Thursday, January 3, 2013

NEW YEAR'S EVE PROBLEMS WITH TAXIS IN NASHVILLE
If you had problems with taxis on New Years Eve, the Metro Transportation Licensing Commission wants to hear from you. Several people reported that they had to wait hours for a taxi, couldn't find one, or that available taxis either didn't stop for them, or charged them a flat rate fee, which is illegal to do. They're supposed to charge you according to the meter.
If you had any of those problems, you're asked to report it to the licensing commission.  A spokesman for the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau says, "Nashville is the friendliest city in America and we want to make sure that our taxi drivers are giving that impression." 

NASHVILLE NAMED A TOP 5 TOURIST DESTINATION WORLDWIDE BY CONDE NAST TRAVELER
Conde Nast Traveler, a national travel magazine and website, has listed Nashville as one of the top FIVE cities in the WORLD to visit this year! They say, "The new Nashville offers two things worth traveling for: a hot, trendy new food scene and its famous, funky music scene." The other cities on the "Best Places to Go 2013" list are Amsterdam, Seoul, New Orleans and Toronto.

STATE CAPITOL LIT TO HONOR MARCH OF DIMES
You'll probably be on the way home tonight when this happens, but the State Capitol Building will light up purple tonight to honor the 75th anniversary of March of Dimes, the leading non-profit organization for maternal and infant health. The March of Dimes was behind the development of the polio vaccine and other breakthroughs that have helped save lives of millions of babies. 

TENN. WORKS TO CURB DRUG ABUSE IN 2013
Tennessee is working to renew efforts to curb drug abuse this year. According to the latest statistics, Tennessee ranks second in the nation for abuse of prescription pain medications.  Adults 18 to 25 have the highest rate of prescription drug abuse.

STARBUCKS TO ROLL OUT $1 REUSABLE CUPS
Starting today, when you stop at Starbucks for your coffee fix, for another dollar they'll offer you a one dollar reusable plastic cup instead of the paper one that would end up in the trash. The coffee chain already gives a dime discount if you bring in your own cup. 

PLANE CRASH IN ALABAMA MAY HAVE BEEN JOYRIDE
Safety officials say a plane that crashed in Alabama Tuesday night, killing all three passengers may have been a joyride: A student pilot taking two of his buddies up in the plane, without permission, then crashing, and killing them all.

DARK CHOCOLATE TO STOP A COUGH
You're going to LOVE this story! When you or the kids get a cough, instead of reaching for the drugs, try dark chocolate. Researchers in London claim the theobromine, a chemical in dark chocolate, is 33 percent more effective at stopping persistent coughs than codeine. Two to three squares of dark chocolate is supposed to ease a kids' cough for three to six hours.

TENNESSEE WALTZ SINGER PATTI PAGE DIES
To give you perspective on how big a star Patti Page was: Elvis was the top Male singer in the 1950s. She sang "Tennessee Waltz" and "(How Much Is That) Doggie in the Window," has died. She was 85. Just next month she was supposed to get a lifetime achievement award at the Grammys. 'Tennessee Waltz' is one of the Tennessee state songs.

AWESOME! RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS SPREADS
This is a wonderful story! Last month the Tim Hortons restaurant chain surprised its customers with a promotion they called "Random Cups of Kindness," a week where they'd pick up tabs of guests at random. But a few days before Christmas, customers in Winnipeg started giving back.About 10 a.m. on Dec. 21, a Tim Hortons customer paid for the order of the next vehicle in the drive-through line. That began a chain of "Pay It Forward" style random acts of kindness that lasted for three hours -- and 228 orders. (Free Press)

DANCING JUDGE GETS MARRIED
Congrats to "Dancing with the Stars" judge, Len Goodman, who married his girlfriend of 10 years in a surprise wedding ceremony New Year's Eve.

NEIL ARMSTRONG LIED ABOUT LUNAR LANDING STATEMENT?
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." That of course is the famous line transmitted to millions of people around the world after Neil Armstrong planted his space boots on the surface of the Moon on July 20, 1969. In a 2005 biography, Neil said that he came up with the famous statement in the few hours after first landing on the lunar surface. However, new interviews with Neil's family members for a BBC documentary tell a different story. In "Neil Armstrong -- First Man on the Moon," the astronaut's brother, Dean Armstrong, contends that Neil thought up the line months before the historic landing. He also says that the planned phrase included the word "a," confirming long held rumors that Neil actually said "That's one small step for "a" man." The legend states that the "a" was never heard due to static. Armstrong passed away last August at the age of 82. (Business Insider)

AL GORE SEELS CURRENT TV TO AL-JAZEERA
Al-Jazeera, the Pan-Arab news channel that struggled to win space on American cable television, has acquired Current TV, boosting its reach nearly nine fold to about 40 million homes. With a focus on U.S. news, it plans to rebrand the left-leaning news network that co-founder Al Gore couldn't make relevant.
          The former vice president confirmed the sale Wednesday, saying in a statement that Al-Jazeera shares Current TV's mission "to give voice to those who are not typically heard; to speak truth to power; to provide independent and diverse points of view; and to tell the stories that no one else is telling."
The acquisition lifts Al-Jazeera's reach beyond a few large U.S. metropolitan areas including New York and Washington, where about 4.7 million homes can now watch Al-Jazeera English.
          Al-Jazeera, owned by the government of Qatar (CUTT-ahr), plans to gradually transform Current into a new channel called Al-Jazeera America by adding five to 10 new U.S. bureaus beyond the five it has now and hiring more journalists.

TOP BABY NAMES IN TENNESSEE
Emma and William were the top names for new babies in Tennessee in 2012. That's according to the Tennessee Department of Health, which collects the data from birth certificates. Those two names also took the top spots in 2011.

PSY SAYS NO MORE GANGNAM STYLE
Did you catch Psy's performance of "Gangnam Style" on New Year's Eve?
He says he's retiring that song and won't perform it live anymore.

INTEL TO OFFER INDIVIDUAL CABLE CHANNELS
Intel is reportedly on the cusp of delivering something that consumers around the world have been wanting for a long, long time.  Kelly Clay at Forbes reports Intel is going to blow up the cable industry with its own set-top box and an unbundled cable service.   Clay says Intel is planning to deliver cable content to any device with an Internet connection. And instead of having to pay $80 a month for two hundred channels you don't want, you'll be able to subscribe to specific channels of your choosing.

WORDS YOU SHOULD NEVER SAY
What do "fiscal cliff," "spoiler alert" and "YOLO" have in common? They should all be banned! So say the guardians of the English language, whose day jobs are at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. This group annually takes on the role of word police by collecting a list of words and phrases that we have used so much they have become annoying. The solution? Ban them! Here are some of the banned words and phrases on the 2013 list…:
1. Fiscal Cliff. This phrase is used so much that some worry we have forgotten it's a metaphor and think of it as a real place. And be equally wary of the "River of Debt" and the "Mountain of Despair."
2. Kick the Can Down the Road. Usually used in politics, this typically means that someone or some group is neglecting its responsibilities. This was seized upon during the current administration and is used as a cliche by all parties.
3. Double Down. This blackjack term is now used as a verb in place of "repeat," "reaffirm" or "reiterate." Yet, it adds nothing. It's not even colorful.
4. YOLO. An acronym for "You Only Live Once," it is used by wannabe Twitter philosophers and teenagers who think they have found the secret of life. Worst of all, it's an excuse to do really stupid things.
5. Bucket List. This is a morbid and selfish way of listing what you want to do before you die.
6. Trending   A trend is not a verb.