January 2010
60 posts
Lizard Thievery
From SFGATE-
WELLINGTON, New Zealand: A German man who stuffed 44 small lizards into his underwear before trying to board a flight has been sentenced to prison in New Zealand for plundering the country’s protected species. Hans Kurt Kubus, 58, will spend 14 weeks behind bars and must pay a 5,000 New Zealand dollar ($3,540) fine before being deported to Germany as soon as he is released,...
Leaving Their Hoods on the Bench
From The Augusta Chronicle-
A new professional basketball league boasting rosters made up exclusively of white Americans has its eyes set on Augusta, but the team isn’t receiving a warm welcome.
The All-American Basketball Alliance announced in a news release Sunday evening that it intends to start its inaugural season in June and hopes Augusta will be one of 12 cities with a team....
Burger+ Beach+ Beer= I Like
From CNN-
NEW YORK - Burger King Corp. said Friday it plans to open a Whopper Bar in the South Beach area of Miami next month. To keep up with Miami’s night life, Burger King (BKC)’s new Whopper bar will offer American beer and Whopper sandwiches around the clock, staying open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
It will be the chain’s first U.S. location to sell beer, and the...
Double Take
From the UK’s Daily Mail-
Even by the usual attention-seeking standards of women’s tennis, Venus Williams appeared to be flashing rather too much flesh at the Australian Open yesterday. But closer inspection – which many of her male fans undoubtedly undertook – revealed that the five-times Wimbledon champion was actually preserving her modesty with flesh-coloured underwear.
Williams’s...
Torture King Using Cheney's Bunker for Class?
From Business Insider-
UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall law school is hiding one of their celebrity professors to discourage rabid protestors. John Yoo’s California Constitution class locale is not listed on the school’s class schedule. Yoo, who has been making the media rounds to support his book Crisis in Command and defending his authorship of the so-called Bush torture memos, has...
Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton- MOVE OVER.
From Political Wire-
If you didn’t think the scandals surrounding John Edwards could get worse, think again. Sources have told Gawker that, “in the throes of their affair, John Edwards and Rielle Hunter made a sex tape that contains ‘several sex acts.’ And that his aide, Andrew Young found it on an unmarked DVD.” More details are expected in Young’s book,...
WatchIf Bush put this out, I would find it creepy and slightly Orwellian. But with this quaint commercial from The White House and Obama’s known tech-friendly ways, I find it slightly acceptable…..
Always questioning authority is a tenant of my philosophical outlook, and a straight propaganda pipe built into my phone is something I’ll have to wait and think about.
Chelsea Single?
From Gawker-
A source close to the couple claims that late-night comedienne Chelsea Handler and her conveniently well-connected boyfriend Ted Harbert have split up. Harbert is president and CEO of Comcast Entertainment, which owns E!, the network that airs Chelsea Lately. Handler and Harbert became a couple back in 2006, after her reality-sketch series The Chelsea Handler Show (also with E!)...
Winning is Contageous
Do you see this picture?
Yes, its quite common. It appears to be an Ovechkin post goal photo, which takes place on a regular basis in the NHL.
But what you might not notice are those people in the background. The Red ones.
The Caps are the HOTTEST team in the league right now, with the highest scoring offense and most affective penalty kill in the game. Their goal tending is powerful with...
Nice Move
From The NYT-
On Friday afternoon a woman taking an adult education class at the Metropolitan Museum of Art accidentally lost her balance and fell into “The Actor,” a rare Rose Period Picasso, tearing the canvas about six inches along its lower right-hand corner. Immediately after the accident the painting was taken to the Met’s conservation studio so experts could assess the damage, museum...
Mankiw's world. Policy meets Politics
Mankiw is the biggest name in economics, and his inner circle are other heavy weights from around the world. His beliefs dictate policy. Some of his colleagues agree with him, some don’t, but regardless- they’re the top brass of the industry and many are friends before economists.
Someone from Obama’s econ team wrote this to Mankiw and said he could publish it as long as there...
“My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child...”
–
- South Carolina Lt. Governor Andre Bauer (R), quoted by the Greenville News, comparing poor people to stray animals.
Classy.
WatchRed heads do in fact HAVE souls.
Case Closed- Jay Returns to Tonight Show
From Business Week-
Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) — Conan O’Brien signed a $45 million deal to leave NBC after refusing to host the “Tonight Show” in a later time period, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Jay Leno will return as host on March 1, NBC said. The accord includes about $33 million for O’Brien and about $12 million for his employees, according to the person, who...
Blaze On Cali
From NPR-
The California Supreme Court issued what amounts to a stay-out-of-jail-free card to authorized medical marijuana users in the state by striking down limits on how much weed those people could grow or possess. In a unanimous decision, the state’s highest court upheld an appellate court’s decision in a case involving a man with a long history of chronic pain who turned to...
WatchIt is pretty trendy to hate on Jay Leno as of late, with Jay staying classy and deciding not to hit back.
On last nights show, he gave the audience his side of the story.
No Touchy Touchy
From NY Mag-
New York Times writer and addiction expert Benoit Denizet-Lewis yesterday confirmed what other news outlets have been reporting: that disgraced golf great Tiger Woods is in rehab for sex addiction at the Pine Grove/Gentle Path program in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Lewis, who visited the center during research for his book America Anonymous, has a little primer on what Tiger will be...
What will the Pundits say NOW?
It is almost certain that Conan will be leaving NBC in February, when the Olympics take over broadcasting rights of the network. For $32.5 million dollars, NBC will be buying two things
1) Conan will go away and will not join another network until at least the fall
2) Conan will not retain rights to any of his trademark skits or characters- Masturbating bear, insult dog ect.
What can we...
SUSAN?!
From The AP-
The Scottish singing sensation was said to have stunned travellers by dancing and belting out songs into a mop head in a first-class lounge, while awaiting a flight to Chicago, Illinois to film a segment on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Airline crew later asked the star to quiet down after she began shouting obscenities, according to The Sun. A source tells the newspaper, “It was...
WatchI stand with Jay
WatchOn any awkward scale, this 10 at 10 certainly would deserve an 8 or 9……
WatchNot what Mets fans wanted to hear…..
Why does the pain have to begin now? Pitchers and catchers haven’t even reported for spring training :(
Fighting the Pork Lobby
From Political Wire-
President Obama “notched substantial successes in spending cuts last year, winning 60 percent of his proposed cuts and managing to get Congress to ax several programs that had bedeviled President George W. Bush for years,” the Washington Times reports. “The administration says Congress accepted at least $6.9 billion of the $11.3 billion in discretionary...
WatchClearly, Palin is no Ph.d. We knew that….But not grasping the concept of a North and South Korea….
To think her name was on the November 4th ballot, and the thought of her potentially being one heart beat away from the Presidency had McCain died,gives me pause.
“How can she be a pundit, she doesn’t know anything.” Chris Mathews at his best.
P.T Barnum Smiles From His Grave
From the UK’s Daily Mail-
It could hardly be called a face-to-face encounter, and conversation must have been a little difficult. But as they met for the first time, Sultan Kosen, the world’s tallest man at 8ft 1in, and He PingPing, the world’s smallest at 2ft 5.4in, clearly had a mutual respect. The Turkish farm labourer and the pint-sized man from China were happy to pose...
WatchThings are VERY, VERY dire in the streets of Port Au Prince. Might is beginning to make right, as the street gangs are filling the power vacum, which is often the case in Haiti.
Being the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, it can not be assumed that things are ever good, with poverty rates off the charts and basic necessities such as clean water and sanitation often not available to the...
RIP Mr. Ford
Although Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has finally responded to rumors that Harold Ford (former Tennessee congressman) might try to primary here, it seems that she won’t have to worry about taking down. He will do that on his own.
As a New Yorker, although I’m not Gillibrand’s biggest fan, I certainly would never endorse a turncoat such as Harold Ford jr.
From TheDailyBeast-
It...
Rumble @ 30 Rock
This open letter, from Conan O’Brien, makes it clear where he stands on this late night NBC scramble. Conan pulls no punches, skips the sugar coating, and broadcasts his discontent.
If O’Brien leaves and potentially goes to Fox, Leno would have the opportunity to go back to the 11:35 slot and back to “The Tonight Show.” The downside for NBC is the escape clause-$45...
“I wanted all my fans to protest my penis being in the movie, because I...”
–
From WENN-
The diminutive actor was furious after learning a scene in the 2009 comedy appeared to show him revealing all - and now he’s threatening to sue the studio to prevent further DVD sales. Coleman alleges he never agreed for his private parts to be revealed in the final cut and...
WatchIt’s that time of year, Mid season that is, and Bary Mullet Melrose gives out his mid-season hardware.
Ovi’s name doesn’t come up once? It’s okay, I’ll take first place all year instead.
WatchIt is this type of stuff from Fareed Zakaria that makes my choice of calling him my favorite authoer, an easy choice.
CALM, COLLECTED, LOGICAL.
“First and foremost, not only do I want to fight Manny Pacquiao, I want to whip...”
– - Floyd MONEY Mayweather
Four Questions
1- Whose idea was this?
2- What will family members think?
3-Why did the tattooist do this?
4- Based on the extreme level of ludicrous-ness, is this vile tramp stamp in fact amazing?
WatchUh Oh….Does the iphone finally have some competition?
Movin' and Shakin'
From The AP-
WASHINGTON — The decorative china plates are long gone. Historic metal gadgets and Native American pottery now stand in their stead. Resting on a bookshelf is a framed program from the 1963 March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech.
To varying degrees, each president puts his own imprint on this celebrated workspace....
Get Well Artie
From PopEater-
Artie Lange, Howard Stern’s troubled sidekick, is in a New Jersey hospital for an unknown issue, TMZ reports. “I can confirm that Artie is in the hospital. Artie has chosen to keep all information on this matter between him and his doctor. There will be no further comment,” a statement from his rep said. The 42-year-old comedian, who has struggled with drug...
Servant of God? Wayne Newton Wannabe?
From the UK’s Telegraph-
A catalogue of the private opulence and eccentric tastes of 70-year-old Ayatollah Khamenei and his family has been compiled by Iran’s opposition Green Movement from the accounts of the defector, who is said to be in hiding in France. Among his claims are that Ayatollah Khamenei has a voracious appetite for trout and caviar; is an avid hoarder of...