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Zsa Zsa Amputated, Etta James Gravely Ill, Martha Gets Stitched

News on the celebrity front:

Zsa Zsa Gabor’s Right Leg Successfully Amputated

According to the Associated Press, Doctors in Los Angeles say they have successfully amputated most of Zsa Zsa Gabor’s right leg. They say Friday’s surgery at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center was successful and the 93-year-old “Moulin Rouge” and “Queen of Outer Space” star is recovering. Gabor turns 94 on Feb 6.

Gabor had an infection in her leg for several months and doctors tried using antibiotics to save the leg. She was hospitalized Jan. 2.

Publicist John Blanchette says the wound wouldn’t heal, making the surgery necessary.

Our thoughts go out to one of the original Diva’s of our time.

Etta James in Grave Condition

According to her Dr. and husband, R&B singer Etta James is gravely ill, and suffering from Leukemia and Dementia. Her husband of 41 years is seeking a California court order to control more than $1 million of her money. Beverly Hills Dr. Elaine James, who isn’t related, says in court documents that the singer cannot sign her name and she needs help with feeding, dressing and hygiene.

The 72-year-old singer is best known for the 1961 hit “At Last.”

She earlier gave power of attorney to sons Donto James and Sametto James, and Donto’s wife Christy, in February 2008. Mills is challenging the power of attorney.

Again, we send our thoughts and prayers to the famed singer.

Martha Stewert Gets Stiched Up

According to the Associated Press, “Martha Stewart isn’t likely to whisper sweet nothings into her dozing dog’s ear anytime again soon.

The 69-year-old lifestyle guru wrote on her blog Thursday that she needed stitches after startling her dog Francesca while leaning down to “whisper goodbye.” The dog jumped up and rammed into Stewart.

She writes that she “felt a bit of whiplash as blood gushed” from her split lip Tuesday night.

She initially called police to ask for a ride to the hospital but realized her driver was waiting to drive her from her home in the suburbs to New York City for a “Today” show appearance.

Stewart landed in the Northern Westchester Hospital emergency room and received stitches in her upper lip.

She posted photos of the mishap on her blog.”

CLICK HERE to be taken to Martha’s Blog. I myself own a rambunctious Chocolate Lab, and man that hurts! Sorry for your pain Martha! I bet the dog was scared too!

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Flashback Friday – On This Day In History, January 14th!

Hello everyone and TGIF!!! For your reading pleasure, here’s a treasure trove of events that occurred on this day in history, January 14th. Enjoy and please, venture on into our forums here and let us know what you think!!!

On this day, January 14th:

1639 – Connecticut’s first constitution, the “Fundamental Orders,” was adopted.

1784 – The United States ratified a peace treaty with England ending the Revolutionary War.

1858 – French emperor Napoleon III escaped an attempt on his life.

1873 – John Hyatt’s 1869 invention ‘Celluloid’ was registered as a trademark.

1878 – Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated the telephone for Britain’s Queen Victoria.

1882 – The Myopia Hunt Club, in Winchester, MA, became the first country club in the United States.

1907 – An earthquake killed over 1,000 people in Kingston, Jamaica.

1939 – “Honolulu Bound” was heard on CBS radio for the first time.

1943 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first U.S. President to fly in an airplane while in office. He flew from Miami, FL, to French Morocco where he met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to discuss World War II.

1951 – The first National Football League Pro Bowl All-Star Game was played in Los Angeles, CA.

1952 – NBC’s “Today” show premiered.

1953 – Josip Broz Tito was elected president of Yugoslavia by the country’s Parliament.

1954 – Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio were married. The marriage only lasted nine months.

1954 – The Hudson Motor Car Company merged with Nash-Kelvinator. The new company was called the American Motors Corporation.

1963 – George C. Wallace was sworn in as governor of Alabama.

1969 – An explosion aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier Enterprise off Hawaii killed 25 crew members.

1972 – NBC-TV debuted “Sanford & Son.”

1973 – The Miami Dolphins defeated the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII and became the first NFL team to go undefeated in a season.

1985 – Martina Navratilova won her 100th tournament. She joined Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert Lloyd as the only professional tennis players to win 100 tournaments.

1985 – Former Miss America, Phyllis George, joined Bill Kurtis as host of “The CBS Morning News”.

1986 – “Rambo: First Blood, Part II” arrived at video stores. It broke the record set by “Ghostbusters”, for first day orders. 435,000 copies of the video were sold.

1993 – Television talk show host David Letterman announced he was moving from NBC to CBS.

1993 – The British government pledged to introduce legislation to criminalize invasions of privacy by the press.

1994 – U.S. President Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed Kremlin accords to stop aiming missiles at any nation and to dismantle the nuclear arsenal of Ukraine.

1996 – Jorge Sampaio was elected president of Portugal.

1996 – Juan Garcia Abrego was arrested by Mexican agents. The alleged drug lord was handed over to the FBI the next day.

1998 – Whitewater prosecutors questioned Hillary Rodham Clinton at the White House for 10 minutes about the gathering of FBI background files on past Republican political appointees.

1998 – In Dallas, researchers report an enzyme that slows the aging process and cell death.

1999 – The impeachment trial of U.S. President Clinton began in Washington, DC.

1999 – The U.S. proposed the lifting of the U.N. ceilings on the sale of oil in Iraq. The restriction being that the money be used to buy medicine and food for the Iraqi people.

2000 – A U.N. tribunal sentenced five Bosnian Croats to up to 25 years for the 1993 massacre of over 100 Muslims in a Bosnian village.

2000 – The Dow Jones industrial average hit a new high when it closed at 11,722.98. Earlier in the session, the Dow had risen to 11,750.98. Both records stood until October 3, 2006.

2002 – NBC’s “Today” celebrated its 50th anniversary on television.

2002 – Actor Brad Renfro, 19, was arrested after being stopped on a traffic violation. He was charged with public intoxication and driving without a license.

2004 – In St. Louis, a Lewis and Clark Exhibition opened at the Missouri History Museum. The exhibit featured 500 rare and priceless objects used by the Corps of Discovery.

2005 – A probe, from the Cassini-Huygens mission, sent back pictures during and after landing on Saturn’s moon Titan. The mission was launched on October 15, 1997.

Famous People Born on This Date:

Benedict Arnold 1741

Henri Fantin-Latour 1836

Albert Schweitzer 1875

Cecil Beaton 1904

William Bendix 1906

Russ Columbo 1908

Mark Goodson 1915

Billy Butterfield (World’s Greatest Jazz Band) 1917

Andy Rooney 1919

Tom Tryon 1926

Billy Walker 1929

Caterina Valente 1931

Clarence Carter 1936

Sonny Siebert 1937

Billy Jo Spears 1937

Jack Jones 1938

Allen Toussaint 1938

Julian Bond 1940

Faye Dunaway 1941

Gibby Gilbert 1941

Holland Taylor 1943

Shannon Lucid

Graham Marsh 1944

Gene Washington

Carl Weathers 1948

T-Bone Burnett 1948

Lawrence Kasdan 1948

Geoff Tate (Queensryche) 1959

Steven Soderbergh 1963

Mark Addy 1964

Slick Rick 1965

Dan Scheider 1966

Tom Rhodes 1967

Emily Watson 1967

L.L. Cool J (James Todd Smith) 1968

Jason Bateman 1969

Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana) 1969

Jordan Ladd 1975

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Webtastic Wednesday! Our Faves for the Week.

With hump day being almost through, at least on the other side of the hump of hump day, what else is there to do but look at the wonderful, amazing, stupid and wacky web. Here’s what we came up with for the week in web:

Video of the week:

Facebook Groups: Really? There is a group for that?

The Guy Who Discovered Milk… What Was He Doing With The Cow ?? 🙂 – Well this is an important group to join!

Dear Rose, Jack TOTALLY could have fit on that damn door with you! – I have to admit it, but even I thought this while watching!

An Arbitrary Number of People Demanding That Some Sort Of Action Be Taken – YEAH! You tell ’em!

Concerned Students against Backpacks With Wheels – Are you concerned?

50 Things to Do While At a McDonald’s Drive-Through – Alright now this one has some good ideas!

English Whirled Wide – I am actually a member of this one!

A Lion would never cheat on his wife.. but a Tiger wood. – Bazinga!

When life gives you lemons, ask for salt and tequila – Now this is a group I can get behind!

I Wish I Were Your Derivative So I Could Lie Tangent To Your Curves! – Yeah I know, I’m a geek.

I was gonna post a status, then I remembered I have family on Facebook. – This one rings true for a lot of people.

Site Spotlight:

‘Two Dudes, a Truck and a Megaphone: The Story of Grill Em All’ is the lead in to their ‘about’ page. Everyone that has had the pleasure to run into one of their trucks has NOT been disappointed. If you find yourself out in L.A. with no place to eat, and want a terrific meal for a great price, check them out! Truly an experience, and these guys are just awesome.

Here is their main site: Grill Em All.
CLICK HERE for their Facebook Page.
CLICK HERE for their Twitter Page. 

You can find truck location info, which changes everyday, so you can plan your Grill Em All truck experience! Tell them YakkityYaks sent ya!

That’ll about wrap it up this week, mainly cause I gotta run. To submit ideas, links or sites for consideration in Webtastic Wednesday’s, please send via e-mail to TheKdd@yakkityyaks.com, or by joining us HERE in the forum!

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News on the Reality Front!

Not much going on in Reality lately, but a good amount of shows are coming up! Here is the latest on your favorites:

Big Brother: Matt McDonald (BB Season 9) pleaded guilty for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, admitting his involvement in a drug ring that also included his season’s winner, Adam Jasinski. Both are now facing a maximum prison time of 20 years. Adam has been under treatment for substance abuse has been under house arrest since 2009, and is due to be sentenced today in Massachusetts. Matt will have to wait for his sentencing until April. I guess they won’t be included when Big Brother does the next All Star round? Must be Karma for treating BB9 Jesus loving Natalie the wrong way.

Mary Murphy Return Official! Mary Murphy will be returning as a regular judge on So You Think You Can Dance on this upcoming 8th season set to air this Summer. “I am thrilled and already dancing in my seat to be back as a permanent judge this season, which I’m sure will be the best ever.” Murphy stated. Get ready to ride the hot tamale train!!

Pick your Survivor Finalist! As we had reported earlier, Survivor is allowing us fans to choose one of the finalists for the competition! To vote, go HERE to watch the videos, then pick your favorite. Maybe you will be the deciding vote!

American Idol: No one wants the ‘villain’ role.  The new judging panel will not be embracing their inner Simon apparently. No one wants to play the villain, rather, critique young idol wanna-be’s on how they can improve. “There’s nothing like having that kind of discussion with another artist to help you grow,” Lopez said. They want to help rather than hurt. Well, that’s great for the ones that aren’t half bad… but are they all playing the Paula card when it comes to those that really should not be singing?

Sarah Palin’s Alaska canned. We here are unsure whether it was by choice, or a network decision, but the rumor mill has it that ratings after the premier were horrible, and the network made the decision to not renew the show. No word from the Palin camp about it.

Mike Tyson gets his own show, about pigeons? You heard me right. The heavyweight boxing champion, convicted rapist and occasional actor is apparently a pigeon farmer? Not just common or garden pigeons mind you, but racing pigeons, or as Tyson puts it “the creme de la creme of the pigeon world. These are thoroughbred pigeons. Pigeons were mens’ first feathered friends”. “Taking on Tyson”, which comes to the Animal Planet cable TV channel in March, is a six-part documentary in which the former world heavyweight champion returns to his Brooklyn neighborhood to race pigeons. Sesame Street Bert would be so proud. Let’s just hope Tyson isn’t an Ozzie fan.

Well, there you have it folks! The biggest news in Reality TV this week. So, what do you think? Are you going to go pick your fave for Survivor? Are you happy to see Mary Return? Are you sad to see Palin snubbed? Will you watch a show all about pigeons? Let us know below or in the FORUM!

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Tech Tuesday! This week’s top stories in the world of Geek

I admit it, I am a total geek. I would imagine I am not alone in this, so I thought I would write an article aimed at those like me. Cool geek is how I refer to myself. I am a proud member of “Geeks are Sexy” (yes, they are) over at Facebook, and keep up to date with the Mashable App on my iPad.

I am, however, not a rich geek, and a pretty thrifty one as well. The iPad was a gift, and wifi, not 3g. I do not own an iPhone. In fact, I recently downgraded all the phones on my current “family plan” to newer flip phones (with qwertys of course) and got rid of all internet plans on them. Do I miss it? A little admittedly. However, I would much rather view the web on my larger iPad screen, then on this itty bitty phone screen, and, for free. My family plan bill dropped a whopping $80 dollars by doing it. I just couldn’t justify the $80 for our phones to have internet, and the additional $50 or so that goes to my cable company for home access.

I own a MAC. Yes, I put out a good sum to get it a couple of years ago, but the headaches and cost it has saved me in the long run is well worth every penny. Now I know that statement may have irritated a few PC users, and I’m sorry for that. I was a PC user for years, fearing the switch, but I jumped over anyway, and am so glad I did. I was a PC Technician for years, and the one thing a PC Tech will never tell the customer? “Get a Mac.” It would put us out of business!

I also own a Tivo Box and Wii, and am becoming a Netflix and Hulu streaming extraordinaire. Now, one might say that I am putting all this money out on those services (Tivo, Netflix) how can that make me a thrifty geek? Well, I cut my cable bill WAY down, only receiving, at the moment, cable’s basic service. I’m sure the cable company can’t be that happy with me. Eventually, I plan on going strictly antenna, and cutting the cable TV service all together. It’s just a matter of finding the time to re-wire the house. It’s on the agenda for 2011 however. Now if MagicJack would get number portability…. (prod prod poke poke)…

I just got so tired of every bill I get costing me around $200 a month. When did $200 a month become the norm?

Anyway, I digress. Let’s take a look at this week’s tech headlines:

iPhone coming to Verizon: I heard about this a few days ago, and the Verizon announcement has been made. The iPhone 4 will be exclusively offered for pre-order to current Verizon customers on Feb 3rd and Feb 10th for everyone else.

Now I have to say, if you are interested in getting the iPhone and paying the monthly price, it is well worth it to make the switch. One, it’s an iPhone, and they are, well, awesome. Second, it’s the Verizon Network. You will actually be able to use the “phone” part without dropping calls or losing signal. Nice huh?

Apple Launches the Mac App Store: Yep, now there is one for your Mac. It doesn’t sound like such a big deal since there are already app stores for all other Apple products it seems, but it actually is a big deal. Having an app store (for free and paid apps) will allow for more development, and more business opportunity for developers. Matter of fact, hopefully there will be a YakkityYaks app out there soon! Now, if they can get it together to offer it up to us old Leopard users…. As of now, it’s currently available to Snow Leopard users.  I’m hoping they will remember we are out here soon.

Facebook NOT shutting down on March 15th. I repeat, Facebook is not shutting down on March 15th. I have heard the rumors, seen them spread like wildfire, especially on Facebook itself, and it’s just not true. Just days before, as a matter of fact, Facebook raised $500 Million in funding, so yeah, not shutting down.

Those are the big stories this week! I’m sure there are plenty more, but I have kept you long enough for now. Come check out our FORUMS and talk about the latest in all things tech!

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Car Warriors: Hollywood Car Icon George Barris Leads Judging Table

Car Warriors, a new one hour weekly series set to premier on the Speed Channel on February 23rd has tapped famed Hollywood car designer George Barris as the top judge.

Barris has designed some of the most recognizable custom cars ever built, including the 1960’s Batmobile, The Munsters, The Beverly Hillbillies, My Mother the Car and The Good Guys. His creations generated millions of images and toy models of America’s best loved cars.

Joining Barris at the judging table will be auto-experts Jimmy Shine, lead builder at the world famous So Cal Speed Shop, and ‘Mad Mike’ Martin, wiring expert from Galpin Auto Sports and the popular TV Series “Pimp My Ride.”

The show will feature a hand picked, 8 person All Star Automotive team taking on teams from shops around the country in a pressure-packed 72 hour restoration project. Teams will have to disassemble and re-assemble a wide variety of vehicles within the 72 hour period before presenting before the judges. The teams will take turns getting a nap in here and there while restoring their vehicles, trying hard to stay awake 3 days straight. Can you smell the coffee brewing?

With the time limit and pressure, there will most certainly be drama, with parts not fitting, engine fires, idea conflicts and loads more! It’s bound to be an explosive pressure cooker, so be sure to set your TIVO/DVRs! Season premier Wednesday, Feb. 23, 9pm Eastern.

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Flashback Friday: Shows I Miss.

Not that long ago, or at least it doesn’t feel that long ago, I used to turn on “Nick at Nite” or TV Land late at night to put my mind to sleep with the classics. Shows I watched as a child, and a few shows that were on before I existed. It was comforting, and something I did every night, a routine.

Nowadays, I am a little disappointed in what they deem “classic” television. Don’t get me wrong, I do like some of the shows, but to me, they just aren’t classic, yet. It could quite possibly be me just getting older I guess, but I would love for one of those channels to cater to the older classics in the evenings. Nowadays, both of those channels are pretty much playing the same things over and over and over. The Nanny, Roseanne, Three’s Company, Fresh Prince, Family Matters… The closest to what I would deem “classic” in that bunch is Three’s Company, and really, there is only so much I can take of the same story, over and over and over.  Plus, I REALLY don’t need to hear the Nanny’s shrilly voice when trying to sleep. For that matter, Steve Urkel? No thank you!

If I could wave a magic wand (or take over programming at a network) and make my dream nighttime line-up, it would look kinda like this:

Mon – Fri:

10:00PM – The Bob Newhart Show – I really liked this one. The show ran from 1972 – 1978 on CBS, a total of 142 episodes. With his dead pan comedy and “straight man” ways, Bob Newhart became a comedic icon. The finale of his follow up show “Newhart” has become classic.

Since I was unable to locate a video for this show, I have included a “skit” of him playing his character from Mad TV.

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Flashback Friday – President Clinton Impeachment Trial Begins

On January 7th, 1999, a trial for the impeachment of President Bill Clinton began. He was originally accused of lying under oath and obstruction of justice, later charges of witness tampering and abuse of power were added on. This was all due to testimony regarding the Paula Jones case and his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Many considered the evidence against him to show his guilt, however others asked if he was guilty “enough”. The Constitution states that a president can be removed from office due to “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors”. Since he obviously wasn’t guilty of treason or bribery, it all came down to “other high crimes and misdemeanors”, which is clearly a matter of judgement. When the Constitution was drafted, the framers put this power of impeachment in the hands of the legislative branch rather than the judicial branch which gives Congress the power to give it’s own judgement.
During the Watergate investigation, Gerald Ford stated that what defines high crimes and misdemeanors is “whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.” On this point, Clinton was clearly guilty. With that being said, the investigator into the entire Clinton matter, Kenneth Starr, wasn’t exactly impugn himself and his motives couldn’t be considered infallible. Many considered his obsession with finding something, anything, on Clinton in this situation, that he used Clinton’s affair with Lewinsky as a tipping point in the impeachment investigation. To play devil’s advocate, others could argue that the Clintons so effectively covered their tracks during the Whitewater “scandal” that the Lewinsky affair was the only thing Starr could chase him on. There was a multitude of issues which lead to the impeachment investigation; the Whitewater real estate scandal, the firing of White House travel agents, alleged misuse of FBI files and Clinton’s conduct during a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Paula Jones.
Another interesting point is that the vote to impeach was clearly a draw along party lines, both in the Senate and Congress. In the end, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Bill Clinton, but that was overturned by Senate two months after that.
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Random Thought Thursday: MCR, Tiger Woods, Birds, and Tears

(Editorial: TheKdd) Well, another week has gone by, and so much information is just dying to get out of my brain, so onto another Random Thought Thursday!

Let’s see, this past week, we celebrated New Year’s Eve. 2011. Other than writing a few wrong dated checks, everything seemed the same, until… The birds are dying! Get that? BIRDS ARE DYING! RUN! Ok, I’m guessing this isn’t the apocalypse, although I did read this week, unrelated to the birds, that there is a group running around the country to tell people the end of days begins this May. Aside from that, the bird thing is a bit strange. So far, we had the birds falling from the sky on New Years Day in Arkansas, with similar reports in Kentucky, Louisiana, and even Sweden! (So it’s not just the U.S. going down in the end times.) There are also reports of fish and crabs keeling over too. Well, today it was reported that 1000’s of birds are dying in Italy. Turtle Doves at that. (There goes that Christmas song.) Scientists believe it all to be unrelated. The birds in Italy have been found with blue stains on their beak, so scientists are pointing to some kind of poisoning. I guess time will tell, or it won’t… muahaha.

In another report, EA Games is reportedly removing the image of Tiger Woods from the cover of their new “Tiger Woods” Golf video game. Really? They expect sales may be better without the image, however the title of the game is ‘Tiger Woods PGA Tour’. I don’t have much to say about that, other than… really? Maybe it’s the re-writer of Huck Finn coming up with their marketing plan?

A quick little shout out and thank you to one of my favorite rock bands, My Chemical Romance. Apparently, MCR was offered a good sum of money to record a song for the soundtrack of ‘Twilight’ but turned it down. Way to not take that ‘Vampire Money’. It’s awesome to see a band not sell out these days. I’m still holding my grudge against Muse and their contribution to the Twilight series. I mean come on! They WERE the “Resistance!” Way to stand up MCR! I knew you were one of my faves for a reason! Very nice album by the way.

Last and maybe least, there was a new experiment done that may have proven that a “Chemical signal” in women’s tears are a turnoff to men, temporarily lowering a man’s testosterone level. The experiment, conducted by researchers from Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, was unable to test the theory the other way around, since it was hard for them to get a man to cry in a lab setting.  Yeah ok. Scientists can call it a “turn off” all they want, but I figure, with the lowering of the testosterone, it hits a man’s more sensitive side, stripping a little bit of the “manly man” out of them. Maybe this is why women get away without the speeding ticket? Hmmmm…

Alright, I could go on all day, but I will stop now. What are your random thoughts today? Let us know below or in the FORUM!!

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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and the Alabama Butcher

Have you heard the news? Apparently, Mark Twain’s novels ‘Tom Sawyer’ and ‘Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ are in need of a re-write! You heard me right. According to “Twain Scholar” Alan Gribben, who is currently working with NewSouth Books of Alabama to publish a combined volume of his books, they are in need of some revisions; namely, to remove the N-word from the novels replacing it with the word “slave.” He believes the word is in danger of putting the classics into a list of books that “people praise and don’t read.”

Well, get over yourself Sir. I read them. My son has read them. My daughter will as well. I would recommend them to everyone. I will not, nor will my kids, read your “P.C.” new editions, nor would I ever recommend them. If the new crowd of today doesn’t like the word, well, put down the book.

Mark Twain once wrote that “the difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter.” This, however, is now being used by Mr. Gribben as a his reasoning instead of what it really means. I would be sure, that even if these classics were in danger of not being read because of the use of certain words, Twain himself wouldn’t change a thing.

‘Tom Sawyer’ and ‘Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ are essentially historical pieces. Just because society may not care for our historical past doesn’t mean it should be changed to make people more comfortable. History, well, had some pretty nasty moments. Are we going to go through all historical documents and censor anything some may not like? Just erase it like it didn’t happen? (Wish I could do that!)

In addition to replacing the N-word, Gribben changes the villain in “Tom Sawyer” from “Injun Joe” to “Indian Joe” and “half-breed” becomes “half-blood.” Why change the Injun to Indian? Shouldn’t that be “Native American Joe” Mr. Gribben?

What’s next? A re-write of Salinger? Steinbeck? Henry Miller? Oh I know, how about Harry Potter! I am not too fond of being referred to as a Muggle. Fix that would ya?

Thoughts? Will you read it if the language gets changed? Will you read it if it doesn’t? Have you read it at all? Let us know below or in the FORUM.