cydonia

I haven't a clue why Isabelle grew up so fast. At first I thought it had something to do with the compound, but she was never interfered with by NTAC. So it's a mystery.Could it have been linked to Sean's "exorcism" of Kyle?

Anyone watch the 4400 finale last night? I thought the season as a whole was rather uneven, but it was a good show last night. SPOILERS AHOY I knew Jordan wasn't dead! And grown up Isabelle (all hot and naked). And Jeffrey Combs (a long time fave of mine from all the Star Trek series) injecting himself with the compound that causes special powers. I think it should be a good season 3.

Newton-John 'had split up from her missing lover'By John Hiscock in Los AngelesThe Telegraph(Filed: 28/08/2005)The mystery surrounding the disapperance of Olivia Newton-John'spartner deepened yesterday as it was revealed that his relationshipwith the singer had petered out and that he was beset by financialproblems.Investigators searching for Patrick McDermott, a Hollywood cameraman,have unearthed his troubled past, including allegations of "abusive anddysfunctional" behaviour. They were perplexed to discover that,although he was bankrupt, in debt and being sued by his former wife forchild support, McDermott, 48, dropped out of a film industry unionearlier this year, forfeiting significant benefits, including pension,medical and life insurance.His disappearance from a boat while on an overnight fishing trip offthe California coast on June 30 has been widely reported because of hisrelationship with Newton-John, who last week appealed for informationabout his whereabouts. Investigations have only raised more questionsand failed to supply many answers.Personal items, including McDermott's passport, wallet and driver'slicence were found on board and his car was in the marina car park.However, he was not reported missing for 10 days and US coastguardslooking into his case say they have still have not heard from or spokento Newton-John.Friends believe that the couple, who met in 1996 when the Australiansinger was filming a commercial, had drifted apart and had not spokento each other for several months.Investigators are following up various theories but have uncovered nohard evidence. "Did he fall overboard? Did he just walk off the boatand disappear? Was it accidental, was it deliberate? Any number ofthings could have happened from the time he got on the boat until theboat returned to port," said coastguard officer Savannah Trotinksy. "Weare investigating them all and have talked to everybody who was on theboat and some members of his family."McDermott had been involved in an on-off romance with Newton-John, 56,for nine years. He occasionally stayed at her Malibu home where shelives with her daughter, Chloe, and sometimes she visited him at hishome in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles.But because of her touring commitments and the length of time shespends in Australia, they were apart more than they were together andfriends say they had not seen each other since January. There is nomention of him on her official website.Newton-John's statement last week expressed hope that "her treasuredfriend" was safe and well.It was unlikely that she knew of his disappearance until her office wascontacted by McDermott's former wife, who was concerned that he had notshown up for his access visit to their 13-year-old son, Chance.Already distressed by a car accident in Sydney on July 4 which left hergod-daughter Jerusha McGrath in a coma, Newton-John has cancelledscheduled appearances on the US television programmes Good MorningAmerica and The View on which she was to promote her new album. Insteadshe has extended her stay in Australia. It is not yet known if aconcert tour planned for October will go ahead.She has been staying at the Gaia health spa near her home in Byron Bayin northern New South Wales and it was from there that she contacted aprivate detective and security expert, Gavin De Becker, in Los Angeles.He came to her aid 22 years ago when she was being stalked and now runsa 100-employee company that "advises media and at-risk figures on theassessment and management of situations that might escalate toviolence". Although he is ostensibly her spokesman on the McDermottcase, he has so far refused any comment.Newton-John and McDermott hit it off immediately when they met.He had been divorced for two years from Yvette Nipar, who had appearedin a number of films and television shows and had regular roles in thesoap operas General Hospital and Days of Our Lives and the seriesRobocop and 21 Jump Street. Their 18-month marriage produced their son,whom he saw regularly and for whose support he paid £450 a month.Friends say McDermott and Newton-John appeared very happy together. Shedescribed him as "the most romantic person she had met".Last year on the Australian version of the television show, This IsYour Life, McDermott gushingly declared his love for her. WithNewton-John looking on from the stage, McDermott appeared on screen viaa video hook-up saying: "I love you... the whole world loves you...I've known you for eight wonderful years and you are such a specialperson and you can be so compassionate, forgiving, understanding andgentle. You are the epitome of the word 'woman' ." As the studioaudience cheered and clapped, he blew her a kiss.But if his love life was seemingly successful, his financial affairswere a mess. His debts were mounting and in March 2000 he filed forbankruptcy saying he owed nearly £17,000 to creditors ranging from ado-it-yourself shop to a bank. He listed his 1995 Toyota 4Runner as hismost valuable asset, at £2,500. He estimated his total monthly incomeat about £550 with monthly expenses of nearly £2,000.In court documents filed in 2002, Nipar, 40, accused him of abusive anddysfunctional behaviour, questioned his abilities as a parent andclaimed that he had anger-management issues. She said he encouragedtheir son to play truant and lacked parenting skills.Last April she took him to court claiming that he was behind with hischild support payments and he was ordered to pay the sum outstanding.McDermott had previously taken Chance with him on overnight fishingtrips but on the evening of June 30, with demands from his landlord forback rent piling up at his house, McDermott parked his car at the 22ndStreet Marina and Landing in San Pedro and boarded the vessel Freedomalone. He paid the £60 fare with his credit card and joined 22 otherpassengers on board.Most of the crew has no recollection of him although Frank Liversedge,the pier manager, says that during the overnight trip McDermott toldtwo people that he was having personal problems.He was also seen eating in the galley when the boat was about fourmiles from shore and records show that half an hour before it docked hepaid £7 for two hotdogs and a soft drink.Several of the passengers said they saw him get off the boat at the endof the trip, Mr Liversedge said."If the man went overboard, either intentionally or accidentally,someone would have seen it," he said. "I know he got off the boat. I'vebeen here 45 years as a boat captain and vessel master and I've neverlost a fisherman yet."When everybody had disembarked a crew member cleaning the bunk area andgalley discovered two fishing rods, a tackle box and a bag.When Nipar phoned Mr Liversedge 10 days later he found McDermott'swallet, car keys, licence and a passport in the bag. After they foundhis car in the car park they called the coastguard. "That guy left hiswallet there on purpose," Mr Liversedge said.Investigators are not so sure. "It's a really strange one," saidcoastguard investigator Dennis Nebrich. "Each time you think you knowwhat's going on, it doesn't go that way."

There are some local talk show hosts here in LA implying that maybe the relationship was a bearded one.I can't remember if I've heard those rumors about ONJ before.

I don't get what Oprah's problem is. The guy dies on Aug. 8 and the funeral is Aug. 15th. She can't get to the funeral from Hawaii? There are these new fangled inventions called jet liners you know.

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Oprah Winfrey said she is "furious" atallegations that her absence at the recent funeral for Ebony and Jetmagazines founder John H. Johnson was a snub of the pioneering blackpublisher.A column published Thursday in the Chicago Defender, a historicallysignificant black daily newspaper, questioned why Winfrey didn't attendJohnson's August 15 funeral in her hometown of Chicago....Winfrey said she was in Hawaii when Johnson died and was unable to make itback for the services, according to Martin's column. Johnson died of heartfailure August 8 at the age of 87.

Olivia grieves as evidence points to lover's suicide By Matthew Benns and Peter Mitchell August 28, 2005 The Sun-Herald Olivia Newton-John's missing boyfriend appears to have committed suicide. After weeks of interviews, US Coast Guard investigators have not found one person who saw Patrick McDermott walk off the fishing boat Freedom when it docked in San Pedro on July 1. And The Sun-Herald has discovered Newton-John did call the police and Coast Guard to raise the alarm - but not until almost three weeks after her lover vanished. "Nobody has positively identified Patrick McDermott walking off the boat," said Coast Guard spokesman Nathan Henise. McDermott's car was found in the marina car park and his bumbag and tackle box were found in the boat with his wallet, driver's licence and passport inside. But suspicions that McDermott staged his own disappearance remain. Frank Liversedge, manager of the 22nd Street landing, said fishermen on board the Freedom told him they saw McDermott make it safely to land. He believes the witnesses may have changed their stories when questioned by authorities. "What these guys tell me man to man and what they do when they get up and swear to it, that's two different things," he said. Advertisement AdvertisementBut one of the 23 fishermen on board the Freedom, Tony Mayo, added weight to the suicide theory. He said he spoke to McDermott early in the trip, but when he looked for him later in the expedition he could not find him on the boat. The Coast Guard investigation continues and McDermott remains "a missing person". Investigators have not concluded what happened to the 48-year-old. Newton-John has hired Gavin de Becker, who saved her from a stalker in 1983, to find the truth. While he works she has locked herself away and grieves in private. Eyebrows were raised when it was revealed it was McDermott's ex-wife, actor Yvette Nipar, not Newton-John, who first alerted Los Angeles authorities on July 11 that McDermott was missing. Nipar has been involved for more than a decade in a bitter child custody battle with McDermott, whom she married in 1992, but divorced just 14 months later. Newton-John, often separated from McDermott because of her schedule, was in Australia at the time of his disappearance and dealing with her own tragedy - her goddaughter Jerusha McGrath had been seriously injured in a car accident. She had also met music producers to discuss the launch of daughter Chloe Lattanzi's music career and promoted National Tree Day. She did not call emergency services in Los Angeles for nearly three weeks. The Coast Guard confirmed that an alarmed Newton-John first contacted them on July 21 about McDermott. Her first call was to Los Angeles police. "The LAPD told her the Coast Guard was handling the matter," Henise said. "She then contacted us and was interviewed." The unusual nature of Newton-John's relationship with McDermott, with extended periods apart, has prompted speculation that their relationship was purely platonic. But Phil Stone, sales manager for Newton-John's Koala Blue wines in Australia, said: "As far as I am aware they were still very much together." Papers contained in a thick file at the San Fernando Valley court building where Nipar and McDermott have fought their custody battle include snippets showing how besotted McDermott was with Newton-John. Nipar said that McDermott, on "scores of occasions", opted to spend time with his girlfriend, rather than with son Chance during his allotted custodial time. "He claimed on several occasions that he could not care for Chance because he needed to work on his taxes and needed to spend time with his girlfriend," Nipar wrote in one document obtained by The Sun-Herald. The papers also revealed the heated and violent nature of their dispute. It has been suggested that this, depression and money problems - he filed for bankruptcy in 2000 - may have led him to contemplate suicide.

See the RDL.

Can we hold her to this?

I've been enjoying her show as well. I also like her laid back hubby who just seems to roll with the punches.

ER, YOU WHAT, LUV? Men's brains not designed to listen to women's voices By Lorraine Fisher Health Correspondent FELLAS accused by women of never listening to them now have the perfect excuse. Their brains simply aren't designed to listen to women's voices - at first it thinks it is music then has to analyse what they are saying. Researchers at the University of Sheffield tracked the brain activity of male volunteers who were played recordings of different voices. Their brains worked harder to decipher what the women were saying - using a part of the brain that processes music. Men engaged a simpler mechanism at the back of the brain when they heard a male voice, recognising it as speech and comparing it to how they spoke. Dr Michael Hunter, who led the research, said: "The female voice is more complex than the male, due to differences in the size and shape of the vocal cords and larynx. "Also women have a greater natural 'melody' in their voices. This causes a more complex range of frequencies than in a male. When a man hears a female voice the auditory section of his brain is activated, which analyses the different sounds to 'read' the voice. "When men hear a male voice they process it in the 'mind's eye'. This is the part of the brain where people compare their experiences to themselves, so the man is comparing his own voice to the new voice." The findings, published in the journal NeuroImage, may explain why people suffering hallucinations usually hear a male voice - the brain finds it harder to conjure up a false female voice -Mirror (UK)

FOX NEWS -Roger Friedman March 6 doesn't seem that long ago, but that's the night Jamie Foxx - unpretentious, carefree, unspoiled by fame - won the Academy Award for best actor for his role in "Ray." At 37, Foxx had worked his way up, paid his dues, and would never succumb to Hollywood's dastardly ways. Never. Well, never is now. From what I'm told, Foxx has not shown a lot of loyalty to those who've hung in there with him and done a lot of work. In fact, sources say that Foxx has let his longtime managers, Markus and Jamie King, be the bad guys when it comes to keeping Foxx's friends away from him. And all of this comes as word from the set of Michael Mann's "Miami Vice" suggests that Jamie is getting second tier treatment compared to Colin Farrell. The latter plays Sonny Crockett to Foxx's Ricardo Tubbs. And if you remember how the TV show went, it was not about Tubbs. "Colin is the star of the movie," says a source who has been following the action. "Jamie doesn't have a lot of lines." This would be weird, considering Foxx won the Oscar and was also nominated for second for Mann's "Collateral." In the meantime, shooting drags on - like in any other Michael Mann movie. But Foxx has other fish to fry. He finally completed his first album, which will appear in November from Clive Davis' J Records. Already a single has been "leaked" to radio. "One Night Extravaganza" is a lilting ballad sung in the key of John Legend with a non-sequitur rap by Kanye West. To return the favor, Foxx is currently featured as the singer on West's new rap single "Gorilla." West, who dresses nicely, cannot sing, it seems. Nevertheless, he is a recording artist. "Extravaganza" was written and produced by hot producer Mike City. While he awaits the release of the still untitled album, Foxx has a problem with his partner in music ventures. He's had some kind of falling out with the CD's executive producer and guiding light Breon Prescott. My sources on the West Coast say that the Kings weren't crazy about sharing the spotlight with Prescott (or anyone else for that matter) and have done a lot to separate him from Foxx. Also out of the loop suddenly are also Foxx's former personal assistant and his trainer/bodyguard. "He's not the Jamie Foxx you knew a few months ago," one source said. We've seen it before, of course. But Jamie Foxx was going to be different. The problem might be with the Kings, who evidently put him into "Stealth," which is a bust, and the forthcoming "Jarheads." In the meantime, the buzz is that Foxx will definitely be in "Dreamgirls" - as I first reported here in March - which is probably a good idea. But there's also a rumor he's thinking of doing a "Ray" sequel with Taylor Hackford. It would cover Charles' "We Are the World" years. Taylor, Jamie: Please don't do it. Leave well enough alone. Think "The Godfather: Part III," "More American Graffiti" or "Staying Alive." It's not worth it.

3 A.M. Girls HE regards himself as a "serious artiste" - and woe betide anyone who questions the supposedly formidable talent of Ewan McGregor. The charmless actor suffered a serious sense-of -humour failure at the premiere of his latest film - and threw a hissy fit when asked about criticisms of his American accent in The Island. Our spy at the Leicester Square event on Sunday tells us: "Ewan was all smiles when he arrived and although he's not fond of being interviewed he quite happily answered all the easy questions about the film which also stars Scarlett Johansson." The Scotsman's mood changed, however, when one reporter dared to ask him about jibes in the US over his accent in the film, which was described as leaving the viewer feeling "pummelled rather than exhilarated". Our mole goes on: "A blonde girl asked him if he'd be sticking to his Scottish accent in future. Ewan was taken aback, but answered that he had "no plans" to abandon the US accent. He seemed to be carrying on with his red-carpet duties as normal." But the thesp is obviously not one to let things lie. We're told: "A few minutes later he marched back to the girl and snarled: "Thank you for bringing that up - you've ruined my evening!" before storming off. "Not long after this one of the event's organisers told the girl she had to leave," says our mole. And while the reporter was packing up to go, a US toady got in on the act. "The guy was incandescent with rage and called the girl a 'f***ing a***hole' and said she was banned from all future premieres, which seemed an incredible over-reaction". A spokeswoman for McGregor later gave a rambling explanation for the actor's behaviour. "There had been an unfounded criticism made to Ewan by an agency reporter, to which Ewan politely replied that he was sorry she'd asked that question as it had taken the shine off his night. "To our knowledge no one was asked to leave and it has been resolved amicably." Ew don't say...

I guess all the trannys and DQs got to be too much for her.

I'm only about a 1/4 into it, but it only took about 2 pages to get "into" it. It's a pretty fast read - I just haven't been in the mood to read b/c of headaches.I'll let you know when I finish it

Just started "Persuader" by Lee Child.

NY PostMELANIE Griffith - the over-the-hill actress who plays anover-the-hill lingerie model on her new WB Network sitcom "Twins" -enraged staffers at a photo shoot to promote the show last week whenshe wouldn't stop smoking. When her wardrobe minions advised Griffiththat her incessant puffing was ruining the pricey outfits she wasposing in, the "Working Girl" star snapped, "I'm a [bleep]ing moviestar, you're going to ruin my day over this!" "Twins" producers quietlytook her aside afterwards and asked her to stop smoking at work. Sheresponded by saying that "everyone knows I smoke," and claimed she'dbeen assured she would be allowed to light up wherever and whenever shewanted when she signed on to do the show. "You'd think she knows betterby now," a snitch told The Post's Don Kaplan. "California is ano-smoking state." On "Twins," to debut this fall, Griffith plays aformer underwear model rockily married to the head of a lingeriecompany. Their hot-blooded, teenage fraternal twin daughters havenothing in common and must deal with a wacky mother whose marriage isfalling apart. A rep for Griffith did not return calls or e-mails.

Damon gears up for cycling champion biopic Staff and agencies Tuesday July 26, 2005 Guardian Unlimited Matt Damon is in talks to star in a film about the life of seven-time Tour de France winner and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, according to US reports. Sports channel ESPN 2 reported the Oscar-winning actor was Armstrong's own preferred choice to play him in the long-proposed movie, which is expected to be based on Armstrong's biography It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life. According to US film site Ain't It Cool News, Damon is a biking enthusiast and more than keen to get in shape for what would be a physically demanding role. Armstrong discovered that he had testicular cancer, which had spread to his brain and lungs, in 1996. After surgery and aggressive chemotherapy he returned to cycling in 1997 and two years later won his first Tour de France, as the lead rider of the US Postal Service team. He then repeated his victory for a record-breaking five years in a row before winning for a seventh and final time earlier this month. Armstrong's harrowing account of discovering and beating cancer, which was cowritten by Sally Jenkins, won the William Hill sports book of the year award in 2000 and a sequel, Every Second Counts, was published in 2003.

Which SciFi/Fantasy character are you?I'm Yoda http://www.tk421.net/character/

Enumclaw-area animal-sex case investigated By Jennifer Sullivan Seattle Times staff reporter King County sheriff's detectives are investigating the owners of an Enumclaw-area farm after a Seattle man died from injuries sustained while having sex with a horse boarded on the property. Investigators first learned of the farm after the man died at Enumclaw Community Hospital July 2. The county Medical Examiner's Office ruled that the death was accidental and the result of having sex with a horse. A surveillance camera picked up the license plate of the car that dropped the man off at the hospital, which led detectives to the farm and other people involved, said sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart. Deputies don't believe a crime occurred because bestiality is not illegal in Washington state and the horse was uninjured, said Urquhart. But because investigators found chickens, goats and sheep on the property, they are looking into whether animal cruelty — which is a crime — was committed by having sex with these smaller, weaker animals, he said. The farm was talked about in Internet chat rooms as a destination for people looking to have sex with livestock, he said. "A significant number of people, we believe, have likely visited this farm," said Urquhart. The Humane Society of the United States intends to use the case during the next state legislative session as an example of why sex with animals should be outlawed in Washington, said Bob Reder, a Humane Society regional director in Seattle. "This and a few other cases that we have will allow us a platform to talk about sex abuse of animals," Reder said. Thirty-three states ban sex with animals, he said. Susan Michaels, co-founder of local animal-rights organization Pasado's Safe Haven, said she has been fighting to have bestiality made illegal. "It's animal cruelty behind closed doors," Michaels said.

Man allegedly had sex with guide dog Tallahasseean charged with breach of peace By James L. Rosica DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER Local prosecutors are apparently in a bind: How do they charge a blind Tallahassee man who has been accused of having sex with his Seeing Eye dog? Florida, like many other states, has no bestiality statute - that is, a law specifically prohibiting sexual contact between humans and animals. So Alan Yoder, 29, originally was charged with felony animal cruelty, but court records show that charge was dropped last Friday and replaced with a misdemeanor - disorderly conduct. Yoder now is charged with a "breach of the peace, by engaging in sexual activity with a guide dog," according to a court document. One of two prosecutors on the case, Assistant State Attorney Owen McCaul, did not return a call Thursday. The other, Assistant State Attorney Stephanie Usina, said she could not answer specific questions, including explaining why the charge was lowered to a misdemeanor. Yoder, reached by telephone Thursday, declined to be interviewed. James D. Varnado, his attorney, said he has filed a not-guilty plea on his client's behalf but declined to discuss details of the case. "However lurid the allegations may be, we should resist a rush to judgment," he said. Here's what happened, according to Tallahassee police reports: Yoder, who lives in a local apartment complex, last month asked a female acquaintance to join him in a sex act with the dog, a male yellow Labrador named "Lucky." She demurred, but later told a friend about it. That person called a social worker, who called police. Investigators spoke to Yoder on June 16, who admitted performing certain sex acts with the dog, even going into detail with them, but denied doing others. He was arrested and booked June 22, charged with animal cruelty. An animal-control officer took the dog to Dr. Sondra Brown, a veterinarian at Northwood Animal Hospital, who could not determine whether the dog had been sexually abused. Warren Goodwin, who recently retired after 30 years as an assistant prosecutor, said he could not recall a similar case in Leon County. Annemarie Lucas, a New York-based special investigator for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said sexual contact with animals "probably happens more than it's actually reported." Bestiality - illegal in New York state - is "just not a natural thing," she said. "Animals can't consent ... They're probably fearful and in physical pain. It's like any kind of abuse. "It's a cowardly act," added Lucas, who also appears on "Animal Precinct," a program on the Animal Planet cable-television network. "It's a domination thing, something an animal would never instigate." Stephanie Shain, spokeswoman for the Humane Society of the United States, said her organization takes a similar position. "It's doing something to an animal that they have an inability to stop," Shain said. Last year, an Ocala man pleaded no contest to felony animal cruelty after being charged with having sex with his then-fiancee's female Rottweiler, according to the Pet-Abuse.com Web site. A judge withheld adjudication and ordered five years of probation and a psychological evaluation. He also prohibited the 27-year-old man from "owning pets of any kind while on probation and from having unsupervised contact with other people's pets," the site said.

Woman Grows a Penis Hlaing Thar Yar, Myanmar - Chicken-seller Thin Sandarin had always dreamt of being a man. When she inexplicably grew a penis last month, the 21-year-old treated it as an awe-inspiring omen - as have the thousands of stunned villagers who have travelled to a pagoda to see him. "On the morning of the full moon day of June 21, I noticed my thing (sex organ) was not the same as before," Thin Sandar, who now goes by the male name Than Sein, said on Wednesday. "And my breasts disappeared," Than Sein added. "So I called out and showed it all to my mom and dad. It was very strange." Experts have examined him, and he awaits test results from a women's hospital. - Sapa-AFP.

Jordan said something to the effect that "she lies" (meaning the wacko devil baby).I had heard that Billy Campbell is currently sailing around the world so I wonder if we'll see him again before next season. I have a feeling they are keeping it open for his return.I have to admit that this season isn't as good as lasts. I really, really don't like the storyline with the homeless kids - enough already!

Sci-Fi Channel Sends Friday into Outer Space (Sunday, July 10 12:02 AM) By Kate O'Hare LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Actor Ben Browder had a strange moment not long ago while participating in a photo shoot for his new show, "Stargate SG-1," which launches its ninth season on Friday, July 15 (the same day "Stargate Atlantis" and "Battlestar Galactica" begin their sophomore seasons), on Sci-Fi Channel. "I was standing there," recalls the actor, who for four seasons played American astronaut John Crichton, who was propelled through a wormhole into uncharted space on Sci-Fi's Friday series "Farscape," "and there was a moment I thought, 'I'm the new one in the mix.' Then I realized, 'No, wait, Sci-Fi Friday night. I've been here longer than everybody else.' Actually, someone commented, 'We got the new guy over here.' I said, 'Sci-Fi Friday night? Were you here in 1999? No? Shut up.'" With "Stargate" star Richard Dean Anderson scaling back his involvement (although he does appear in two of the first three episodes, at least), Browder is playing new SG-1 team leader Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell (no relation to the same-named actor). He's a fighter pilot who was seriously injured (but not seen) while saving the SG-1 team in an episode called "Lost City." The SG-1 team -- Brig. Gen. Jack O'Neill (Anderson), Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), Lt. Col. Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and alien Teal'c (Christopher Judge) -- already know Mitchell, and flashbacks will flesh out his history. After spending years in Australia doing "Farscape," Browder says, "I stepped through a wormhole and wound up in another portion of the universe -- Vancouver." Browder also reunites with "Farscape" co-star (and on-screen love) Claudia Black, who reprises her "SG-1" role of thief Vala, introduced last season in an episode called "Prometheus Unbound." "I love working with her," Browder says, "and she really plays a different character, so that part of it is easy. It's good to have someone around that you can occasionally turn to and go, 'How bad was that? Do I need to go again?'" Also joining the "Stargate SG-1" cast this year for new adventures hopping through alien portals to distant worlds is Beau Bridges ("10.5," "The Agency") as Gen. Henry "Hank" Landry. He comes out of retirement to replace old pal O'Neill as head of Stargate Command. "You can quote me," Browder says, "as a confidently heterosexual male -- Beau's gorgeous. He's tremendous fun to have around. He knows his business; he's got great stories." Also on hand in a recurring role is Lou Gossett Jr., as the alien Jaffa leader Gerak. "The second Lou hits the set," Browder says, "you know you're in the presence of Lou Gossett. Watching Beau and Lou, especially when they're on set, there's some very good lessons for a younger actor." Although Crichton named his gun Winona, Browder has no plans to name any "Stargate" weaponry. "Privately. I may have named my weapon," he says, "but that's a John Crichton thing. Crichton is the man who names every inanimate object he can get his hands on. That was his way of making the world less alien and more personal." While replacing Anderson is a daunting task, Browder feels he's up to it. "Interestingly enough," he says, "I was given a hat the other day that said 'O'Neill' in it. It fit OK. I don't know what that says. As they handed me the hat, and it said 'O'Neill,' I thought, 'I don't know how I feel about this. Ah, it's good. I'll wear it.'" "But you know what? No one is ever going to replace RDA, what he meant to the show and to the franchise. He came up and shot a couple scenes, so I got to see him in his natural environment." "Stargate Atlantis" is also shuffling cast members, with Rainbow Sun Francks (Lt. Aiden Ford) becoming a recurring character, and Jason Momoa, as Ronon Dex, joining the team. Also appearing is Mitch Pileggi ("The X-Files") as Col. Steven Caldwell, commander of the Earth warship Daedalus. "Battlestar Galactica," in its second full season (it launched as a miniseries), faces the challenge of following up its cliffhanger season finale. In the final moments, fighter pilot Sharon "Boomer" Valerii (Grace Park) -- secretly a synthetic human created by the mechanical Cylons -- shot Galactica's Commander Adama (Edward James Olmos) in the gut. Also, Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), president of the civilian government overseeing the ragtag fleet of survivors of a Cylon holocaust, was slapped in the brig for challenging Adama's authority to fulfill an ancient prophecy. She sent fighter pilot Kara "Starbuck" Thrace (Katee Sackhoff) back to her devastated home world of Caprica to retrieve an artifact. "Season one really ends at episode seven [of season two]," series creator Ronald D. Moore says. "Adama's been shot; we have people stranded on the planet Kobol; Kara's back on Caprica; Laura's in jail. "Adama does not get back on his feet again for several episodes. It's touch and go with him for a while. (First Officer) Tigh's in command. He gets them out of a tight situation in the first episode, but Tigh's not really the guy you want in command of the fleet. He makes some bad choices, and things go from bad to worse. "Divisions form in the fleet. Laura gets out of jail and leads an insurgency; the fleet is split into two groups. Kara, back on Caprica, encounters a resistance movement. There are a lot of things happening."

My question about the epidural business, is why did the hubby look at the needle is he was squeamish? Jeez, it wasn't even being inserted into him.I agree that was an accident. A tragic accident. Why should the hospital pay out millions to this woman b/c her hubby couldn't handle it? If the hospital had not allowed the husband to be there during the procedure, I'm sure they would have sued. Sometimes you can't win.