Trending on Thursday - July 7, 2011

1. Taylor Swift postpones Georgia, NC concerts

2. The Brett Favre Chatter That Will Make Your Stomach Churn

3. Keri Russell Pregnant with Baby No. 2

4. Willie Nelson’s Marijuana Plea Bargain Rejected

5. Electric car future envisaged

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Taylor Swift postpones Georgia, NC concerts

Artist Taylor Swift says she's postponing concerts this week in Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C. because she has bronchitis.

Swift said in a statement that she's been advised by her doctor that she's not well enough to perform shows in Charlotte, N.C. Friday and in Atlanta this weekend.

She said the Atlanta show has been rescheduled for Oct. 1, and the Charlotte show will now be Nov. 16.

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The Brett Favre Chatter That Will Make Your Stomach Churn

Brett Favre was last mentioned on TBL on June 15. (Off topic: Damn, Bar.) The link went to a Sports Illustrated post that captured Favre saying, “I can still throw the ball as well as I ever have. No question about that.”

Before that, I mentioned Favre in a 1-liner (remember those things!? Good times!) that linked to a Pro Football Talk article about Favre not knowing what he was going to do with himself. (Hint: Not take sexy pictures.)

Yesterday when I was on the Twitter, I saw someone RT a Pro Football Talk story about Brett Favre. “No escape from Brett Favre comeback talk,” it said. This struck me as odd. If there were serious Brett Favre comeback talk, wouldn’t we here at The Big Lead be bombarding you with post after post about Favre? I submit that, yes, we would. Apparently, we missed the memo.

Everyone is sick of Favre comeback chatter, and everyone has been sick of Favre comeback chatter since about three Favre comebacks ago. But that doesn’t mean the chatter is going away, at least not until the regular season starts without a Favre comeback.

I think its great that we’ve moved past talking about Favre and can officially get to talking about talking about Favre. Or in this case, talking about not talking about Favre. Until people are yelling about this on Around the Horn again, I think we can move on. Unless more stories like this one from NFL.com’s Gil Brandt come out.That said, I do think Favre would be interested in talking to a team about returning. But I don’t see a team out there right now that would bring him back as a starter.

What?

When the lockout ends (hopefully soon) we can get back to the comeback talk. The shortened training camp and preseason will be very attractive to Favre.

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Keri Russell Pregnant with Baby No. 2

 

Keri Russell and husband Shane Deary are expecting their second child, People reports.

Check out photos of Keri Russell

Russell, 35, is already mom to son River, 4. Russell and Deary, a carpenter, wed in February 2007.

The Golden Globe-winning actress is best known for her work on Felicity and most recently starred in the short-lived comedy Running Wilde.

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Willie Nelson’s Marijuana Plea Bargain Rejected

A West Texas judge has rejected country singer Willie Nelson's plea bargain that would have resolved his marijuana possession case with a fine.

EL PASO, Texas - A West Texas judge has rejected country singer Willie Nelson's plea bargain that would have resolved his marijuana possession case with a fine.

Hudspeth County Judge Becky Dean-Walker told The Associated Press Wednesday that she rejected prosecutor Kit Bramblett's suggestion that Nelson plead guilty and pay a $500 fine for possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor not punishable with jail time.

Dean-Walker says, "It's not right simply because he doesn't do that for anybody else."

She wants Nelson charged with the misdemeanor of possession of marijuana, which could mean up to one year in jail.

Bramblett did not return a call. Nelson's publicist declined comment.

Nelson was arrested in November at a Border Patrol checkpoint when an agent searched his tour bus. He was later released on bail.  

 

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Electric car future envisaged 

Kiwis could be able to affordably convert their petrol-powered cars to electric vehicles, says a Japanese executive who is pushing his company's electric vehicle prototype technology in New Zealand.

Soichiro Fukutake is the director of Japanese-based Sim Drive, a developer of electric car prototypes.

The company is promoting its protoypes worldwide, saying electric vehicles must be brought into widespread use to help the environment.

The technology is not expected to enter mass production for another two years.

Fukutake is speaking about the company's vision at the Icehouse Ideas conference in Auckland today.

There are two ways the technology could be implemented: where the motor is located in the wheels and the battery in the trunk or under the car seats; and secondly where the motor is placed in the wheels and the battery in a frame under the floor.

Fukutake, who emigrated to New Zealand in 2009, has asked the Government to provide incentives to New Zealanders wanting to convert their cars to electric technology.

"It's too expensive for many consumers to buy new electric vehicles so why not convert them?" he said.

Given New Zealand lacks an automobile manufacturing industry, Fukutake believed it would be better to train New Zealand mechanics on how to convert cars with an internal combustion engine to electric powered cars using Sim Drive technology.

He estimated a basic conversion would cost about NZ$6,000, plus leasing costs for the battery. Fukutake said a significant uptake of conversions would reduce New Zealand's reliance on imported petrol, boost employment and benefit the environment. 

The company had also developed new electric steel car prototypes, with an average battery life of 330km.

Of all the countries in the world, China was most interested in the technology, said Fukutake, and a Chinese Government department had undertaken to manufacture electric vehicles using the Sim Drive technology.

The technology was developed with the backing of 34 companies, who contributed NZ$30,000 each to the project, said Fukutake. Critics' concerns over the proposed technology include greater weight in the tyres, safety if a wheel breaks and water damage to motors, but Sim Drive believed those issues were resolvable.

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