Apparently, Moammar Gadhafi had a bit of a thing for Condoleezza Rice. MSNBC has the full details on the photo album found by Libyan rebels.
Archive for August, 2011
Dumb Headlines
Tuesday, August 30th, 2011
Here’s a quick sample of stupid headlines from recent news:
Matthew Fox Arrested for Assaulting Lady Bus Driver
Well honestly, can you blame him for this? It seems likely he simply wanted to take control of the Lady Bus, which I can only assume is a bus full of pretty ladies. Who wouldn’t?
Earthquake Surprises Yankees Who Noticed It Occurred
That’s just crackerjack reporting by a top newsman. But what about the Yankees who didn’t notice? Were they surprised?
Sarah Jessica Parker Prepares for Hurricane Irene
Oh jeez, speaking of “stellar reporting”. Could USA Today possibly live up to its stereotype more fully? I submit that they could not.
With quality journalism like this, it’s difficult to understand why the media is in trouble.
Beneath This Mask, There Is Profit
Monday, August 29th, 2011
Members and followers of Anonymous, an online hacker group, often wear Guy Fawkes masks in public to protect their identities. Now the New York Times is pouring some cold water on this trend, by pointing out that one of the world’s largest corporations gets royalties from every mask sold.
What few people seem to know, though, is that Time Warner, one of the largest media companies in the world and parent of Warner Brothers, owns the rights to the image and is paid a licensing fee with the sale of each mask.
A Guy Fawkes/V for Vendetta Mask
I’m not sure what the purpose of the Times article actually was, though with quotes like this, it may have the effect of trivializing Anonymous:
The Anonymous member declined to share his name, noting that the entire concept of the mask was to remain anonymous. “You can get a mask and join the fight, too! But I heard the costume store is sold out until Friday,” he said.
Hurricanado
Friday, August 26th, 2011
It seems the earthquake earlier this week was merely a precursor for even crazier things. As you can see from the following map, this weekend things in the Northeastern US are getting extreme:
Top of the Extreme Zone!
That’s right, the threat level up in here (up in here!) is getting extremely extreme. In Boston, we’re facing multiple threats, including wind, waves, rain, and a crippling sense of self-doubt brought on by the incredibly poor progress of our as-yet-unstarted first novels.
Ok, but you might be thinking that’s really not so extreme. After all, it’s still not catastrophic, which is a whole level above “Extreme” that’s not even being used. I’ve never even heard of this rating system, but I sure hope ESPN adopts it, because I would watch the hell out of the Catastrophic Games. But back to you, and your doubts as to the extremity of this coming weekend. To you, I submit Exhibit B:
Exhibit B: Tornados!
That’s right, we’re not just getting a hurricane we didn’t ask for, we’re getting a hurricane with tornados! That’s like not ordering an extra-cheese pizza, and then getting an extra-cheese pizza with pepperoni! Except you’re lactose intolerant and a vegetarian for this analogy, which would make that pizza doubly bad. What?! Don’t worry about it, just read on to this post’s extreme conclusion. It takes a sharp right turn, just like we all hope Hurricane Irene will. To hell with Bermuda!
Discussing these extreme weather conditions led to a neologism to describe what may happen this Sunday (Sunday! SUNDAY!): a Hurricanado. Realizing what that was a perfect name for, One Foot Tsunami is now going in to the business of creating energy drinks. Here’s our tantalizing promotional image:
Hurricanado: Get Blown Away!
Seen above is the exciting “Death Spiral” flavor. We’ll also have “Funnel Cake”, “Batten Down Blue”, and “Citrus Cyclone” in the initial line-up. Maybe only half of those actually have a taste associated with them, but that’s a better percentage than most energy drink lines.
It’s time to take my water bottles and bread loaves and go lash myself to the toilet for the next 72 hours to ride out the storms. But once that’s done, it’ll really be time to move on this Hurricanado thing. Investors are welcome, so get in touch!
Yup, That’s The Look
Thursday, August 25th, 2011
Matt Holliday got a moth stuck in his ear during a recent Cardinals game.
That is definitely the look of a man with a moth stuck in his ear. Don’t miss the ad-hoc solution the trainers used in a failed attempt to lure the moth out.
XKCD on Earthquakes
Wednesday, August 24th, 2011
Yesterday, the east coast of the United States has a relatively small earthquake, centered in Virginia, but felt as far north as parts of Canada. Shortly after, a prescient comic from 2010 was widely circulated online.
Tweets can outpace a quake.
Today, Randall has some follow-up, along with a fantastic story about physicist Gerson Goldhaber.
Frankenstein Food
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011
Here’s a disturbing link from The New Yorker, on just how screwed up our food supply has become. We’ve gotten to the point where even orange juice is completely unnatural.
The largest producers of “not from concentrate” or pasteurized orange juice keep their juice in million-gallon aseptic storage tanks to ensure a year round supply.
Phil Hartman, Class Act
Monday, August 22nd, 2011
I’ve linked to Letters of Note a couple different times, but perhaps you’ve yet to check it out. If so, you’re really missing out on some incredible content.
Last week, the site featured a letter to a fan/aspiring comedian from the late Phil Hartman. It may be the best thing you read all day.
Start-Up Country
Friday, August 19th, 2011
Apparently, billionaire investor Peter Thiel wants to start his own nation, based on Ayn Rand’s ‘Atlas Shrugged’.
Mr. Thiel and his colleagues say their ocean state would have no welfare, looser building codes, no minimum wage, and few restrictions on weapons.
So, thousands of rich folks will live with a lax government and no planning, in the middle of the ocean. That sounds just crazy enough to fail miserably, and possibly become victim to marauding bands of pirates.
Yeah, But…
Thursday, August 18th, 2011
Chitwood and Hobbs has an excellent story told by ESPN coordinating producer Bill Fairweather, about Mickey Mantle and Larry Bird. I don’t want to spoil it by revealing anything more, so just have a look.
If the rest of ESPN’s book is anything like this, it’s a must-read for all types of sports fans.
