Rilo Kiley's Blake Sennett - Engaged to Winona Ryder?

There are rumors circulating that Blake Sennett, guitarist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley, is engaged to Winona Ryder. The L.A.-based Rilo Kiley has been on tour in recent months supporting their latest album, "Under the Blacklight," which was released last year. Rilo Kiley has been one of my favorite bands of the last few years and have a wide following in the indie rock world.

Like Rilo Kiley frontwoman Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett was a child actor (and has had some roles as an adult as well). Sennett appeared in series including "Family Ties," "The Wonder Years," "Boy Meets World," and "Third Rock from the Sun," usually under the name Blake Swendson or Blake Soper.

Rilo Kiley took a break as a band while Lewis and Sennett each recording and touring to support their solo efforts. Jenny Lewis toured as Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins; Sennett had an alt-rock band called The Elected.

It remains to be seen if these Winona Ryder/Blake Sennett engagement rumors are true.

Pentagon Testing "Active Denial" Ray Gun System

If you watched "60 Minutes" tonight, you saw that interesting story on a new non-lethal weapon the Pentagon is testing. It's called the Active Denial System, and it looks like a satellite dish (only it's flat and square) mounted on the top of a truck.

What the Active Denial System does is to direct a 100,000-watt beam of very high frequency radio waves at the target, which makes a person feel intense heat on the skin that apparently gives the sensation that the skin is burning. And the sensation is felt even if the person is wearing heavy clothing.

According to the Department of Defense the Active Denial System doesn't cause any permanent damage to the people on the receiving end (provided they don't get too much exposure to it). And it seems the blast can work from quite a distance away.

At the link above you can read the "60 Minutes" story and see video of the poor correspondent who reported the story, and volunteered to be on the receiving end of the Active Denial System to see what it felt like!

Amazing 3D Sidewalk Art by Julian Beaver

The artist Julian Beaver creates some incredibly realistic sidewalk drawings in chalk that look just like they are in 3D when viewed from the proper angle. He takes flat drawings, then "morphs" them so that they look like they are real and in three dimensions. You can see photos of some Julian Beaver sidewalk drawings here.

Julian Beaver was the subject of a story on the CBS Sunday Morning show on March 2nd.

Cash Tomato Gets Squashed in New York Riot

A video-sharing company called Cash Tomato (www.cashtomato.com) tried to give out money near New York's Union Square to drum up publicity, but got mashed when the impatient crowd got greedy and rushed the tomato-dressed representatives handing out tomatoes wrapped in money.

The idea was to give out the loot at 2:29 p.m. on 2/29, Leap Day, but a few minutes before the appointed time about 100 people bum-rushed several Cash Tomato workers dressed as tomatoes to grab the prizes, valued up to $29. The workers, feeling under siege, let the boxes and bags of loot go, and a scramble ensued for the left-behind goodies. One person reportedly ended up in the hospital after getting his leg stepped on.

A Cash Tomato VP says the company has done similar promotions in other cities and didn't have this kind of aggressive response.

USS New York Christened; Navy Ship Has Steel from World Trade Center

The christening of the newest Navy ship, the USS New York, was in many ways like the christening of any other new ship, but in a way it was also totally different. That's because the front part of the ship was made from seven and a half tons of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of 9/11. And thousands of people gathered in New York City to watch the christening ceremony, including those who lost friends and relatives on 9/11.

The USS New York was trimmed in red, white and blue banners, has a seal on its bow that features two gray bars to symbolize the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.

The USS New York had been planned at the time the terrorist attacks happened, but the ship did not yet have a name. It was former New York Governor George Pataki that suggested the name.

The ship cost about one billion dollars to build and weighs 25,000 tons. It is 684 feet long and can carry about 360 sailors and 700 Marines. It is to be commissioned next year.

Roger Von Bergendorff Identified as Man in Vegas Hospital in Ricin Case

Sources have said that Roger Von Bergendorff is the name of the man who has been in critical condition in a Las Vegas hospital after being exposed to the deadly toxin ricin in a city motel. What's more, the hotel suite where the vials of ricin were found also contained guns and literature about anarchy, including information on ricin.

Von Bergendorff is said to be 57 years old. He reportedly called emergency services on Feb. 14th, saying he was suffering from respiratory distress. Despite finding ricin, the firearms, and the anarchic literature, Las Vegas police say that there is no terrorist threat or danger to the community from the ricin. Maybe someone is splitting hairs over the definition of terrorism, but obviously someone in that hotel room was up to no good. The man's symptoms are consistent with ricin exposure; other people tested as a precaution have show no signs of exposure to the toxin.

The Salt Lake City Deseret News reports that two men being investigated in connection to the vials of ricin have a connection to Riverton, Utah.

The FBI confirmed to the Deseret Morning News on Saturday that two people involved in the investigation are from Riverton.
Maybe someone should call the CSI folks and get Gil Grissom and his crew on the case. Yes, Grissom will make some odd, irrelevant comments and start talking about his fascination with bugs, but the team will get the job done.