AS IT STANDS My name is Dave Stancliff. I'm a retired newspaper editor/publisher; husband/father, Vietnam vet, Laker fan for 63 years. All opinions are mine unless otherwise noted. I also share original short stories.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Gold at all time high: Fear, uncertainty driving gold rush
Uncertainty about the economy's strength, fears about rising prices, worries over global instability. Investors are facing an onslaught of headlines, from inflation to turmoil in North Africa, that is driving them into the arms of gold.
The precious metal blew past $1,500 an ounce this week to record levels in dollar terms, rising for six straight sessions. The precious metal is still trading below its inflation-adjusted peak of about $2,200 an ounce, however.
There are no guarantees that gold prices will keep rising from historic levels. For now, though, just about all the forces that have traditionally pushed gold prices higher are in place. Story Here
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Float through a gallery of Zeppelins from their golden age of travel
Go through this cool gallery to see more fantastic images from the golden age of zeppelins
New Graphene Material is Paper-Thin and Ten Times Stronger Than Steel
You know, of course, that this must be alien technology which we have just recently cracked.
Area 51…X-Files…have all hinted at it and now...
Researchers at the University of Technology Sydney have created a new material that is lighter, less dense, harder, and stronger than steel. But this material isn’t one of those breakthroughs that only sounds good on paper. It is paper, and it could be a game-changer for materials science if it can live up to researchers’ hopes.
[ Read Full Story ] Via
The Man Who Leaves Roses on Edgar Allan Poe's Grave Every Year Has Disappeared
One of the best pieces of arcana of American letters is the man known as the "Poe Toaster." Every year on January 19 (Edgar Allan Poe's birthday), the toaster appears in the Baltimore graveyard where the author is buried and leaves a half-empty bottle of cognac and four roses. No one knows his identity or his motives. Last year, for the first time in 60 years, the mysterious man did not show up. Last night, he failed to show up again, leaving many to think that the tradition is now over.
Poe is one of my favorite American authors, and when I was in high school I memorized every verse of “The Raven.” I probably could still rattle off at least half of it…Once upon a midnight dreary…
'Weird Al' Yankovic gets permission to 'perform this way' after Lady Gaga dustup
Lady Gaga has a sense of humor after all. That’s nice to know because I’m a huge Weird Al fan…
On Wednesday Pop & Hiss, the LA Times’s Music blog… reported that Lady Gaga denied permission for parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic to satirize her anthem, "Born This Way," according to a lengthy post on his blog.
Dubbed "I Perform This Way," the man who turned Michael Jackson's "Beat It" into the gluttonous ode "Eat It" -- among dozens of others -- planned on poking fun at all things Gaga and donating sales from the video and song to the Human Rights Campaign.
But before Weird Al fans got ready to picket the Queen of the Monsters, it turned out her manager was responsible for nixing the song, without sending it to Gaga first. Yankovic didn't actually need Gaga's permission, but he extends the mutually beneficial proposition as a courtesy -- his parodies have always fallen under "fair use" in matters of copyright law.
Yankovic wrote in an updated post that Gaga's manager apologized -- and that Gaga loves the cover.
Royal Maddness: Would you pay $800 for a friggin Jellybean?
If this jelly bean looks like Kate Middleton to you then hurry over to ebay and bid on it if your one of those rabid royal collectors.
All I can say is Barnum and Bailey would have been proud of this royal circus wedding!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Lakers even Series 1-1 – Bynum comes up big, Kobe sucks
The long and the short of it; Andrew Bynum went back to playing like a big man and the Laker bench looked really good.
Especially Lamar Odom who was just named 6th Man Of The Year by the NBA. A well deserved honor for a guy who has been a key for the Lakers during the last two championships.
Kobe was practically non existent. He made a lot of bad plays, and had his lowest playoff scoring game since…I can’t remember when! His defense on the Hornet’s Chris Paul was his only saving grace. He did make it tough for the New Orleans speedster.
Go Lakers!
Blog Break Until Presidential Election is Over
I finally hit the wall today. I can't think of what to say about all of the madness going on in this country right now. I'm a writer...
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It's hard to believe that so many people viewed this column ( There's a monopoly on marijuana growing & research in America. &q...
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It was a bad day for democracy. The voting rights bill never had a chance. Trump Republicans were in lockstep, like zombies mindlessly and...