rising from the dead.

Zombie apocalypse has been trending incessantly recently as national media has had its hands full with reports of cannibalistic acts and just plain bizarre stories. Now another strange story out of Brazil is forcing some to again issue the call to arms with the battle-cry, “the zombie apocalypse has begun!”

Brazilian news agencies are reporting that a two-year-old in the northern city of Belem rose from the dead to the amazement of his family, only to again collapse dead just moments later.

Kelvin Santos was declared officially dead after battling pneumonia at Aberlardo Santos Hospital. An open-casket wake was held later that same day for family members to honor the departed child.

However, just one hour before the funeral, the deceased Santos unexpectedly sat up in his coffin and asked his father if he could have “some water.”

The boy’s father, Antonio Santos, recalled the scene, “Everybody started to scream. We couldn’t believe our eyes. Then we thought a miracle had taken place and our boy had come back to life.”

The boy then laid himself back in the coffin and died.

“Then Kelvin just laid back down, the way he was,” Santos continued. “We couldn’t wake him. He was dead again.”

Kelvin’s body was taken to the hospital where doctors were confounded by the incident. The doctors failed to give the family any answers, only declaring the boy officially dead once again.

The family postponed the funeral in the hopes that their son would again join the living, but that was not the case.

“Dead people don’t just wake up and talk,” Santos said. “I’m determined to find out the truth.”

Police have launched an official investigation.

This just in: In the event of the zombie apocalypse, zombies apparently need water, not braaaaains.

Wade Davis comes out as gay

The former NFL player now works as an advocate for LGBT youths in New York City

 

Wade Davis, former defensive back for the Tennessee Titans, Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins, revealed he is gay to Outsports.com this week, stating he did not discuss his sexual orientation during his playing career because he wanted to be known as a football player and not as a gay person.

Wade Davis, 34, told Outsports.com, “Me being a gay person wasn’t what I wanted to be known for,” he continued, “I don’t believe most NFL players have a problem with having a gay teammate. I do get the feeling they have to protect why they are. At the end of the day it’s a job, so all of these players have to make sure they’re in a certain type of light.”

Wade Davis now works as an advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in New York City at the Hetrick-Martin Institute.

“It’s the first job since football that I wake up excited for work,” Davis said. “For these kids, the question isn’t whether they are shooting a basketball well, it’s whether they have a place to sleep tonight, whether they’ve eaten today.”

Javon Kearse, a former teammate of Wade Davis, said that had he known before he wouldn’t have had a problem playing alongside a gay teammate.

“I know there have been a lot more than just Wade,” said Kearse. “It’s just becoming more acceptable, which is a good thing so they can come out and not feel secluded.”

Wade Davis acknowledges the difficulty in coming out as a gay athlete, telling SBNation.com, “I’ll be flat-out honest with you, it probably shouldn’t be if he wants to keep his job. If he’s a free agent who’s fighting for his job, maybe he shouldn’t. I don’t want to tell someone to give up their lifelong dream of playing in the NFL.”

“You know what? Yes, it should be. Screw it. I don’t want to be in the business of telling anyone they can’t live their life authentically,” said Wade Davis, correcting his previous statement.