National Carry A Tune Week on October, 2024: who is singing National Anthem on Super Bowl tonight?

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Super Bowl Halftime Show 2012: Alex Rodriguez and Stars Who Shouldn't Tune inBy Mike Chiari(Featured Columnist) on February 3, 2012 880 reads

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All eyes will be on pop icon Madonna during halftime of the Super Bowl as she performs at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. While many are certainly excited to see the "Material Girl" perform at the Super Bowl for the first time, others won't be so happy.

I'm not talking about kids who have no clue who Madonna even is, rather, those who have had some run-ins with her in the past. Madonna has had her fair share of relationships gone bad and public feuds, so it wouldn't be surprising if ratings are down a bit for the halftime show this year.

Here are three stars who shouldn't watch Madonna perform on Sunday evening.

Sean Penn

Madonna married actor Sean Penn way back in 1985 on her birthday. While the couple was seemingly happy at first, there were some behind-the-scenes issues that eventually led to their divorce in 1987. Madonna claimed that Penn had anger issues, as evidenced by his felony domestic assault charge, and that she was too focused on her booming career to make a marriage work at the time.

Perhaps the breakup was Penn's own fault as Madonna seemed to assert, but he couldn't have appreciated her damaging his reputation. You would like to think that both Madonna and Penn are bigger people than that and that they have long since moved on, but those in Hollywood tend to carry some grudges.

Elton John

Madonna and musical legend Elton John have had a bit of a catty relationship over the years, but it only continues to escalate thanks to John's partner David Furnish. Furnish blasted Madonna a few weeks ago after she beat out John for the Golden Globe for best song. Now, according to TMZ, he is claiming that he won't be watching Madonna's performance during the Super Bowl.

John seems to have gotten over his little bouts with Madonna, but Furnish clearly hasn't. Even if John actually wants to see what Madonna has in store for the Super Bowl, he is obligated to refrain from watching it. If Elton is caught watching the performance by Furnish, he'll never hear the end of it. The cardinal rule is to always stick by your spouse, whether they're right or wrong.

Alex Rodriguez

The New York Yankees slugger has been in his fair share of high-profile relationships with the likes of actresses Cameron Diaz and Kate Hudson, and he is currently dating former WWE Diva Torrie Wilson.

Perhaps his most famous and strange endeavor came in 2008 with Madonna. A-Rod and the Princess of Pop dated for an undetermined amount of time and formed a very interesting power couple.

Rodriguez goes through women like New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan goes through Snickers, so it's hard to say if there were any hard feelings or if the pair broke up amicably. There were whispers that Rodriguez only dated the then 50-year-old Madonna because he had the stature to do so, but I doubt Torrie wants him keeping tabs on his old flame on Sunday.

When you go hiking or backpacking do you carry a gun?

I guess that I will represent the opposite - and undoubtly unpopular, even if more realistic - view point on this. I grew up around guns, have owned guns (don't right now), have gone hunting and believe in people's right to own guns.

I still go hunting on occasion, but I DO NOT carry a gun while hiking or backpacking and I have spent entire weeks at a time backpacking in wilderness areas, National Parks and other back country (including bear country). In fact, it is illegal to carry a gun in most National Parks and Monuments.

Unless they are threatened, their offspring are threatened, or they have become desensitized to humans, most wildlife, including bears (other than grizzlies) are afraid of humans will try to run away or - at worst - bluff. The odds of you being killed or seriously injured by an animal are very remote... probably in the 1 in a million region - certainly less than winning the state lottery.

One might say, 'Sure, but why even take that chance?'. What people don't take into account is the odds of accidentally hurting yourself or companion with your own gun (accidental misfire, whatever). The number of people hurt in gun accidents in the back country is MUCH larger than the number of people that are hurt by wildlife. Everybody thinks that they are very safe with guns and it can't happen to them, but as Cheney's accident demostrates, even careful people with years of experience can still have gun accidents and the odds - while very low - are still much higher than a bear attack.

I think that this exaggarated fear of wild life, is partly due to perception. If someone is attacked by a bear (or other wild animal) it is going to make state and probably national news while gun accidents are rarely reported in the media at all. Likewise, there is a machismo factor. Probably all male gun owners (myself included) have day dreamed about heroically defeating bears, criminals, terrorists whatever. Nobody ever fantasizes about accidentally shooting themselves or killing a friend.

More important however than comparing the tiny odds of animal attack vs gun accident is the whole mindframe of it. For me, I go hiking and backpacking to get away from work, from people, from traffic, from the city. I know that a serious fall, sprain, dehydration or hypothermia are far far more likely to hurt me than anything else and I prepare for those things. Knowledgeable about the real dangers, I go into the wood feeling comfortable and in tune with my surroundings and come back refreshed. If I was ever so afraid and scared in the outdoors that I felt compelled to carry a gun in order to feel secure, I would probably not even go any more.

Yes, there are some places in this world where it is probably safer to carry a gun and I don't mean this as a critique of people that take guns while hiking and backpacking (I have several friends that do). It is a personal choice and not that big of a deal either way. But if you are going to take one, also take the responsibility to put the bravado aside and be honest about the real chances of various danger scenarios. If you go backpacking and place carrying a gun over, say getting a first aid/CPR cert, than you have bigger things to worry about than bears.

How long is a National Guard interstate transfer likely to take?

There is NO guarantee that the gaining state will take you. The Guard as a whole is OVERSTRENGTH to the tune of about 80,000 people. Most states are over strength

Generally if you are a junior enlisted (E-4<) and in a common MOS it will be relatively quick.

If you are an NCO or in a less common MOS...it will take a long time..maybe never...depending on how that state is sitting.

Every state is like it's own little Army. If they bring in an NCO from outside that f*cks up one of their guys getting promoted to NCO...see how that works.

Your best bet if YOU want it to go quick is to find YOURSELF a unit and PARA/LIN and hand carry that to your state's IST coordinator to do the transfer. That will take all of 10 minutes to make happen.

Edit:

"they just move, and that sort of forces the issue."

Great way to find ones self AWOL and booted out with a OTH and RE-4. Just did 3 of them last week.