TODAY IS THURSDAY - JUNE 4, 2009

THE MORNING SHOW
with
JIM & KAREN
on SPIRIT FM

TODAY IS:

Today is Frost Your Hair Day, a day for people who have never frosted their hair either to do it or to proclaim yourself a hair chicken.

Today is National Frozen Yogurt Day.

Today is National Cheese Day. Roquefort cheese was discovered near Roquefort, France, on this day in the year 1070. Roquefort residents were delighted to find out it wasn't their feet that smelled so bad.

Two years ago today The #1 Christian Hit was "Praise You in This Storm" by Casting Crowns.

On this date in 1783 the first untethered flight of a hot-air balloon was demonstrated. To picture this, just try to imagine (Rush Limbaugh) hang-gliding.

On this day in 1937 the world's first grocery carts appeared in Oklahoma City. Humpty Dumpty owner Sylvan Goldman made the carts by adding wheels and baskets to folding chairs. Today, over 50 million shopping carts are in use, most of them stalled in the express line. And the rest rolling toward your car in the parking lot.


IN THE NEWS:

THIS IS MY RANT FOR THE DAY…….
President Obama is set to give a major address in Cairo, assuring the world's Muslims that they have more in common with Americans than they realize.

President Obama says his address will seek to repair a "damaged U.S. image" in the Muslim world. But it's not clear if the U.S. image was damaged before or after 9/11, the USS Cole attack, the Khobar Towers bombing, the bombing of Pan Am flight 103, the Beirut Marine base attack, the Berlin disco bombing...

President Obama says his address will seek to repair a "damaged U.S. image" in the Muslim world. He specifically wants to apologize for all the money we've spent on their oil, making their leaders too rich over the last 60 years.

Here's some news: Despite opposition from the public, President Obama says he’s determined to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. To make sure Guantanamo Bay closes, Obama said the new warden will be the CEO of General Motors.


GM is looking for more bailout money. I think I speak for all Americans when I say, "You want more money? Wait here — let me talk to my manager."


Cavs Chinese Sale
The Cleveland Cavaliers are selling a 15% stake in the team to China... unfortunately Lebron James owes the other 85% of the team that actually makes any money.


Tiger Stadium Demolition
The city of Detroit has decided to demolish the last remaining sections of Tiger Stadium... but since the stadium was part of the UAW, it will still have to pay its retirement benefits and healthcare insurance.


Last night was the third ”Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.” The good news is, anything that runs this long on NBC is considered a smash hit.


The Dalai Lama gave $100,000 to a college in Florida. How come he has that kind of money? Well -- not many people know this -- the Dalai Lama makes a million dollars a year as a sheet model.


Last month scientists announced they created a glow-in-the-dark dog. This week, scientists in Japan announced they have created luminous monkeys. Friends, if this trend continues, I predict it will become almost impossible to find a dark room to sit in.


The nightly competition show originates from the Costa Rican jungle, with semi-famous people competing for food, supplies and money for their favorite charities. But most of the action is bickering and eating bugs. Actor Stephen Baldwin, pro wrestler Torrie Wilson and former Illinois first lady Patti Blagojevich (bluh-GOY'-uh-vich) are among the show's 11 rivals. "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!" continues for the next four weeks.


The Hidden Secrets of Those On-Line Quizzes
You can have a ball taking online quizzes on Facebook and other sites, but here are some things you should know before you do.

These quizzes are about far more than providing users with enlightening or entertaining information.

While Web quizzes may be fun to take, they're also a powerful tool for companies to collect your data and even your money -- and often in ways you might not notice.

We'll get to the spooky stuff in a moment, but let's start with the simplest method of quiz-based marketing: advertising. The very nature of a typical online quiz requires you to divulge all sorts of details about yourself. Those tidbits of info are like nuggets of gold for advertisers craving a way to connect with you.

"The big trend is about engagement," says Debra Aho Williamson, a senior analyst with eMarketer. "These quizzes are getting people to pay attention to ads."

Paying attention, it seems, is almost a requirement: Aside from being carefully targeted at your interests, the ads are often in-your-face and impossible to avoid
Some online quizzes will surprise you with required payments or purchases before you can access your results. While the requirement may be in the fine print somewhere, it's often not in a place you'd easily notice before beginning the process.

That's exactly the scenario I found at Test-IQ.com, a quiz advertised on Facebook. The site's home page makes no mention of a fee -- you'd have to click to the privacy policy and read to the bottom to discover the $7 charge. Other sites, such as IQ-Test-Results.com, slip in recurring monthly fees for registered users.


Message sent Up In Balloon Answered By God…sort of!
When Bailey Pinto tied a letter to God to a helium balloon and sent it flying into the sky, he hoped but never dreamed the Almighty would write him back.

Bailey, 11, of Brantford, Ont., asked God in the letter what it was like in heaven and whether miracles happen. Bailey's father, Paul, has served in Kosovo and Bosnia with the Canadian Forces and the boy is worried because his father is expected to join a unit in Afghanistan next March.

While God never replied, a Brampton criminal lawyer did, and their unlikely paths have created an experience neither will forget.

It was actually Gary Batasar's wife who found the mysterious letter inside a zip-lock bag on the driveway of their Brampton home earlier this month.

"It was such a touching letter that I knew I had to try to give him a reply that he deserved," said Batasar, who has defended drug dealers and killers.

It has been three weeks since the students sent their letters into the air but Bailey is the only one to receive a reply.

In his return letter, Batasar told Bailey he wasn't an authority on God but tried to answer him the way he thought God would reply.

He said heaven was a "wonderful place" filled with love, life and laughter, where children play, families reunite and adults love each other regardless of religion, ethnic origin, class or skin colour.

He also said it was unfortunate people don't always get along on earth, where wars are fuelled by hate, greed and differences.

"It makes no sense," Batasar wrote, suggesting things could be different if people could read Bailey's letter. "They would feel ashamed of themselves that a child of your tender age has more sense than they do."

Pinto, 38, has been with the army for 14 years and is a reservist posted in Cambridge. He had been based in Petawawa but moved back to his hometown last August to take some time to be a full-time single father.

Bailey's teacher, Andy O'Brien, has been having his students send letters into the sky for more than a decade, although most have been hellos, not questions to God. Once, when he was teaching in Oshawa, a reply came back from an international school in Panama.

"Nothing like this," O'Brien said. "I know everybody, the entire staff, was touched."


Oprah Is DeThroned
Angelina Jolie has been named the most powerful celebrity in the world, forcing Oprah Winfrey off the top spot and into second.

Women took the top four places on the annual Forbes Celebrity 100 Power List, with pop stars Madonna and Beyonce coming close behind Jolie and Winfrey.

The top place male, US golfer Tiger Woods, came in fifth.

Americans know their Bible. Yes, about 71.8 million people in the U.S. read the sacred text every week, according to a national survey. The poll, conducted by the Barna Group, found that 47% of Americans delve weekly into the Good Book for inspiration, insight or education. Furthermore, 91% of American homes own a Bible while the average household boasts a library of four Bibles, researchers say. Nearly 2000 years after Jesus walked the earth, Americans still buy about 25 million Bibles a year more than a best selling Harry Potter book. What are some Bible bloopers you’ve encountered? My son came home once from Sunday school asking me about the “fairy darts” and what they were. Turned out they were reading from the book of James about how our shield of faith quenches FIERY darts…not fairy darts. He was happy to know that.