Josef Stalin's daughter dies at 85 in southwestern Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. - Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's daughter, whose defection to the West during the Cold War embarrassed the ruling communists and made her a best-selling author, has died. She was 85.

Lana Peters - who was known internationally by her previous name, Svetlana Alliluyeva - died of colon cancer Nov. 22 in southwestern Wisconsin, where she lived off and on after becoming a U.S. citizen, Richland County Coroner Mary Turner said Monday.

Her defection in 1967 - which she said was partly motivated by the poor treatment of her late husband, Brijesh Singh, by Soviet authorities - caused an international furor and was a public relations coup for the U.S. But Peters, who left behind two children, said her identity involved more than just switching from one side to the other in the Cold War. She even moved back to the Soviet Union in the 1980s, only to return to the U.S. more than a year later.

When she left the Soviet Union in 1966 for India, she planned to leave the ashes of her late third husband, an Indian citizen, and return. Instead, she walked unannounced into the U.S. embassy in New Delhi and asked for political asylum. After a brief stay in Switzerland, she flew to the U.S.

Peters carried with her a memoir she had written in 1963 about her life in Russia. "Twenty Letters to a Friend" was published within months of her arrival in the U.S. and became a best-seller.

Upon her arrival in New York City in 1967, the 41-year-old said: "I have come here to seek the self-expression that has been denied me for so long in Russia." She said she had come to doubt the communism she was taught growing up and believed there weren't capitalists or communists, just good and bad human beings. She had also found religion and believed "it was impossible to exist without God in one's heart." LINK

Cockatoo Sings 'I Love the Green Bay Packers'

An umbrella cockatoo from Antigo, Wisconsin is quite the Green Bay Packers fan. He even sings of his love for the Superbowl-bound team. (Feb. 3). LINK: Youtube

LED PAIN RELIEVER

“Using technology developed by NASA to heal astronauts’ injuries, this device’s 60 LEDs produce safe infrared heat to stimulate blood circulation, relieve swelling in joints, and loosen tight muscles. A study at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee showed the LED technology reduced painful inflammation by up to 37%. Unlike heating pads that only treat just below the skin’s surface, the LED light penetrates deep into tissue for lasting relief from muscle aches. The device begins to relieve pain when placed 1/4″ from the skin. The lightweight, brush-shaped design is easy to move around the body and hold in place.” LINK

"Out All Night" by Sniper Twins (made by fan CaszGamerMD)

15 year old SNIPER TWINS FAN CaszGamerMD and his peeps out of Wisconsin worked hard for 2 weeks using Halo to create a video to our song "Out All Night".

Play with annotations to help explain anything you're not sure of. LINK: Youtube

Wisconsin police record 12 Days of Christmas spoof

A small-town US police force has recorded its very own 12 Days of Christmas, perhaps inevitably focusing on jelly doughnuts. The officers at Kenosha station, near Madison, Wisconsin, have put together the seasonal video, which instead of a partridge in a pear tree has an “untrained rookie”, as a gift from their chief.

Not all of the officers are natural vocalists, but they all throw themselves into the piece with gusto. Jelly doughnuts make the list at number four, while “five dirty squads (cars)” gets the long note treatment in manner of “five gold rings”. LINK, Via: Youtube

Blink 182 - Always (2009 Tour)

Blink 182 playing "Always" live in Milwaukee August 4th 2009. LINK: Youtube

10,500,000 Firecrackers!!- NEW World Record

At the 2006 Fireworks Convention in Appleton, Wisconsin, 2 world records were broken. In this 3 min. clip you will see the entire event. They are the most firecrackers lit in one megastring (approx. 10,500,000) and the most firecrackers in one superstring (it is the verticle string of crackers). ENJOY! If you know of a new world record let me know. LINK: Youtube