Paris Hilton Is Back In Hot Water, Amanda Beard to Pose for Playboy, What to Do Without Internet/Cell/Cable?

Quick-hitters:

- AK is truly an evil hand. I lost three buy-ins today with AK: first against 77, where the flop came K7x; second against T8, when he flopped a flush and I had a chance to draw a better flush; and third against AQ, where he spiked a Q on the river (naturally).

- For some reason, I cannot stop following the Paris Hilton story! What outrageous twist will come next? Maybe the Governator will finally offer a pardon...

By the way, this picture is traumatizing me.

I don't know what was the best scene of the day: there was that guy holding a "Liberate Hilton" sign outside her house, there was that guy screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOO" when it was announced that Hilton will have to serve the entire 45-day sentence (as if that is going to stick), there was a guy holding a "Obama-Hilton 08" poster, and there was the usual scene of rabid paparazzi members chasing the police car as it drove away from her house.

Why do I have the feeling that Hilton's fans (how she has fans to begin with, I do not know) will be outside the facility she's being held at, offering her a standing ovation once she's released from prison? If people did that during the Wacko Jacko case, why not this?

- Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard bared all in this month's issue of Playboy, citing this as a "once in a lifetime opportunity." While there are lots that are happy for her decision--I mean her own family, not the thousands of Playboy subscribers!--she also expects to get some criticism, specifically from mothers of younger swimmers.

I can understand both sides of the argument; would you blame the mother of a young female swimmer if she took offense to Beard--a role model for many swimmers today--posing in Playboy? Also, I can understand how this decision only serves to further demean female athletes. There is such a disparity of respect between male and female athletes as it is; why further this disparity by doing something like this?

Personally, I don't see what the big deal is. For one thing, I commend Beard for seeing this as an opportunity to build a career outside of swimming:

Beard is trying to position herself for a career away from the pool, and she sees the magazine spread as a way to attract nonswimming fans.

She envisions developing her own business empire, similar to former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Kathy Ireland’s line of apparel and home furnishings.

She's 25, probably going to call it quits after the 2008 Olympic Games, and is already thinking ahead of her next phase of life. What is wrong with that? Sure, maybe she could have thought of a better way to advertise herself, but in this day and age, is Playboy really that big of a deal any more?

Do I believe her decision to pose in Playboy will only serve to further demean female athletes? No; she wouldn't be the first female athlete to pose for Playboy. If anything, I agree that this will bring more attention to Olympic swimming. Unfortunately, I also expect the attention for the sport to wane once she retires.

- Today's TotD:

What would you do without internet access? A cell phone? Cable television?

I should point out that this topic was shamelessly ripped from a thread over at the Bargainshare Forums. I will briefly answer all three questions below:

1. I'd probably keel over, or end up in the fetal position for eternity.
2. I could live without a cell phone; nobody calls me, anyway, except for these voice recordings in Spanish (I found out that these recordings are scams, trying to get unsuspecting people to pay fines they never knew they owed).
3. Without cable television, I'd be in a bit of trouble (no ESPN? AHHHHHHHHHH). However, if both cable television and cable internet are taken away from me, one might as well end my life now.

(Ok, I'm not totally serious about that last statement.)