Wandering thoughts

Another day drawing to a close. I sit here thinking about all that's transpired during this day. My memory is hazy. What occurred a scant moment or two ago seems to have taken place eons ago. I'm sluggish, unfocused and miles away from my current physical location. I hear the hums of dozens of computers (the curse of the modern open-plan office layout), I gaze at my monitor, but all I see is a whirling of colours.

Today I want to be miles away from here......in a park, by a pond or a lake, lying on the grass, feeling the sun on my skin, enjoying the last caresses of summer before dreary autumn sweeps in. I think to myself, "...if wishes were wings, I would definitely be flying a high and as free as a bird right about now." But noooooooooooooo......I'm stuck here behind a computer, slave to 'THE SYSTEM'. Well, more like slave to the last 'splurge' I went one....I knew I should have fought the urge to splash out on those jeans, the pair of boots and the dress. But they look great on me .....oh well, I digress.

I'm getting myself up from this chair, switching off my PC, packing up my stuff and taking that long-awaited walk to the exit, down the stair (no lifts for me today), out to the lobby and out the main entrance. I'm going to raced by the receptionist, breathe a quick goodnight (no time to chat today, my dear) and step out into the late evening light. I'll breathe deeply and just thank God for my escape from the haze. Life is beautiful.

McCain is "butt" of Paris' gag.

Attention, America: Paris has spoken. Paris Hilton, the blonde, doe-eyed celebrity thrust into the presidential campaign in an ad by Republican candidate John McCain, issued a tart rebuttal Tuesday, albeit in a scantily clad, tongue-in-cheek kind of way.

Last week, McCain launched an ad comparing Democratic rival Barack Obama to Hilton and Britney Spears, suggesting Obama was no more than a celebrity candidate unready to lead the nation.

Hilton initially shied away from the debate over the ad and its effectiveness. But she responded Tuesday with a spoof on the comedy Web site Funny or Die.

"Hey America, I'm Paris Hilton and I'm a celebrity, too. Only I'm not from the olden days and I'm not promising change like that other guy. I'm just hot," Hilton said, speaking as she reclined in a pool chair in a revealing bathing suit and a pair of pumps.

"But then that wrinkly, white-haired guy used me in his campaign ad, which I guess means I'm running for president. So thanks for the endorsement white-haired dude."

"I want America to know that I'm, like, totally ready to lead," she said.
She then discusses energy policy, and suggests a hybrid of McCain's offshore oil drilling plan and Obama's incentives for new energy technology. "Energy crisis solved! I'll see you at the debates," she said.

McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said Hilton appears to support his candidate's "all of the above" energy solution. "Paris Hilton might not be as big a celebrity as Barack Obama, but she obviously has a better energy plan," Bounds said.

Hilton's mother, who with her husband donated $4,600 to McCain's campaign earlier in the year, has said McCain's ad is "a complete waste of the country's time and attention at the very moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their jobs."

McCain's ad uses footage of Obama's reception by Germans during a recent trip to Berlin to dismiss him as just another celebrity. Obama's campaign has criticized the ad; McCain has defended it as humorous.

Hilton's rebuttal includes plenty of humor at McCain's expense. An announcer calls him "the oldest celebrity in the world, like super-old, old enough to remember when dancing was a sin and beer was served in a bucket," and asks, "but is he ready to lead?" Hilton's spoof also intersperses images of McCain and Yoda from Star Wars and the cast of television's "The Golden Girls."

Laurence Fishbourne courted for CSI lead.

Laurence Fishburne is in talks to replace William Petersen as the star of CBS' veteran crime drama "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

The search for a new lead has been shrouded in secrecy, but sources say Fishburne is being heavily courted to play the new character, described as a doctor/scientist outsider to the CSI unit who has the same genetic profile as a serial killer but hasn't previously acted on any homicidal impulses.

Fishburne, an Oscar nominee for "What's Love Got to Do With It," had been mentioned as one of the "CSI" producers' top choices for the role, along with John Malkovich and Kurt Russell.

Obama opts out of public campaign finance system

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Thursday he'll bypass the federal public financing system in the general election, abandoning an earlier commitment to take the money if his Republican rival did as well.

Obama, who set records raising money in the primary election, will forgo more than $84 million that would have been available to him in the general election. He would be the first candidate to do so since Congress passed 1970s post-Watergate campaign finance laws. Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee in waiting, has taken steps to accept the public funds in the general election.

Obama officials said they decided to take that route because McCain is already spending privately raised funds toward the general election campaign. Obama has vastly outraised McCain, however, and would likely retain that advantage if McCain accepts the public money.
The public finance system is paid for with the $3 contributions that taxpayers can make to the presidential fund in their tax returns.

"It's not an easy decision, and especially because I support a robust system of public financing of elections," Obama told supporters in a video message Thursday. "But the public financing of presidential elections as it exists today is broken, and we face opponents who've become masters at gaming this broken system."

Obama has shattered president campaign fundraising records, raking in more than $265 million as of the end of April. Of that, nearly $10 million was for the general election. McCain, on the other hand had raised nearly $115 million by the end of May,
But Obama's clear financial advantage over McCain is offset in part by the resources of the Republican National Committee, which has far more money in the bank than the Democratic National Committee. Both national parties can spend money on behalf of the presidential candidates.

Obama said McCain and the Republican National Committee are fueled by contributions from Washington lobbyists and political action committees.
"And we've already seen that he's not going to stop the smears and attacks from his allies running so-called 527 groups, who will spend millions and millions of dollars in unlimited donations," Obama said.

Obama campaign lawyer Robert Bauer said he had met with McCain lawyers to discuss terms for both campaigns operating in the public financing system, but he said they could not agree on how to limit spending by the campaigns and outside groups heading into the late summer party conventions.

He said McCain has had an advantage because he has been running unopposed since he secured the Republican nomination early this year. "The important thing is that John McCain has been running a privately financed campaign for the general election since February," Bauer said. "The problem from our perspective is that the horse is long gone from the barn here."
Despite Obama's claim that outside groups allied with McCain will spend millions of dollars against him, few Republican-leaning groups have weighed into the presidential contest so far. In fact, Obama allies such as MoveOn.org are the ones have been spending money on advertising against McCain.

McCain and Obama both declined public financing in the primary contests, thus avoiding the spending limits that come attached to the money. McCain has been in a dispute with the Federal Election Commission, whose chairman earlier this year said McCain needed commission approval to decline the funds. The FEC has not had a quorum to act, however, because four of its six seats have been vacant pending Senate confirmation of presidential nominees. McCain lawyers have disputed the need for FEC approval.

Last year, both Obama and McCain indicated in separate commitments that they would participate in the public system for the general election, as long as both candidates agreed.
In response to a questionnaire in November from the Midwest Democracy Network, which is made up of nonpartisan government oversight groups, Obama said: "Senator John McCain has already pledged to accept this fundraising pledge. If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election."

While presidential candidates have rejected public financing in primaries, no major party candidate has bypassed the system in the general election.

Young jeezy joins the damn fools' club.

Rapper Young Jeezy was charged with driving under the influence and speeding after he was pulled over on an Atlanta highway early Wednesday.

The multi-platinum-selling artist, whose real name is Jay Jenkins, was driving a Corvette when he was stopped about 2:30 a.m. on Interstate 85, police department spokesman Officer James Polite said. The arresting officer noticed the vehicle did not have a license plate, but Polite could not say how fast Jenkins was driving.

Jenkins was charged with speeding, driving with no proof of insurance or license plate, having an open container, reckless driving and driving impaired by alcohol or drugs. He was released from the Atlanta City Detention Center a few hours later on a $4,100 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court July 17. His attorney, Scott E. Leemon, said in a news release that Jenkins was arrested after leaving a recording studio, where he was working on his new album.

"A court date has been scheduled and Jeezy looks forward to getting the matter resolved," Leemon said. Jenkins is due in court on July 17.

Jenkins' collaboration, "Love in This Club," with R&B star Usher is currently sixth on Billboard's Hot 100 list.

Lil Wayne's 'Tha Carter III' goes platinum in first week

Lil Wayne now has official numbers to back up his bragging — the rapper's new CD has sold a spectacular 1 million copies its first week.

"Tha Carter III" is easily the best selling first week of the year, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures. Even Kanye West's "The Graduation" didn't eclipse that mark in its first week last year (though it was only about 50,000 copies short).

A prolific rapper who's been ubiquitous on the mixtape scene and on other acts' records, Lil Wayne is generally regarded as one of rap's most gifted performers — but he's never had a multiplatinum album. His last two albums, "Tha Carter" and "Tha Carter II," sold 1.1 million and 1.4 million copies, respectively. "Tha Carter III" was anticipated as the CD that would send the New Orleans rapper into superstardom.

"I've been saying a million all along, and I've been telling people, and they've been looking at me crazy," said Ron Williams, co-founder of Lil Wayne's record label, Cash Money Records.
"He worked hard. He just came with something different. He let his skills show on a lot of mixtapes. He's featured on a lot of people's records," Williams said. "It just made people anticipate his record more than ever."

Already, Lil Wayne's had a No. 1 smash for several weeks — the sexually explicit "Lollipop" — and has been featured on numerous hits over the past year, including the recent remix to Usher's "Love in This Club."

In a slumping industry where selling 200,000 albums in one week is becoming a rare feat, Lil Wayne's achievement is not only a triumph but a much-needed boost — the last CD to sell 1 million or more in its first week was 50 Cent's "The Massacre" in 2005.

Expectations for "Tha Carter III" were high, and it delivered — selling 423,000 copies in its first day of release. It achieved blockbuster numbers despite being heavily bootlegged and leaked on the Internet; past leaks of material for the CD caused parent label Universal Motown to delay its release several times.

Lil Wayne, 25, has been a star on the rap scene since he was a teen, but only in recent years has his star rivaled that of contemporaries like West, a contributor on his new CD.

Pamela Anderson to part with prized car for charity.

Pamela Anderson may have a need for speed, but her favorite charity has a need for funds.

That's why the former "Baywatch" babe is selling her prized Dodge Viper and donating the proceeds to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "I've been working with PETA for 15 years," Anderson told The Associated Press. "They're kind of my ethical advisers. With them, I see actual results."

The 40-year-old actress recently held a private estate sale to benefit the animal organization, and she's planning to personally oversee the sale of her 2000 Viper, which she customized herself with white racing stripes. The car plays a prominent role in Anderson's forthcoming E! series, "Pam: Girl on the Loose," but she admitted it was dangerous for her to own such a high-performance vehicle.

"I'm a terrible driver," she said. "It's just not a good idea for me to have a Viper."
The car will be among the offerings at Julien's Auctions' Summer Entertainment Sale of Hollywood memorabilia, to be held June 21 and 22 at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Other items available include Alfred Hitchcock's driver's license, personal snapshots of Marilyn Monroe and Sammy Davis Jr. and an original "Ben Hur" script signed by Charlton Heston. The sale will be broadcast live on Auction Network.

Though Anderson regularly attends charity auctions, she said she's not much of a collector.
"I get sports stuff for my kids," she said. "But me? I, just on a whim, give everything away. This is another one of those opportunities, but it's specific. It goes to the cause."