Utah High School Nixes Cougars Team Name

Changing the names of high school sports teams to be less offensive to certain groups—like Native Americans, for instance—is nothing new, but now a school board in Utah has taken it to a whole new level. A high school is opening in 2013 in the town of Draper, Utah, and they wanted to call their team the Cougars. The school board said they couldn't, however, because they worried the name might be offensive to middle-aged women. Jeeze, get your minds out of the gutter, school board members. And is the term cougar even offensive? There are certainly worse names to call a set of women—and a team.

The school board also said that the name and colour scheme the team had chosen was too similar to Utah's Brigham Young University, who also call themselves the Cougars. So what is the Corner Canyon High team going to do about a name? Maybe they should call themselves the Corners? It kind of works, since corners are sharp and they hurt if you run into them? Oh, never mind, they went with the Chargers instead. Boooring—and extremely offensive to the hard-working cords that power up our mobile phones day after day, if you ask me.

[USA Today/Photo of BYU Cougar Statue]

Heidi Klum And Seal To File For Divorce

It’s official: Love is over.

TMZ is reporting that Seal and Heidi Klum are splitting up. According to sources, Klum will file divorce papers next week, citing “irreconcilable differences.”

Married since 2005, the couple share three children. They have also been raising Klum’s daughter from a previous relationship with Flavio Briatore.

A now-not-so-cryptic update was posted to a Twitter account supposedly affiliated with Seal yesterday. It read, simply, “the end.”

[TMZ/Twitter]

Thai Man Marries Dead Girlfriend

Deff Yingyuen liked his girlfriend Sarinya “Anne” Kamsook quite a bit – just not enough to marry her before she died in a tragic accident. But you know what they say, When God closes a door, he opens a window.

Seeing an opportunity to marry two birds with one stone, Yingyuen threw a combination funeral/wedding and married the deceased body of his girlfriend-turned-corpse bride. The couple had planned to get married in the future, but Yingyuen wanted to focus on his studies before tying the knot, the Thai-Asean News (TAN) Network reported.

Unfortunately, Kamsook unexpectedly died in an accident before the couple could set a date. According to the Pattaya Daily News, the couple met at Thailand’s Eastern Asia University nearly a decade ago, and wreaths were placed around campus in memory of Kamsook following her death. Photos and footage of the ceremony were posted on Facebook and YouTube. And while some thought the service a bit strange, others expressed their sympathy for the groom.

Congratulations to the happy couple. May the bride rest in peace.

[The Week]

He 'Nailed It': 3-Inch Nail Removed From Man's Brain ‎

Dante Autullo, a Tim Taylor-esque fix-it father of four from Orland Park, Illinois, accidentially shot himself in the head with a nail gun, and didn’t realize it until the following day.

While building a shed in his garage, Autullo hit himself in the head with his nail gun. Thinking the nail merely grazed him, and finding no serious wound, both Autullo and his fiance Gail Glaenzer went on about their business.

The next day, feeling nauseous and experiencing a major headache, Autullo visited a doctor who found the source of the problem right away: A 3 1/4-inch nail was embedded in his brain.

“When they brought in the [X-ray], I said to the doctor `Is this a joke? Did you get that out of the doctors joke file?” Autullo told the Associated Press. “The doctor said `No man, that’s in your head.”

On his way by ambulance to surgery at another hospital, the 32-year-old posted the X-ray to his Facebook page.

The operation was a success, and Dr. Leslie Schaffer at Advocate Christ Medical Center says there is minimal damage to brain tissue, and Autullo is not likely to experience serious side-effects.

“He might forget to take out the garbage or walk the dog, but who doesn’t?” said Dr. Schaffer.

[Tribune/AP via Boston]

Media Hut Roundup (Jan16-Jan 20)

Monday, Jan. 16

• The Costa Concordia disaster, (the cruise ship that sank of the coast of Italy), survivors' came together to share stories; also a Canadian couple says they swam ashore after the cruise ship sank [Huffington Post/Vancouver Sun]
  
• The new CBS comedy "2 Broke Girls" is facing criticism over being racist [The Week]
• Last weekend, Daniel Radcliffe returned as Harry Potter on Saturday Night Live [Huffington Post]
• Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman has announced he's dropping out from his campaign [National Post]
• Coffee chain Tim Hortons introduced a new extra extra large cup that will become available next week, officially changing the name of each size [The Star]
• The Steve Jobs action figure that was supposed to be released next month has been scrapped due to "immense pressure" from Apple, and the Jobs family [LA Times]
• The battle between Elton John and Madonna continues [Radar]

Tuesday, Jan. 17

• A man identified as Canadian has been found shot in Mexico [CBC]
• Yahoo! CEO and co-founder has stepped down from the board [Business Week]
  
• Since his daughter's birth last weekend, Jay-Z vows to clean up his lyrics [Globe & Mail]
• Over 200,000 mini coopers were recalled [Daily Mail]
• When Justin Bieber dyes his hair, girls everywhere lose their minds [USA Magazine]
• Fast food chain Burger King is now offering delivery services, but ONLY in select U.S. cities because clearly America is a "can't get fat-fast enough" country [Atlantic Wire]
• Tickets for the new Batman flick, "The Dark Knight Rises", have already gone on sale - 6 months in advance [TIME]
• Josh Radnor, known from How I Met Your Mother, is to release his memoir about doing drugs in the Amazon [Gawker]
• Reuters has unveiled its new web TV channel, bringing 10 new shows to a new YouTube channel [Tech Crunch]
• Billy Crystal released a video hinting at this year's Oscar theme [Sacramento Bee]
• Avril Lavigne and Brody Jenner enter splitsville...just kidding [US Magazine]

Wednesday, Jan. 18

• Websites like Wikipedia and Reddit were all in blackout to raise awareness about piracy in what is known as SOPA [Guardian]
• President Barack Obama rejected the proposed Keystone Pipeline [CBC]
  
• The number of Costa Concordia deaths has risen to 11 and at least 24 still missing [CNN]
  
• A car signed by none else then Justin Bieber will go up for auction on eBay [CTV]
• Familiar with The Sims? You can now use Katy Perry as a simulation character [MTV]
• LL Cool J's making a return and he's hosting the Grammy's [MTV]
• The iPad 3 is being discussed about being released in March [Slate]
• Mark Wahlberg says he could've prevented 9/11...okay...? ...He has since apologized [TMZ]
• If you're a fan of Melissa McCarthey, then you'll love that she sold a script to CBS [Hollywood Reporter]
• Bought an iPad 2 in Canada? May want to check where you bought it [Tom's Guide]

Thursday, Jan. 19

• Canadian skier Sarah Burke passed away at age 29; she suffered from cardiac arrest [CBC]
  
• M&Ms is set to debut new female character during the Superbowl [TIME]
• Kodak has filed for bankruptcy [Wall Street Journal]
• Rick Perry has quit the presidential race and endorsed Newt Gingrich [Washington Post]
• Reports indicate Johnny Depp is definitely single [The Superficial]
• Ryan Seacrest has announced he is launching a TV network with Mark Cuban [Hollywood Reporter]
• Apple has announced the release of the iBook 2 [Washington Post]
• File sharing website Megaupload was shut down by Feds [PC Mag]

Friday, Jan. 20

• Newt Gingrich came away as the winner of Thursday night's GOP debate [The Star]
• American singer and jazz musician Etta James died at the age of 73 [LA Times]
• Rick Ross says he's not the father! [TMZ]
• American Congress has put SOPA and PIPA on hold...for now [Atlantic Wire]
• Believe it or now, there are actually Americans who would vote for Stephen Colbert [Buzzfeed]
• Both Herman Cain and Stephen Colbert held a rally in South Carolina for the Republicans [Washington Post]
• Iran's government has confiscated Barbie dolls [Slate]
• Katy Perry has officially 'unfollowed' former husband Russell Brand on Twitter [Superficial]
• After a viral video was shown of Barack Obama performing "Let's Stay Together", Al Green said "He nailed it." [TMZ]
  

Video: Violinist Copies Cell Phone That Rings During Concert

When a Nokia phone goes off during his performance at a Jewish Orthodox synagogue in Presov, Slovakia, Lukáš Kmit keeps his cool, uses the ringtone as inspiration. I think I know a certain someone who wishes they could have been at this concert instead.



[Viral Viral Videos]