Daylight Saving Time

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME.

If it seems the change came earlier than usual, it has, thanks to a change last year in the U.S. (and followed by Canada) to extend DST by starting it three weeks earlier in spring and one week later in fall to cut down on energy costs.

Some facts and figures:

- The main purpose of DST is to make better use of daylight, by moving an hour of daylight to the evening from morning. Some argue it would be better named Daylight Shifting Time.

- Sometimes referred to as Daylight Savings Time, perhaps because it rolls off the tongue better, but it's grammatically more correct without the "s" because saving is a verbal adjective (a participle) that modifies the noun "time." Technically requires hyphenation - as in daylight-saving time - as with mind-expanding book or man-eating tiger.

- The rationale for DST is to save energy (candles when Ben Franklin first conceived the idea more than 250 years ago) and electricity now. Thanks to fewer lights and other appliances needed an hour later in the busiest evening consumption hours and more people staying out later, consumption dropped by one per cent, according to a U.S. Department of Transportation study, and 3.5 per cent in New Zealand. (DST isn't needed all year round because the savings in the evening would be offset by the need for lighting in the dark early-morning winter days.)

- But a study in Indiana found households observing DST consumed one to four per cent more in electricity than those in counties that didn't, or about $3 per household per year. Extrapolated to the whole country, it amounts to $8.6 million more a year. Others argue that more fuel is consumed by those driving around longer in the evening.

- A U.S. study also found violent crime dropped during DST compared to standard time as much as 10 to 13 per cent, perhaps because crimes such as muggings are better suited to the dark.

- Some 70 countries use DST, with Japan, India and China as the biggest holdouts among major industrialized countries.

- Fire departments encourage householders to change smoke detector batteries during the time change.

Source: canada.com

Jason Statham with his fresh new role in "The Bank Job"

British actor Jason Statham has come a long way since selling after-shave and cheap jewelry on London street corners. Today, he earns millions as one of the hottest action stars in Hollywood.

But when his new movie "The Bank Job" debuts in major U.S. cities on Friday, Statham's fans will see something beyond another showcase for his kick-boxing prowess and skill at driving fast cars.

"I get to play a husband and father for a change," he told Reuters. "And while it's a thriller, there's also a lot more emphasis on character and drama and intrigue than in my usual films. There's a lot going on under the surface."

With his new movie "The Bank Job," Statham's fans will see something beyond another
showcase for his kick-boxing prowess and skill at driving fast cars.

Statham, 37, fell into his career as a movie action hero when British director Guy Ritchie cast him as a London lad in the cult hit caper "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels."

Soon after, he seized his chance in Hollywood and cemented his reputation as a reliable tough guy with box-office hits such as "The Italian Job" and "The Transporter" series.

Based on a true story, "The Bank Job" stars Statham as the leader of a low-tech gang that tunneled into a bank vault in early 1970s London. The real robbery was one of the biggest at the time, netting in excess of $15 million in today's dollars.

He shows some character depth as Terry, a car dealer looking for an easy payoff who finds bank robbery is anything but simple.

"He's talked into it by an ex-girlfriend (Saffron Burrows) only to find out that it involves the Royal Family, blackmail and (British intelligence service) MI5," explains Statham. "It all gets very murky."

A COLORFUL CHARACTER

While Statham has carved out a successful career playing assorted rogues and villains (credits include "Snatch" opposite Brad Pitt, "The Longest Yard," "The One" and "Crank") his own life story is every bit as colorful. He's been a street-corner "salesman," a model, and a high-board diver.

"I was the (British) national champion, and I placed 12th in the world, but I never went to the Olympics like some reports said. It's a very intense training, and it really taught me discipline and focus," Statham said.

Statham said he feels pigeon-holed doing action movies again and again. Yet, action scripts and rogue characters are most often what come his way.

"Let's face it, it's a lucrative market, and it's playing to my strengths. Who else is there now? There's Jackie Chan and Jet Li, but they're Asian," he said.

Statham is quick to deny that he ever suggested aging action stars such as Sylvester Stallone should retire, as was widely reported a few months ago.

"I've never said that, and I think he's great," Statham said. "He's one of my bloody heroes. I love all his stuff, and the fact that he can still do it in his 60s is amazing."

Statham, who likes to box and play chess in his spare time, is currently shooting "Transporter 3."

"It's back to fast cars and fast women," he sighs. "But I'm having a lot of fun doing it."

Source: canada.com

Vinson Filyaw vs Elizabeth Shoaf - the cruel kidnapper vs innocent girl

People often ask me what it's like to talk to men and women accused -- and often convicted -- of horrendous crimes. Is it frightening, they'll ask, to interview such people? Can you tell if they are innocent or guilty? Can you sense evil in the room?

And usually, to such questions, the answer is.. no. A person capable of doing something quite terrible will frequently arrive for an interview well scrubbed and thoroughly prepared, and will prove to be intelligent, funny or charming. And almost always, such a person will present a reasonably believable argument for innocence. Skepticism is an important companion during prison interviews; truth is rarely easy to pin down.

And then there is Vinson Filyaw.
For one thing, what Vinson did to Elizabeth Shoaf is almost beyond description. In court he finally admitted it was all true: he kidnapped her, held her in truly dreadful conditions for ten days, raped her several times a day, chained her by the neck to the ceiling of his underground bunker, and gave her every reason to believe he would eventually kill her.

But the man who sat down for an interview in the prison library was no longer the least bit terrifying, not anymore. Vinson seemed almost needy in his desire to explain how he had been victimized by law enforcement, that his attempt at revenge -- sexually abusing a young girl -- was somehow reasonable. Did he do those awful things to Elizabeth? Well, yes, but she was really only "collateral damage" (said Vinson) in his own struggle for justice. And then, a little later, he tried out a new (and quite monstrously untrue) claim, suggesting that his victim actually enjoyed the experience and that it was her idea. Among prison interviews, Vinson's was, shall we say, unique.

As is, in her own way, the remarkable young woman he attempted to destroy. I'd been eager to meet Elizabeth. What sort of girl, I wondered, could survive the sustained attacks of a predator such as he, and then in the end somehow outwit him? Would she be tough, cynical, somehow hardened?

Well, no, she wasn't. This quiet, rather shy, teenager was obviously bright, even wise, about her circumstances in life. But during the hours and hours we talked in the course of taping her story, she never once strayed into anything like the worldly cynicism you can see on TV or read in gossip magazines every day.

When Vinson snatched Elizabeth, just 14 years old, she had never dated a boy, had never once spent even a single night away from home without a family member. She was taken by a wiley wolf of a man who had just spent the better part of a year eluding the efforts of law enforcement.

She endured unspeakable horrors, faced what seemed to her certain death. And she prevailed.

The contrast -- Vinson to Elizabeth -- was quite remarkable.
















Where his story was self serving, claims shifting back and forth to suit whatever version he was trying to sell, Elizabeth was open and brutally candid. Where his fearsome behavior wilted in the presence of a television crew, Elizabeth seemed to gain strength from telling the experience. And having come through it with her dignity and humanity fully intact, she smiled a smile to light up the room.

Every once in a while, a dark tale turns out well, and the worst in human behavior is overcome by the best. Which is why it was quite an honor to tell the story of Elizabeth Shouf.

Source: msnbc