Layne's Birthday - August 22nd

For me, as a musician, Alice in Chains (AIC) changed my musical direction completely. With the emergence of AIC, Nirvana, Mudhoney, Screaming Trees, Soundgarden, etc…a new passion inside myself emerged that really changed me forever. Seemingly overnight, 80’s hair bands were squashed, only crumpled corpses and remnants of spandex-laden rock gods remained. It wasn’t so much that I desired bands like Ratt, Warrant and Dokken to dissappear as much as I felt I identified with the entire grunge culture as if I were waiting for it all my life. And it was Layne Staley’s Alice in Chains that hit me like a ton of bricks more than anything else. Together with Jerry Cantrell, Layne crafted songs on Facelift and their following releaes that hit me hard and never let go.

Layne was an original. There’s only one Alice in Chains and one Layne Staley. I can only wish Layne the best in his next life.

Thanks for the great music!

Ken Griffey Jr. was traded to the White Sox from the Reds for 2B Danny Richar and SP Nick Masset. The question is: Did Sox GM Kenny Williams make the right move? Yes, Griffey’s a Hall of Famer, he’s great in the clubhouse and he has a winning smile. However, the question still remains if he’s the right guy for the Sox. Griffey is batting a meager .245 with 15 dingers in a park - like “The Cell” - that is very homerun friendly. Gone are the days of Griffey’s past when he was a premier player in the league. That said, is he that much of an upgrade to Paul Konerko, who will spend most of his time on the bench now that Griffey is here?

Ok, maybe he is a small offensive upgrade. But at what cost does this slight upgrade come? The talk is that Griffey will replace Nick Swisher in center and Swisher will then move to first in place of Konerko. Neither sounds too good. Griffey is no longer a center fielder and may even be somewhat of a liability trying to get to balls in the gap and Swisher is a defensive downgrade from Konerko. If winning baseball games comes down to pitching and DEFENSE, how can this be a good move?

I like Griffey and respect his great career, but think this trade hurts the Sox’ chances.

Kim Katz and Kevin Costner

Kevin Costner, in town with his band Modern West, had Buzz Magazine writer Kim Katz tracked down to make sure she would attend his show at the House of Blues, this based on a review she had written a year ago that touched his heart. After a private performance during the band’s soundcheck, Kevin then proceeded to give Kim a fantastic exclusive video interview, which you can watch at www.BuzzNews.TV. Be sure to check it out!

Buzz recently took a trip out to Las Vegas to attend the 2008 Cinevegas Film Festival, and got some great footage while we were there! All of the footage can be seen at Buzznews.tv and includes celebrity interviews by Kimberly Katz on the red carpet for the screenings of “The Rocker” with Rainn Wilson, and “Get Smart”, with Steve Carrell. Check it out, and if you have some time- leave a comment or two!

Science Daily, a respected website that gathers research news and updates from across all fields of science and technology, has published a very interesting piece about what has been an incredibly successful (100% cure rate) transfusion of white blood cells in mice in order to combat malignancies.

The study was done at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center under the direction of lead researcher Zheng Cui, Ph.D., and they’ve just been given a green light from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin human trials. There are of course no assurances that this therapy will have the same effect on humans as mice, but we can certainly hope for the best!

Volunteers are being selected right now for participation in the study. To find out how to volunteer and for more specific information on the study and the procedure, you can read the full article here.

What if.. Brock Lesnar vs Kimbo Slice.. today??  Who wins?

Most of us fans understand that both men are relatively new to MMA.  Brock Lesnar, former amateurwrestling champion and former WWE champion, is taking his wrestling expertise and massive size to the UFC.  Then there is Kimbo Slice (aka Kevin Ferguson), former internet streetfighter, bringing his style of brawling and boxing to the Elite XC.  Both names are well-known, let’s imagine them butting heads.  Who would emerge victorious?

Our sister site, Buzznews.TV is almost ready to launch! Loaded with multimedia content, but specializing in video, Buzznews.TV will bring you behind the scenes with Kim Katz’ “The Green Room” showcasing tons of celebrity interviews in a unique style.

Other content on Buzznews.TV includes a Chicago Nightlife section with video tours of the hottest spots downtown and in the surrounding suburbs, a Comedy section putting the spotlight on up and coming comedians, a Music page with clips from local bands, several Sports programs hosted by upbeat and knowledgeable personalities, and much more!

http://www.buzznews.tv

We’ve been working hard to improve the experience of vistors to Buzznews.net, and have recently added a mailing list (you can sign up for it right below the Buzz logo) and a blog to the site.

Signing up for the mailing list will give you the privilege of receiving updates from Buzz to let you know when we have added new content to the site, as well as information about current and/or upcoming contests.

In the coming weeks, quite a few of the Buzz staff writers will be entering the blogosphere- bringing readers up-to-the-second information and giving some insight into the personal lives of the writers you’ve been reading since Buzz first hit the shelves.

Enjoy!