This is a very sad case where life imitates art. CSI fans will remember that this has happened on the show before too. It became a huge investigation to find out why the man lit on fire. Not to mention the fact that the victim in that episode was fried to a crisp.

But for homeless man 31-year-old Daniel Wood, it became his reality this week. He ignited when police officers tasered him when he resisted arrest. In his case, though, he had a small fire and the police were able to put it out with their hands. He only suffers mild burns on his chest.

The reason the man was resisting arrest was the aerosol can fumes he had been huffing in public. From the looks of his mugshot, he was very likely under the influence and bystnders called him “incoherent.” Here’s what one of the police officers says about it:

“It’s an open spark,” explained Captain Adam Pillar of the Lancaster police. He said the Taser was working properly and it was likely the chemicals from the aerosol can, which Wood was carrying, that caught fire.

I hope he is ok and will get the help he seems to desperately need.

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[Image: stock.xchng]

I was out listening to music and having a drink with friends last week in Las Vegas when we struck up a conversation with some women at the table next to us. One of them, it turns out is an undercover Las Vegas police officer! I just had to ask her to talk to me a bit about what it’s like for her to work there in the “city of sin.”

I’ll call her Fran, but it’s not her real name. She’s a petite, pretty woman, but with a handshake like a vice. It’s plain that in her case, looks are definitely deceiving. She’s smart & tough and I’m glad she’s on the side of the law.

Fran works in the undercover unit that tries to get young girls off the street and out of the psychological and physical clutches of their pimps. She told me that most of the young working girls ran away from bad home situations and fell prey to the “charms” of their pimp, who promises to protect them and whom they swear they love.

Fran spends her time trying to convince those girls that their pimp is out for no one but himself and that there is more for them elsewhere. Believe it or not, many of the girls are extremely difficult to convince. They’ve never known any better.

She says that the Vegas unit she works in sends the girls to Los Angeles to be a part of the Children of the Night Program.

Sometimes Fran dresses like the working girls so that she can gain their acceptance, so I don’t want to identify her at all, but it’s clear that she’s very passionate about the work she does. She knows that there are a lot of girls that won’t ever leave their pimp, but she keeps working to save the ones she can.

She’s married and her husband works in Las Vegas in the entertainment industry, so I know he comes into contact with some unsavory characters now and then too. But Fran is the super courageous woman I got the chance to talk to and I am in awe of her strength. She’s a true hero. She doesn’t want the spotlight. In fact, in her work, she can’t get public recognition. She is an unsung hero that saves young people from horrible situations, and perhaps worse every day.

I know she’s not in the CSI unit, but she’s someone that touched me and made me happy that there are such heroic people, ready to do what they can to save other people’s children. My hat’s off to Fran and to all of her counterparts everywhere that work to help others who don’t even know how to help themselves.

I was so impressed with Fran and the work she does that I just had to share it with you. I know I’ll watch crime dramas with a bit of a different attitude. I’ll watch with more respect for the undercover officers now that I’ve met Fran. I hope you might too.

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[Photo: newscom.com]

That’s right! According to TV Guide, there’s a CSI movie in the works! And even better news is that William Petersen will return to play Gil Grissom in it. Here’s a quote from William about the movie:

“Yes, there will be a movie,” Petersen told Britain’s Radio Times. Although he is sure fans might be “a little trepidatious,” Petersen promises the move to the big screen will not be done haphazardly.

“Usually people leave it till a series has finished —they did that with The X-Files and Sex and the City,” Petersen said. “But it’s about finding the right story, there has got to be a real reason to do it.”

“You don’t just do it because you want to make money — you do it because there’s a story that can’t be told on TV and needs to be told from CSI’s perspective and the audience wants it,” Petersen said. “And we can’t wait for CSI to end or Grissom will be about 90.”

So there you have it, Grissom fans and CSI: Vegas fans! This is truly cause for celebration!

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You have seen him on CSI: Vegas playing the recurring role of firearms tech Bobby Dawson. But his real name is Gerald McCullouch. According to TV Guide, while he was working on his laptop on the New York subway, a man jumped him and tried to steal the laptop. He fought back by punching the man.

“That’s when he pulled a kitchen knife out of a black plastic bag,” McCullouch said. “This thing must have had a blade 10 inches long. …I yelled at the top of my lungs, ‘Get the [bleep] away from me!’ That’s when the knife came down into my back. I don’t know whether he lost his grip or what, but the blade didn’t penetrate my leather jacket.”

The assailant was arrested and charged with robbery, assault, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.

Amazingly, McCullouch was attacked at gunpoint once before, in 2001. Thank goodness, he kept his wits about him and was able to keep from being hurt.

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Fans of such shows as The First 48 and Crime 360 will be excited about this new show that follows real crime fighters as they track down dangerous criminals each week. It looks like a good one. Here’s a trailer for the show to give you a taste of what you can expect.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow night on A&E 10:00pm ET/PT for the premiere of Manhunters: Fugitive Task Force.

[Image: © 2008 A&E Network]

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Here’s the official word from CBS about the character:

“Fishburne will play a former pathologist who is now working as an itinerant college lecturer, teaching a course in criminalistics. His focus is on understanding criminal behavior, how and why people commit acts of violence — tendencies he disturbingly sees within himself. In the course of a murder investigation, he comes into contact with the CSI team and ultimately joins the Las Vegas Crime Lab as a Level-1 CSI.”

And here’s what Laurence Fishburne has to say:

“I am elated and delighted to be joining the cast of CSI,” says Fishburne. “I look forward to a wonderful collaboration with the creative and talented team of such a successful and distinguished show,” he added.

It looks like the show has some great new things to look forward to after all. I only hope that the loss of three of the original cast members isn’t going to be too tough for viewers to get over. I guess we’ll have to see…

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The character he will play won’t be a direct replacement for William Petersen’s character Gil Grissom, but will play a DNA expert who has identified a gene that seems to cause serial killers…and he has the gene himself!! What a cool character!

I will update you as soon as the deal is signed. I’m thrilled! They couldn’t pick a more fabulous actor to join the show.

Good going, CSI producers!!

[Photo: courtesy of newscom.com]

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HGTV’s Summer Showdown premieres tonight at 10/9c and one of the celebrity judges for the four-episode series is Emily Procter. Some of HGTV’s best makeover experts will be going head-to-head in a challenge to redesign some very difficult rooms. A panel of celeb judges will choose which design is the best each week. And since Emily Procter has such good taste, she was chosen to join the panel.

So Emily fans, be sure to tune in tonight and for the rest of the season of Summer Showdown!

[Photo: courtesy of newscom.com]

csi-miami, csi miami, CSI, cbs, Emily Procter

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Image details: DNA Testing served by picapp.com

Most parents would take exception with a summer camp where their children were looking at methamphetamine and cocaine, maybe even if they were fake. Not so, however, for parents of Camp CSI: Birmingham attendees. Last week, campers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, all of them high school students from the Birmingham area, spent five days engrossed in the real-life science behind the three CSI television series.

For the first four days, campers at the program, hosted by UAB’s Department of Justice Sciences, spent the morning being briefed by grad students and forensic science/criminal justice faculty, and working in six different teams collecting samples from different crime scenes. Then, they spent the afternoons in the lab with UAB grad students, testing blood samples, extracting DNA, and matching simulated meth and cocaine samples to a substance database. On Friday, the the teams work together on one big case. Each team collected evidence from a different part of the scene. In the afternoon, they testified about their evidence in a mock trial.

This sounds like an great opportunity for students turned on by chemistry and biology. The camp cost $199, plus a $50 registration fee, and included lunch and a snack, daily.

The camp curriculum lists the following objectives:

• Help students develop their analytical skills;
• Help students learn (by doing) the steps involved in the scientific method;
• Teach students how to collect, preserve, secure, analyze, and present evidence;
• Expose students to current generation equipment and methods used in forensic-based laboratories;
• Expose students to the reality of forensic-based investigations of crime scenes;
• Allow students to have fun while learning about such topics as DNA, fingerprints, criminalistics, and related forensic-based concepts.

Birmingham area students interested in this program for 2009, should check out the UAB Department of Justice Sciences website, especially the Camp CSI Birmingham: 2008 page.

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This video is an autopsy of a man who died of an apparent gunshot wound. Who pulled the trigger?

Okay, who’s up for a seafood luncheon?

Video Source: National Geographic

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