:: The Silver State Chronicles ::

So long, SD!  You will be missed!

S.D Jones
RIP 1945-2008

SLAM Wrestling reports…

S.D. Jones dies in Antigua
By GREG OLIVER

Special Delivery Jones, one of the regular faces in the World Wrestling Federation heyday of the 1980s, died Sunday in Antigua, following a stroke two days ago. He was 63.

Remembered fondly by fans as a solid competitor who could believably get in the ring with the superstar giants, even if he didn’t win very often, Jones was last seen on a national broadcast at the WrestleMania 22 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony in Chicago, where he inducted “Mr. U.S.A.” Tony Atlas.

Born Conrad Efraim on March 30, 1945, in Antigua, in the West Indies, he befriended Johnny Rodz in New York City while he was still working for the phone company. His wrestling career began in the mid-’70s, working for the WWWF, and heading on the road to the Mid-Atlantic territory, and Los Angeles, where he would win the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship with Porkchop Cash; Jones would later team with Tom Jones (no relation) to win the titles again. For some of the time, he was known as Roosevelt Jones, before the more familiar S.D., or Special Delivery, Jones came into prominence.

Irregardless of his success elsewhere, the 6-foot-1, 260-pound Jones will always be remembered as a quality carpenter for the WWWF and WWF, capable of winning matches or losing believably. Often, Jones would team with bigger name stars, like Andre the Giant or Rocky Johnson to battle some despicable tag teams.

At the first WrestleMania, in 1985 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Jones lost to King Kong Bundy is nine seconds. In March 2004, Jones told SLAM! Wrestling’s Steven Johnson that he was concerned that such a beating in front of a national audience would damage his career.

“I didn’t want to do it,” Jones said. But McMahon persuaded him that a humiliating loss to Bundy would achieve the company’s goal of developing a monstrous rival to the likes of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. After some contemplation, Jones took his medicine. “Bundy was the man then,” he said. On the plus side, Jones was not in the ring long enough to risk injury and, for good measure, “made a big, big, big, big payday.”

In a 2005 interview with SLAM! Wrestling’s Dave Hillhouse, Jones matter-of-factly addressed his career, and his role as enhancement talent. “Everybody knows it’s a show — promoters call the shots. Everybody knows that. Sometimes you don’t care, sometimes you care. Honestly, I knew there was no way I was going to get to that main championship, that’s for sure. I never even thought about it. A lot of us guys, we knew there was no way we were going to get up there,” he explained. “I was comfortable because I knew what they wanted. They want you to be there for Hulk Hogan and Pedro Morales; they want you to be an S.D. Jones, to be a Johnny Rodz. After a while you just get comfortable where you are, and that’s it. You’re doing a job, you’re making a living, and you just keep on going.”

At the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony for Atlas, Jones told stories about being on the road with his “best friend,” including impromptu weightlifting challenges in Egypt, Norway and Spain. No shrinking violet himself, Jones talked about lifting over 500 pounds himself; of course, Atlas could lift over 600 pounds.

Jones and Atlas met in 1980 in Allentown, Penn., and soon were a tag team, aiming for the WWWF tag titles. “We tried and we tried and we tried. I could not do it. I was the one that killed the tag, so I had to step aside,” Jones told the WWE Hall of Fame audience. Rocky Johnson replaced him in the tag and he and Atlas were soon champs — but they couldn’t get along, losing after three weeks.

After 22 years in the ring, Jones called it quits, lost a significant amount of weight, and began working for the New York Daily News, driving newspapers.

About eight months ago, he retired and moved back to his native Antigua. His remains are at Straffie’s Funeral Home in St John’s, Antigua.

• Rep. Sue Myrick Honors Ric Flair
• The longest front facelock in pro wrestling history
• Bobby Murcer RIP
• AWA Wrestlerock Rumble
• Land of 1,000 Dances by The WWF Superstars
• NRBQ Pays Tribute to Captain Lou Albano

Sharon Stone is cray-cray, but we already knew that

They’re calling her ‘Mommy Weirdest!’  A rare glimpse into Sharon Stone’s mothering skills, courtesy of the custody hearing for her young son, Roan.   E! online reports…

Sharon Stone’s Custody Derailed by Botox
According to a judge, Sharon Stone’s maternal instincts are quite basic.

In a tentative ruling released Monday and obtained today by E! News, San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo has shot down Stone’s attempt to modify custody of her son Roan.

Stone had sought permission to move Roan from Marin County in Northern California, where he lives with his father, Phil Bronstein, to L.A.

But saying that “should Roan move to Los Angeles, the sense of loss would be overwhelming for him,” Massullo nixed the request. Instead, the judge said the boy could visit Stone one to two weekends a month during the school year.

Specifically, Massullo took issue with Stone’s mothering prowess and apparent overreaction to the boy’s complaints. “Mother alleged Roan had a spinal condition,” the judge noted. “There was no evidence to support this allegation.”

And this doozy: “Mother suggested that Roan should have Botox injections in his feet to resolve a problem he had with foot odor.”

Massullo stated that “unless [Stone’s] demands are met, she has simply refused to participate in the counseling process designed entirely to help her son.” The judge added, “It does not help that [Stone] and [Bronstein] clearly are unable to put aside their personal feelings toward each other.”

Ultimately the judge found that “the record establishes that [Bronstein’s] home is a more supportive environment for Roan during the school year.”

There was no immediate comment from attorneys for either Stone or Bronstein. Stone’s publicist also did not respond to calls.

When Stone and Bronstein were divorcing in 2004, they fought over custody of Roan. Stone told the judge she was Roan’s primary caretaker, but Bronstein disputed that fact, saying that from infancy until the couple separated much of Roan’s care was “delegated to a series of full-time (24-hour) nannies” and that Stone’s involvement with their son was limited.

For a period following their divorce, Stone and Bronstein agreed to alternate custody of Roan, with the boy splitting time between Los Angeles and San Francisco in three-week chunks.

When that routine was deemed too disruptive, Stone and Bronstein agreed that they would alternate custody of Roan every two years.

Bronstein reversed course, however, petitioning the court that “a transition to live with mother in Los Angeles for two years would be detrimental” as Roan was “finally succeeding academically and socially” at his school because of the continuity. Stone opposed Bronstein’s request, which led to the current evaluation hearing.

Bloomie’s The One!

It must be quite a world view to actually believe that you are the only one to best navigate New York City through tough economic times!

Then again, Bloomie probably doesn’t actually believe it, and he is just making the best case he can to keep himself in power and feed his ego.

This guy must have a whopper of a Little Man Complex. The loathsome New York Times reports…

Bloomberg Ready to Announce Third-Term Bid
By MICHAEL BARBARO and DAVID W. CHEN

After months of speculation about his political future, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg plans to announce on Thursday morning that he will seek a third term as mayor, according to three people who have been told of his plans.

The extraordinary move promises to upend New York City’s political world.

Right now, Mr. Bloomberg is barred by law from seeking re-election. But he will propose trying to revise the city’s 15-year-old term limits law, which would otherwise force him and dozens of other elected leaders out of office in 2009, the three people said.

In his announcement, Mr. Bloomberg, a former Wall Street trader and founder of a billion-dollar financial data firm, is expected to argue that the financial crisis unfolding in New York City demands his steady hand and proven business acumen.

The move represents an about-face for Mr. Bloomberg, who has repeatedly said he supports term limits and once called an effort to revise the law “disgusting.” He will apparently try to do so through legislation in the City Council, rather than the ballot box.

Mr. Bloomberg’s gambit carries significant political risk. The city’s term limits law was passed twice by voters, in 1993 and 1996, and several polls show widespread popular support for keeping it in place. Under the plan Mr. Bloomberg has outlined to associates, those voters will have no say in the matter, raising the possibility of a backlash.

Mr. Bloomberg, 66, who in public statements in recent weeks has become equivocal about term limits, has discussed in detail with his friends and advisers the pros and cons of changing the law and running again. “This has been thoroughly thought out by the mayor,” said a person who has advised the mayor in the past.

(more…)

• Simians Fire First Shot in War Against Humans
• RIP William F. Buckley, Jr.
• Voters in Harlem, NY are complete morons
• Welcome to the USA Pope Benedict XVI
• Bathroom Blunder Case Settles for $ 35,000
• Dungeon Dame Seeks Funds to Fight Charges

Gosh, this guy is angry, huh?

Well, funny person Sandra Bernhard let it rip on the latest object of her rage, GOP VP nominee Sarah Palin.  Evidently, Palin just gets Sandra’s goat, probably for daring to disagree with her!

Now, how cool would it be if liberal whackjobs would be 1/2 as outraged at holy warriors who pilot jetliners into skyscrapers, murdering 1000s of people.  That’s probably just too much to ask for!

Of course, when you mouth off to Sarah Palin or other conservatives, you know they will take the high road and not do anything, except perhaps pray for you.  Jidhadist on the other hand will kidnap you, set up the video camera and give you a ‘close shave’ with a handy sword!

Stay classy, Sandra!  Your movie career was so promising when King of Comedy was released, but then 1984 rolled in and you lost your momentum! It’s been a long couple of decades!

• She’s the one we’ve been waiting for
• Sarah Palin vs Joe Biden - The Barracuda Performs!
• It’s a madhouse! A madhouse!
• John McCain introduces Sarah Palin
• Feminists/Liberals come down on Palin
• Matching Sarah Palin’s Resume against Barack Obama’s Resume

Sorry, honey, you bring a lot to the table, but…

I can’t say that she is worth $ 1,435,599 US.  I can’t say she’s worth $ 1400, actually…

The Telegraph reports…

Italian model plans to sell virginity for 1m euros
An Italian model who swears she has never had sex plans to sell her virginity for one million euros, or £792,000.

Showgirl and men’s magazine model Raffella Fico, 20, told an Italian magazine: “I can’t wait to see who’s going to pull out the money to have me.”

Miss Fico, who appeared in the Italian version of Big Brother earlier this year, said she would use the cash to buy a house in Rome and pay for acting classes.

“I don’t know what it’s like to have sex,” she told the magazine, Chi, adding that if the man who bought her virginity was ugly then she would quickly get over it.

“If I don’t like him I’ll just have a glass of wine and forget about it,” said the aspiring actress from Naples - hometown of screen siren Sophia Loren.

Her family insisted that despite her good looks and sexy image, she remained a virgin.

“She’s never had a boyfriend. I swear on my mother’s grave. She’s a devout Catholic and prays to Padre Pio every night,” her brother told the magazine.

She is the not the first woman to auction her virginity for a large sum. An 18-year-old US student in San Diego, Natalie Dylan, recently told the Howard Stern show she would have sex for the first time for $1 million to pay her college fees.

In 2005 a Peruvian model, also 18, put herself up for sale to help pay her family’s medical bills but ended up having second thoughts and turning down $1.5 million.

Well, OK - maybe $1,400!!!

Throw in Abbott & Costello, and we have a movie!

Now, I’d pay $12 to see that!

The Telegraph reports…

World’s smallest man meets woman with world’s longest legs
By Chris Irvine

Standing at just 2ft 5in high, He Pingping, from China, has been officially named the smallest man in the world.

Svetlana Pankratova, meanwhile, owns the longest legs in the world, which stretch to 132cm.

Mr Pingping barely came up to Ms Pankratova’s knees at a bizarre photoshoot held to mark the launch of the new Guinness Book of World Records.

But the pair seemed rather happy in each other’s company as they posed for photos on Trafalgar Square’s steps in central London.

In January 2007, Mr Pingping was invited to take part on a television programme in Tokyo, and has since become somewhat of an icon.

It is rumoured he is now so protective of his image, he refuses to have his photo taken unless he is paid a substantial fee.

While Ms Pankratova might have the longest legs in the world, she is not the tallest.

Last month, Sandy Allen, at 7ft 7in, recognized as the world’s tallest woman, died aged 53.

In July 2007, Pingping, an internet phenomenon, met with the world’s tallest man Bao Xishun.

Earlier this month, it was revealed the midget who shot to fame as the world’s smallest bodybuilder had been snapped up by a leading US talent agent and was bound for Hollywood.

Chuck Harris, who represents over 10,000 of the world’s most unusual acts, is convinced Aditya “Romeo” Dev is capable of becoming one Tinseltown’s biggest stars.

Many happy returns!

• Happy Birthday, President Reagan
• Happy Birthday, President Lincoln

RIP Don LaFontaine

That voiceover legend Don LaFontaine has passed away.  He shall be missed.

Don LaFontaine

RIP 1940-2008

CNN reports the bad news…

‘In a world’ voiceover master dies at 68

Don LaFontaine, the voiceover king whose “In a world …” phrase on movie trailers was much copied — and much parodied — has died, according to media reports. He was 68.

LaFontaine died Monday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, according to ETOnline, “Entertainment Tonight’s” Web site. He died from complications from pneumothorax, a collapsed lung that causes air to build in the pleural cavity, his agent, Vanessa Gilbert, told “ET.”

LaFontaine, who was born in Duluth, Minnesota, began as a voice actor in the mid-1960s while working as a recording engineer, according to his Web site. His strong, slightly gravelly voice was featured on trailers for thousands of films, including “The Godfather,” “Fatal Attraction” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” For a time in the late ’70s, LaFontaine was the official voice of Paramount Pictures.

His favorite work was one he did for the 1980 film “The Elephant Man,” he said in interviews, but whether the film was Oscar-caliber or a bomb waiting to blow, he handled every assignment equally.

“My philosophy is that you have to really believe what you’re reading, even if you think the film’s a piece of junk,” he told Swindle magazine. “Even the worst picture is someone’s favorite film, and that someone is the fan I am always talking to.”

He also provided the voice for hundreds of commercials for companies such as General Motors, Ford, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and many others, according to his Web site.

The good-humored LaFontaine was willing to poke fun at himself, particularly in a recent ad for Geico insurance, in which he gave dramatic flair to a woman’s story about her car accident. He also voiced the trailer for “The Simpsons Movie,” in which his descriptions were mimicked by commentary from the film’s characters.

But LaFontaine was most famous for his phrase “In a world …,” used by seemingly dozens of movies determined to create an otherworldly atmosphere.

LaFontaine told CNN that the scripts gave him the cues for his delivery.

“They dictate how they want to be read,” he told “Showbiz Tonight” in 2005. “It’s pretty much straightforward stuff because you know the context of the film generally going in. If it’s something like ‘King Kong,’ you have a pretty good idea of how you`re going to say it. It’s going to be a big adventure thing. And I let the [script] more or less guide what I’m going to say.”

He added that there was no secret to his movie trailer work: “I really think this is one of the few industries where everything is right up there,” he told CNN. “What you see is what you get.”

Still, he noted, it’s not like he could use his movie-trailer voice everywhere.

“If I tried to use that voice in public,” he said, “they’d be calling security.”

LaFontaine is survived by his wife, actress and singer Nita Whitaker, and three children, Christine, Skye and Elyse

• RIP Isaac Hayes
• Bobby Murcer RIP
• RIP Special Delivery ‘S.D.’ Jones

The woman takes a nice picture…

Well, Palinmania is running wild across the fruited plain.  And poor Barry must be upset that he was figuring that his unforgettable speech in Denver on Thursday night wouldn’t be forgotten by Friday morning!

So, since the GOP’s VP pick is so effervescent and photogenic, I am creating this special page with a gallery of pictures of the Governor of Alaska and future Vice President of the United States.

Enjoy!

[Show as slideshow]

• John McCain introduces Sarah Palin
• Gov Sarah Palin is McCain’s VP Pick
• Senator John Kerry partying with the chicks
• College Life Offers Never-Never Land for ‘Adults’
• Sarah Palin vs Joe Biden - The Barracuda Performs!
• Feminists/Liberals come down on Palin

No snide comments but it’s clear what I’m thinking…

The Daily Mail reports…

Author of ‘100 Things to Do Before You Die’ is killed in fall
And he only managed to achieve half his list
By Annette Witheridge

Dave Freeman, co-author of the bestselling adventure travel guide ‘100 Things to Do Before You Die,’ has died in a tragic accident at the age of 47.

Mr Freeman fell over at his home in Venice, California, and hit his head. He had only managed to visit half of the places recommended in his book.

The irreverent guide to the world’s wackiest places included a voodoo pilgrimage to Haiti, running with bulls in Pamplona, Spain, nude night surfing in Australia and taking part in the loudest yelling competition in North Carolina.

Advertising agency executive Mr Freeman co-wrote the 1999 book with his friend Neil Teplica after collecting weird locations on a travel website they ran.

It was an instant bestseller and inspired a publishing industry all of its own with dozens of ‘100 Things’ spin-offs.

Mr Freeman, who was single, liked to travel alone, believing he met more interesting people and went to stranger places that way.

He starts the book by explaining: ‘This life is a short journey. How can you make sure you fill it with the most fun and that you visit all the coolest places on earth before you pack those bags for the very last time?’

Mr Freeman’s relatives said he had visited half of the places listed, whilst Mr Teplica had covered the rest.

One of Mr Freeman’s favourites was the Las Fallas festival in Valencia, Spain, where firework-filled papier-mache statues of politicians and celebrities exploded at the stroke of midnight.

…

Last night the circumstances surrounding Mr Freeman’s death were still sketchy but he appeared to have tripped over in the hall of his beach-side house and banged his head.

‘It’s very odd, very sad and very freaky,’ Mr Teplica told the Daily Mail.

‘There was no heart attack. He was physically very capable - not the sort of person to just fall over. His death is unfathomable.’

Mr Teplica said his friend’s mantra was: ‘You should live every day like it would be your last. There’s not many people who do.’

• RIP Special Delivery ‘S.D.’ Jones