The tragic death of five New York teens in a car accident–believed to have been caused by the driver sending/receiving text messages on her cell phone–has prompted lawmakers to propose a bill banning text messaging while driving.

ALBANY – The horrific deaths of five upstate teens when the SUV they were riding in slammed into a truck has pumped momentum into a measure that would prohibit New Yorkers from sending text messages when they’re behind the wheel.

“The recent tragedy in Canandaigua highlights how deadly the combination of texting and driver inexperience can be,” said Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Oyster Bay), who is co-sponsoring the proposal with Assemblyman Felix Ortiz (D-Brooklyn).

Using cell phone records, police determined the 17-year-old driver who caused the deadly wreck last month was sending and receiving text messages before the SUV she was driving rammed a tractor-trailer, killing her and four girls who had just graduated from high school.

Tests conducted on the driver after the fiery crash showed the primary cause of the accident was driver inattention due to the apparent text messaging. Alcohol was not a factor.

A recent poll of people 18 to 24 years old showed that two out of three admit to sending text messages when they drive.

Ortiz, the author of the trail-blazing New York prohibition against drivers using hand-held cell phones when they’re behind the wheel, said, “It’s a shame that it may take a tragedy like this for this bill to move forward.”

Under the proposal, those nabbed texting while driving could be hit with fines of up to $100 – the same penalty that applies now when police catch drivers gabbing on cell phones.

Does anyone besides me think this is pointless. Nearly impossible to enforce and just as hard to catch someone doing it (especially in New York), I don’t see how it could be very effective. A better approach would be to use this tragedy to educate teens on the dangers of such activity. However, the “old” person in me wonders why anyone would need educating to this fact, but that’s a rant for another day.

Sure, I’d like to have an iPhone. However, since I don’t have $600 to drop on a new phone (and I’m indentured to Sprint for at least another year – or more). I’ll settle for playing with the Leaflets web based demo.

To get the full effect, you’ll need to be running Safari 3 on a Mac or PC. The idea of Leaflets is a great one. Provide a portal that formats a lot of the popular RSS based services for iPhone viewing. The RSS / Feeds view is very efficient and all the demos read very well on the small screen of the iPhone.

Still, the negatives on the iPhone (no MS Exchange, no high-speed data, etc.) make me want to wait for a later version anyway.

When the Wayne Building in Gotham City suffers a severe shake-up, Batman, Robin, and Apache Chief learn that the spirit of an Iroquois Indian (I’m not even gonna try to spell the Indian’s name!) is haunting the building. The spirit believes that the building was built on top of a burial mound, but Apache Chief leads him to the actual location of the burial ground, outside Gotham City.

It’s no secret that I’m a cartoon and comic book fan. Some of my favorite cartoons have always been the old DC cartoons (Superfriends, Superman, Batman). Recently, Warner Home Video released the 1977 New Adventures of Batman and the first season of the Adventures of Superman from 1966. Both sets were great (and replaced a few homemade sets of mine). I’m guessing they sold fairly well, because Warner has announced even more classic DC animation.

Super Powers Galactic Guardians added Cyborg to the Super FriendsLook for Aquaman and the Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians to hit DVD on October 23rd. It doesn’t surprise me that another set of Superfriends is being released. Aside from the original 1973 series with Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog, the upcoming Legendary Super Powers show and the Galactic Guardians will complete the “series” releases of SuperFriends. Hopefully sometime in 2008 Warner will release the All-New SuperFriends 1-hour episodes, along with all the additional 7-minute shorts that were created between 1980-1983.

Aquaman Animated DVD CoverAquaman is the release that really surprises me. He’s never been that popular of a character and would be the last series I expected to see on DVD. It makes sense after thinking about it. After these two releases in October, I expect we’ll see DC/Warner release the 1966 Filmation Batman Cartoon, along with the second and final season of the Adventures of Superman 1966 series. That only leaves the original DC Animated shorts (featuring the Justice League, Hawkman, Flash, Atom, and the Teen Titans) and Superboy. Considering the legal ruling in 2004 that the Siegels owned the rights to Superboy, I don’t expect we’ll see that set anytime soon.

Muppet Show Season 2 DVD set featuring a Miss Piggy coverFinally, we’re getting another season of the Muppet Show in just a few weeks on August 7. The first season set was great, but the good guest hosts didn’t start showing up until Season 2. You’ll see great shows featuring Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, George Burns, Rich Little, Peter Sellers, Lou Rawls, John Cleese, Elton John, and many more. With the exception of a few great Season 3 shows (Alice Cooper, Harry Belafonte, Raquel Welch), I think Season 2 was probably the best “season” of the show. Not only that, but the set looks to include a few great features and even one show I don’t think I’ve ever seen.

* The Muppets Valentines Special – Starring a young Mia Farrow, Kermit, and some Muppets you might not recognize, this extremely collectible special has aired only twice since 1974, and never before been released on DVD.
* Weezer and the Muppets – The music video for “Keep Fishin'” featuring Weezer backstage at The Muppet Show.
* The Muppets on the Muppets – Personal and revealing interviews from Kermit, Gonzo, Rizzo, and others that will make you laugh, and may even make you cry.