Events outside of MTL can be newsworthy, too!

Despite my broadcasting professor declaring this past news week an epic fail, I think I have managed to dig up a few stories worthy of discussion. However, most of what I have deemed ‘interesting’ is happening off the island of Montreal. My professor, on the other hand, works for CBC Montreal and is therefore struggling to find a story within this freezing-cold-weather-in-October-Bill101-hating-Habs-loving-bubble.

CANADA: Col. Russell Williams pleaded guilty to all 88 charges against him, with two of those charges being murder in the first-degree. Williams, a 47 year-old married man, was the base commander of the Canadian Forces Base in Trenton, Ontario. The colonel is being tried for the murders of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau and Jessica Lloyd. He will also be charged with two counts of sexual assault and for the 82 break-ins and attempted break-ins he committed. He will be sentenced to life in prison with no possibility for parole for at least twenty-five years. Williams meticulously documented his own crimes, keeping a journal, taking pictures, leaving behind messages on his victim’s computers and stealing their lingerie. The murders of the two women were particularly brutal. The court underwent the painstaking task of reading through the agreed statement of facts yesterday. A slide show of William’s own photos was also shown. Many of these disturbing images were of Williams fondling himself while wearing women’s lingerie, spread out on his victim’s beds. The military has since stripped him of his ranking. However, by law, they will not be able to deny him his pension. Court will be open again today. CBC is providing minute-by-minute updates on the case thanks to a court order which allows accredited reporters to bring laptops and smartphones into the courtroom.

U.S.: On a lighter note, retired Air Force officer Martin Kober from upstate New York, may potentially have a Michelangelo painting on his hands. For years the painting, affectionately referred to as ‘the Mike’, hung above his family’s fireplace. When Kober retired in 2003 he decided to look into the authenticity of the painting. ‘The Mike’ has since been examined by expert Antonio Forcellino, who believes it to be authentic. Forcellino is currently working on restoring it in Italy where it will be featured in an upcoming exhibit. However, some historians are refusing to believe the claim so it is remains uncertain at this time if the painting is a true Michelangelo or not.

In celebrity news…Teen Mom star Amber Portwood is being investigated by the Indiana Department of Child Services. Apparently beating your fiance to a pulp in front of your infant is considered a felony in Indiana. Hey Amber, maybe those jujitsu classes you took to “de-stress” weren’t the best idea. There are clearly better (and classier) ways to deal with your anger. Also, please dump that felon/wanna-be famewhore of a boyfriend you picked up at WalMart. I just hope this crazy is allowed to stay on for another season of Teen Mom. Reality television can be so entertaining. Love you, MTV! Now back to people with actual talent…The Spice Girls may be performing during the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London! There have been no official talks as of yet but Sporty Spice is advocating for the reunion performance. C’mon, do it for all us ’90s babies. Finally, Taylor Swift confirms she once dated the notorious douchebag John Mayer through song lyrics. The song, which is titled “Dear John” is said to be filled with some very personal, very critical choice words about Mayer. Sometimes I wonder if TSwizzle intentionally gets into shitty relationships to inspire her music. Her new album, Speak Now, will drop October 25th.

* Don’t forget to WEAR PURPLE tomorrow, October 20th, to commemorate the loss of the six gay teens who took their own lives back in September. Stop the hate, spread the love, please.

xx Kels

news: the good, the bad & the ugly (but hilarious)

Chilean miners: As of 2:30 p.m. today (Wednesday) 19 of the 33 miners have been rescued. CNN has been doing a fantastic job live-streaming footage of the rescue both online and on-air. The emotional reunions of the husbands and wives have been truly touching. However, one miners wife will not be waiting for him at the top. Yonni Barrios’ wife, Marta, discovered her husband’s mistress during the three month long rescue effort. Marta has said that when her husband is safe she plans to leave him. Yonni requested both women be there to greet him. Marta declined, saying she has too much dignity to be there at the top celebrating with her husband’s kept woman. Tough luck Yonni! Looks like life underground might have been a bit less complicated for you. Yonni Barrios is expected to be the 21st miner to emerge.

Here in Montreal everyone is talking about the death of 13 year old Noutene Sidime, who slipped into a coma and later died,  three days after she was struck by her 71 year old father. The motive behind the blow remains uncertain. However, several neighbors have come forward saying the father, Moussa Sidime, adhered to strict muslim prayer rituals that Sidime often rebelled against. Moussa Sidime appeared in court yesterday where he is being charged with aggrevated assult and possibly more charges to come.

In celebrity news, power couples are breaking up all over the place. Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman are on a break. Courtney Cox and David Arquette are donezo but apparently had an open marriage towards the end. Also, InTouch weekly is reporting that the Jolie-Pitts are in fact not as angelical as they seem. A former nanny dishes on all the crazy shiz the kids do when Mommy dearest is holed up in her bedroom making phone calls. Brad is apparently the discipliner. Which begs the question: who would you want scolding you? Tyler Durden (Fight Club) or Lisa Rowe (Girl, Interrupted)? I really can’t decide which would be scarier.

And for kicks and giggles, here is an excellent piece of YouTube gold: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUuNohO-SV4

Herro Prease.

Maybe it’s because I don’t have any homework. Or because Glee is the only decent show on tonight and I refuse to jump on that bandwagon. Nevertheless, after years of contemplation, I have actually created a blog for myself. I’m calling it Word Vomit for two reasons: numéro un being that I love the movie “Mean Girls” and numéro deux being that blogs are essentially the ranting and raving of everyday people. Citizen journalists, they’re called. You can post absolute shit all over the internet and people will read it. That’s what they tell us in journalism school. But apparently it’s up to us to make sure there is well written, factual shit out there. Oh, and they also tell us we’ll never find jobs. That’s always comforting. I’d like to produce a blog that is both entertaining and informing. I am consistently up to date on current events (as I should be since I’m a total Ron Burgandy wannabe). However, to put things into perspective for those of you who don’t know me, I spend around thirty minutes a day perusing PerezHilton and about fifteen on CBC or CNN. That is not something I tell my professors. I also enjoy American and Canadian politics. Stateside, I’m a pro-choice, pro-gay marriage Liberal who does a somewhat decent impersonation of Sarah Palin. Up ‘ere in Canada I find most Québécois politicians to be terribly whiny (seriously, you’ll never have soverignty because you don’t want to create your own military…those are important). As stereotypical as it sounds, Cosmopolitan is my bible. My friends back home consider me to be some sort of relationship expert because I’ve been dating my boyfriend for almost two years (such a long time I know, crazy!). However, I’ve learned most of what I know from Kate White (thanks, girl). There will be many a post on the subject of amour. After all, I firmly believe we females are psychotic bitches and we will vent about our relationships and sex lives to anyone who will listen. Another tidbit about myself: I’m one of those annoying chicks who will ruin your dinner party by not eating the steak tips you marinated for hours, until they reached that perfect savoy, mouth-watering flavor because she thinks red meat is bad for you. I also like yoga and pilates because I’m white and white people like stuff like that. So perhaps there will be some health and fitness posts on here as well. And of course there is plenty going on in la ville de Montreal to write about. So here I go, caving in and joining the blogosphere for good. Wish me luck.