Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Plat du jour--guest submission


















I guess this refers to the celtic music group from Canada.

This was found quite a while ago by Joanne.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Recent news round-up

Good News

Friday, September 07, 2012

Fairey gets probation

Shepard Fairey Is Fined and Sentenced to Probation in 'Hope' Poster Case

I have written about this a number of times, most recently here and here. I'm disappointed he got no jail time. Maybe he has learned something from all this, but I have to wonder if this will deter anyone else from doing what he did.

Semi-random thoughts

  • I am now older than my father was when he died. Hopefully I'll be at least as lucky as my mother--I've got 18 years to go to equal her longevity.
  • I always like it when the catcher throws out a runner trying to steal. Stealing is wrong.
  • Citibank now gives me the option of having the record of my ATM transaction e-mailed to me. No more little slips of paper to handle. 

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Headline of the day

People with purple beds have the most sex, according to study

Remember, correlation does not imply causation.

Monday, September 03, 2012

Sunday, September 02, 2012

Micro movie reviews

The Dark Knight Rises--I think I liked it, but I'm not totally sure because, for some reason, the dialog was very hard to understand when I saw it.

Sleepwalk With Me--A snooze, mildly amusing. The sleepwalking has almost nothing to do with the rest of the film.

If anything is needed to prove the Somali "pirates" are just thugs

Somali pirates kill hostage held for 2 years as ransom demand

Saturday, September 01, 2012

Today's news round-up

Good News

Sort of Good, Sort of Bad News

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Polite euphemism headline of the day

Ryan takes factual shortcuts in speech

What that really means, is, "Ryan lied."

It's what Republicans have been doing a long time: If the facts don't support your beliefs and positions, just make something up that sounds like it could be true. For example, weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Monday, August 27, 2012

Thank you, Amazon

Now I'll really know when to expect delivery.
Your estimated delivery date is:
Friday, August 31, 2012 -
Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Today's news round-up

Good News
Sort of Good, Sort of Bad News

Semi-random thoughts

  • I just noticed that I've passed the 7th anniversary of this blog.
  • My monthly health insurance premium now exceeds my mortgage payment! 
  • The software that categorizes news stories is confused about recalls. Stories on product recalls are appearing in my political news summaries. 
  • A couple of my friends had their Facebook accounts hacked. They appeared to be posting recommendations for a weight loss drug, saying things like "I've lost 20lbs. in 3 weeks!" Ironically, both of them are dancers. If either of them lost 20lbs. she'd be on death's door.  All of their Facebook friends know this, so the ads are totally ineffectual. 

Friday, August 24, 2012

Today's news round-up

Good News

Bad News

Plat du jour


Thursday, August 23, 2012

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Stupid headline of the day

U.S. Open tennis referee accused of killing husband with coffee mug

The only thing her being a tennis referee has to do with this story is to explain why she is in New York. This is a minor detail which does not belong in the headline.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Friday, August 17, 2012

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Friday, August 10, 2012

Friday, August 03, 2012

Today's news round-up

Good news
  • NCAA backs new penalty structure I'm really glad that coaches may face suspensions. Up to now, no matter how severely a school was penalized, the coach responsible for the infraction could just go work for a different college. The only problem: I doubt they can be stopped from being television commentators. 
  • Anti-Islam challenge to Tennessee lawmaker fails
  • Appeals court blocks Arizona's new late-term abortion ban
Bad news

Animal headline of the day

Chihuahua finds 2 girls lost in Georgia forest

Monday, July 30, 2012

Yay, me!

This blog received its 100,000th visitor yesterday.

Another interruption

I'm watching the Olympics, so I'm not going to be posting much the next two weeks.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Semi-random thoughts

  • I've been listening to the Rockabilly Station on Pandora lately, but I've had to reject 2 or 3 songs just for reasons of misogyny.
  • A few weeks ago I noted that NYC taxi fares would probably be going up. Now it looks like they almost certainly will. So it looks like I'll be starting to use credit cards to pay for my rides, as I explained in my previous post. I won't even feel a little guilty about it, because the drivers aren't going to have to pay 5% anymore.
  • Apparently the new way to market magazine subscriptions is to mail out free samples. Recently I've received copies of Manhattan and Architectural Digest.

Today's news round-up

Good News
Sort of Good, Sort of Bad News
Bad News

Friday, July 20, 2012

Animal headline of the day

Three Canadian elephants flying to California

Until now, the only elephant that I knew could fly was Dumbo.

Somali thugs jailed by Yemen

Yemen sentences jail to somali pirates

(OK, their English isn't that good. Still, yay, Yemen!)

Recent news round-up

I'm going to start posting links to good news and bad news articles, and maybe some that are mixed, that might have escaped people's notice.  I might add a brief comment. Here's the first:

Good News
Bad News

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Living with bobcats LX

I haven't done one of these in a long time, but this one actually made it into my "odd news" summary:

Bobcat breaks into Washington state prison

Monday, July 16, 2012

Animal headline of the day

French cows allowed to drink on the job, yield intoxicating beef

Oh, la la!

Actually, it sounds really good (if rather expensive).

RUNNER-UP: Cat has been mayor of Alaska town for 15 years

Please excuse the interruption

My hard drive crashed, last Friday actually. I'm trying to restore things, but it hasn't been going well. I've pretty much been avoiding unnecessary computer work, like blogging. Hopefully sometime in the next day or two things will get back to normal.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Pot, meet kettle

Saudi Arabia condemns Russian comments on human rights

Neither one of them is very good on human rights.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Plat du jour

It looks like this retired judge is having fun.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Micro movie review

To Rome With Love: Typical ridiculous Woody Allen romp. Quite enjoyable, as long as you don't mind Italian stereotypes and bouncing back and forth among non-intersecting stories.

Animal headline of the day

Who Would Steal Flags From Civil War Graves? Woodchucks, That’s Who

Living with foxes II

New York: Following Series Of Encounters, Family Of Foxes Has Ossining Residents On Alert

Plat du jour--guest submission





















Found by Joanne.

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Plat du jour











No matter how many times you say it, it's over.

Sunday, July 01, 2012

Happy Canada Day!

Rhymes with Orange

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Plat du jour























Ja, das ist ein Audi.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Animal headline of the day

Gunnar, the U.S. Navy seal, dies at age 38

You don't run into obituaries for animals too often. And I don't remember ever seeing one that listed the surviving family members by name.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Semi-random thoughts

  • I'm not much of a baseball fan. I find the game too slow. But I do still keep an eye on how the Indians are doing (I am from Cleveland). I never realized until recently that I can watch all of the Indians games right here at home. Time Warner Cable threw its sports package into its HD Extra package at some point, and all of the major leagues not otherwise shown are in it. It's always the home team broadcast, so when the Indians are on the road I have to suffer through some one-sided commentary, but at least I can see what is happening.
  • When I first saw articles from the Daily Caller in the "News For You" list that Yahoo puts on some of its pages, I immediately distrusted its apparent bias. It definitely seemed to be a politically conservative news source--maybe not as right wing as Fox News,  but certainly not one I'd trust to be objective. So whenever one of its stories pops up I generally don't even read it. Now there is another reason I dislike it: one of its reporters interrupted President Obama's statement at a press conference. 
  • Whenever I play the Star War Cantina Band on the jukebox at a bar, someone, generally a middle-aged guy, goes wild.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Living with wild hogs V

Hog wild: Feral pig population explodes in U.S.

Would you recharge your car here?













If they can't even spell "vehicle" correctly, think how much they could mess up your car.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Micro movie review

Snow White and the Huntsman--Fairly well done, though the final battle needed more work. Nothing surprising, little gore. The dwarfs are the best part.

Plat du jour

Friday, June 15, 2012

Trans Brit receives royal honor

Actress and campaigner April Ashley, one of the first Britons to undergo sex-change surgery, was awarded an OBE "for services to transgender equality."

Source

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Micro movie reviews

Men in Black 3: I couldn't believe two hours went by so fast. So much fun, even if it didn't always make sense.

The Avengers: Begins and ends strong, drags in the middle. Learn the backstory if you don't already know it.

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Animal headline of the day

Black bear euthanized after eating Canada murderer

Though the details of the story are really not very interesting, this is a great headline.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Out-of-the-office notice

Tomorrow I'm leaving for a week in Las Vegas (I'm taking a break from packing right now). I'm going for the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend, so don't plan on seeing any new posts here until I get back.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Semi-random thoughts

  • It looks like NYC taxi fares are going up. I've been saying for a while, that at the next fare increase I'll start using a credit card instead of paying cash, which I know the drivers prefer. The amount of cash I need for cab rides for an evening out will be much more than I want to be carrying around.
  • The phrase "turn of the century" has become ambiguous. 
  • The well-financed "Americans Elect" effort to put a third-party centrist candidate for president on the ballot this November has died. I'm relieved. This had the potential to disrupt the re-election of President Obama. 

Living with mountain lions XI

Mountain lion wanders into California city center, is killed

Mountain Lion Spotted Near Manchester, NH School

Monday, May 21, 2012

TFLNs of the (last) week

(402): As we're eating sushi she goes I just want to get a disease so my mom can take care of me... Great first date http://tfl.nu/07k6
(443): He told me the color of his piss.  Worst.  First date.  Ever. http://tfl.nu/42ep
(601): When you get home there will be live fish in the  bathtub. I did not put live fish in the bathtub. http://tfl.nu/pgrs
(360): do we own a ladder
(206): We do not.
(360): then how am i on the roof http://tfl.nu/xqbq
(651): We tried lying really still and being really quiet so that he wouldn't notice us before he left the room. Forgot about the glow in the dark condom. http://tfl.nu/dyyq
(419): I found a pair a guys underwear in my purse that has a British flag on it and says and I quote "British beef" what.the.fuck. http://tfl.nu/c5ir
(774): I made her orgasm until she cried. Four years of only having sex with dudes and I've still got it. http://tfl.nu/ttfm
(503): Did I change midway through last night?
(206): Seven times. The most notable outfits were UFC Fighter and Top Hat Viking http://tfl.nu/rz21
(615): Did you like my voicemail? Sounded like I was being murdered, right?
(1-615): By a pack of ravenous dildos http://tfl.nu/hx21
(845): Just did the walk of shame in front of his dad while I was wearing his gym shorts and my heels from graduation last night. Keep it classy '12 http://tfl.nu/01a6
(607): Why do I always miss the parties you're naked at?!
(315): I get naked cuz your not there http://tfl.nu/p9qb
(914): Dave got tied up again. I'm done breaking into girls houses to cut him loose. At least before noon. http://tfl.nu/php8
(602): Would it be out of line to take a picture of all the earrings, rings, hairclips, and other miscellaneous girl items that I found under my bed and post it on facebook and tag all the girls that I slept with this year so they can claim their shit and get it out of my house? http://tfl.nu/arpl
(904): He just told an 8 year old to go fuck himself so we probably won't be in the butterfly exhibit much longer. http://tfl.nu/iriu
(+44): Chill out, I'm getting ready as fast as I can. I didn't even masturbate in the shower. http://tfl.nu/m2lh
(407): I'm pregnant
(1-407): The fact that this number is not in my contacts is giving me hope it's a wrong number??? http://tfl.nu/ivb7

Comic of the (last) week

Non Sequitur

Sunday, May 20, 2012

I just noticed

It's my half-birthday.

Micro movie review

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: A bit more than the complete fluff I expected. Suspend your disbelief and enjoy the wonderful performances.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

One good TFLN, from, er, last night

(314): Listen I know you hate her for what she did but this is getting our of hand. Please please tell me where you hid her wedding dress. http://tfl.nu/ibp9

Monday, May 14, 2012

Micro movie review

The Kid With a Bike (Le Gamin au Velo): A slow-moving story of a boy coping with being abandoned by his father, and being foster-parented by a stranger. Well-acted, but that's about it.

I like this

Texting While Walking Banned in New Jersey Town

The article is unclear whether this applies just to people crossing the street, or to anyone walking on the sidewalk.

Headline of the day

Lexus found submerged in family’s swimming pool; drunk-driving suspected

As we used to say, "No shit, Sherlock."

Considering how long it's been, surprisingly few good TFLNs

(864): I have officially tracked lube all over our house on the bottom of my socks without knowing it. Don't slip when you come in http://tfl.nu/mz6f
(805): So then you challenged the bartender to an arm wrestling contest for a free bottle of vodka
(1-805): Sweet. Did I win?
(805): Youre hungover arent you? http://tfl.nu/l89i
(818): The cops showed up and one of them got pushed in the pool. When he got out he looked really sad so I got him a towel and hugged him. He arrested all the underage drunkards but me. http://tfl.nu/w1nr
(252): i asked the cop if we could stop and do a chinese firedrill.... he said no. http://tfl.nu/99ae
(989): I should just black out in my front yard again- that was a great nights sleep. http://tfl.nu/zu0y
(215): I fell asleep on the air hockey table and someone turned it on, scariest shit ever when you're that fucked up http://tfl.nu/xoz1
(801): There were two girls and a guy on a bed and now i can put porn director on my resume. http://tfl.nu/bk3r
(217): You know it is an interesting night when the 911 operator calls you http://tfl.nu/uqrj
(720): Dude, I had to stop mid fuck. Her cat was swatting at my balls as I did her from behind. I couldve lost something. http://tfl.nu/z9g9
(419): Are you complaining because you're getting too much sex to find the time to masturbate?
(1-419): Well, when you say it like that it sounds silly. http://tfl.nu/ok5v
(609): Bartender at the wedding asked if he was making my drinks too strong. I laughed at him. http://tfl.nu/6jaw
(717): I wore granny panties last night to ensure I didn't sleep with him. He said they made me seem more mature. I need a new plan http://tfl.nu/f98a
(703): Their engagement party consisted of them doing shots, yelling at each other, leaving for 30 minutes, and coming back with smiles.
(571): I'd say they're off to a great start! http://tfl.nu/1lyt
(519): My Bio teacher gave me extra marks for putting "deer with AK-47 seeking retribution" at the top of the food chain on my exam. 51% pass here i come!! http://tfl.nu/hi1l
(+44): He stopped replying so I told him I got tested and it came back positive for chlamydia to see if he replied. His phone magically works again! http://tfl.nu/ztd6
(561): I'm sorry, when did "I like your shit" become an acceptable pickup line? http://tfl.nu/0ivn
(212): The guy at the Apple store said the warranty does NOT cover getting cum out of the keyboard.  I can't believe I believed you. http://tfl.nu/c03k
(512):  I think we should go through the tsa checkpoint with raging hardons when we go through LAX. I think we should pass out some viagra to everyone http://tfl.nu/z79l
(696): Its completely acceptable to go naked under my graduation gown right?
(451): Some ppl might frown upon it  but theyre prudes http://tfl.nu/39ll