Baghdad weblog update
Update on that Iraqi blogger from the Vancouver Sun:Pax's diary may now be 'collateral damage'
Monday, March 31, 2003
Simpson's writers: "D'oh!"
Those of you who watched the new Simpsons episode on Sunday may be interested that James Lileks is speculating that the writers of the show should have anticipated a year ago when production for this episode that we'd be at war with Iraq at this time, and dumped the jokes about blood and Britain's "lack of masculinity". (They're our allies, you know.)
Damian J. Penny, commenting on this, figures that the Simpsons played out its string a long time ago.
As they say in college exams: Discuss.
Those of you who watched the new Simpsons episode on Sunday may be interested that James Lileks is speculating that the writers of the show should have anticipated a year ago when production for this episode that we'd be at war with Iraq at this time, and dumped the jokes about blood and Britain's "lack of masculinity". (They're our allies, you know.)
Damian J. Penny, commenting on this, figures that the Simpsons played out its string a long time ago.
As they say in college exams: Discuss.
Cubicle Dweller, nine-day wonder
I'm glad that I was able to point out that reference to Cubicle Dweller in the Kitimat paper...because some of his readers left him some funny comments about it that I would like to quote (if you would like to read them all, see the sticky note at the bottom of the entry hyperlinked above):
Wow, fame! This time next week we're gonna find out that you're actually the Supreme Omnipotent Ruler of All The Universe, aren't we Cubey?
Bishop John
I was hoping to keep that quiet, Bishop. Well the cat's out of the bag now, isn't it?
And don't worry, Greg. I'm 4'7".
cubicle dweller
big in kitimat? good one. do you get free aluminum now?
Matty
(Thanks, Cubicle Dweller :) )
I'm glad that I was able to point out that reference to Cubicle Dweller in the Kitimat paper...because some of his readers left him some funny comments about it that I would like to quote (if you would like to read them all, see the sticky note at the bottom of the entry hyperlinked above):
Wow, fame! This time next week we're gonna find out that you're actually the Supreme Omnipotent Ruler of All The Universe, aren't we Cubey?
Bishop John
I was hoping to keep that quiet, Bishop. Well the cat's out of the bag now, isn't it?
And don't worry, Greg. I'm 4'7".
cubicle dweller
big in kitimat? good one. do you get free aluminum now?
Matty
(Thanks, Cubicle Dweller :) )
Waiting for the public to come around
Kevin Steel, interviewing former Canadian diplomat Norman Spector, thinks that Stephen Harper's support of the Iraq war may turn out to anticipate public support for the war in Canada.
Kevin Steel, interviewing former Canadian diplomat Norman Spector, thinks that Stephen Harper's support of the Iraq war may turn out to anticipate public support for the war in Canada.
Sunday, March 30, 2003
She sings like a bear
If you've been reading my weblog for a while, you may remember that I bought the LP The World's Worst Record Show not too long ago.
I think if I had to pick one favourite song from this record, it would be Zarah Leander's infamous rendition of Wunderbar, a highly ironic title for a song of this quality. One of the things that makes you go whaaaa is that Ms. Leander has a deep, manly voice and loves to sing like she's in a operetta. It's unintentionally hilarious.
Don't just take my word for it. Listen to a snippet of the song here.
(To listen to the song snippet, scroll down the above linked Amazon in Germany page until you see the section marked Horbeispiele. Click on Selection number one in this section: Wunderbar. )
I did some research on the Internet and learned that she was a German film star in the 1930s and early 1940s, until she told the Nazis to get bent and returned to her native Sweden when they pressured her to become a German citizen. Here is a 1938 photo of
Leander and a brief biography, in English, if you are curious to know more about her.
I also learned that others appreciate her musical "talent". She is reportedly a gay camp figure in central Europe. One novelist's young character, in this
passage here, listens to Leander and decides that "She sings like a bear."
I also found this amusing account of what happened when a European band played Leander's version of Wunderbar as something to amuse their listeners before a concert but failed to turn it off. Distressing for them to be sure, but amusing for me and you.
If you've been reading my weblog for a while, you may remember that I bought the LP The World's Worst Record Show not too long ago.
I think if I had to pick one favourite song from this record, it would be Zarah Leander's infamous rendition of Wunderbar, a highly ironic title for a song of this quality. One of the things that makes you go whaaaa is that Ms. Leander has a deep, manly voice and loves to sing like she's in a operetta. It's unintentionally hilarious.
Don't just take my word for it. Listen to a snippet of the song here.
(To listen to the song snippet, scroll down the above linked Amazon in Germany page until you see the section marked Horbeispiele. Click on Selection number one in this section: Wunderbar. )
I did some research on the Internet and learned that she was a German film star in the 1930s and early 1940s, until she told the Nazis to get bent and returned to her native Sweden when they pressured her to become a German citizen. Here is a 1938 photo of
Leander and a brief biography, in English, if you are curious to know more about her.
I also learned that others appreciate her musical "talent". She is reportedly a gay camp figure in central Europe. One novelist's young character, in this
passage here, listens to Leander and decides that "She sings like a bear."
I also found this amusing account of what happened when a European band played Leander's version of Wunderbar as something to amuse their listeners before a concert but failed to turn it off. Distressing for them to be sure, but amusing for me and you.
Saturday, March 29, 2003
Robots are uncouth
According to UBC Reports, scientists working on the newest robots are discovering that they still lack the programming for docile manners that would allow them to work safety with humans.
According to UBC Reports, scientists working on the newest robots are discovering that they still lack the programming for docile manners that would allow them to work safety with humans.
Highly illogical
Spotted on eBay by Bidboy, an apartment redecorated to look like the interior of a Star Trek ship.
Disengage!
Spotted on eBay by Bidboy, an apartment redecorated to look like the interior of a Star Trek ship.
Disengage!
Chick tract sign!
Thanks to the folks at fecundity.com, who borrow the gang from Mystery Science Theatre 3000 to have a go at a Jack Chick tract: MST3K meets Dark Dungeons
I don't mind the tracts, but this is fun to read.
Thanks to the folks at fecundity.com, who borrow the gang from Mystery Science Theatre 3000 to have a go at a Jack Chick tract: MST3K meets Dark Dungeons
I don't mind the tracts, but this is fun to read.
Friday, March 28, 2003
"Internet diary growth mind blogging" says this newspaper
Yesterday, I read some back numbers of the Kitimat (B.C.) Northern Sentinel. In the March 19 issue, Sentinel columnist Allan Hewitson discovers weblogging, and has some comments on some blogs he has seen. Since the column is not online, which means that fellow bloggers might miss it, I'll quote some of it.
"As with anything that is extremely popular, there are ways of making money off blogging. Andrew Sullivan, who was writing for National Review, solicited funds to keep his blog alive. In came $78,000--in one week--so we can look for more blogging for profit," Mr. Hewitson writes. "If you see someone raving wildly about a new movie or recording, a show or a new wine, It'll be hard to decide whether it's genuine affection or paid for."
Well, if you discount the great weblog payola scandals of the late 1950s, I'm sorry to disappoint Mr. Hewitson by noting that this is not a problem. Most of us webloggers do it for free, just for fun. I would want to know what my friend Jeremy Lott has to say on this though, as he often tries to turn his weblogging into something that On Dead Tree publishers can use. I'm not daring him to do so, however, as that might understandably be a very private thing that he doesn't want to discuss.
Anyways, I wouldn't try to weblog my kids through college, if I had any.
Here's Mr. Hewitson's in-print blogroll. He didn't quote web addresses, but I've put in hyperlinks for you because I am such a nice guy:
I followed a few links and here's what I found. Colby Cosh, a prolific Alberta blogger, is also a scribe for The Report [sic]. Colby often posts at peculiar times throughout the days, like 3:59 a.m., when most people are asleep, even in Edmonton.
He is equally at home giving the gears to federal cabinet ministers, Kevin Lowe on Oilers trades or skewering the David Suzuki Foundation for leaked e-mails like the one from aquaculture specialist Lynn Hunter, who noted (in print) "...tormenting fish farms is fun, it really is..."
Damian J. Penny is a Corner Brook, Nfld. blogger with extensive links. In his blog recently is the fascinating information that Bill Clennett, the "victim" of a highly public choking by Prime Minister Jean Chretien a few years ago, "is something of a professional protester, who was caught pelting the PM's office with paint filled balloons in 1991."
Cubicle Dweller is a Steveston [a neighbourhood in Richmond B.C.--RH] book editor who who writes a running blog in which he recently waxed creative about some name changes he suggests for Canada, after reading that french fries had been
renamed freedom fries in Washington.
He thinks California rolls should become Canuck rolls, Texas toast should be maple leaf toast and any beer should be renamed liquid Canada.
What would that be on the French side of the label?
Hmmm, I thought, based on a recent post that Cubicle Dweller also freelanced as a penguin flenser. Guess he was kidding :)
Yesterday, I read some back numbers of the Kitimat (B.C.) Northern Sentinel. In the March 19 issue, Sentinel columnist Allan Hewitson discovers weblogging, and has some comments on some blogs he has seen. Since the column is not online, which means that fellow bloggers might miss it, I'll quote some of it.
"As with anything that is extremely popular, there are ways of making money off blogging. Andrew Sullivan, who was writing for National Review, solicited funds to keep his blog alive. In came $78,000--in one week--so we can look for more blogging for profit," Mr. Hewitson writes. "If you see someone raving wildly about a new movie or recording, a show or a new wine, It'll be hard to decide whether it's genuine affection or paid for."
Well, if you discount the great weblog payola scandals of the late 1950s, I'm sorry to disappoint Mr. Hewitson by noting that this is not a problem. Most of us webloggers do it for free, just for fun. I would want to know what my friend Jeremy Lott has to say on this though, as he often tries to turn his weblogging into something that On Dead Tree publishers can use. I'm not daring him to do so, however, as that might understandably be a very private thing that he doesn't want to discuss.
Anyways, I wouldn't try to weblog my kids through college, if I had any.
Here's Mr. Hewitson's in-print blogroll. He didn't quote web addresses, but I've put in hyperlinks for you because I am such a nice guy:
I followed a few links and here's what I found. Colby Cosh, a prolific Alberta blogger, is also a scribe for The Report [sic]. Colby often posts at peculiar times throughout the days, like 3:59 a.m., when most people are asleep, even in Edmonton.
He is equally at home giving the gears to federal cabinet ministers, Kevin Lowe on Oilers trades or skewering the David Suzuki Foundation for leaked e-mails like the one from aquaculture specialist Lynn Hunter, who noted (in print) "...tormenting fish farms is fun, it really is..."
Damian J. Penny is a Corner Brook, Nfld. blogger with extensive links. In his blog recently is the fascinating information that Bill Clennett, the "victim" of a highly public choking by Prime Minister Jean Chretien a few years ago, "is something of a professional protester, who was caught pelting the PM's office with paint filled balloons in 1991."
Cubicle Dweller is a Steveston [a neighbourhood in Richmond B.C.--RH] book editor who who writes a running blog in which he recently waxed creative about some name changes he suggests for Canada, after reading that french fries had been
renamed freedom fries in Washington.
He thinks California rolls should become Canuck rolls, Texas toast should be maple leaf toast and any beer should be renamed liquid Canada.
What would that be on the French side of the label?
Hmmm, I thought, based on a recent post that Cubicle Dweller also freelanced as a penguin flenser. Guess he was kidding :)
Thursday, March 27, 2003
New blog alert!
A new weblog by Evan Kirchhoff looks like it may interest you. I liked this entry here "Martin Amis' Questions Answered".
After my link, he'll have two readers! :)
A new weblog by Evan Kirchhoff looks like it may interest you. I liked this entry here "Martin Amis' Questions Answered".
After my link, he'll have two readers! :)
Canadians are fighting in Iraq
Canadian Press reports...Defence Department confirms Canadian personnel active in war on Iraq:
OTTAWA (CP) - Defence Department officials acknowledged Wednesday that Canadians are aboard American AWACS radar planes helping in the war on Iraq.
It's the first time the government has conceded that Canadians on exchange assignments with the U.S. military are involved in the conflict.....
Canadian Press reports...Defence Department confirms Canadian personnel active in war on Iraq:
OTTAWA (CP) - Defence Department officials acknowledged Wednesday that Canadians are aboard American AWACS radar planes helping in the war on Iraq.
It's the first time the government has conceded that Canadians on exchange assignments with the U.S. military are involved in the conflict.....
Tim Horton's heroes
Three Tim Horton's workers in Calgary chased down and caught some thieves who had robbed the doughnut shop.
They make Timbits, they catch bad guys...is there anything they can't do?
Three Tim Horton's workers in Calgary chased down and caught some thieves who had robbed the doughnut shop.
They make Timbits, they catch bad guys...is there anything they can't do?
Oilers call up Rodan for playoffs
Colby Cosh, after the Oilers made the playoffs last night:
So the Oilers are playoff-bound after a year of early golf: the only issue now is the seeding. Fans are reportedly eager for an Oilers-Vancouver first-round series, which would probably require the Oilers to climb out of eighth. This is, I think, madness. I say so for three reasons: (1) the Canucks are, for my money, the favourite to win the conference. (2) Our goalie, Tommy Salo, is Markus Naslund's personal little bitch. (3) Why the hell do we want Canadian teams whaling on each other in the first round? I'm not afraid of Dallas, but I'm afraid of Vancouver: in my nightmares Todd Bertuzzi smashes downtown Edmonton like Godzilla, knocking over buildings and crushing cars like pop cans, and when I wake up screaming I realize that in the dream Bertuzzi was lifesize. Nooooo! Nnnooooo!
As a fan of the Canucks, some comments:
1) These are the Canucks after all, so they might find some way to wrest a loss from the jaws of victory. Trust me, after 25 years of watching them play I know this to be so.
2) I'd like to see a Oilers/Canucks conference final, so there is at least one Canadian team in the Stanley Cup finals. (I sometimes get bored and stop watching the NHL playoffs once all the Candian teams are out, and start again once the Stanley Cup finals are on.)
3) Do the Oilers have a secret IHL farm team on Monster Island? If so, the Canucks are in trouble. (After dispatching of Bertuzzizilla, Mothra gets a two minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for eating Mark Crawford.....)
Colby Cosh, after the Oilers made the playoffs last night:
So the Oilers are playoff-bound after a year of early golf: the only issue now is the seeding. Fans are reportedly eager for an Oilers-Vancouver first-round series, which would probably require the Oilers to climb out of eighth. This is, I think, madness. I say so for three reasons: (1) the Canucks are, for my money, the favourite to win the conference. (2) Our goalie, Tommy Salo, is Markus Naslund's personal little bitch. (3) Why the hell do we want Canadian teams whaling on each other in the first round? I'm not afraid of Dallas, but I'm afraid of Vancouver: in my nightmares Todd Bertuzzi smashes downtown Edmonton like Godzilla, knocking over buildings and crushing cars like pop cans, and when I wake up screaming I realize that in the dream Bertuzzi was lifesize. Nooooo! Nnnooooo!
As a fan of the Canucks, some comments:
1) These are the Canucks after all, so they might find some way to wrest a loss from the jaws of victory. Trust me, after 25 years of watching them play I know this to be so.
2) I'd like to see a Oilers/Canucks conference final, so there is at least one Canadian team in the Stanley Cup finals. (I sometimes get bored and stop watching the NHL playoffs once all the Candian teams are out, and start again once the Stanley Cup finals are on.)
3) Do the Oilers have a secret IHL farm team on Monster Island? If so, the Canucks are in trouble. (After dispatching of Bertuzzizilla, Mothra gets a two minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for eating Mark Crawford.....)
Baghdad weblog
A Baghdad weblogger: Where is Raed ?. Reader beware...but it reads like the kind of weblog that an average Baghdad blogger would be posting so far.
A Baghdad weblogger: Where is Raed ?. Reader beware...but it reads like the kind of weblog that an average Baghdad blogger would be posting so far.
Laurier LaPierre: Screw the Americans
From Tuesday's debates in the Canadian Senate
(We need an elected Senate yesterday):
War with Iraq
Hon. John Buchanan: Honourable senators, I wish to speak about this matter later, on a resolution, but I wish to say something right now. I hope to be allowed one half hour to two hours.
I totally disagree with what the honourable senator just said. Can you imagine?
Hon. B. Alasdair Graham: A speech is not debatable during Senators' Statements.
Senator Buchanan: I am not debating the honourable senator.
The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable Senator Buchanan, the point made is quite correct. Senators' Statements is for just that. It is not in our rules to debate. If you wish to make a statement, please proceed.
Senator Buchanan: Honourable senators, I was making a statement, and I hope His Honour will not take a minute off my time!
What would have happened if, in Toronto or Montreal, two, three or four planes had flown into the tallest buildings or hit the Centre Block in Ottawa and hundreds, maybe thousands, were killed? Would we be saying, "Let us wait until Saddam Hussein really gets some nuclear weapons. Let us wait until he gets biological weapons. Let us wait until he gets more missiles. Let us wait for authority from the UN to do it all.''
No way, that would not happen! However, it happened to our friends.
Who are our friends in this world? Who have been our friends for over the last 100 years? The United States is our best neighbour, our best friend. The United States, Britain, Australia, Denmark and Holland are our friends, and we have turned our backs on them.
Do not forget it. We have turned our backs on them. That is a fact.
Honourable senators, what are we doing? Here in Canada, we are saying, "Oh we want to have this all sanctioned by the Security Council of the United Nations. Never mind the genocide and murder that is taking place in Iraq.''
What a double standard, what hypocrisy! When there was genocide and murder in Kosovo and Serbia, we did not need sanctions from the United Nations to move ahead. We did move ahead in those areas. That is the double standard. That is the hypocrisy. We moved ahead there, but we cannot do it here. We will back off, and we will let our friends do everything to protect us.
What would happen, honourable senators, if Canada were attacked? We have brave soldiers, airmen and sailors. I know many of them. However, we do not have the wherewithal to defend ourselves, and we all know that. Who will protect us. Will France, Germany, or Russia, who has provided weapons to Saddam Hussein, or China protect us?
Hon. Laurier L. LaPierre: Screw the Americans!
Senator Buchanan: Do not start that. I will enter a debate with that senator sometime as well.
Honourable senators, in 24 years of elected life, I found out one thing. You go with your friends and you build on your strengths.
Senator LaPierre: You build on the truth!
Senator Buchanan: Honourable senators, why are we not with our friends now? There are many reasons, but we will get into it later.
Some Hon. Senators: Hear! Hear!
From Tuesday's debates in the Canadian Senate
(We need an elected Senate yesterday):
War with Iraq
Hon. John Buchanan: Honourable senators, I wish to speak about this matter later, on a resolution, but I wish to say something right now. I hope to be allowed one half hour to two hours.
I totally disagree with what the honourable senator just said. Can you imagine?
Hon. B. Alasdair Graham: A speech is not debatable during Senators' Statements.
Senator Buchanan: I am not debating the honourable senator.
The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable Senator Buchanan, the point made is quite correct. Senators' Statements is for just that. It is not in our rules to debate. If you wish to make a statement, please proceed.
Senator Buchanan: Honourable senators, I was making a statement, and I hope His Honour will not take a minute off my time!
What would have happened if, in Toronto or Montreal, two, three or four planes had flown into the tallest buildings or hit the Centre Block in Ottawa and hundreds, maybe thousands, were killed? Would we be saying, "Let us wait until Saddam Hussein really gets some nuclear weapons. Let us wait until he gets biological weapons. Let us wait until he gets more missiles. Let us wait for authority from the UN to do it all.''
No way, that would not happen! However, it happened to our friends.
Who are our friends in this world? Who have been our friends for over the last 100 years? The United States is our best neighbour, our best friend. The United States, Britain, Australia, Denmark and Holland are our friends, and we have turned our backs on them.
Do not forget it. We have turned our backs on them. That is a fact.
Honourable senators, what are we doing? Here in Canada, we are saying, "Oh we want to have this all sanctioned by the Security Council of the United Nations. Never mind the genocide and murder that is taking place in Iraq.''
What a double standard, what hypocrisy! When there was genocide and murder in Kosovo and Serbia, we did not need sanctions from the United Nations to move ahead. We did move ahead in those areas. That is the double standard. That is the hypocrisy. We moved ahead there, but we cannot do it here. We will back off, and we will let our friends do everything to protect us.
What would happen, honourable senators, if Canada were attacked? We have brave soldiers, airmen and sailors. I know many of them. However, we do not have the wherewithal to defend ourselves, and we all know that. Who will protect us. Will France, Germany, or Russia, who has provided weapons to Saddam Hussein, or China protect us?
Hon. Laurier L. LaPierre: Screw the Americans!
Senator Buchanan: Do not start that. I will enter a debate with that senator sometime as well.
Honourable senators, in 24 years of elected life, I found out one thing. You go with your friends and you build on your strengths.
Senator LaPierre: You build on the truth!
Senator Buchanan: Honourable senators, why are we not with our friends now? There are many reasons, but we will get into it later.
Some Hon. Senators: Hear! Hear!
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Today on Coronation Street...hot monkey love!?!
In soap opera news, in Passions, Precious, an orangutang, falls in hot monkey lust with with a hunky *human* in the show. Fortunately it's not reciprocated, but knowing US soap operas....
Ena Sharples is spinning in her grave.
In soap opera news, in Passions, Precious, an orangutang, falls in hot monkey lust with with a hunky *human* in the show. Fortunately it's not reciprocated, but knowing US soap operas....
Ena Sharples is spinning in her grave.
Saddam Hussein: Dead since 1998
According to a doctor in exile, the real Saddam Hussein has been dead for more than five years. He can tell because the ears are all wrong.
(Insert suitable amusing ribald joke here.)
According to a doctor in exile, the real Saddam Hussein has been dead for more than five years. He can tell because the ears are all wrong.
(Insert suitable amusing ribald joke here.)
Sunday, March 23, 2003
And the Worst Actress Oscar goes to...
The annual anti-Oscars have been awarded. Here's the results of the Raspberry Awards.
Madonna almost swept the board!
The annual anti-Oscars have been awarded. Here's the results of the Raspberry Awards.
Madonna almost swept the board!
Double-double pipeline built to serve Canadian solidiers overseas
AP reports that a Tennessee waitress sends has sent coffee to regular customer in Persian Gulf here. It sounded like a must read until I found that she was sending 5 *bags* of coffee...not one pot of coffee in a Thermos sent by air express.
Nice thing to do though. Thanks to Fark for the link
AP reports that a Tennessee waitress sends has sent coffee to regular customer in Persian Gulf here. It sounded like a must read until I found that she was sending 5 *bags* of coffee...not one pot of coffee in a Thermos sent by air express.
Nice thing to do though. Thanks to Fark for the link
Iraq protest watch
Revolutionary lesbians in Mexico have come out against the war. Now I can sleep better at night.
Revolutionary lesbians in Mexico have come out against the war. Now I can sleep better at night.
Saturday, March 22, 2003
Academic gangstas
Participants in a recent Simon Fraser University study couldn't decide whether rap music was bad for society. Word.
Participants in a recent Simon Fraser University study couldn't decide whether rap music was bad for society. Word.
It's his sciatica, I am sure
An unverified rumour from Baghdad: the city's finest neurosurgeon has been whisked away to an unknown destination. From LetterFrom Gotham
An unverified rumour from Baghdad: the city's finest neurosurgeon has been whisked away to an unknown destination. From LetterFrom Gotham
A break from Iraq!
If you would like a break from the war, check out these neat photos of animals in Antarctica taken a few months ago and posted in the Life in the Freezer weblog.
Cute pictures of seals and penguins. :)
If you would like a break from the war, check out these neat photos of animals in Antarctica taken a few months ago and posted in the Life in the Freezer weblog.
Cute pictures of seals and penguins. :)
Did Bush watch as the Peas Palace was bombed?
Enter Stage Right reports that at yesterday's press conference, reporters at the White House were obsessed with finding out whether the President had seen the bombing of Baghdad live on TV. Here's the transcript. All I can say is I am glad that I am not doing Ari Fleischer's job. I'd start to get annoyed.
Did you catch Judy Woodruff's small blooper on CNN yesterday? The first time that the network showed the Iraqi footage of the bombed palace, she, distracted by the producer talking in her earpiece, called it the "Peas Palace". She corrected it later, noting it was really the Peace Palace.
I can't talk, as all reporters can make mistakes, but the idea of a Peas Palace seems kind of goofy. Shouldn't she have tried to catch it? (Iraqi TV commentator: "Criminal Junior Bush's bombers levelled the building, but the princess and her mattresses escaped unharmed.")
Enter Stage Right reports that at yesterday's press conference, reporters at the White House were obsessed with finding out whether the President had seen the bombing of Baghdad live on TV. Here's the transcript. All I can say is I am glad that I am not doing Ari Fleischer's job. I'd start to get annoyed.
Did you catch Judy Woodruff's small blooper on CNN yesterday? The first time that the network showed the Iraqi footage of the bombed palace, she, distracted by the producer talking in her earpiece, called it the "Peas Palace". She corrected it later, noting it was really the Peace Palace.
I can't talk, as all reporters can make mistakes, but the idea of a Peas Palace seems kind of goofy. Shouldn't she have tried to catch it? (Iraqi TV commentator: "Criminal Junior Bush's bombers levelled the building, but the princess and her mattresses escaped unharmed.")
Friday, March 21, 2003
The joys of satellite feeds
The Smoking Gun has BBC footage of President Bush getting his hair combed before his speech on Wednesday here.
This is old news to someone who has a large satellite dish. You can see more of this sort of thing in the documentary Feed , in which various politicians blow their noses and joke around before they start to speak live by satellite.
Many years ago, during the O.J. Simpson trial, my parents and I lucked onto a rogue feed from a balcony which featured a freelance TV reporter doing a series of interviews on the day's events in the trial for TV stations around the country. We saw him fiddling with his hair, getting bored, and doing stuff, like scratching his nose, that you wouldn't want to see anyone doing on TV. His cameraman, waiting for a producer to give him a signal, checked his camera by focusing on a fly buzzing around a Pest Strip.
The Smoking Gun has BBC footage of President Bush getting his hair combed before his speech on Wednesday here.
This is old news to someone who has a large satellite dish. You can see more of this sort of thing in the documentary Feed , in which various politicians blow their noses and joke around before they start to speak live by satellite.
Many years ago, during the O.J. Simpson trial, my parents and I lucked onto a rogue feed from a balcony which featured a freelance TV reporter doing a series of interviews on the day's events in the trial for TV stations around the country. We saw him fiddling with his hair, getting bored, and doing stuff, like scratching his nose, that you wouldn't want to see anyone doing on TV. His cameraman, waiting for a producer to give him a signal, checked his camera by focusing on a fly buzzing around a Pest Strip.
Thursday, March 20, 2003
Mix some beans into that hay
This summer, federal government scientists will study cows in Alberta in an effort to find out whether cows release dangerous greenhouse gases when they burp.
"Okay, we're ready. We have our clipboards, scientific instruments, and a case of beans..."
This summer, federal government scientists will study cows in Alberta in an effort to find out whether cows release dangerous greenhouse gases when they burp.
"Okay, we're ready. We have our clipboards, scientific instruments, and a case of beans..."
Crisis at Tim Horton's
Tim Horton's, Canada's major doughnut store chain, has discovered a problem: some of their stores make doughnuts that are too big. The doughnuts, company officials say, must be made a little smaller so they can fit their standard sizes.
Homer Simpson is investigating the situation personally.
Tim Horton's, Canada's major doughnut store chain, has discovered a problem: some of their stores make doughnuts that are too big. The doughnuts, company officials say, must be made a little smaller so they can fit their standard sizes.
Homer Simpson is investigating the situation personally.
Pastor sacked by the Super Bowl
The Birmingham News reports that a local pastor has been fired by his church for holding a compulsory attendance service during the Super Bowl. Denizens of Fark are greatly amused, but this doesn't pass my smell test. He tried to fire other ministers in the church for not showing up at the meeting so
this is not just a funny news story.
It's going to court, so there might be more to this story.
The Birmingham News reports that a local pastor has been fired by his church for holding a compulsory attendance service during the Super Bowl. Denizens of Fark are greatly amused, but this doesn't pass my smell test. He tried to fire other ministers in the church for not showing up at the meeting so
this is not just a funny news story.
It's going to court, so there might be more to this story.
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Scoop of the century to follow
Headline from the (Kitimat) Northern Sentinel earlier this month: Christ the King to hold parish mission. That should be worth page one...unless it really means, as the story notes, that the local Roman Catholic "Christ the King" Parish will hold a mission in the parish.
I wonder if the editor considered the other meaning. That reminds me of an apocryphal anecdote that I read somewhere about a reporter for a U.S. newspaper who was covering a flood or some mine disaster and wrote the lead paragraph, "God looked down and wept as the...mine collapsed..."
The reporter's editor is said to have wired back to the reporter "Forget disaster. Interview God."
Headline from the (Kitimat) Northern Sentinel earlier this month: Christ the King to hold parish mission. That should be worth page one...unless it really means, as the story notes, that the local Roman Catholic "Christ the King" Parish will hold a mission in the parish.
I wonder if the editor considered the other meaning. That reminds me of an apocryphal anecdote that I read somewhere about a reporter for a U.S. newspaper who was covering a flood or some mine disaster and wrote the lead paragraph, "God looked down and wept as the...mine collapsed..."
The reporter's editor is said to have wired back to the reporter "Forget disaster. Interview God."
When I was a child...
A friend recommends the website: Yesterdayland - Your Childhood Is Here. It's a happy homage to what childhood was like in the 1970s, with
lots of features on music, TV cartoons and movies.
He also likes Yesterland which talks about
how Disneyland has evolved over the years, and the exhibits of yesteryear
that you can't see any more.
A friend recommends the website: Yesterdayland - Your Childhood Is Here. It's a happy homage to what childhood was like in the 1970s, with
lots of features on music, TV cartoons and movies.
He also likes Yesterland which talks about
how Disneyland has evolved over the years, and the exhibits of yesteryear
that you can't see any more.
Jerry Lewis' film about the Holocaust
If you have never heard of The Day The Clown Cried, Jerry Lewis' jaw-dropping film on the Holocaust, check out this feature, published in the late Spy magazine.
If you have never heard of The Day The Clown Cried, Jerry Lewis' jaw-dropping film on the Holocaust, check out this feature, published in the late Spy magazine.
D'oh!
Protester picks wrong spot to lock himself:
By SCOTT GUTIERREZ
THE OLYMPIAN The Olympian Online
OLYMPIA -- A man spent hours chained to the wrong building Tuesday in an ill-planned effort to protest war with Iraq, police said. Jody Mason padlocked himself to an entrance of the Washington State Grange building at 924 Capitol Way S., thinking it was a sub-office of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Grange employees found him about 11:45 a.m. Tuesday and asked what he was doing.
He told employees he'd chained himself to the building in civil disobedience Monday night after listening to President Bush's televised ultimatum to Saddam Hussein.
Mason padlocked one end of the chain around his neck and the other to a door, which opens to a bottom-floor office. He told onlookers he was protesting Bush's foreign and domestic policies. He had affixed a sign to the building reading, "Reduce Deficit."
Grange employees explained that he was at the wrong building. The Grange is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that advocates for residents in rural areas.
"I don't think that's ever happened before," said Larry Clark, Grange communications director....
Update: he was second time lucky
Protester picks wrong spot to lock himself:
By SCOTT GUTIERREZ
THE OLYMPIAN The Olympian Online
OLYMPIA -- A man spent hours chained to the wrong building Tuesday in an ill-planned effort to protest war with Iraq, police said. Jody Mason padlocked himself to an entrance of the Washington State Grange building at 924 Capitol Way S., thinking it was a sub-office of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Grange employees found him about 11:45 a.m. Tuesday and asked what he was doing.
He told employees he'd chained himself to the building in civil disobedience Monday night after listening to President Bush's televised ultimatum to Saddam Hussein.
Mason padlocked one end of the chain around his neck and the other to a door, which opens to a bottom-floor office. He told onlookers he was protesting Bush's foreign and domestic policies. He had affixed a sign to the building reading, "Reduce Deficit."
Grange employees explained that he was at the wrong building. The Grange is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that advocates for residents in rural areas.
"I don't think that's ever happened before," said Larry Clark, Grange communications director....
Update: he was second time lucky
Giant Cheeto? Bah!
Hawkins Cheezies are often bigger than that "giant Cheeto" that will be featured on the Jimmy Kimmel show.
As Colby Cosh notes...it would take nothing for the manufacturer to make a new brand of Giant Cheetos.
Hawkins Cheezies are often bigger than that "giant Cheeto" that will be featured on the Jimmy Kimmel show.
As Colby Cosh notes...it would take nothing for the manufacturer to make a new brand of Giant Cheetos.
That's over 178,000 orbits of the Earth
From Space Daily: Vanguard Satellite Marks 45 Years in Space.
From Space Daily: Vanguard Satellite Marks 45 Years in Space.
Tuesday, March 18, 2003
Twinkies and scrambled eggs for breakfast
The Boston Globe reports on the origins and history of the Twinkie and other neat facts about the snack...including an expert's argument that bacon is a bigger threat, in terms of the big picture, to overall health of Americans than Twinkies are.
The Boston Globe reports on the origins and history of the Twinkie and other neat facts about the snack...including an expert's argument that bacon is a bigger threat, in terms of the big picture, to overall health of Americans than Twinkies are.
Monday, March 17, 2003
Queen of Everything, Esq.
A new permalink!
Sarah Eve Kelly, supergenius, has offered to exchange links. I'll let her friend Colby Cosh give you the details on her.
Her weblog always has interesting things to read, so check it out. Colby notes that she won a big prize for undergraduate writing...I wonder if the piece in question is anywhere online that she could link to.
A new permalink!
Sarah Eve Kelly, supergenius, has offered to exchange links. I'll let her friend Colby Cosh give you the details on her.
Her weblog always has interesting things to read, so check it out. Colby notes that she won a big prize for undergraduate writing...I wonder if the piece in question is anywhere online that she could link to.
How to tell if you write for a small-town newspaper
Diana French, columnist for the Williams Lake Tribune, wrote this in a recent column:
I still haven't seen the Vagina Monologues because of conflicts with other events. This time the conflict was the Sock Monkey Auction at the Elks Hall sponsored by SPAN the Station House Gallery. I believe the monkey business was satisfactory as a fundraiser. I had never seen the Elks so elegantly decorated. There were monkeys all over the place of course but the eye catchers were the "palm" tress with balloon coconuts....
Hmm, Vagina Monologues or the box supper at the Lions. What to do...
At least Mrs. French has the good taste to not be enthralled by the Vagina Monologues.
Diana French, columnist for the Williams Lake Tribune, wrote this in a recent column:
I still haven't seen the Vagina Monologues because of conflicts with other events. This time the conflict was the Sock Monkey Auction at the Elks Hall sponsored by SPAN the Station House Gallery. I believe the monkey business was satisfactory as a fundraiser. I had never seen the Elks so elegantly decorated. There were monkeys all over the place of course but the eye catchers were the "palm" tress with balloon coconuts....
Hmm, Vagina Monologues or the box supper at the Lions. What to do...
At least Mrs. French has the good taste to not be enthralled by the Vagina Monologues.
Sunday, March 16, 2003
Candidate saves time, already convicted of fraud :)
A candidate in the upcoming Newfoundland election has served jail time for fraud
A candidate in the upcoming Newfoundland election has served jail time for fraud
Learning how to gladiate
If your son gets picked on at school, you could always send him to this Gladiator School.
"Aww dad, you always go thumbs up."
Thanks to Fark.
If your son gets picked on at school, you could always send him to this Gladiator School.
"Aww dad, you always go thumbs up."
Thanks to Fark.
Try to take my lunch money now, you bullies!
How to build your kid a 1/5 Scale Sherman Tank that he can ride around in. Looks neat.
How to build your kid a 1/5 Scale Sherman Tank that he can ride around in. Looks neat.
Tundra of Lambeau Field update
Kevin Michael Grace reprints his review of When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss' biography of Vince Lombardi.
I also really enjoyed that book...but Kevin has a perceptive way of explaining why that book is more significant than you might at first think.
Kevin Michael Grace reprints his review of When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss' biography of Vince Lombardi.
I also really enjoyed that book...but Kevin has a perceptive way of explaining why that book is more significant than you might at first think.
Pure as Ivory Soap
I really shouldn't take Purity Tests. In this one here, I got 270 fewer points than another weblogger claims to have tallied in the same test.
I am sure she is kidding, though. Who has time to weblog and break multiple commandments at the same time? :)
Back when I was writing for The Ubyssey, we would publish different purity tests and my colleagues would be amused to no end when they learned what my scores were. One year, taking a different version of the Purity Test, I scored 8.
I really shouldn't take Purity Tests. In this one here, I got 270 fewer points than another weblogger claims to have tallied in the same test.
I am sure she is kidding, though. Who has time to weblog and break multiple commandments at the same time? :)
Back when I was writing for The Ubyssey, we would publish different purity tests and my colleagues would be amused to no end when they learned what my scores were. One year, taking a different version of the Purity Test, I scored 8.
Saturday, March 15, 2003
Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!
Courtesy of Frank's Vinyl Museum, some must-be-heard-to-be- believed selections from the Muhammad Ali LP Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay, in which the champ battles the forces that would rot kids' teeth.
Starring Frank Sinatra as the storekeeper selling evil ice cream.
Courtesy of Frank's Vinyl Museum, some must-be-heard-to-be- believed selections from the Muhammad Ali LP Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay, in which the champ battles the forces that would rot kids' teeth.
Starring Frank Sinatra as the storekeeper selling evil ice cream.
Collect that toll!
Government bureaucrats are always on the job. Always.
After doing some research for work at the library yesterday, I was flipping through some old bound volumes of Time. I found some extra information on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse , which I alluded to earlier in a post, in a Nov. 18, 1940 Time story.
Not wanting to be haunted by the ghost of Henry Luce, I shall quote lightly from the story. The morning of the collapse, the undulations of the bridge were "no worse than usual"...but no worse than usual meant that the bridge was swaying seriously and that drivers and pedestrians got seasick as they went across the bridge "The bridge was throbbing as if it were alive". However, the problem was serious enough that scientists at the nearby University of Washington were doing wind tunnel studies in a futile effort to fix the bridge.
On the morning of the collapse, a U of W prof set up a camera that would wind up taking some of the famous movie footage that you may have seen. Also...
Soon after him came 25 year-old college student Winfield Brown who paid his 10 cent pedestrian fee and walked across for the thrill.
Today, the bridge would be shut down, but back then they collected tolls as usual! Amazing. It's a good thing that the toll collector went off the job later that day: "Sure the bridge is out, but if you hit the gap at about 90 MPH, you may be able to jump it. 25 cents please."
I'm not a fan of safety Nazis, but I draw the line at collecting tolls for a bridge that is about to collapse. I'm fussy that way, I guess.
Government bureaucrats are always on the job. Always.
After doing some research for work at the library yesterday, I was flipping through some old bound volumes of Time. I found some extra information on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse , which I alluded to earlier in a post, in a Nov. 18, 1940 Time story.
Not wanting to be haunted by the ghost of Henry Luce, I shall quote lightly from the story. The morning of the collapse, the undulations of the bridge were "no worse than usual"...but no worse than usual meant that the bridge was swaying seriously and that drivers and pedestrians got seasick as they went across the bridge "The bridge was throbbing as if it were alive". However, the problem was serious enough that scientists at the nearby University of Washington were doing wind tunnel studies in a futile effort to fix the bridge.
On the morning of the collapse, a U of W prof set up a camera that would wind up taking some of the famous movie footage that you may have seen. Also...
Soon after him came 25 year-old college student Winfield Brown who paid his 10 cent pedestrian fee and walked across for the thrill.
Today, the bridge would be shut down, but back then they collected tolls as usual! Amazing. It's a good thing that the toll collector went off the job later that day: "Sure the bridge is out, but if you hit the gap at about 90 MPH, you may be able to jump it. 25 cents please."
I'm not a fan of safety Nazis, but I draw the line at collecting tolls for a bridge that is about to collapse. I'm fussy that way, I guess.
Friday, March 14, 2003
Looking for a picture of that giant Cheeto?
Looking for a giant Cheeto picture? See it here. The photo of that "giant Cheeto" may be seen here, at an eBay sale of the domian name "giantCheeto.com"
Looking for a giant Cheeto picture? See it here. The photo of that "giant Cheeto" may be seen here, at an eBay sale of the domian name "giantCheeto.com"
Thursday, March 13, 2003
Israelites cross Red Sea into Malibu
Back in the 1950s and 1960s, European pop artists often grabbed onto a US hit song, translated it into the local language, and released it to snag a local hit in place of the original English version.
Occasionally something was lost in translation. A case in point. In 1966, French pop star Richard Anthony did a cover version of California Dreamin', the famous pop hit of the era. However, when the song was translated into French as La Terre Promise [The Promised Land], it seems to have become a song about the Exodus as you will see from the Google translation here.
Not quite the intention of the original lyrics, one suspects.
Back in the 1950s and 1960s, European pop artists often grabbed onto a US hit song, translated it into the local language, and released it to snag a local hit in place of the original English version.
Occasionally something was lost in translation. A case in point. In 1966, French pop star Richard Anthony did a cover version of California Dreamin', the famous pop hit of the era. However, when the song was translated into French as La Terre Promise [The Promised Land], it seems to have become a song about the Exodus as you will see from the Google translation here.
Not quite the intention of the original lyrics, one suspects.
Wednesday, March 12, 2003
Diplomacy: usually my strong suit, but not here
It seems that the game Diplomacy is rife amongst my colleagues who work in Edmonton. As Kevin Steel's and Colby Cosh's accounts of the latest until-dawn Diplomacy fest show, Diplomacy can be a very intense game.
You begin with a map of turn of the 20th century Europe. Up to seven players can be various countries (such as Austria-Hungary, England, etc.). The aim of the game, with each turn being a season of a year, is to wind up having the biggest slice of Europe at the end.
You win by striking alliances with other players in negotiations between turns and working together. Being a scheming, lying, backstabbing ne'er do well can work well too.
I've never played the game, but I always enjoy their accounts of the games. Kevin, for example, dubs Colby the evil Vampire Napoleon who would have won despite the fact that he was playing with a mouse and Pinky from the TV show Pinky and the Brain. I've played Risk...the lower skill, no negotiations knock-off version of Diplomacy. (When picking, everyone tries to grab Australia or South America first, nobody goes for Asia, etc.)
Perhaps Colby and Kevin can answer a question for me...is it possible to win at Diplomacy if you never negotiate or talk to any other player and try to play completely on your own? What's happened when someone has tried it in a game you have played? Did everyone gang up on that player?
It seems that the game Diplomacy is rife amongst my colleagues who work in Edmonton. As Kevin Steel's and Colby Cosh's accounts of the latest until-dawn Diplomacy fest show, Diplomacy can be a very intense game.
You begin with a map of turn of the 20th century Europe. Up to seven players can be various countries (such as Austria-Hungary, England, etc.). The aim of the game, with each turn being a season of a year, is to wind up having the biggest slice of Europe at the end.
You win by striking alliances with other players in negotiations between turns and working together. Being a scheming, lying, backstabbing ne'er do well can work well too.
I've never played the game, but I always enjoy their accounts of the games. Kevin, for example, dubs Colby the evil Vampire Napoleon who would have won despite the fact that he was playing with a mouse and Pinky from the TV show Pinky and the Brain. I've played Risk...the lower skill, no negotiations knock-off version of Diplomacy. (When picking, everyone tries to grab Australia or South America first, nobody goes for Asia, etc.)
Perhaps Colby and Kevin can answer a question for me...is it possible to win at Diplomacy if you never negotiate or talk to any other player and try to play completely on your own? What's happened when someone has tried it in a game you have played? Did everyone gang up on that player?
Spaghetti bridge news
Here's a story on an annual college contest that asks engineering students to make the best bridge made from spaghetti.
If I were an engineering student, I'd be tempted to recreate "Galloping Gertie" the infamous Tacoma Narrows Bridge, but I would have to violate the rules of this contest by cooking the spaghetti.
Here's a story on an annual college contest that asks engineering students to make the best bridge made from spaghetti.
If I were an engineering student, I'd be tempted to recreate "Galloping Gertie" the infamous Tacoma Narrows Bridge, but I would have to violate the rules of this contest by cooking the spaghetti.
The Ambler ambles on
Kevin Michael Grace has been dismissed by the magazine that I write for. So, I'd like to re-mention what I wrote about him a long time ago.
"When Mr. Grace was one of my longsuffering editors at B.C. Report (as it then was), I learned that he has a strong appreciation of the arts. He is very well read. An intellectual, but in the very best sense of the word. Allergic to cant."
I'll say "Auf Wiedersehen" and not goodbye. I am hopeful that things will work out well for him.
Kevin Michael Grace has been dismissed by the magazine that I write for. So, I'd like to re-mention what I wrote about him a long time ago.
"When Mr. Grace was one of my longsuffering editors at B.C. Report (as it then was), I learned that he has a strong appreciation of the arts. He is very well read. An intellectual, but in the very best sense of the word. Allergic to cant."
I'll say "Auf Wiedersehen" and not goodbye. I am hopeful that things will work out well for him.
Monday, March 10, 2003
"Our recon team has secured the marshmallow chick, over."
In the Toronto Star: GI Joes replace Easter bunnies in U.S. stores.
In the Toronto Star: GI Joes replace Easter bunnies in U.S. stores.
Sunday, March 09, 2003
After reading my "giant Cheeto" updates...
...which are located here and here and in the previous post just below this entry...you may wish to
visit Blogster.Net's top weblogs page and sample some of what is found there. Caveat emptor, of course. Some of the blogs there appear not to be my cup of tea. That said, they may be neither too hot nor too cold but, rather, just right for you.
By the way, I expect someone to start www.giantcheeto.blogspot.com any second now. Giant Cheeto weblog!All giant Cheetos! All the time! ( :) )
And also by the way, Food TV broadcasts a fascinating program called Unwrapped. If you see their episode on Party Snacks, you will see how they make Cheetos. Cheetos are very good but many Canadians know that the world champion cheese curl snacks are Hawkins' Cheezies, which are made in Ontario.
...which are located here and here and in the previous post just below this entry...you may wish to
visit Blogster.Net's top weblogs page and sample some of what is found there. Caveat emptor, of course. Some of the blogs there appear not to be my cup of tea. That said, they may be neither too hot nor too cold but, rather, just right for you.
By the way, I expect someone to start www.giantcheeto.blogspot.com any second now. Giant Cheeto weblog!All giant Cheetos! All the time! ( :) )
And also by the way, Food TV broadcasts a fascinating program called Unwrapped. If you see their episode on Party Snacks, you will see how they make Cheetos. Cheetos are very good but many Canadians know that the world champion cheese curl snacks are Hawkins' Cheezies, which are made in Ontario.
The sports card collector mindset invades the snack industry
If you're familiar with sports cards, you'll know that some of the most prized artifacts can be never opened boxes or packs of cards. That small pack of never opened cards could have that Wayne Gretzky or Marv Throneberry rookie card...or it could not.
Well, mindful of the "giant Cheeto" about the size of a quarter that was bid up to a mock bid of a zillion dollars, some eBay wag is offering for auction a new, unopened bag of Cheetos. It could have a giant Cheeto that could pay for your retirement...but why ruin the bag's value by opening it to look?
Of the 461 people who have taken a look, no one has bid the $4 US reserve price yet.
If you're familiar with sports cards, you'll know that some of the most prized artifacts can be never opened boxes or packs of cards. That small pack of never opened cards could have that Wayne Gretzky or Marv Throneberry rookie card...or it could not.
Well, mindful of the "giant Cheeto" about the size of a quarter that was bid up to a mock bid of a zillion dollars, some eBay wag is offering for auction a new, unopened bag of Cheetos. It could have a giant Cheeto that could pay for your retirement...but why ruin the bag's value by opening it to look?
Of the 461 people who have taken a look, no one has bid the $4 US reserve price yet.
Friday, March 07, 2003
"All I want to know is why don't the protestors ever look like her on those rare days when I pick up a picket sign...."
A Steve Martinovich observation after seeing some
pictures from an anti-France protest.
Link spotted by Jeremy Lott
A Steve Martinovich observation after seeing some
pictures from an anti-France protest.
Link spotted by Jeremy Lott
Eleven flushes later
Oh happy day...Charles Stough (see below) has his own weblog: Newsgorilla.
Here, in one recent entry, a unnamed Texas man finds out that the laxative industry is doing its best to frustrate local efforts to save water, in this letter to the editor.
One hopes that Mr. Stough isn't pulling our leg, but he does work as an editor at the paper that got the letter so I would say it's genuine.
Oh happy day...Charles Stough (see below) has his own weblog: Newsgorilla.
Here, in one recent entry, a unnamed Texas man finds out that the laxative industry is doing its best to frustrate local efforts to save water, in this letter to the editor.
One hopes that Mr. Stough isn't pulling our leg, but he does work as an editor at the paper that got the letter so I would say it's genuine.
The follow-up story will be difficult
The Ohio State University newspaper The Lantern did a recent story on the execution of prisoner Richard Fox. Their headline? Man put to death declines comment.
(The link may work for you, but they may make you register first. :( )
A tip of my fedora to the unequalled Charles Stough whose Burned-Out Newspapercreatures Guild e-list brought this to my attention.
The Ohio State University newspaper The Lantern did a recent story on the execution of prisoner Richard Fox. Their headline? Man put to death declines comment.
(The link may work for you, but they may make you register first. :( )
A tip of my fedora to the unequalled Charles Stough whose Burned-Out Newspapercreatures Guild e-list brought this to my attention.
God always meets copy deadlines
Rod Dreher posts a thoughtful column on the ongoing blindness of the US journalist towards Christianity on National Review Online.
Rod Dreher posts a thoughtful column on the ongoing blindness of the US journalist towards Christianity on National Review Online.
Giant cheeto news flash, second writethru
(Cue the music that Kermit used to use for his Muppet News Flash on Sesame Street :) )
To please 'net surfers, here's the latest I know about that "giant Cheeto" that I mentioned here. After looking on eBay last night, I saw that someone was offering the various "giantCheeto" web domains fror sale. Also, some wag was selling a picture of his cat looking at the computer monitor as it showed the eBay picture of the giant cheeto. More on this story as it develops...
(Cue the music that Kermit used to use for his Muppet News Flash on Sesame Street :) )
To please 'net surfers, here's the latest I know about that "giant Cheeto" that I mentioned here. After looking on eBay last night, I saw that someone was offering the various "giantCheeto" web domains fror sale. Also, some wag was selling a picture of his cat looking at the computer monitor as it showed the eBay picture of the giant cheeto. More on this story as it develops...
Thursday, March 06, 2003
The worst Eurovision Song Contest song
Readers of Colby's recent post may not have realized that he is making a reference to the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, in which singers from across the continent annually compete to perform the best "new song" in all of Europe.
Of course my fave Eurovision song moment is about "Mile After Mile", the 1978 Norwegian entry which set a standard for lack of excellence as the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 site notes:
That year’s worst achievement was made by the Norwegian contributors, who defied the laws of mathematics and ended up at the bottom of the scoring board with a total of 0 points. Supposedly, this should be virtually impossible according to the new point system, but, nevertheless, it happened to Jahn Teigen and his song "Mil etter mil". The jury wasn’t impressed by his appearance as a combination between a punk rocker and a circus clown.
Readers of Colby's recent post may not have realized that he is making a reference to the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, in which singers from across the continent annually compete to perform the best "new song" in all of Europe.
Of course my fave Eurovision song moment is about "Mile After Mile", the 1978 Norwegian entry which set a standard for lack of excellence as the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 site notes:
That year’s worst achievement was made by the Norwegian contributors, who defied the laws of mathematics and ended up at the bottom of the scoring board with a total of 0 points. Supposedly, this should be virtually impossible according to the new point system, but, nevertheless, it happened to Jahn Teigen and his song "Mil etter mil". The jury wasn’t impressed by his appearance as a combination between a punk rocker and a circus clown.
Can I have this for Christmas, pleaassseee!
On eBay: A Waterslide Park in the Dominican Republic. Bids start at $1 million US.
On second thought, I think it would be too big for my back yard.
On eBay: A Waterslide Park in the Dominican Republic. Bids start at $1 million US.
On second thought, I think it would be too big for my back yard.
Make the 1970s live again!
Good old eBay...you can buy anything there, even enough stuff to redo the 1970s. Like an Original MOOD RING Vintage & Groovy Signed. Or a pet rock . Even a disco mirror ball and a Bay City Rollers LP.
Economic malaise not included.
Good old eBay...you can buy anything there, even enough stuff to redo the 1970s. Like an Original MOOD RING Vintage & Groovy Signed. Or a pet rock . Even a disco mirror ball and a Bay City Rollers LP.
Economic malaise not included.
Wednesday, March 05, 2003
Time to take him behind the woodshed?
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram appears to have the goods on Texas TV evangelist Mike Murdock. The good pastor is alleged to have used his ministry to raise funds for his own personal useand for gifts to his relatives. Murdock's ministry board, such as it was, had a "minimal" role in overseeing ministry spending. Murdock is also said to be economical with the truth in regards to his qualifications and what the ministry actually does.
Reporter Darren Barbee is my hero of the day!
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram appears to have the goods on Texas TV evangelist Mike Murdock. The good pastor is alleged to have used his ministry to raise funds for his own personal useand for gifts to his relatives. Murdock's ministry board, such as it was, had a "minimal" role in overseeing ministry spending. Murdock is also said to be economical with the truth in regards to his qualifications and what the ministry actually does.
Reporter Darren Barbee is my hero of the day!
Canada's "monopoly money" tried by US
Guess there will be an end to American jokes about Canada's money, which uses different colours for different denominations, now that the new US $20 design will use a colour other than green, the first non-green US paper money in decades.
Americans may come to like this change. I'm used to the different colour Canadian denominations and find, when I am handling American money in the US, that I have to look harder at the individual bills to make sure that I don't pay for a candy bar with a US $50 bill by mistake. That may not be a bad thing, given the prevalence of counterfeit money mentioned in the story...but I find different colours are helpful.
Guess there will be an end to American jokes about Canada's money, which uses different colours for different denominations, now that the new US $20 design will use a colour other than green, the first non-green US paper money in decades.
Americans may come to like this change. I'm used to the different colour Canadian denominations and find, when I am handling American money in the US, that I have to look harder at the individual bills to make sure that I don't pay for a candy bar with a US $50 bill by mistake. That may not be a bad thing, given the prevalence of counterfeit money mentioned in the story...but I find different colours are helpful.
Tuesday, March 04, 2003
Where's the plumbers' bits?
The adventures of some Brits who move to the remote Isle of Lewis:Island Life : Moving to the Isle of Lewis.
I think that assembling a storage cabinet upside down and inside out is something that I would do, but they seem to have managed it too. :)
The adventures of some Brits who move to the remote Isle of Lewis:Island Life : Moving to the Isle of Lewis.
I think that assembling a storage cabinet upside down and inside out is something that I would do, but they seem to have managed it too. :)
He saves, he scores!
Junior A hockey goalie Curtis Darling of the Chilliwack Chiefs gets a shutout and scores a goal too!
Junior A hockey goalie Curtis Darling of the Chilliwack Chiefs gets a shutout and scores a goal too!
Rotwang returns to a theatre near you
The silent classic Metropolis has been newly restored and is touring North America. Here's an interesting
feature from the Vancouver Sun on how they went about restoring the film to be as close as possible to the film that Fritz Lang actually made.
The silent classic Metropolis has been newly restored and is touring North America. Here's an interesting
feature from the Vancouver Sun on how they went about restoring the film to be as close as possible to the film that Fritz Lang actually made.
Monday, March 03, 2003
Auf Wiedersehen, Jeremy
As you will read on his weblog, Jeremy Lott has decided to take his leave of The Citizens Centre Report. I don't need to wish him well, as I'm sure he will do well, but I would like to anyway.
In my limited dealings with him, he always tried to be helpful and supportive towards me and I did appreciate that. I would have liked working with him in the B.C. Report (RIP) newsroom. Theoretically, of course, as I think he would have been going through puberty or high school if that were the case. :)
I do abide by the Code of the Newsroom (what happens in the newsroom, stays in the newsroom), but since he was kind enough to mention me in his farewell remarks, I thought I would reciprocate.
We now return you to our regularly scheduled weblog.
As you will read on his weblog, Jeremy Lott has decided to take his leave of The Citizens Centre Report. I don't need to wish him well, as I'm sure he will do well, but I would like to anyway.
In my limited dealings with him, he always tried to be helpful and supportive towards me and I did appreciate that. I would have liked working with him in the B.C. Report (RIP) newsroom. Theoretically, of course, as I think he would have been going through puberty or high school if that were the case. :)
I do abide by the Code of the Newsroom (what happens in the newsroom, stays in the newsroom), but since he was kind enough to mention me in his farewell remarks, I thought I would reciprocate.
We now return you to our regularly scheduled weblog.
Sunday, March 02, 2003
Stop the presses!
From the Grand Forks [North Dakota] Herald: JARED: Subway guy visits Grand Forks.
Jared Fogle is so famous that he is newsworthy?!? *First name* newsworthy?!?
Why can't this happen to more deserving celebrities such as Citizens Centre Report webloggers...say? [Imagine female fans outside our magazine's office. One says "I saw Colby Cosh picking up his paycheque the other day. He's so dreamy!" *swoons*] :)
Nighty night...
From the Grand Forks [North Dakota] Herald: JARED: Subway guy visits Grand Forks.
Jared Fogle is so famous that he is newsworthy?!? *First name* newsworthy?!?
Why can't this happen to more deserving celebrities such as Citizens Centre Report webloggers...say? [Imagine female fans outside our magazine's office. One says "I saw Colby Cosh picking up his paycheque the other day. He's so dreamy!" *swoons*] :)
Nighty night...