| Mardi Gras Prompts 2-Day Vote in Ala.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. Don't mess with Mardi Gras in Alabama. Voters in two coastal counties _ Baldwin and Mobile _ will vote Wednesday even though the state primary is six days later on Feb. 5. The reason: Feb. 5 also is Fat Tuesday when throngs of people celebrate Mardi Gras on the Gulf Coast. The frenzied end to Carnival is an official holiday in the two counties in Alabama. When the state legislature moved up the presidential primary from June 3 to Super Tuesday, it discovered belatedly that it fell on Mardi Gras. In Baldwin and Mobile counties, government shuts down and crowds by the tens of thousands jam the port city's streets for parades. The legislature's solution was to let voters in those two counties go to the precincts six days early.
Romance 101
Playing hard to get is a tradition as old as dating itself. However, it's not an honest way to approach trying to date someone new.
Playing hard to get merely disguises your true desires and intentions. It can also get frustrating for whomever you are trying to flirt with. Some people may find it interesting and alluring for a short period of time, but it gets old quickly. Sooner rather than later, they might just get fed up.
People most often justify and encourage playing hard to get by saying that no one is interested in dating a person who is waiting for them like a lost puppy dog. So, they reason, they need to feign an extremely busy schedule to imply that they have a lot of things going on in their life, and possibly even imply that many other people are interested in them.
America's moment of truth
Before a young, multiracial and delirious crowd, Barack Obama was being anointed as the new John F Kennedy. JFK was no saint, but a link to the legend can add lustre to any Democratic aspirant to the presidency. When Bill Clinton was first running for the White House, his campaign's favourite photograph was of a teenage Bill having his hand shaken by JFK. Obama is too shrewd a politician to make the boast that he is the heir to Kennedy. After all, the freshman Senator from Illinois was barely out of nappies when JFK was assassinated. But he has to be pleased when others make that claim on his behalf, and gladder still when the crowning is conducted by the members of the Kennedy family. They didn't simply endorse him; they presented him to the whooping crowd as a reincarnation of the lost leader.
Heather Mills accused of cheating on McCartney
Former model Heather Mills has been accused of cheating on estranged husband Sir Paul McCartney in the early days of their relationship. Mills dated British film editor Tim Steel on and off for three years, but broke off their relationship shortly after meeting the ex-Beatle at an awards ceremony in May 1999. McCartney and Mills began courting in August that year but Steel claims the 40-year-old soon started an affair with him and returned to his bed on several occasions while she was being wooed by the singer. Steel says, "I didn't mind (sharing her with McCartney) I suppose I was flattered that Heather still wanted to have sex with me despite being pursued by this musical demi-god." "(But) it was strange lying in bed talking about Paul McCartney.
RAIN PAIN SUSPENDS SEMIS
Roger Federer and Andy Roddick were on course for the Wimbledon final when rain ended play early on a frustrating day in SW19. Little action was seen on men's semi-finals day. But in the 90 minutes or so that were possible, Federer and Roddick both moved ahead in the respective matches. The players will now have to return on Saturday at 1200 BST to decide the final line-up. Reigning champion Federer was just two games from victory against Sebastien Grosjean when the rain arrived for a second time at around 1915. The Swiss top seed was leading by two sets to love and was 4-3 ahead with his French opponent about to serve in the third when rain swept across the All England Club. Federer, who again looked highly impressive, had been leading 3-2 when the players were first driven off the court at 1330 for a four-and-a-half hour delay.
Steve and Mia: Her sexenomics supply doesn't = his demand
Steve is a 50-something married man who's been around the block. Mia is a 20-something single immersed in the Center City dating scene. They may not agree, but they have plenty of answers. If you'd like an answer to your romantic troubles, e-mail them at S&M@phillynews.com or write: S&M c/o Daily News, Box 7788, Philadelphia, PA 19101. Q: I am in my late 30s and have been married for more than 10 years. My wife and I are very Catholic and do not use birth control; we use the rhythm method. That translates into me having to go more than a week without sex. I tend to have nocturnal emissions (wet dreams) when I am deprived of sex. Is it normal for somebody in my age bracket to still have wet dreams? Could it be some medical issue? Steve: Yes and no. Sex researcher Alfred Kinsey found nocturnal emissions common among men well into their 50s and even in some patients in their 80s.
The Weedpatch Gazette
Rhett had his reasons for suggesting this to Scarlett in GWTW, but Alec Baldwin had his reasons for asking "Am I in hell?" in "The Shadow," and I have my own reasons for wondering the same thing. Not everyone is mourning the passing of William F. Buckley and some are quite willing to consign him to the fiery pit. I have never owned a yacht, but his writing of the marvels of yachting and adventures in seafaring for the wealthy as though all good Americans should share his enthusiasm for the things money and privilege bestow on those favored of the gods was his stamp of approval among the favored few. Face it, that circle would seem to be the only one unbroken if anyone is really looking for an answer to the question raised in the hymn. However, love him or hate him Buckley did speak for a certain class, most of whom are not going to make it through the Pearly Gates in the opinion of some despite their circle remaining unbroken in this world and perhaps remaining unbroken in hell.
Other Fug Fixes
Check out the archives of "New York Fugging City," our weekly column for New York magazine online. Periodically, we chime in on the "If These Clothes Could Talk" section in the print edition of In Touch weekly. New! We contributed a piece to New York Look -- New York magazine's new publication -- about the deep devotion of Anna Wintour to man-candy tennis ace Roger Federer. .
'Big Brother 9' reveals 'love match' pairings, pre-existing ...
Big Brother 9's premiere broadcast began with host Julie Chen explaining that an "unexpected wrinkle" was awaiting four of the 16 houseguests -- a move that continues a five-year trend in which at least two members of each season's Big Brother cast are related or already have some other form of pre-existing relationship (romantic, formerly romantic or otherwise) with each other. Sharon Obermueller, a 23-year-old realtor from Olathe, KS, and Jacob Heald, a 23-year-old electrician from Dallas, GA, had recently ended a romantic relationship that had been "on and off" for 12 years, despite the fact Sharon said they were "madly in love" with each other and Jacob commented it had "potential to go the distance." .
One Woman's World
And as the Christmases dropped from her single-woman-raising-children-alone calendar, she slowly took on a kind of soft wisdom and self-acceptance missing in her earlier identity as Mrs. Somebody Important. The Debbies in our towns are the town's backbone and its heart - there for their children, there for their church, there for their community. If I were mayor of Anywhere, U.S.A., I would declare one day a year Debbie Day. I would read aloud a statement that says there are no perfect streets, no perfect homes, and no perfect families. I would declare loudly that we can, and we should, celebrate the Debbies everywhere who have found their wings, not in the exterior world of life as we dreamed it would be, but in the inner strength of the individual soul. That's where the perfect gardens grow.
Harry Potter star Emma Watson dating ex-junkie rock star
HARRY Potter sweetie Emma Watson is believed to have fallen under the spell of an ex-junkie British rocker who is 10 years her senior. The Sun reports that Emma, 17 — whose character Hermione Granger romances fellow film wizard Ron Weasley — spent a night partying with Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell, 27. and appeared smitten. Read about Emma's new love here. Tools What is this? .
Merck will pay $671 million in refunds
TRENTON, N.J. -- Merck & Co. will pay $671 million to settle claims it overcharged government health programs for four popular drugs and gave doctors fees and gifts to induce them to prescribe its drugs, U.S. prosecutors and company officials said Thursday. .
The songs and the passions are overheated
The MFA is playing an excellent documentary about the avant-garde performance artist Jack Smith. And if you run you might be able to catch Richard Kelly's post-apocalyptic distress signal, "Southland Tales," before it vanishes. Otherwise, there's "Romance & Cigarettes," John Turturro's gonzo musical, which opens today. The movie is actually more than some musical. It feels intensely personal, but Turturro, directing with abandon, uses volume and pulpy craziness to disarm you. How does anybody resist a movie that asks you to believe Elaine Stritch gave birth to James Gandolfini, or that Barbara Sukowa sings in a gospel choir? The songs are hand-me-down forgotten treasures and classics (James Brown's "Hot Pants," Vikki Carr's "It Must Be Him") that play while the actors sing over them.
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