Scientology has had a horrendous October.

They were convicted of fraud in France and both the St. Petersburg Times and ABC’s Nightline had very damaging reports from ex members who have spoken out.

A multitude of lawsuits are moving forward and the media continues to be a thorn in Scientology’s side.

One of Scientology’s long time members, celebrity Paul Haggis has recently flown the coop and has spoken out. Also many members, and high level “OT’s” have left the cult.

Two new books by ex members have just been published.

Marc Headley wrote “Blown For Good, Behind Scientology’s Iron Curtain” and Nancy Many has written, “My Billion Year Contract“. Kudos to them!

Both Books Available On Amazon.com

Well, November isn’t looking any better for Scientology.

Just yesterday, Australian Senator, Nicholas (Nick) Xenophon has called for a Senate inquiry into Scientology.
 

The Senator presented horrific stories that were sent to him by ex Scientology members, Aaron Saxton, Carmel Underwood, Paul Schofield, Anna and Dean Detheridge and Kevin Mackey. 

Xenophon stated,

 that the ex members claim that Scientology is an abusive, manipulative, violent and criminal organisation, and that criminality is condoned at the highest levels and thatand said he is seeing a worldwide pattern of abuse and criminality.

The Senator’s presentaion was well researched with highlights on the cult’s many abuses and their tax exemption status. 
Click the following links to watch Part One and Part Two on YouTube.
For the transcript listed on the Parliament of Australia website, click here.

A little look into what was said by ex members and reported by the Senator.
Ex member, Aaron Saxton’s who was born into Scientology, was made a security guard for the cult at age 16. His time while in the cult, tells a horrific tale of what Scientology forced him to do or suffer their consequences. 

Aaron said he had to commit many fraudulent acts on behalf of the cult. These acts included coercing Sea Org members into having abortions, family disconnection, he was made to falsify bank records, he blackmailed other members by using their private info from their files, and participated in defrauding of credit cards.

More disturbingly, Aaron had to pull out his own teeth because of lack of medical care. He was also told not to report that a man attempted to rape him. 

A couple of snippets from the Senator’s transcript, (please read the entire transcript):

Aaron said he was so heavily under the control of the organisation’s bizarre power structure he was complicit in ordering the beating of one follower and facilitated the beating of another.

Aaron has now left the organisation and is willing to cooperate with police investigations into these matters. He was born into the cult, and he says he regrets the control it had over him and the things he did as a result.

Ex Sea Org member, Carmel Underwood.
Carmel worked for the cult in Sydney. She was also the financial planning arm of the cult. When she became pregnant, she was pressured to abort her child.

Some snippets on Carmel from the transcript:

She was working for the organisation in Sydney she fell pregnant and was put under extreme pressure to have an abortion. When she refused, she was put on a disappearing program.

Carmel says she chose to speak out because she knows there are many more victims of Scientology many of whom are still caught up in the organisation and are being physically, financially and mentally abused.

Carmel’s husband, Tim, supports his wife’s story and says the couple suffered serious financial hardship because of their involvement in the organisation. He says they were forced to pay more than $100,000 to publicise the organisation and for so-called religious texts and courses.

And finally on to the very sad story of Paul Schofield.
Paul lost his two young daughters while in the cult.

Snippets from the transcript on Paul:

He alleges the cover-up of child abuse by the organisation and admits being part of a campaign to cover up the facts surrounding the deaths of two of his daughters. Paul says his first daughter, Lauren, who was 14 months old, was being babysat at the organisation’s building in Sydney when she was allowed to wander the stairs by herself and fall. She died in hospital two days later. Paul says he felt pressured by Scientology executives not to request a coronial inquiry—pressure he ultimately gave in to. He was also told if he sought compensation from Scientology he and his wife would be ineligible for any other services.

His second daughter, Kirsty, who was 2½, died after ingesting potassium chloride—a substance used as part of a so-called purification program run by the organisation. Under the direction of  Scientology executives, Paul says he perjured himself to the police, and during the coronial inquest, in order to protect the organisation. Under incredible pressure he agreed to lie because he was scared he would be heavily punished by Scientology if he told the truth. It is a decision he regrets to this day.

 

From ex members Anna and Dean Detheridge, taken from the transcript:

claim to have been subjected to physical and mental abuse during their time with the organisation.

From Kevin Mackey taken from the transcript:

Kevin Mackey wrote to me detailing his 26 years of abuse in the organisation.

Once you have taken the bait and become hooked, the real Scientology is presented, very slowly, over years.

This psychological conditioning Kevin is talking about eventually saw him and his wife hand over almost a million dollars to the organisation in exchange for services and products.

Senator’s closing statements to parliament pretty much sums up what anti Scientology protesters and ex members who have spoken out against the cult have been all saying right along:

Do we really want to be funding an organisation that turns supporters into victims in its pursuit of power and wealth? That is why I am calling for a Senate inquiry into this organisation and its tax-exempt status. In the past Scientology has claimed that those who question their organisation are attacking the group’s religious freedom. It is twisted logic, to say the least. Religious freedom did not mean the Catholic or Anglican Churches were not held accountable for crimes and abuses committed by their priests, nuns and officials—albeit belatedly. Ultimately, this is not about religious freedom. In Australia there are no limits on what you can believe. But there are limits on how you can behave. It is called the law, and no-one is above it.

Thankfully, the Australain Police are now taking complaints on Scientology.

Ex members are starting to come out from the veil of secrecy and fight more than ever. Yesterday, it was announced on the Ex Scientology Message Board, that former member Kevin Mackey, (mentioned earlier) is getting together a class action lawsuit along with twenty other former Scientologists.The lawsuit willbe filed against the I.A.S. (which stands for International Association of Scientology) and Super Power. Both are incorporated in California, so that is where the case is being filed. He is asking for any ex members interested in participating in this class action suit to please contact him.

Kevin and other ex members are demanding their money back for contributions that they made. The money they handed over to the cult, did not go where the cult promised it was going.

FYI … The Super Power they speak of is a building attached to the Ft. Harrison Hotel in Clearwater. It is of course called The Super Power Building. (<click to read about it, it’s a real hoot!)

Funds have been collected from members for years through Scientology’s  “Super Power Expansion Project”. Where did all that money go?

The building was supposed to have been finished by the cult years ago. But it still remains an empty shell to this day. As of late March 2009, work on the building which is the length of a whole city block, is still at a standstill; the daily fines levied by the city now total $245,000.
Click here, for more info on why the Super Power Building remains closed by Marc Headley aka BFG which was written almost THREE YEARS ago.

Why Clearwater stands for Scientology’s shenanigans, is beyond me. I would imagine since Scientology has managed to slink their way in and buy up most of Clearwater over the years, (originally came in under a FAKE church name to purchase the Fort Harrison Hotel), that city officials are probably afraid of falling prey to the cult’s litigious nature and fair game tactics. Sad.

So once again America…
Why so lax? What’s it going to take?

The more our government sits idly by and allows the abuses and fraud of Scientology to continue, the more complicit they are in helping them to survive.

Again, as always…
you can believe in what you want, and that is your right. But when there is a continuous mountain of evidence that your “church” is being an abusive and corrupt organization that does not follow it’s own creed, it’s time to reavaluate the reasons why you joined Scientology in the first place.
Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Plain and simple.

If you need help leaving Scientology, or just need someone to talk to:
Call 1-866-XSEAORG.  (1-866-973-2674) This is a toll free call.
Visit the XSEAORG website:
http://www.exseaorg.com/

The people who contacted Senator Xenophon, are all listed on the “ex members who have spoken out” list on the Why We Protest Wiki along with their testimonies, interviews and videos. To view the WWP Wiki  list click here. (Thanks Anonymous!)

Currently, the count on the Wiki has reached 812 names, and it continues to grow.

WOW! That’s an awful lot of people saying the same thing.

How many times can Scientology deny all these claims before everyone including our government, realizes that Scientology is nothing more than an abusive, fraudulent business that is far from credible?

WAKE UP AMERICA!

Early Photo OF Les Paul Back In The Day

The legendary Les Paul has died at age 94. A truly great man whose expertise and talent will live on in the hearts and minds of many. His legacy will continue to inspire musicians for all eternity.

Rolling Stone wrote:

Les Paul, one of the most revered guitarists in history and the father of the electric guitar, passed away last night, August 12th at the age of 94. Paul’s manager confirmed to Rolling Stone that cause of death was respiratory failure, and a statement from Gibson indicates Paul was suffering from severe pneumonia and died at a hospital in White Plains, New York.

Look back at Paul’s life in photos: Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen and more stars with the father of the electric guitar.

An inductee of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Grammy Hall of Fame, Paul is credited as the inventor of the electric body guitar and the pioneer of recording techniques like electronic echo and multi-tracking. Paul also had a celebrated career as both a solo artist and with singer Mary Ford, his wife until 1964. In 2003, Rolling Stone named Les Paul to our list of the Greatest Guitarists of All Time, and his influence on guitar greats who followed him is undeniable. “He was one of the most stellar human beings I’ve ever known,” Slash posted on his Twitter today, referring to Paul as his “friend and mentor.” Chickenfoot guitarist Joe Satriani released a statement that reads, “Les Paul set a standard for musicianship and innovation that remains unsurpassed. He was the original guitar hero, and the kindest of souls.”

Slash, Tom Morello and more guitarists remember Les Paul.

In the early ’50s, Paul and Ford had a string of hits including Mockin’ Bird Hill,” “How High the Moon,” “The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise” and “Vaya Con Dios.” Paul also began experimenting with the electric guitar, building the Les Paul Recording Guitar, an instrument that allowed for “hot” pickups and “fatter” tone than the Fender on the market. Paul linked up with Gibson Guitars and his six-string became one of the guitar maker’s signatures.

Around this time, Paul also made the first-ever eight-track recording, as well as the dual-pickup guitar, the 14-fret guitar, and various types of electronic transducers used both in guitars and recording studios. For his achievements as a technician, Paul was also inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005, joining Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla.

Read Gibson’s CEO’s memories of Paul’s impact here.

Paul was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin in 1915, a fact noted in the name of the 1980 Les Paul documentary The Wizard of Waukesha. Last November, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honored Paul with its annual American Music Masters Concert, where Slash, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Richie Sambora and the Patti Smith Group’s Lenny Kaye paid tribute to Paul (watch footage from the event, below). Kaye told the audience, “Before Les, guitars were only amplified. Les made them truly electric.” During his acceptance speech, Paul joked, “Everybody thought I was a guitar until I played here tonight.” One thing is for certain: Les Paul is responsible for changing the way rock & roll sounds and he will be greatly missed.

Our many thanks and gratitude to a great man who blessed us with his ingenuity, his talent, his music and of course his guitars.
Sincere condolences to family and friends.

I have a serious case of the sads (hattip MK at Dlisted) today upon learning the man who defined my youth on film has gone to the great big movie screen in the sky.

John Hughes, responsible for some of the greatest movies ever made in the 80’s, died of a heart attack yesterday at the age of 59. Oddly, we’ve recently embarked on a journey of his films, including Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Weird Science, Breakfast Club, National Lampoon’s Vacation (the whole series), and Home Alone (1 and 2). This list is merely touching the surface of the films Hughes was responsible for either writing, directing or producing.

John Hughes single-handedly made Molly Ringwald a household name, and quite honestly, no other filmmaker has come close to capturing the teen-angst of Generation X better than he did.

John began his career writing for the parody magazine National Lampoon (responsible for the great Animal House — another one of my favorite movies – though Hughes was not involved in that film.) Specifically, I am most fond of Pretty In Pink, which pretty much summed up my one and only major heartbreak in high school (except mine didn’t end happily ever after) and for that, I will forever be in debt to Mr. Hughes.

Here’s more on the legend from the LATimes:

Filmmaker John Hughes burned brightest in the ’80s, when he defined teen angst in terms of the caste system of the suburban high school experience, a thread that others would pick up again and again.

His films were talky, in a good way. Like the kids whose stories he was telling, he let them ramble. Teen self-absorption was treated with reverence, not ridicule. The world might make fun of them, their classmates, their brothers and sisters too, but never John Hughes.

And a generation of kids and future filmmakers like Kevin Smith and Judd Apatow embraced it.

Hughes, who died Thursday at age 59, was fascinated with the human as outsider. Outsiders like “Pretty in Pink’s” Molly Ringwald who just wanted to fit in. And outsiders who couldn’t care less: Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller on his legendary day off, Judd Nelson’s not quite broken Bender in “The Breakfast Club,” Anthony Michael Hall’s martini-mixing geek in “Sixteen Candles,” all members of the players club before they were 17.

But Hughes’ outsiders lived in a different part of town than, say, Francis Ford Coppola’s gritty, wrong side of the tracks “The Outsiders.” Hughes outsiders were white, comfortably middle-class and probably from one of Chicago’s affluent suburbs, where he grew up and returned in the ’90s when he’d had his fill of Hollywood. Things were only slightly sad or bad in his films, there were no serious train wrecks — only feelings got hurt, and the endings were usually happy ones.

He reflected a very specific slice of Americana that like many, I understood. A pop culture filmmaker adored in the heartland, he knew how to hit all the light notes – an easy sentimentality, a measured angst, an outrageous sense of fun. His was a spoon-full-of-sugar kind of filmmaking that was often exactly what I wanted, if not what I needed.

The slights that life hands us was one of his favorite playgrounds. Forgotten birthdays, forgotten kids, forgotten families — “Sixteen Candles,” “Home Alone,” “Planes, Trains & Automobiles” — someone was forever being overlooked.

When you’re Ringwald, and a soft, pouty, still awkward 16, it hurts; when you’re an 8-year-old screaming terror embodied by Macaulay Culkin, it’s the best Christmas gift ever; and when you’re John Candy’s middle-aged lonely traveling salesman in a life where nothing, including the suit, fits, it’s tragic.

For a period of time, Hughes was so dominant — certainly in the U.S. where he always played best — that it’s hard to believe that he only directed eight films. He wrote 30 others — the “Home Alones,” most notably — that were produced, 16 of them in the ’80s, 13 in the ’90s, and contributed characters or ideas to a handful of others.

Of all of his films, there are two that will forever be quintessentially Hughes for me: “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” absolutely swimming in attitude, which captured brilliantly and irritatingly the kind of cockiness that you envy as a teen, hate as an adult, recognize no matter what age you are, and “The Breakfast Club,” life deconstructed in high school detention, the archetypes and the anxiety playing out in real time.

By “Curly Sue” in 1991, Hughes had apparently tired of fighting battles with studio executives who second-guessed him.

He left Hollywood behind and headed back to the Chicago area, where he would still dabble in the business from a distance.

But really, Hughes was a creature of the ’80s, and if he hadn’t left Hollywood, it was on its way to leaving him.

Comedy took on more of an edge, went raunchier, darker, meaner than Hughes ever could.

In the end, like so many of the characters he created, Hughes had become a cinematic memory stream of another time when things didn’t seem so bad.

I will light 16 candles and remember.

As will I. Honestly, I don’t think any person before or after, captured a cultural phenomenon like that of the 80’s as well as Hughes did, therein lies his genius. And quite frankly, the movie industry has yet to replace Hughes’ unique insight into the teen psyche, and for that, we are a little less rich as a society.

R.I.P John Hughes, thanks for smoothing the edges of my teen years and making them seem almost normal.

American Idol contestant Alexis Cohen who was known for her infamous rant and bird flipping exit after her Idol audition, was struck and killed by a drunk driver this past weekend.

Twenty three year old Daniel Bark was charged with reckless driving and leaving the scene of a collision and the judge also charged him with aggravated manslaughter, death by auto and eluding. He is currently in the Ocean County jail in NJ and his bond was set at $185,000.

Cohen was struck early Saturday morning in Seaside Heights and was found at 4 am. Cohen was pronounced dead at the scene and the autopsy report showed she suffered chest, head and abdominal injuries.

US Magazine reported Barks lawyer:

“He’s having an extremely difficult time mentally coming to terms with the fact that there’s an allegation that he caused a death. My client is in a state of mind where he is going to be under suicide watch.”

Alexis Cohen was a feisty gal, and full of life, and had a go for it attitude. She auditioned for the seventh and eighth season of Idol. She showed up for her audition, belted her song out and left in a blaze of glory, and wasn’t afraid to tell snot-nosed Simon Cowell how she felt, and I am glad she did. Someone needs to bitch slap that boy every once in a while. You can watch her famous exit on the above YouTube video.

It saddened me when I watched her background story and her audition on American Idol. She lived in a ONE ROOM apartment with her Mom and they were extremely close. They didn’t have much, but they had each other. Her Mom must be beside herself with grief. Although Alexis never reached her dream of becoming a star, I am sure in her Mother’s eye she will always be her star. RIP Alexis.

It’s not often we get to celebrate kindness and generosity here at Glosslip. In the world of celebrities, selfless acts aren’t the norm, but in the real world, there are real people doing amazing things to help others. We are humbled to share one of their stories.

Amy Patel, after finding out a high school friend’s child was diagnosed with cancer, wanted to help and has come up with a unique way of doing so. More about Amy’s efforts from the Huntsville Times:

Dramatic gestures are not uncommon for Patel, who is the theater teacher at Butler High School. And going bald on purpose, as she has called her cause, is a dramatic statement to raise awareness of childhood cancer.

“It’s the extreme makeover edition,” Patel said.

Patel decided to raise money for St. Jude’s after she asked her friend, Melissa Shuford Thomason, what she could do to help. Thomason, who lives in Birmingham, suggested making a donation to cancer research or to the hospital.

Thomason’s son, Evan, spent months at St. Jude’s in Memphis and returns every week for treatment. He still has cancer, but he has grown his hair back, attends school, plays baseball and is in Cub Scouts.

“St. Jude’s has become part of our family,” Thomason said.

As she explored ways to raise money, Patel learned about a program called St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Participants shave their heads to raise money for childhood cancer research organizations.

Because she wanted her money to go to St. Jude’s, Patel has gone out on her own with her head-shaving efforts. The St. Jude 5K Race in Florence, she decided, was the place to do it.

So tonight, she’ll run her first 5K race and then her hairdresser, Jonathan Fowler, will break out the razor.

She doesn’t like to use the word sacrifice, but she’s definitely leaving her comfort zone.

“I know it will grow back, but I know it’s going to take awhile,” which is why she’s been buying lots of hats, she said.

One concern the Patels had was that people would think she was sick.

She’s had a T-shirt printed saying “I shaved my head for a child with cancer.” She’s also thought about wearing a button that says “Ask me why I shaved my head.”

“I hope we will create a situation that we will talk about it,” Patel said. “We avert our eyes from things that are painful, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s there.”

Amy has a website, BaldOnPurpose, where you can see pictures and video of Amy shaving her head, including before and after pictures. Amy, who was a beauty before she shaved, is even more gorgeous sans hair, must be that inner grace showing through.

Here’s a link to Amy’s St. Jude’s donation page, where Amy and her husband Sandy are collecting donations to help sick children like her little friend Evan.

Amy has raised $4425 and her goal is $5000.00 — if there is anything you can do to help, this is a great cause.

(Many thanks to my good friend Suli who shared Amy’s story with me, and that of little Evan Thomason.)

By now, most of you have heard about the horrific brush fires which are currently blazing through Australia.  Over 180 people have died as a result, and so far two people have been arrested for suspicion of arson related to most of the fires.  Entire towns have been burnt, and the death toll rises every day:

Firefighters were today tackling fresh fires ripping through the Australian bush as the crisis showed no sign of abating.

The latest sites are near the historic town of Beechworth north-east of Melbourne.

Police said the fires – which include one huge blaze – had been deliberately started and warned residents to be prepared to flee.

Wind is so far keeping the flames away from houses.

‘It’s virtually impossible to believe that people are still lighting fires,’ said Victoria’s Premier John Brumby.

‘There seems little doubt that these were deliberately lit. I think words escape us all 
when it comes to describing that deliberate arson.’

Police hunting for arsonists responsible for the deaths of 181 people in Victoria’s bushfires said today they are close to making an arrest.

With 80 people still missing in the town of Marysville – described as a potential ‘Ground Zero’ – and more of the badly burned victims expected to die in hospital, the death toll is expected to rise to 300. [...]

The remains of most the missing are believed to be lying under the rubble of homes in the historic town of Marysville – described as a potential ‘Ground Zero’ – a few miles from another badly-hit community, Kinglake.

Firefighter John Munday believes that when searchers can start sifting through the remains of Marysville ‘the toll is going to be massive.’

Prime minister Kevin Rudd has said the arsonists should ‘rot in jail’.

If convicted, the firestarters should receive no mercy from justice, said Mr Rudd.

‘The laws of the state provide that they can be put away and put away for life,’ he said.

‘My view is they should be allowed to rot in jail. This is unspeakable murder on a mass scale.’

You can read the rest of the story at the link above, it’s too horrific for me to post here.  The thought of all those poor people dying in a fire which could have been deliberately set is too depressing to think about.  Men, women, children, the elderly, little babies, pets and animals, all gone.  It would be bad enough if it were a natural disaster, but to think that this could a deliberate act is unconscionable.  In some cases, they are ruling out arson, but the investigation has yet to be completed.

However, a small heartwarming story has emerged from the ashes.  Two koala bears, Sam and Bob, have been rescued from the fire and have now formed a bond with one another which is helping them both.  You might recognize Sam, the koala receiving a drink from a firefighter, but you might not know Bob, who was badly burned as well:

The story of Sam and her new boyfriend Bob emerged after volunteer firefighter Dave Tree used a mobile phone to film the rescue of the bewildered female.

She was found cowering in a burned out forest at Mirboo North, 90 miles southeast of Melbourne.

Photos and a video of Tree, 44, approaching Sam while talking gently to her, and feeding her water from a plastic bottle as she put her burned claw in his cold, wet hand quickly hit video sharing website YouTube.

But it was after reaching a wildlife shelter that Sam met and befriended Bob, who was saved by wildlife workers on Friday, two days before Sam.

Tree, who has been a volunteer firefighter for 26 years, said it was extremely rare to get so close to a koala so he asked his colleague Brayden Groen, 20, to film him.

‘You can how she stops and moves forward and looks at me. It was like a look saying “I can’t run, I’m weak and sore, put me out of my misery”,’ Tree said.

‘I yelled out for some water and I sat down with her and tipped the water up.

‘It was in my hand and she reached for the bottle then put her right claw into my left hand which was cold so it must have given her some pain relief and she just left it there. It was just amazing.’ [...]

She said Sam had suffered second degree burns to her paws and would take seven to eight months to recover while Bob had three burned paws with third degree burns and should be well enough to return to the bush in about four months.

‘They keep putting their arms around each other and giving each other hugs. They really have made friends and it is quite beautiful to see after all this. It’s been horrific,’ said Wood.

‘Sam is probably aged between two to four going by her teeth and Bob is about four so they have a muchness with each other.’

I’m sorry, maybe I’m an old softie, but that brought tears to my eyes, to see something good come out of so much devastation.  I sincerely hope that there are more stories of hope and renewal come out of this terrible time.

I have a small experience with fire myself, and I know on a small scale what it is like to be caught up in it, to run into flames searching for an animal, to stand helplessly watching the flames and worry.  Fortunately, everyone in my family, including both cats, made it out.  However, I cannot fathom fire on this scale or magnitude, or what it feels like to see entire towns wiped out or entire families gone.  I don’t pretend to even imagine the anguish of family members searching for their loved ones.  Our thoughts and prayers are with all our Aussie friends during this time.

I’ve found two sites where you can donate to help the victims of the fires:  The Australian Red Cross, and The Salvation Army in Australia.  Both have links where you can donate online.  If any of our readers know of any other sites, please let us know.  I know we all are being hit with the credit crunch, and times are bad for us all, but it isn’t until you lose everything that you realize true riches do not come from money.  I’m sure we can all find a little bit to help.

This is the kind of story that makes my frigid heart feel warm and fuzzy inside.

During a basketball game last weekend, a group of about 15 men walked into gymnasium and within minutes a gunfight ensued. Amidst the mass confusion 6-year old DeSean Merrit was separated from his father Sean. A quick thinking and courageous, Jullaion Jones stepped off the court and used his body to shield DeSean from the shower of bullets erupting in the gym, which injured 4 people, with a least one bullet grazing Jullaion as he placed his body over DeSean’s during the gunfire.

It’s unimaginable what could have happened had Jullaion simply thought of his own safety. DeSean’s father is eternally grateful that a guardian angel in the form of young basketball player stepped up to protect the precious life of his son.

Now that’s a real hero. Kudos to you Jullaion, you are an inspiration!

We are still in awe over last week’s emergency landing of US Airways Flight 1549 into the frigid Hudson River. The cause of the crash is being attributed to massive engine failure do to a double “bird strike” during the flight’s initial take off. Essentially, some flying rats got more than they were bargaining for when they tried to mate with a much bigger bird. Miraculously, all 155 passengers and crew survived mostly unscathed (though certainly traumatized), thanks to the heroic efforts of one super safety conscious hot pilot named Caption Chesley Sullenberger (I think I am in lurve!).

Well, it took a few days, but CNN has posted surveillance video which captured the amazing landing, which couldn’t have been more picture perfect. If not executed by a professional pilot with a special interest in safety like Captain “Sully”, hitting water in a plane can be like hitting concrete, and often the results are tragic with the plane splitting into many pieces. You can see from the video how the Airbus A320 was designed to handle such a rare emergency with the floating escape ramps. Honestly, this couldn’t have been more perfect, well, as perfect as terrifying incidents go.

Once again, thanks to all the heroic efforts of everyone involved. In these troubling times, it’s uplifting to know miracles can and do happen.

Expect to see a major motion picture out of Hollywood on this whole thing.

Yesterday afternoon most of us watched as the events unfolded on the Hudson River in New York, when U.S. Airways Flight 1549 made a miraculous crash landing in the river. With 155 passengers and crew on board, the nation is still in shock that everyone is safe and accounted for. With the exception of a few minor injuries and cases of hypothermia, this was a text book emergency landing, except it wasn’t a landing so much as a hydro-glide of tremendous skill and bravery.

Captain Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger has been hailed a hero for his ability to not only remain calm under pressure, but also for his extraordinary aviation abilities which allowed him to safely land an enormous piece of flying metal with the entire vessel in tact.

Here’s more on Captain Sullenberger from CNN:

All 155 passengers and crew aboard Flight 1549 survived.

The 57-year-old former Air Force fighter pilot has been flying for more than 40 years, and has been with US Airways since 1980.

His two-page resume is packed with achievements and highlights his broad aviation experience.

The pilot speaks internationally on airline safety, and collaborates with the Center for Catastrophic Risk Management at the University of California-Berkeley, whose researchers look for ways to avoid air disasters.

Sullenberger was primed to help passengers aboard the Airbus A320 survive the crisis, said Karlene Roberts, a university professor who co-directs the center.

“I can imagine him being sufficiently in charge to get those people out,” she said. “He’s got that kind of personality, which is to his credit.”

Sullenberger is president and CEO of Safety Reliability Methods Inc., a company he founded. The firm provides emergency management, safety strategies and performance monitoring to the aviation industry.

He was an instructor and Air Line Pilots Association safety chairman, accident investigator and national technical committee member, according to a biography on the Web site of his company.

He participated in several U.S. Air Force and National Transportation Safety Board accident investigations, and worked with NASA scientists on a paper on error and aviation, according to his resume.

He was widely praised after Thursday’s forced water landing, apparently caused by a “double bird strike,” which crippled the plane’s engines.

“It was an amazing piece of airmanship,” said Peter Goelz, a former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board.”

Even New York’s mayor had praise.

“It would appear that the pilot did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river and then making sure that everybody got out,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference Thursday.

“I had a long conversation with the pilot. He walked the plane twice after everybody else was off and tried to verify that there was nobody else on board — and assures us there was not.”

Sullenberger’s wife, Lorrie, told the New York Post on Thursday that her husband is the “consummate pilot.”

“He is about performing that airplane to the exact precision to which it is made,” she told the paper.

“I’ve said for a long time that he’s a pilot’s pilot. He loves the art of the airplane,” she said standing with the couple’s two daughters outside their Danville, California, home on Friday.

His wife forgot to mention her husband kicks serious ass, surely an oversight on her part. Passengers on board have described the landing as amazingly smooth, like “hitting a wake in a boat” and said everyone was calm and the deboarding into the frigid water was orderly and basically with incident.

How hot is Captain “Sully” for staying with his ship and making sure EVERYONE was off before leaving the sinking vessel? Yeah, way hotter than Brad Pitt and almost as hot as Viggo Mortenson.

Honestly, I am one of those white knuckled fliers who no one should sit next to during a flight. I pray to the heavens while quietly losing my crap until we land safely. Even writing about it is causing me anxiety, so let’s move on.

It’s been a while since we’ve nominated anyone for the “Fresh Dose Of Hotness” award and Captain Sullenberger wins hands down.

Thank you for excelling at your job dude. And major props for all those ferry boat captains, NY rescue folks for showing us how you handle an emergency. Just think, if everyone executed their job as well as this dude, we’d have cured cancer, achieved world peace, ended poverty and starvation and found a way to have a perfect orgasm every time. When you dream, you should dream BIG!

It is with great sadness we share with you the death of legendary Hollywood icon Paul Newman from cancer at age 83. The Oscar-winning (The Color Of Money) actor whose on-screen charisma was only eclipsed by his off-screen philanthropy died his home last night from complications of cancer. In recent months Glosslip’s k has written about reports of Newman’s ailing health, as well as, he and his wife, fellow actress Joanne Woodward celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

Newman and wife Joanne started a food-based company in 1982 called “Newman’s Own” that donated all profits to various charities. All in all, through this company, Newman donate more than $250 million to wonderful causes, including a camp he helped set for gravely ill children. A camp Newman visited regularly where he spent time with sick children and oversaw the good works being done there.

I am sure k will have more to say on this matter. Like me, k considers Paul Newman a hero in all walks of his life.