Mike's Minutiae

Prosecutors have complained for years about "the CSI effect" on juries — an expectation in every trial for the type of high-tech forensic evidence the show's investigators uncover. It also appears the popular show and its two spinoffs could be affecting how some crimes are committed.

"They're actually educating these potential killers even more," said Capt. Ray Peavy, also of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and head of the homicide division. "Sometimes I believe it may even encourage them when they see how simple it is to get away with on television."

The more sophisticated the television story lines get, the better equipped criminals will be, Peavy said, adding that he never watches "CSI" because it's too unrealistic.

The humuhumunukunukuapuaa is no longer Hawaii's state fish.

• It's pronounced HOO-moo- HOO-moo- NOO-koo- NOO-koo- AH-poo- AH-ah.
  
• It's also known as the rectangular triggerfish or "humuhumu" for short.
  
• The editor of Hawaii Fishing News says "It kind of looks like a pig and it squawks."

Few people actually saw what happened live on television. The flight occurred during the early years of cable news, and although CNN was indeed carrying the launch when the shuttle was destroyed, all major broadcast stations had cut away — only to quickly return with taped relays. With Christa McAuliffe set to be the first teacher in space, NASA had arranged a satellite broadcast of the full mission into television sets in many schools, but the general public did not have access to this unless they were one of the then-few people with satellite dishes. What most people recall as a "live broadcast" was actually the taped replay broadcast soon after the event.

(photo via NASA)

The young people today are so FM-oriented, you'll never get 'em to go back. You could have it so that you turn an AM station on and a six-pack of beer pops out and they still won't listen.

~~Ed De La Hunt,
station owner in
Park Rapids, MN

If you've channel surfed lately or taken a trip to the neighborhood movie rental store, chances are you've seen Stephen Baldwin. It's kind of hard to miss a guy who’s starred in over 40 movies and appeared in over 35 television series and specials.

For the past three years, Baldwin has been seen hosting the Sci-Fi Channel's "Scare Tactics" (2004-05) and competing in reality shows like "Celebrity Mole: Hawaii" (2003) and "Celebrity Mole: Yucatan" (2004). His disturbing yet comical mind games helped him win "Celebrity Fear Factor" (2002). Baldwin has also appeared on TV's top drama "CSI" (2005).

Baldwin's career started in the late '80s on television, but really took off with a string of big screen appearances including Posse (1993), 8 Seconds (1994) and Threesome (1994). His brightest moment came when he co-starred in the critically-acclaimed mindbender The Usual Suspects (1995).

In 2004, Baldwin partnered with Kevin Palau of PalauFest Productions to create the top-selling DVD Livin It featuring an impressive group of skaters and BMX riders.

Baldwin's passion for skating is trumped only by a dedication to his wife and two daughters and an even bigger purpose for his life. The native New Yorker has something important to say and he desperately wants the whole world to hear it.

The story is set in a time before Christ's return. Three and a half years into a peace treaty, a dictator takes brutal control of the planet and those not "marked" are imprisoned. It is a time the Bible foretells as The Tribulation.

The story follows the main characters who are not Christian and who have refused to take the required mark. All the while refusing to make a choice until their time to choose is forcefully narrowed to just days. An ultimatum is made... defiance means death.

The film allows us to put ourselves in the character's shoes. What would you do given the choice?

A new sex-oriented business is opening not far from his home outside New York City, and actor Stephen Baldwin is hoping to stop it, possibly with the help of newspaper ads.

[...]

On Friday, Baldwin, 39, stood outside the "adult entertainment" shop and photographed workers and their vehicles as they got the store ready to open, according to an account in the Journal-News of White Plains, N.Y.

Baldwin told the paper he planned to stand outside the store every day and photograph the license plates of the store's patrons to aid in tracking down their identities. He vowed to take out a full-page newspaper advertisement once a month to publish those names.

His home just outside Nyack has a sign bearing scripture out front. "I'm personally not OK with pornography," he added. "I definitely think that it adds to the moral decay or our culture."

Nancy O'Dell
Co-Anchor
Named as one of Television Week's "10 Most Bankable Stars in Syndication" and one of the "20 Hottest Stars Right Now" by Shape Magazine, Nancy O’Dell serves as the co-anchor of "Access Hollywood," the daily entertainment newsmagazine entering its tenth season of providing the most comprehensive coverage of entertainment news and personalities on television.

Billy Bush
Co-Anchor
Named as one of Esquire magazine's "10 Men," Billy Bush is the co-anchor of "Access Hollywood," the daily entertainment newsmagazine now in its tenth season of providing the most comprehensive coverage of entertainment news and personalities on television.

Mike Sauter
Ombudsman for Hotness
Named as "Most Improved Haircut" by his High School Yearbook, Mike Sauter performs the job mentioned sixteen words ago for "Abscess Hollywood," the star-filled starf*ckerymagazine now in its tenth month of providing shallow starf*ckery of celebrities, stars, or any other personalities with a publicist who will buy me lunch at any restaurant named one of the "10 Hottest Spots for Starf*ckery" by Hot Lipo Magazine.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan said world renowned cellist Yo Yo Ma will take on a new role as a U.N. peace ambassador.

Annan met the 50-year-old musician on Thursday and told reporters afterward "he will be a peace envoy."

Yo Yo	Tintin

"Many of the cheap burnable CDs available at discount stores have a life span of around two years," Gerecke said. "Some of the better-quality discs offer a longer life span, of a maximum of five years."

• New Jersey, Expect the Unexpected
  
• New Jersey, Love at First Sight
  
• New Jersey, Come See For Yourself
  
• New Jersey, The Real Deal
  
• New Jersey, The Best Kept Secret