Rev. Alberto Cutie

Rev. Alberto CutieFather Cutié's fall prompts celibacy debate.

Miami is abuzz over the plight of one Father Cutié (no kidding -- Father Cutie, with an accent) -- the hunky and popular pastor of a South Beach parish who was photographed bare-chested and cuddling with a woman on the sunny sands of Florida. The Rev. Alberto Cutié is no ordinary priest -- he was a friend of celebrities, a frequent television commentator, and the popular author of a book, "Real Life, Real Love,'' whose subject matter earned him the moniker "Padre Oprah." His downfall is now attracting more attention than his smile, with the predictable debate ensuing over the viability of mandatory celibacy for priests.

The Miami Herald conducted a poll, and found broad support for the priest:

"Days after the Rev. Alberto Cutié admitted he had a romantic relationship with a woman, an overwhelming number of Miami-Dade Catholics still view him favorably, a poll conducted for The Miami Herald found.

Nearly 80 percent of those polled had a favorable view of Cutié, with 10 percent saying they looked at him unfavorably.

...A substantial majority -- 74 percent -- of those surveyed, including Hispanics and non-Hispanics, oppose the Roman Catholic Church's prohibition of priests marrying or having any type of sexual relations. Only 22 percent said they supported the prohibition, while 4 percent said they were unsure or gave no answer."

Not so fast, blogs Thomas Peters at American Papist:

"Of course, the answer to violating the vows of celibacy ... is to observe the vows of celibacy. Not to toss them out! That's why the public improprieties of Fr. Cutié constitute such a grave scandal - they diminish the witness of the Church to the world.

Yes, we ought to pray for Fr. Cutié, but let's also re-double our prayers for the noble young men (and women) who are faithfully living lives of celibacy as they study to become priests (and professed women religious).

Let us also pray for those who have already taken on the vow of celibacy that they remain faithful to it and thereby provide the world with a wonderful (and so needed) witness!"

Father Cutié has acknowledged the relationship in several interviews:

"'Falling in love is not something that I chose to do. It's something I have been struggling with for a long time,' Cutié told The Miami Herald Friday, at the end of a week of seclusion, prayer and tough talks with Miami Archbishop John Favalora and other church leaders.

But now those telling snapshots are out there, the priest -- a star of radio and TV talk shows -- is offering the kind of plain language that has been the cornerstone of his popularity with millions of Spanish-speaking fans across the United States and Latin America.

He says he wants to get married and start a family."

Original Source : http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2009/05/father_cuties_f.html

Millvina Dean

Millvina Dean"Titanic" stars donate to final survivor.

"Titanic" stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet and the film's director James Cameron have responded to a challenge and donated $30,000 to support the last survivor of the Titanic in her last years, a representative for DiCaprio said on Monday.

The survivor, 97-year-old Millvina Dean, has reportedly resorted to selling her autograph to pay her nursing home bills in Southampton, the English city from which "Titanic" began its fateful maiden voyage in 1912.

Dean was only 9 weeks old when her family traveled on Titanic in hopes of beginning a new life in the United States. Her father was one of the 1,517 casualties after the supposedly unsinkable ship hit an iceberg in the Atlantic.

DiCaprio, Winslet and Cameron made their combined $30,000 donation after Irish author and photographer Don Mullan publicly challenged them to match his donation, said Ken Sunshine, a spokesman for DiCaprio. Mullan, who photographed Dean for an exhibition, made his appeal last month in the Irish Independent newspaper.

The 1997 drama "Titanic" made more than $1.8 billion at the worldwide box office, making it the highest-grossing film of all time in figures not adjusted for inflation. It went on to win 11 Oscars, including best picture.

Original Source : http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE54A63J20090511

Gary Dell Abate

Gary Dell AbateGary Dell'Abate First Pitch Becomes Internet Sensation.

Baba Booey's First Pitch Blunder Turns into Internet Thunder

Longtime Howard Stern show producer Gary Dell'Abate threw out the ceremonial first pitch Saturday at the Mets game and now the wildly thrown pitch is the latest Internet sensation. Indeed, the Gary Dell'Abate first pitch is buzzing the web like nobody's business.



Before we delve in to the reasons why the Gary Dell'Abate first pitch is such a hit, it needs noting that Mr. Dell'Abate was at the game because he was the host of Autism Awareness Day. So it seems that there is some truth to the old saw that no good deed goes unpunished. But in his usual self-deprecating manner, Dell'Abate brushed off the hilarious blunder by noting on Mondays show that the ball managed to stay in the frame.

I started listening to Howard Stern in the early 90s (I was late to the party) and immediately took notice of the fact that Howard teased his producer, Gary Patrick Dell'Abate, with merciless zeal. But, it was also very clear that Stern did so because of his great affection for Gary Dell'Abate. When he's not ripping Gary, he's commending him for his crackerjack management skills.

This is typical guy behavior, by the way. Many of us guys are uncomfortable displaying overt affection for our male friends, so we express it by putting them down. It's a rather bewildering dynamic (women probably have a hard time relating to it) but it is universal. And it almost seems that the more a guy is liked, the more he is teased.

Well, Gary Dell'Abate, who is now becoming known to a wider audience due to the Gary Dell'Abate first pitch sensation, is clearly very liked, because the teasing is viciously unrelenting. Gary is constantly being ripped a new one for having big teeth, enormous lips and horrendously bad breath. What an outpouring of guy love!

And, of course, Howard Stern fans have joined in on the fun. According to Wikipedia, one fan took to wearing a gorilla mask at Gary's public appearances. One could argue, I suppose, that Gary does resemble a gorilla (now I'm joining in on the fun), but Gary's much better looking. Sort of.

Original Source : http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1735496/gary_dellabate_first_pitch_becomes.html

Alysha Castonguay

Alysha Castonguay
Alysha Castonguay's Maxim Shoot OK, But Carrie Prejean's Pics Are Not?

Alysha Castonguay says Carrie Prejean is being unfairly judged for her scandalous photos.

Miss California Carrie Prejean may lose her crown after a website posted semi-nude pictures of the beauty queen, yet no one seems so riled over suggestive pictures of Alysha Castonguay, Miss Rhode Island, that appeared in the men’s magazine Maxim.

Castonguay posed for the magazine before her pageant competition and, to ensure she didn’t find herself embroiled in a scandal, showed them to pageant officials herself, Fox News reports. They approved them.

Asked about the Prejean controversy, Castonguay said she thinks people are targeting Miss California because of her controversial response to a question about gay marriage: Prejean said she thought nuptials should remain between a man and a woman, an answer that sparked a firestorm across the Internet.

What do you think, reader? Is this a double standard at play?

Original Source : http://www.wowowow.com/politics/alysha-castonguays-maxim-shoot-okay-carrie-prejeans-pics-arent-292884

Shuttle Launch

Shuttle Launch'High-Risk' Shuttle Launch to Be Streamed Live.

NASA's latest shuttle launch is set for today at 2:01 PM EDT. The self-assessed "high risk" mission is an attempt to repair the Hubble telescope one final time.

According to the weather reports for Cape Canaveral, there's a 90 percent chance of favorable launch conditions.

The 11-day mission will include five spacewalks, at up to 7hours each. "This will be the most challenging servicing mission that's been faced by our astronauts in terms of the total amount of work," said mission manager, Preston Burch. If the mission succeeds, it will add up to five years onto the life of the 19-year-old telescope.

NASA is running a live feed of the launch all day with commentary over on its official site.

Original Source :

Statue Of Liberty

Statue Of LibertyStatue of Liberty's crown to reopen July 4.

The National Park Service is planning a lottery for those wishing to climb the narrow, circular staircase of 168 steps inside the statue to its crown, which has been closed since the Sept. 11 attacks.

Reporting from Washington -- The lofty crown of the Statue of Liberty, closed to the public since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, will reopen July 4, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced this morning.

Salazar announced the reopening, with the National Park Service planning a lottery for those wishing to climb the narrow, circular staircase of 168 steps inside the statue to the crown, in an appearance inside the crown this morning on NBC News' "Today" show.

Admission will be "egalitarian," the secretary said of a planned lottery for visitors wishing to make the staircase climb.

The reopening of the crown atop the statue, a gift to the United States from France in 1885 and a symbol of freedom standing on its island in New York City's harbor since then, will take place on Independence Day -- the anniversary of July 4, 1776, the date inscribed on the tablet that Lady Liberty holds in her hand.

Salazar, acknowledging that standing in the crown this morning gave him "goose bumps," said Park Service employees are being trained on ways to usher selected visitors up and down the single narrow stairway inside the statue.

He acknowledged that this would entail "risks" but also said that everyone allowed inside would have undergone "double screening" for security purposes at a national monument whose pinnacle has been closed to the public since terrorists attacked the World Trade Center towers in New York with hijacked airliners.

Although the crown has remained closed, the base, pedestal and lower observation deck have since been reopened.

NBC's Matt Lauer also asked Salazar, a former Colorado senator whom President Obama appointed Interior secretary, whether he wanted to be considered for the nomination to the Supreme Court that Obama now was weighing.

Salazar said he liked his job. Asked by Lauer if "that's a no," the secretary said, "That's a no."

Original Source : http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-statue-of-liberty9-2009may09,0,3151604.story

Mars Candy

Mars CandyNeil Patrick Harris makes life sweeter with Real Chocolate Relief Act.

Enough of the free KFC grilled chicken. How about some free Mars chocolate?

"How I Met Your Mother" star Neil Patrick Harris hands out free Mars candy bars in New York as part of Mars' Real Chocolate Relief Act, which aims to improve the world's mood through candy.

Mars has announced that the company will give away a quarter-of-a- million full-size packages of real chocolate on Free Chocolate Fridays.

Americans can claim one of 250,000 coupons each Friday beginning on May 8 at 9 a.m. by visiting RealChocolate.com.

Coupons, which will be mailed to consumers, will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis and are redeemable for any full-size Mars real chocolate product. The coupons will be limited to one per person, per week.

We give them this: NPH is way less creepy than Johnny Depp in "The Chocolate Factory."

And thank heavens there are no scary Oompa Loompas to frighten the children.

We're waiting for the free hybrid cars and free homes.

More free dish:

Chicken Riots overstated, says KFC. Gimme that drumstick!

Original Source : http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2009/05/neil-patrick-harris-makes-life-sweeter-with-real-chocolate-relief-act-.html