Back of the Class

It’s just hours before Apple cuts the ribbon on the largest consumer electronics launch in history. iPhones could be seen rolling into the company’s flagship shop in Midtown Manhattan a short time ago. Staffers ushered the gadgets into the showroom of the subterranean retail shop on Fifth Avenue using push carts — the iPhones themselves on top.

The rumor is that the first 50 people at each Apple Store will receive “a special gift” in addition being some of the first to claim an iPhone.

Looks like Vancouver can claim another Hollywood Star. Seth Rogen started on the road to Hollywood at the tender age of 13 as a stand-up comedian. He won the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest at sixteen and dropped out of Point Grey Secondary School and moved to LA. He landed a role on “Freaks and Geeks” and small parts in “Donnie Darko” and “Dawson’s Creek”. Rogen began writing and wrote for Sascha Baron Cohen’s “Da Ali G Show”.

He landed a major supporting roles in “The 40 year-old Virgin”, “Anchorman”, “You, Me & Dupree” and now has the lead role in Knocked Up.

So, New York matchmaker, Janis Spindel was in town to find a wife for Vancouver’s mystery millionaire bachelor, Mr “X”.

Apparently hundreds of wanna-be wives showed up for the screening at the Sutton Place hotel, to see if they would be a match to the tall, dark, handsome and wealthy widower, and father to an 8 year old daughter.

if Spindel does her job right, she will make $250 000 out of this. Hmmm… maybe I am in the wrong business.

New rules apply for children who arrive at at the airport without proper identification, and if they don’t have them, they risk being turned away at the boarding gate. Parents are faced with stricter security measures at the start of the summer vacation. Children aged 12 to 18 are required to have a passport or other government-issued photo identification, under new regulations that take effect today.

Until Sept. 18, those who don’t have photo ID can board a plane with two pieces of non-photo government-issued ID such as a health card or birth certificate. According to Transport Canada, those without necessary ID will be reviewed on a “case-by-case basis.”
Previously, children under 16 did not have to show ID.

This Sunday is Father’s Day - do you see it as a special day to treat you Dad and show him how special he is, or do you view it as a commercial gimmick?

Most gifts for Father’s Day will fit in one of four categories. Either he is the barbecue guy, the golf guy, the gadget guy or the sports guy. If he is not one of those guys — you’re not really getting him a gift — you’re getting a necktie or a card.

Barbecues are huge this year because infrared technology is where it’s at for dads. One of the biggest sellers is a Jenn-Air four-burner with a 40-burger capacity — it’s got a lot of meat to it! It’s also got a price tag of $999.

Shoppers are expected to spend close to $10 billion for Father’s Day this year, and seven in 10 people will give Dad a card, and four of 10 will take him out to dinner, and more than one-third will be giving Dad some sort of apparel.

Any idea how much of a boost the caffeine in your diet is giving you? Caffeine in moderation, between 200-300 mg per day for most healthy people, won’t hurt you. In excess, caffeine can cause irritability, nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, headaches and diarrhea. While the amount of caffeine in your food can vary by brand and preparation method, here are some averages.

Mountain Dew Code Red, for example has about 50% more caffeine than Coke - about 34 mg per 12 ounces.

Chocolate can give you a buzz. An ounce of milk chocolate packs anywhere from 1 to 15 mg, while the dark stuff can range from 5 to 35 mg.

They don’t call ‘em energy drinks for nothing. One 8.5-ounce can of Red Bull will give you 80 mg of caffeine, more than three times the amount in Coke.

chocolate and coffee-flavoured ice creams also contain caffeine — in some cases, about as much as in a cup of coffee!

Think caffeine can only be found in the foods you eat? Some cold medicines and pain relievers contain it as well. Check the label — some may contain up to 100 mg per dose.

There’s been quite a bit happening down in Hollywood lately and I was determined not to write about Paris Hilton, but after today’s news, I felt I must comment on it.

The woman is out of jail after just 3 days!

Latest reports are that she was released due to a medical condition and will now serve her full 45 day term under house arrest with an ankle bracelet. I say she should rather do community service and see what the Simple Life is really like.

Meanwhile her friend Lindsay Lohan is in drug rehab and Nicole Richie told David Letterman this week that she hope she doesn’t go to jail, after Richie, the 25-year-old daughter of pop singer Lionel Richie, pleaded not guilty in February to driving under the influence. Her fate is still to be determined.

Rosie left The View after a major fight with co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck. At the recent launch for her new book “Celebrity Detox,” she told the audience her publicist “orchestrated that whole publicity thing just to get more attention for the book … brazenly calling up the other hosts, telling them to incite me.”

A Burnaby family is desperately trying to locate their 18 year old son who went missing early Thursday morning.

Ron Braumberger said,”I’m feeling helpless. There’s nothing I can do. Like I say, if there’s something I could do to try and find him it’s a different story, but what can you do? it’s just such a vast area that he could be in, like his car was left abandoned in one spot, but he could be anywhere, we just don’t know.”

Brian is 6′ tall and weighs about 185 pounds. He was last seen in New Westminster, but his car was found near Cumberland and 16th in Burnaby.

If you have any information, please contact the RCMP.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in town meeting with Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan to discuss the city’s eco-density planning approach, the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics and possibly B.C.’s movie industry.

Schwarzenegger also joined Premier Gordon Campbell for the first Pacific Economic Summit in where they are expected to announce several climate-change initiatives.

Interesting to know that most people see “The Governator” as The Terminator first, and Governor of California second.