From the "not so surprising" world of the bazaar

Well, when I first saw this headline/teaser on CNN.com, I figured this was the next Flavor Flav dating-type reality show on some random cable station (boring!). I could see parts of this contest being on the next reality TV show of some third-rate station in the States... other than of course the tragic ending.

However, this story is more from the land of the real and seems very telling of today's economic times. This may actually be a very telling story from the land of the next bubble burst: China. Printed without permission from CNN. Enjoy...


Chinese mistress contest takes tragic turn
BEIJING, China (CNN) -- A married Chinese businessman who could no longer afford five mistresses held a competition to decide which one to keep.

The businessman and his spurned mistress met in Qingdao, pictured here last August, local media report.

But the contest took a fatal turn when one of the women, eliminated for her looks, drove the man and the four other competitors off a cliff, Chinese media reported.

The spurned mistress died and the other passengers were injured, the reports said.

Police initially thought the car had plummeted off a mountain road in eastern China on December 6 by accident. Then they learned of the contest through a letter the dead woman had left behind, the Shanghai Daily newspaper said.

The 29-year-old woman, identified only as Yu, was a waitress when she met the businessman at a restaurant in the coastal city of Qingdao in 2000.

At the time, the businessman, identified only by his last name -- Fan -- was married and had four other mistresses, according to the Peninsula Metropolis Daily newspaper in Qingdao.
The women knew of one another, but none elected to break up with the man and give up their rent-free apartment and a 5,000 yuan ($730) monthly allowance, the reports said.

When the economy soured, the businessman apparently decided to let go of all but one mistress.

He staged a private talent show in May, without telling the women his intentions. An instructor from a local modeling agency judged the women on the way they looked, how they sang and how much alcohol they could hold, the Shanghai Daily said.

The judge knocked out Yu in the first round of the competition based on her looks. Angry, she decided to exact revenge by telling her lover and the four other women to accompany her on a sightseeing trip before she returned to her home province, the media reports said.

It was during the trip that Yu reportedly drove the car off the cliff. Fan shut down his company after the crash and paid Yu's parents 580,000 yuan ($84,744) as compensation for her death.

The four other women left him, as did his wife when she learned of the affairs.

The Circus is leaving the Big Apple

After a long hiatus, Musings From Boulder is back!

As many know by now, Brett Favre has announced his retirement (yes, again). This comes as no great surprise to anyone who follows the Packers (like me) or was a Favre fan (like me). No sappy press conferences, no crying as he left the field. Just a retirement statement from Brett and his agent. Favre did help turn around the Jets this year, going 9-7 after 4-12 the prior year, however a 4 game losing streak and playing their way out of the playoffs weren't enough to keep Favre around another year. The coach got fired because of the year-end losing skid and Favre took heavy criticism from his teammates. So today begins the end of the Favre career (this time may be final - but who knows).

Actually, I hope he unretires (again) and comes back to be a distraction for the NY Jets this whole season. Hey, I bet Alex Rodriguez is already calling Favre to thank him for deferring the press this week and encouraging him to return to the Jets in May when the baseball season starts and A-Roid will be neck deep in interviews. Perhaps Brett may be able to "save" baseball...

If he stays retired, I may be able to start wearing my Brett Favre Packers jersey after nearly throwing it away last summer and retiring it until he "actually retires". Only time will tell!

Minority Report technology revealed!

Remember the really cool 3D interface computer they used to track down Tom Cruise in the movie?? It was this amazing computer that is controlled by hand movements and operates in a virtual 3D "world". The company behind this technology is called Oblong. Go check out the website and what they are all about.

This is the kind of stuff that is going to help continue changing the world as we know. The creativity and imagination as well as the know how to figure this type of thing out is just amazing to me. Very cool stuff!


g-speak overview 1828121108 from john underkoffler on Vimeo.

The real truth from Mexico on why not to smoke cigarettes

Just in case big tobacco and the lobbyists in America have you believing otherwise, check out the display right in front of a Duty-Free shop at the Puerto Vallarta airport. Not only does 'smoking kill', second hand smoke is 'seriously harmful to those around you.'

On the other hand, it's only $92 (U.S.) to buy a huge box of death sticks... I believe this exact package holds five cartons of cigarettes.