| The Shrink Rap
For a dance critic like me to offer a professional opinion about what happens on Dancing With the Stars could be considered cruel. Despite its celebrity angle, ABC's hit show, which airs this season's final results tonight, is a true amateur contest. While albums by the winners of American Idol cross the desks of pop-music critics, it's highly unlikely that I'll ever see one of the Dancing With the Stars contestants on my rounds of New York dance venues like the Joyce Theatre. Even the professional dancers who are paired up with the C-list celebrities inhabit a different world from that of concert dance—the international subculture of ballroom competitions where dance is called a sport. The program's judges hail from that sporting world, too, or else from the land of music videos and Madonna tours.
Gable Oaks violence | Austin: Security is owner’s obligation
Austin said he is trying to arrange a meeting Friday with representatives of Gable Oaks owner, Transom Development, to discuss security at the complex, which was the scene of a shooting at about 8 p.m. Sunday that left a 19-year-old man dead and a 22-year-old man critically injured. Meanwhile, two city officers are regularly patrolling the Colleton Street complex off North Main Street 24 hours a day to "establish some sense of calm and stability," he said. "Residents at this point are feeling uneasy," he said. Mary Myers, president of the Gable Oaks tenants' association, said Tuesday she supports Austin's position "100 percent." "I understand (the owners) don't want to spend money, but they're getting all this money," she said. Efforts Tuesday to reach representatives of The Beach Co.
Commutation plea carries a political risk for Patrick
He is the first inmate whose plea to be set free has made it to the desk of Governor Deval Patrick, and his attempt has met with the unanimous approval of the state Parole Board. His request for a commutation - a reduction in sentence - along with the Parole Board's support, marks the first test of whether Patrick's attitude toward prisoners will be different from that of his Republican predecessors, who last commuted a sentence 11 years ago. It also forces the governor to wade into what has been a political minefield. "In this society, everybody gets a second chance," said King, 55, in a recent interview in a bare conference room at the Bay State Correctional Center, a medium security prison. "I think what I want people to understand is there is a possibility for change," King said.
Del Piero scores late penalty as Juventus draws 1-1 at Catania
MILAN, Italy (AP) -Captain Alessandro Del Piero's last-minute penalty helped Juventus draw Catania 1-1 in the Serie A on Saturday. After falling behind in the first half, Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri put on four strikers and Catania defender Marco Biagianti brought down Del Piero from behind at the top of the area in the 90th minute as the Bianconeri scrambled for an equalizer. "We put everything into it and we were pretty satisfied at the end," Del Piero said. Gionatha Spinesi put Catania ahead in the 15th minute, flicking in a pass from Giuseppe Mascara in a play that may have been offside. Juventus and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon froze on Spinesi's close-range shot. "I think they were encouraged by the fans; they started really strong," Del Piero said.
Disabled advocates push Disney World, SeaWorld to allow Segways
When James Nappier, a petty officer in the Navy Reserve, first rode his new Segway scooter out into his Loxahatchee neighborhood, he felt emotions that were rare since he got home from Iraq.
On the two-wheeled, electric scooter, he could get around easily. That felt like personal freedom. Standing on the upright vehicle, he could look neighbors in the eyes, not the belt buckles. That felt like equality.
"It's been a godsend, because I can get out and get around on it," said Nappier, 49, who suffered leg- and arm-nerve damage in a May 2004 mortar attack in Ramadi, Iraq.
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Kevin Federline
Most of you probably are already aware of this, but just in case, Britney Spears visited with her children for the first time on Saturday since January 3. Kevin Federline wanted Britney to have some time with the kids. After two days of tense negotiations, lawyers for each side hashed out a deal. E! News reports: Aside from Spears and a court-appointed monitor, there were several other key personnel on hand, including: Britney's father, Jamie Spears; a Federline security guard; and a lawyer from the Luce Forward law firm, which is handling Britney's conservatorship for Jamie Spears.
According to an insider, the 26-year-old pop star was not permitted to take the boys, ages two and one, into another room without the others watching. Also present was a blind chimp with a bazooka.
Bicycle rider runs into bus in Florosa
A Nevada woman got a bump from a bus and a ticket after traveling the wrong way on her bike Monday morning. The 46-year-old cyclist was struck by an Okaloosa County School bus about 8 a.m. in front of Keystone Townhomes on U.S. Highway 98 in Florosa. .
Giving back: THAW fund-raiser
THE CAUSE: THAW is a nonprofit agency that provides low-income people with emergency energy assistance and advocates for long-term solutions to energy issues. Charity Navigator, which evaluates the nation's largest charitable organizations, has given THAW its highest rating for three years in a row. THAW's Web site says 89% of its donations go directly to help needy people. THE TACTICS: Several fund-raising efforts took place this weekend, including: On Friday, Compuware Corp. employees took turns running and walking half-hour and hour-long shifts on four treadmills or riding a stationary bicycle in the company's wellness center. Also, employees from companies located in the Renaissance Center joined the first-ever RenCen YMCA Treadmill Challenge on Friday. And the fifth annual WWJ Newsradio 950 Winter Survival Radiothon for THAW was broadcast live from the Boll Family YMCA downtown from 5 a.m.
Wheelchair bomber eludes detection, blows himself up inside Iraqi ...
A man in a wheelchair laden with explosives persuaded security guards to push him into an Iraqi operations center, where he blew himself up in an attack that killed the center's deputy commander. The infiltration, along with a U.S. report that insurgents used an adolescent to carry out a suicide attack against a mosque last week, was the latest indication that al-Qaida in Iraq is expanding its tactics to avoid detection before a bombing. The Iraqi military indefinitely banned all motorcycles, bicycles and hand-pushed and horse-drawn carts from Baghdad's streets on Sunday, two days after a bomb hidden under a horse-drawn cart killed three civilians. U.S. Embassy spokesman Philip Reeker said that while al-Qaida in Iraq has been "severely damaged," it remains a "dangerous threat." .
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