October 2009
47 posts
Say Mullet
One of the cool parts of living in DC is meeting locals who know cool people. Actually, they’re not necessarily cool, but connected.
A friend I work with went to school with Walker Bush, the nephew of George W. Bush and grandson of President George H.W. Bush and son of the Bush you don’t hear much about. Not the President or the governor, but the real estate tycoon.
This photo was...
The Power of an Image
With violence on the rise in Afghanistan, the death count for American soldiers sadly is on the rise. Last week was the most violent week in Afghanistan for US soldiers since 2001.
It is nice to see that President Obama decided to make a trip to Dover Air Force Base, the place where those killed in action are brought home. At midnight last night, he flew to the base, and the parents of one of...
SPOOKY SHIT
From NPR-
When EMTs brought the 68-year-old man to the Boston hospital, he was in a deep coma. Suspecting a brain hemorrhage, doctors ordered a CT scan and were startled by what they saw. The New England Journal of Medicine reproduces the picture in its current issue, and, we feature it here with their permission.
After the scan showed a massive hemorrhage, surgeons decided there was nothing...
Poor F.Scott
From The American Scholar-
Royalties from The Great Gatsby totaled only $8,397 during Fitzgerald’s lifetime. Today Gatsby is read in nearly every high school and college and regularly produces $500,000 a year in Scottie’s (F.Scott’s daughter) trust for her children.
Glenn Beck; Marked Man?
From The NY Post-
Controversial Fox News host Glenn Beck is now travelling with an armed guard. Guests at the other day’s preview of Broadway musical “Memphis” noticed Beck was closely accompanied — even to the men’s room — by a bodyguard with a gun partially concealed under his jacket. Beck, who famously accused President Obama of being “a...
Costume Sollution: Billy Mays
From People-
The son of legendary pitchman Billy Mays, who died in June, has an unlikely message for those macabre souls who plan to dress up as his father for Halloween: Go for it! Billy Mays III, who recently launched a Web site called Where’s Billy Mays? to honor his father’s legacy, has even decided to hold a Hallow-clean Contest in which he’s asking people to send in...
Out of the Wilderness, McGwire Returns
From ESPN-
ST. LOUIS — Mark McGwire is back in baseball, reunited with Tony La Russa as the St. Louis Cardinals’ hitting coach. La Russa agreed to return for a 15th year as manager Monday with a one-year contract, the first time he hasn’t had a multiyear deal with the team. All of his coaches will return except for Hal McRae, who will be replaced by McGwire. “Mark is...
No Shame Flashing his "WANG"
From GAWKER-
The contract is signed, ladies and gentleman, this thing is really going to happen. No one is disclosing cash figures yet, but it’s more than the $25,000 he was originally offered. And there might be wang!
Levi’s handler Tank Jones confirmed for us that the contract with Playgirl is signed and that the shoot will take place in the next couple of weeks here in New York....
Back-Stabbing for Freedom?
From Reuters-
MIAMI - The younger sister of Fidel and Raul Castro, Juanita Castro, collaborated with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency against her brothers’ rule in Cuba before going into exile in Miami in 1964, she said on Sunday.
Juanita Castro, 76, who has not spoken to either of her brothers for more than four decades, made the revelation to the Spanish-language TV channel...
Will Weezy be Needing Duct Tape?
From The Guardian-
Lil Wayne faces one year in jail after pleading guilty to gun possession yesterday. The New Orleans rapper – one of the world’s biggest hip-hop acts – reversed his plea after “problematic” DNA evidence was found to be admissible in court. The hearing yesterday (22 October) didn’t take long. Beginning at 10am and lasting just 20 minutes, the session saw...
Drama at the Phonebooth.....
From ESPN-
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Washington Capitals have assigned center Michael Nylander to Grand Rapids of the AHL for a conditioning stint, giving the expensive bench-sitting veteran a chance to get back on the ice. Nylander hasn’t played all season, having fallen out of favor with the coaching staff and front office. The Capitals have found it difficult to trade the 37-year-old...
The Toys of Yesteryear
Remember Stretch Armstrong?
I loved that toy. I was the kid who would tear his arms off, and got the sand all over the backseat of the car. My mom banned stretch after the second incident.
In my memories, Stretch lives on.
What is Fox News Good at?
Providing the eye candy.
Check out this list of FOX NEW’S 11 HOTTEST ANCHORS
The Classist Social Media Divide
From NPR-
Talk to students at The Urban School, an elite private high school in San Francisco, and they will tell you that they used to be on MySpace, but not anymore. Facebook is where it’s at for them and their friends. Facebook is taking over more and more of the social networking space in the U.S. It had an estimated 95.5 million U.S. visitors in September, according to marketing...
Come ON AFRICA........
From The AP-
LONDON — The backers of a $5 million prize celebrating good governance in Africa said Monday they cannot find anyone to award this year. The Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership brings the winner $5 million over 10 years and $200,000 annually for life thereafter. The prize-giving committee could not select a winner after considering “some credible...
“I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. I know most of you didn’t...”
–
- New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie (R
A Light Hearted Appology from a Web GOD
From The Inquirer-
INTERNET PIONEER Sir Tim Berners-Lee has expressed regret over the addition of characters to the web’s URL address system. In a recent interview with the New York Times, Berners-Lee said that the use of two forward-slash characters in the URL was unnecessary and made web site addresses needlessly long. He explained that the intent was to separate the protocol name (such...
The Weaponized Reality we call War
From FP Passport-
Taliban fighters lay down their weapons as they surrender to the government of Herat Province on October 14, 2009 in Western Afghanistan. More than 40 insurgents handed in their weapons in the wake of an ongoing government security operation which killed the Taliban commander in the Gazara district, Ghulam Yahya Akbari days ago.
“If you arre as happy in entering the White House as I shall feel on returning to...”
–
-President James Buchanan
Most American’s don’t even know the 15th President existed, let alone set the stage for the Civil War.
I posted this quote for one reason.
When thinking……”What great leader should I quote today…” I strangely thought to myself...
Rest in Peace Lou :(
From The NY Daily News-
Captain Lou Albano, the crazed and charismatic wrestling icon who played Cyndi Lauper’s dad in her “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” video, has died. He was 76. Albano - known for his wild goatee, usually tamed by a rubber band, and his half-open Hawaiian shirts - was a wrestling world fixture for more than a half-century. He was inducted into the World...
Good Bye Cheap Chicken Wings :(
From The NYT-
Just in time for football season, the Lion’s Head Tavern in New York City stopped selling 25-cent chicken wings on Monday nights. In Tucson, a sports bar called O’Malleys on Fourth scrapped its fall special of a dozen wings on Monday nights for $4.
And in restaurants from Sarasota to Seattle, an improbable poultry part is showing up on menus: a little chunk of chicken breast that...
“But while British Tories share elements of the U.S. conservatives’ analysis of...”
– -Alex Massie, British political Observer
Whenever possible, I love to get my news through a foreign lens- whether it’s the BBC, Al Jazeera English, or the CBC. It’s often refreshing to hear the what outsiders are seeing and thinking, and the destabilizing American media biases are...
Here is a free advertisement for 51st State...
OOOOOH Cannnada......
From TSN-
QUEBEC CITY, Que. - The return of the Quebec Nordiques to the NHL may be one step closer to reality.
Quebec City mayor Regis Labeaume confirmed Saturday that he met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman along with former Nordiques owner Marcel Aubut.
The mayor said the talks between him, Aubut and Bettman in New York on Friday were “fruitful.”
“It was very welcoming,...
Facebook is KING
From ALLFACEBOOK-
According to new Hitwise data released today, Facebook has experienced tremendous U.S. based growth over the past year. It’s not surprising, but it has come at the expense of the previous leader of U.S. social networking, MySpace, who’s traffic is down over 50 percent over the past year. Also experiencing tremendous growth is Twitter, who has grown by 1,170 percent over the past...
WatchBill-O seems to be HOT and Bothered….
This doesn’t seem to be some sort of passing fad. For months now, several voices on the right have ratcheted up their right wing crank programing. Among them is former Head Line News demagogue Glenn Beck. For a long time I simply found the guy amusing, mixing populist economics with right wing brand of “common sense.” But over the last...
“Cooking is not about fuckin’ sunglasses and that stupid fuckin’ armband. If he...”
–
-David Chang, Food GURU.
From NewYorkMagazine-
At a raucous, funny, and profane New York Wine & Food Festival panel Friday night, David Chang and Anthony Bourdain scorched the earth of the food world. Dubbed “I Call Bullshit!” their wide-ranging discussion singled out several...
WatchIf you haven’t been following the public feud between Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Conan O’Brian, allegedly Hillary Clinton Has been.
I side with Booker.
Athletes Getting into Trouble...Nothing New
Ask Ty Cobb, who pulled a knife on his butcher in 1914.
Shep Smith?
From MidiaBistro-
AskMen has released their list of the 49 most influential men of 2009. Fox News’ Shepard Smith was the only newser on the list, appearing at the #31 spot (right between Tiger Woods and Hugh Jackman). In addition to pointing toward Smith’s high ratings and big salary, AskMen also noted his memorable coverage:
“He anchored FOX’s Presidential Election...
Cell or Sex?
From WBZ Boston-
A recent survey shows that 31 percent of Bostonians polled would give up sex for a year before they would give up their cell phones for the same amount of time.
The survey, conducted by Kelton Research and commissioned by Samsung Mobile, sought out 300 cell phone users in the Boston area. According to their research, 38 percent of women were more willing to give up sex before...
Barbie Gets a Reality Check
From EURWEB-
Mattel announced Tuesday that it is launching a line of black Barbie dolls with more “authentic facial characteristics” than the company’s dolls have featured until now.
The new “So In Style” line features dolls with “fuller lips, a wider nose, more distinctive cheek bones and curlier hair,” according to the world’s biggest...
Obama's Makin' Moves. One Text at a Time
From ArsTechnica-
Nothing makes you a supporter of a ban on “texting while driving” like your body coming into contact with a vehicle driven by some moron fiddling with a cell phone. (Several Ars staffers have had that unpleasant experience firsthand.) President Obama doesn’t want any of those morons to be federal employees—as of Thursday, all government employees are banned...
The Drawbacks of Cryonics....
From NY Magazine-
In a new book called Frozen: My Journey Into the World of Cryonics, Deception, and Death, Larry Johnson, a former executive at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona, details what he saw while working at the facility, including the terrible things workers did to the head and body of Red Sox player Ted Williams. According to the Daily News today, it’s...
Clear the Roads
From The SUN-
The legendary Black Sabbath hellraiser, 60, warned that after decades of lessons he was not planning to be a Sunday driver - so fellow motorists had better beware.
He jubilantly declared after getting his licence: “For the first time in my life I’m legal to drive - so watch out.” Rock wildman Ozzy blamed his battle with the booze for keeping him off the road...
Back on the Bus
From WashingtonCaps-
We are taking a bus to Philadelphia today, and this is the second time that we willhave ridden the bus to play the Flyers since I have been here. I was walking on air the last time we took the bus because I did not know what to expect and it was my first game. It was really exciting and felt so natural because I had been on the bus pretty much my entire life. It is crazy...
WatchHere is the video of Steve Schmidt speaking to The Atlantic
“I think that she has talents, but my honest view is that she would not be a...”
–
-Steve Schmidt, John McCain’s former chief campaign strategist
Speaking to The Atlantic Monthly, Schmidt lets out the silent animosity and honesty that was lacking last November.
It’s a refreshing breath of fresh air coming from the Republican strategist, and I am not sure whether or...