Missing for two years, the mystery of just what happened to millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett may be a few steps closer to being solved, with the findings of some personal items and what may be the wreckage of his plane:

After an aerial search turned up what appears to be wreckage of plane, ground crews are trying to determine whether it was the one piloted by adventurer Steve Fossett when he vanished more than a year ago.

Searchers had been combing a rugged part of eastern California on Wednesday after a hiker found identification documents belonging to Fossett earlier in the week. A pilot reported seeing possible wreckage around sunset, said Erica Stuart, spokeswoman for the Madera County Sheriff’s Office.

Stuart would not reveal the exact location of the reported sighting. She said ground crews headed there Wednesday night and hoped to confirm Thursday whether there is actual wreckage and whether it belongs to Fossett. [...]

Authorities said that if Fossett survived a crash, he may have hiked through rugged terrain to the site where the IDs were found.

“There must be some reason those things were found there,” Madera County Sheriff John Anderson said at a news conference late Wednesday.

The hiker, Preston Morrow, said he found a Federal Aviation Administration identity card, a pilot’s license, a third ID and $1,005 cash tangled in a bush off a trail just west of the town of Mammoth Lakes on Monday. He said he turned over the items to local police Wednesday after unsuccessful attempts to contact Fossett’s family.

The information on the pilot’s license — including Fossett’s name, address, date of birth and certificate number — matched FAA records, spokesman Ian Gregor said.

Authorities authenticated two of the documents, including Fossett’s pilot’s license, Anderson said.

Fossett disappeared on September 3, 2007.  He had taken off in a single-engine plane that he had borrowed from Barron Hilton, of Hilton Hotels (and Paris Hilton) fame.  He was declared legally dead in February.  There has been speculation, largely unfounded, that he could have faked his death and disappeared, although just why he would do so remains unclear.  Some people point at the fact that no body has ever been found, he took off with four to five hours worth of fuel, had filed no flight plan, and he claimed to be going on a quick scouting mission.

Fossett was well-known as an adventurer who loved to pilot and attempt to set records in planes, speedboats, gliders, and jets.  He swam the English Channel, competed in the Iditarod dog sled race, completed an Ironman Triathlon,  climbed mountains, including the Matterhorn in Switzerland and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and became the first person to circle the world solo in a hot-air balloon.

Rocker Travis Barker, formerly of Blink-182, and Adam Goldstein, better known as DJ AM, were seriously injured in a plane crash over the weekend in South Carolina that killed four other people.  It is thought that the pilot and co-pilot, who both died in the crash, might have heard the plane blow a tire and tried unsuccessfully to stop takeoff:

National Transportation Safety Board member Debbie Hersman said a cockpit voice recording of the Friday night crash indicates the crew tried to abort the takeoff, but then signaled the efforts were failing.

“The crew reacted to a sound that was consistent with a tire blowout,” Hersman said.

Travis and Adam escaped with their lives but are still hospitalized:

Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and celebrity disc jockey DJ AM remained in critical but stable condition Sunday; one of their doctors said he expected them to fully recover. [...]

Investigators said they want to speak with Barker and Goldstein for their accounts of the crash, including how they survived. One witness said he discovered the musicians in the street near the fiery wreck as they frantically tried to douse their burning clothes.

Hersman said officials will give the men more time to recuperate. “They’re the ones that are going to be able to give us the best firsthand knowledge,” she said.

Dr. Fred Mullins, medical director of the Joseph M. Still Burn Center, said the two suffered second- and third-degree burns but had no other injuries from the crash and are in overall good health.

“Anybody who can survive a plane crash is pretty lucky,” Mullins told reporters during a news conference Sunday morning.

Barker was burned on his torso and lower body and DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, was burned on an arm and a portion of his scalp, according to a statement from the musicians’ families released by the hospital. Such injuries can take a year to fully heal, however Mullins said he didn’t think it would take that long.

Travis Barker is known not only for his music but also for his on-again, off-again, on-again, off-again relationship with his ex-wife, Shanna Moakler; while Adam Goldstein is as well-known for his romantic conquests (including Nicole Richie) as for his DJ skills.

As well as the pilot, Sarah Lemmon, and co-pilot, James Bland, the two other people killed in the crash were Chris Baker, Travis’ assistant, and Charles Still, who was one of his security guards.  Our thoughts and prayers are with their families.

But then, you knew that, didn’t you?

Behold Sal and Richard from The Howard Stern Show, doing what they do best…act like total brainless mouth breathing monosyllabic knuckle dragging troglodytes.  Actually, calling them monosyllabic is probably giving them too much credit.  I had to Google these two, since I had no idea who they were…now that I know, can I have that five minutes of my life back?

I don’t care what people think about the crisis, there are people who are seriously affected by this.  Was this really necessary?

moar caeks to dlisted

GlossLip has learned of a new pet food recall affecting food made by Mars Petcare:

Today, Mars Petcare US announced a voluntary recall of products manufactured at its Everson, Pennsylvania facility. The pet food is being voluntarily recalled because of potential contamination with Salmonella serotype Schwarzengrund. This voluntary recall only affects the United States.

Salmonella can cause serious infections in dogs and cats, and, if there is cross contamination caused by handling of the pet food, in people as well, especially children, the aged, and people with compromised immune systems. Healthy people potentially infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. On rare occasions, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Animals can be carriers with no visible symptoms and can potentially infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

For the full list of products involved, click here.

Do you remember where you were seven years ago today?

9/11/2001.  We will never forget.

Chris Matthews has never been my cup of tea, and I haven’t had the least bit of interest in Keith Olbermann since he left SportsCenter.  However, it seems that these two primadonnas managed to screw up a very high-profile gig, that of anchoring MSNBC’s political coverage.  First of all, they couldn’t manage to keep their personal opinions and PMS moods to themselves:

The benching of the blowhards comes amid accusations that the pair has been shilling for the Democratic ticket.

When Barack Obama accepted his party’s nomination, Matthew’s hard-hitting critique of the speech was that it sent a thrill up his leg. [...]

During the Democratic convention, Olbermann appeared to be upset by Matthew’s long-winded analysis of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s speech. Olbermann made a hand-gesture imitating a flapping mouth. Matthews shot back, “I can do the same to you!” and defended his commentary, saying, “That’s what I thought, all right?”

The bickering and infighting has caused embarrassment among colleagues and may have caused the ax to fall.

NBC news legend Tom Brokaw recently said, “I think Keith has gone too far. I think Chris has gone too far.”

An insider told The Post that Olbermann responded by pushing to have Brokaw banned from MSNBC.

Okay, woah woah woah…do huh?  Keith Olbermann is wanting to get Tom Brokaw banned from NBC?  Tom Brokaw?  That would be like banning Walter Cronkite from CBS.  Who does this guy think he is, anyway?

Well, the fallout from all this is that they’ve been replaced with David Gregory…however, there is a bright side, at least for one of them:

NETWORK execs mollified the cantankerous Keith Olbermann as they demoted him by promising to sweeten his $4 million-a-year contract. But his more professional MSNBC co-anchor, Chris Matthews, didn’t get anything but half the blame. David Gregory was given the job of anchoring MSNBC’s political coverage, following a firestorm over the cable news outlet’s liberal bias and on-air squabbling between its prima donna pundits. Olbermann told reporters he initiated the demotion. “So he threw Matthews under the bus,” said one insider, who added, “This has [GE chairman] Jeff Immelt’s fingerprints all over it - if not his fists.”

Have some chocolate and settle down, boys.

I realize that television anchors are people too, with opinions just like the rest of us peons.  But when I tune into news, I don’t want the anchor’s biased opinion of what is going on, I want to know the facts of what is happening.  That is what news is…reporting facts as they happen.  Now, if at some point they decide to offer their opinion, it needs to be designated as such.  Newscasts used to have a little opinion piece where the anchors could sound off on whatever, but you knew when it was coming, and you knew it was separate from the “real” news.  These two seem to think that whatever hot air comes out of their mouths is the news and everything else is just gravy.

If they want to endorse a certain candidate in their personal life, then fine.  But last time I checked, that ain’t news, as much as these two divas like to think it is.  And frankly, there’s no way that you’ll ever hear, “Alongside my tag team partner Keith Olbermann, I’m merely Chris Matthews.”  You can’t have two egos of this size in a room together without somebody losing some fur.  What was NBC thinkin’?

Besides, I have had even less to do with either of them when it came out that they were both jockeying for Tim Russert’s vacant seat before poor Tim was even cold yet.  Oh yeah, these two are classy.

In yet another case of Hollywood not even waiting until the people involved have taken a shower yet, news is that there’s a movie in the works about the recent rescue of the Colombian hostages:

The Hollywood Reporter says, while many in Hollywood were vying for the rights to the dramatic story, Vertigo had the inside track on securing the rights due to the company’s relationship with RCN. Vertigo worked with RCN to secure remake rights to the Colombian film Al Final del Espectro, and has set up the project at Universal with the working title At the End of the Spectra.

The film will tell the story from three points of view — the American, the French and the Colombian — and recreate the daring rescue.

Seriously.  Is this something that must be rushed out so quickly?  I realize that there will always be those who want to make movies about real-life events, especially those which involve daring escapes and triumph over adversity, but come on.  Isn’t it a little quick to even be thinking about this?

It’s like the movies about 9/11.  It’s just a little soon, in my opinion.  It does make me wonder, however, how those involved with, for example, D-Day or the Vietnam War feel when they see movies depicting those events, and how soon they feel is too soon.  There’s always a story to be told and a lesson to be learned, but at least let a decent amount of time pass before starting to leech money off someone else’s suffering.

Wonder if they’ll try to get Angelina Jolie?

Takeru Kobayashi almost regained his crown as the hot dog eating champion in the annual Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest held on Coney Island, but it was American Joey Chestnut who won the Mustard Belt in a tie-breaking five-dog eat-off:

Joey Chestnut reclaimed the top spot at the annual hot dog eating contest in Coney Island on Friday after first tying with archrival Takeru Kobayashi in a 10-minute chow-down and then beating him in a five-dog eat-off.

The men tied at 59 frankfurters in 10 minutes, before being made to gobble another five dogs in a last-minute tiebreaker. They consumed 64 hot dogs total and were looking quite peaked after the competition.

Kobayashi had hoped to reclaim the throne after a disappointing three-dog loss last year shattered his six-year winning streak. [...]

Thousands gathered at Coney Island on the Fourth of July to watch the glutinous gladiators compete in the annual event. Chestnut emerged victorious for the second year in a row, beating 20 others who had only 10 minutes to scarf down as many hot dogs as possible, two minutes less than in previous years.

I watched a special on Food Network about this contest once.  It was totally amazing, how much food competitive eaters can consume.  I think Kobayashi had said one of his secrets was eating the dogs and buns separately, while dipping the buns in his water glass.

That’s okay…the two friendly competitors will have another chance at each other:

He says he’ll be back for a rematch next year. Before that, the two will face off again at the Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship Sept. 28 in Chattanooga, Tenn.

(For those of you not from the South, Krystals are like White Castle hamburgers.  Only White Castle burgers are better.  If you don’t know what a White Castle is, turn emo and sit in the corner and cry, because your life is sad.)

Nothing says Happy Fourth like stuffing your face with hot dogs!  Speaking of which…bye y’all, I’m outta here for the day!

On Saturday morning, yet another town in northeastern Missouri was inundated by the ever-advancing floodwaters from the Mississippi River.  The small town of Winfield, Missouri, was the latest casualty in the fight against the flood, with its makeshift sandbag levee failing in the early morning hours.

To date, countless small towns, hamlets, roads, and homes have been overtaken or somehow damaged by the Flood of ‘o8, with damages reported in the billions of dollars, while recovery estimates are calculated from months to years.  The states of Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana have all been hit in some way since March with floodwaters and residual effects of too much snow, too much rain, and not enough riverbed to hold it all.

So far, there are twenty-four people reported dead and 150 injured.  Tens of thousands of Midwestern folks have been displaced, living anywhere from the houses of friends and relatives to motels to Red Cross shelters to their own rooftops.  Millions of sandbags have been filled by town residents and volunteers from several states away to shore up existing levees and create new, temporary ones.  I can’t possibly link to all the sites with stories about the floodwaters and the people trying to survive.

However, there is a question I would like to ask:

Where are the celebrities?

But wait, there’s more…

 

Wildfires in the Malibu area have forced many evacuations and shut down parts of the Pacific Coast Highway:

The winds — between 60 and 70 mph — could send embers flying “a mile or two,” triggering flames wherever they land, Dominguez said. “With the erratic wind behavior, it’s hard to see where they will land,” he said. Authorities had aerial teams serving as lookouts, and sent helicopters and fire engines to areas as they became threatened, Dominguez said.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Web site said the Malibu Wildfire had consumed more than 500 acres and, as of 9:50 a.m. (12:50 p.m. ET), was at 0 percent containment. “Several homes have been destroyed,” the site said.

Hodge Castle, also known as Malibu Castle, has burnt to the ground.  The nearby Malibu Presbyterian Church was also destroyed.  Homes on the beach have been spotted in flames and people around Puerco Canyon are being asked to evacuate.  The flames are being fueled by Santa Ana winds gusting as high as 100 MPH.

More on this story as it unfolds.

UPDATE:  They are now saying over 1000 acres of land has been destroyed by the fire, with two commercial structures and three residences a total loss, and nine additional residences sustaining moderate damage mostly to exteriors.  Also, Mailbu Castle, which burned to the ground, was in escrow and scheduled to be sold this week.  Final price was assumed to be around $17 million dollars.

Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved.  Just remember, things are replaceable, but you are not.  Take any steps necessary to make sure you and your loved ones are safe.