Posts
Happy Halloween from all of your nerdy friends at the Nerd Corner!!!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tis the season...
... to start watching this series!
http://www.myspace.com/whoschadbaker
info@campbreezybeach.com
On behalf of everyone at Camp Breezy Beach we wish you a very Happy Halloween!
-Everyone left!
http://www.myspace.com/whoschadbaker
info@campbreezybeach.com
On behalf of everyone at Camp Breezy Beach we wish you a very Happy Halloween!
-Everyone left!
Behind the curtain news from Eldritch Errors
From: http://www.schmeldritch.com/2008/10/before-the-screaming-commences.html
Long time, no schmeldritch ... how the hell are you supposed to tell when we're being quiet on purpose and when it means something is kicking, you ask? When I feel compelled to get a quick laundry list out of details out, I guess. Bad puppetmaster!
Even more important, though, is a bit of pre-announcement on the Eldritch 3 Reboot. One of my goals for the Eldritch universe was always to have a structure flexible enough that we could have "guest puppetmasters" conduct entire Books in the sequence, much the way guest directors might helm an episode of an established television series. In this case, that means the best I'll be able to credit myself on this Book is as "series creator" or maybe "executive producer". Who's helming it then, you ask?
Brooke Thompson and Jan Libby. Boy are you guys in for a (trick or) treat. See you in the intermission ...
Long time, no schmeldritch ... how the hell are you supposed to tell when we're being quiet on purpose and when it means something is kicking, you ask? When I feel compelled to get a quick laundry list out of details out, I guess. Bad puppetmaster!
Even more important, though, is a bit of pre-announcement on the Eldritch 3 Reboot. One of my goals for the Eldritch universe was always to have a structure flexible enough that we could have "guest puppetmasters" conduct entire Books in the sequence, much the way guest directors might helm an episode of an established television series. In this case, that means the best I'll be able to credit myself on this Book is as "series creator" or maybe "executive producer". Who's helming it then, you ask?
Brooke Thompson and Jan Libby. Boy are you guys in for a (trick or) treat. See you in the intermission ...
Joe the Plumber's Greatest Hits
Move over, Sanjaya, and tell William Hung the news: Joe the Plumber is being pursued for a major record deal and could come out with a country album as early as Inauguration Day.“Joe” — aka Samuel Wurzelbacher, a Holland, Ohio, pipe-and-toilet man — just signed with a Nashville public relations and management firm to handle interview requests and media appearances, as well as create new career opportunities, including a shift out of the plumbing trade into stage and studio performances.
Source: Politico
Full article: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/15072.html
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
MILF of the Month (November) - Sarah Palin
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Iron Man 2 and Avengers Update
As part of his four picture deal with Marvel Studios, Robert Downey Jr. is appearing as Tony Stark in "The Avengers" motion picture, as well as reprising his starring role as the larger-than-life leading character in "Iron Man 2." Jon Favreau will return to direct the sequel to the blockbuster "Iron Man," which to date has grossed over $578 million worldwide, as well as executive produce "The Avengers."Marvel Studios is pleased today to confirm that an agreement has been finalized with award-winning actor Don Cheadle to take on the role of Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes in Marvel's "Iron Man 2" due in theaters on May 7, 2010. In casting Cheadle, Marvel replaces Terrence Howard who appeared in the role of Rhodey in Iron Man.
Cheadle is also signed on to perform the same role in "The Avengers" and subsequent installments of the "Iron Man" franchise.
Based on Marvel's iconic Super Hero, "Iron Man 2" continues the story of this summer's box office blockbuster IRON MAN, the first feature film produced independently by Marvel Studios. "Iron Man 2" will be produced by Marvel Studios' President, Kevin Feige, and executive produced by Louis D'Esposito, Jon Favreau, Stan Lee, David Maisel and Denis Stewart.
In a movie event, "The Avengers" will bring together the super hero team of Marvel Comics characters for the first time ever, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Hulk and more, as they are forced to band together to battle the biggest foe they've ever faced.
The highly anticipated sequel to "Iron Man" will be released in theatres on May 7, 2010 and "The Avengers" will be released July 15, 2011. Both films will be distributed by Paramount Pictures.
Source: Marvel.com
Full article: http://www.marvel.com/news/moviestories.5719.Iron_Man_2_and_The_Avengers_Update
Night of the ZOMBIE! - MediocreFilms
An homage to the classic B-movie horror flicks of the 1960's. Directed by Greg Benson, written by Joseph Limbaugh and starring Julie Wittner, Greg Benson, Joseph Limbaugh, Noah Korda and Brian Spillane.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Online divorce leads to online death
TOKYO - A 43-year-old Japanese piano teacher's sudden divorce from her online husband in a virtual game world made her so angry that she logged on and killed his digital persona, police said Thursday.
She used his identification and password to log onto popular interactive game "Maple Story" to carry out the virtual murder in mid-May, a police official in northern Sapporo City said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.
"I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the official quoted her as telling investigators and admitting the allegations.
The woman used login information she got from the 33-year-old office worker when their characters were happily married, and killed the character. The man complained to police when he discovered that his beloved online avatar was dead.
The woman was arrested Wednesday and was taken across the country, traveling 620 miles from her home in southern Miyazaki to be detained in Sappporo, where the man lives, the official said.
The woman had not plotted any revenge in the real world, the official said.
She was charged with illegal access onto a computer and manipulating electronic data, police said. If convicted, she could face a prison term of up to five years or a fine up to $5,000.
Sources: MSNBC, The Associated Press
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27337812/?GT1=43001
She used his identification and password to log onto popular interactive game "Maple Story" to carry out the virtual murder in mid-May, a police official in northern Sapporo City said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.
"I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the official quoted her as telling investigators and admitting the allegations.
The woman used login information she got from the 33-year-old office worker when their characters were happily married, and killed the character. The man complained to police when he discovered that his beloved online avatar was dead.
The woman was arrested Wednesday and was taken across the country, traveling 620 miles from her home in southern Miyazaki to be detained in Sappporo, where the man lives, the official said.
The woman had not plotted any revenge in the real world, the official said.
She was charged with illegal access onto a computer and manipulating electronic data, police said. If convicted, she could face a prison term of up to five years or a fine up to $5,000.
Sources: MSNBC, The Associated Press
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27337812/?GT1=43001
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The truth is out there
LONDON - An American fighter pilot flying from an English air base at the height of the Cold War was ordered to open fire on a massive UFO that lit up his radar, according to an account published by Britain’s National Archives on Monday.
The fighter pilot said he was ordered to fire a full salvo of rockets at the UFO moving erratically over the North Sea — but that at the last minute the object picked up enormous speed and disappeared. The account, first published in Britain’s Daily Star newspaper more than 17 years ago and to this day unverified by military authorities, was one of many carried in the 1,500 pages the archives made available online.
The unnamed pilot said he and another airman were scrambled on the night of May 20, 1957, to intercept an unusual “bogey” on radars at a Royal Air Force Station Manston, an airfield at the southeastern tip of England about 75 miles from central London.
“This was a flying object with very unusual flight patterns,” the pilot said, according to a typed manuscript of his account mailed to Britain’s Ministry of Defense by a UFO enthusiast in 1988. “In the initial briefing it was suggested to us that the bogey actually was motionless for long intervals.”
Ordered to fly at full throttle in cloudy weather, the pilot said he was given the order to fire a volley of 24 rockets at the mysterious object.
Retired U.S. airman Milton Torres told Britain’s Sky News on Monday that he was the pilot and has spent 50 frustrating years attempting to uncover the truth of his aerial encounter.
Speaking from his home in Miami, Torres said he never saw the UFO with his naked eyes, but watched in awe as it appeared on his jet’s radar and sped off before he had chance to fire.
Sources: The Associated Press, MSNBC
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27279684/?gt1=43001
The fighter pilot said he was ordered to fire a full salvo of rockets at the UFO moving erratically over the North Sea — but that at the last minute the object picked up enormous speed and disappeared. The account, first published in Britain’s Daily Star newspaper more than 17 years ago and to this day unverified by military authorities, was one of many carried in the 1,500 pages the archives made available online.
The unnamed pilot said he and another airman were scrambled on the night of May 20, 1957, to intercept an unusual “bogey” on radars at a Royal Air Force Station Manston, an airfield at the southeastern tip of England about 75 miles from central London.
“This was a flying object with very unusual flight patterns,” the pilot said, according to a typed manuscript of his account mailed to Britain’s Ministry of Defense by a UFO enthusiast in 1988. “In the initial briefing it was suggested to us that the bogey actually was motionless for long intervals.”
Ordered to fly at full throttle in cloudy weather, the pilot said he was given the order to fire a volley of 24 rockets at the mysterious object.
Retired U.S. airman Milton Torres told Britain’s Sky News on Monday that he was the pilot and has spent 50 frustrating years attempting to uncover the truth of his aerial encounter.
Speaking from his home in Miami, Torres said he never saw the UFO with his naked eyes, but watched in awe as it appeared on his jet’s radar and sped off before he had chance to fire.
Sources: The Associated Press, MSNBC
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27279684/?gt1=43001
Monday, October 20, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Eldritch Errors - just in time for Halloween
Just in time for Halloween, I have just been informed that Eldritch Errors is about to begin a new chapter in its player encompassing story. I have also just been informed that a certain ARG/chaotic fiction MASTER may have a hand or two in this chapter's tale that you will not want to miss! ;)
http://www.eldritcherrors.com/
http://www.eldritcherrors.com/
Eldritch Errors is an immersive horror series playing out in real time --
on the Internet, in the real world, and in your nightmares. It will speak to you
and ask you to speak in return. It will feed off of you just as much as you feed
off it. It is as old as the fears of H.P. Lovecraft and as fresh as the horrors
he died never having imagined. Those horrors already lurk, grinning, waiting for
you to be the first to discover them, but at least you won't face them
alone.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
James Rhodes (Iron Man) recast!
Terrence Howard played hardball with Marvel Studios, and boy did he lose. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Howard thought he had leverage when negotiating his fee to reprise his role as Col. James Rhodes in "Iron Man 2," but the recently cash-flush studio thought otherwise. Now, arguably a better choice to play the role, Don Cheadle will appear in the sequel to last summer's No. 2 flick.
In the comic-book series, Rhodes is a trusted confident of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr., obviously) and eventually becomes another armored hero, War Machine. The plan, which Howard openly discussed during my set visit in June 2007, was for Howard's part to grow in the expected second and third installments. The picture even featured a scene where Rhodes sees a duplicate, unpainted Iron Man suit and says, "Next time."
As for "Iron Man 2," the script is currently being hammered out by "Tropic Thunder" screenwriter Justin Theroux. Director Jon Favreau, Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow are all expected to return when production begins next spring.
Sources: MSN Movies, The Hollywood Reporter
Full article: http://movies.msn.com/movies/hitlist/10-17-08_4/?silentchk=1&
In the comic-book series, Rhodes is a trusted confident of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr., obviously) and eventually becomes another armored hero, War Machine. The plan, which Howard openly discussed during my set visit in June 2007, was for Howard's part to grow in the expected second and third installments. The picture even featured a scene where Rhodes sees a duplicate, unpainted Iron Man suit and says, "Next time."
As for "Iron Man 2," the script is currently being hammered out by "Tropic Thunder" screenwriter Justin Theroux. Director Jon Favreau, Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow are all expected to return when production begins next spring.
Sources: MSN Movies, The Hollywood Reporter
Full article: http://movies.msn.com/movies/hitlist/10-17-08_4/?silentchk=1&
Friday, October 17, 2008
My personal hero
CLEARFIELD, Pa. - It took Brad Sciullo 4 hours and 39 minutes to finish a marathon. A meat marathon, that is.The 5-foot-11, 180-pound western Pennsylvania chef is the first person to eat a monstrosity called the Beer Barrel Belly Bruiser: a 15-pound burger with toppings and a bun that brought the total weight to 20.2 pounds. The mountain of beef is the product of Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub, about 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh in Clearfield.
For completing the challenge in the under-five-hour time limit, Sciullo won $400, three T-shirts, a certificate “and a burger hangover, as I call it,” Liegey said.
Source: The Associated Press & MSNBC
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27228081/?GT1=43001
Sarah Palin set to appear on SNL!
Saturday Night Live will have a special guest this Saturday, Governor Sarah Palin. What could Sarah Palin be doing over at 30 Rockefeller you may ask? Well she'll be playing the role of Tina Fey in a skit. WATCH IT!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Epic blog is fail
Slate just ran an interesting article on the origins and definitions of the word 'fail' as we use it in the internet world, and now the real world. MUST READ!
Read the full artilce here: http://www.slate.com/id/2202262/?GT1=38001
Here's some highlights-
What's with all the failing lately? Why fail instead of failure? Why FAIL instead of fail? And why, for that matter, does it have to be "epic"?
It's nearly impossible to pinpoint the first reference, given how common the verb fail is, but online commenters suggest it started with a 1998 Neo Geo arcade game called Blazing Star. (References to the fail meme go as far back as 2003.) Of all the game's obvious draws—among them fast-paced action, disco music, and anime-style cut scenes—its staying power comes from its wonderfully terrible Japanese-to-English translations. If you beat a level, the screen flashes with the words: "You beat it! Your skill is great!" If you lose, you are mocked: "You fail it! Your skill is not enough! See you next time! Bye bye!"
Normally, this sort of game would vanish into the cultural ether. But in the lulz-obsessed echo chamber of online message boards—lulz being the questionable pleasure of hurting someone's feelings on the Web—"You fail it" became the shorthand way to gloat about any humiliation, major or minor. "It" could be anything, from getting a joke to executing a basic mental task. For example, if you told me, "Hey, I liked your article in Salon today," I could say, "You fail it." Convention dictates that I could also add, in parentheses, "(it being reading the titles of publications)." The phrase was soon shortened to fail—or, thanks to the caps-is-always-funnier school of Web writing, FAIL. People started pasting the word in block letters over photos of shameful screw-ups, and a meme was born.
The highest form of fail—the epic fail—involves not just catastrophic failure but hubris as well. Not just coming in second in a bike race but doing so because you fell off your bike after prematurely raising your arms in victory. Totaling your pickup not because the brakes failed but because you were trying to ride on the windshield. Not just destroying your fish tank but doing it while trying to film yourself lifting weights.
Why has fail become so popular? It may simply be that people are thrilled to finally have a way to express their schadenfreude out loud. Schadenfreude, after all, is what you feel when someone else executes a fail. But the fail meme also changes our experience of schadenfreude. What was once a quiet pleasure-taking is now a public—and competitive—sport.
It wouldn't be the first word to owe its ascendance to the Internet. The exclamation w00t—an interjection expressing joy—gained mainstream recognition when Merriam-Webster crowned it Word of the Year in 2007. The phrase pwned, a perversion of owned used by online gamers, made it into an episode of South Park—not quite the OED but still authoritative—and enjoys broad ironic usage. And of course, Google is no longer just a noun.
Unlike those words, though, fail has the luxury of pre-existing forms. It already exists as a noun in the phrase "without fail." It's therefore likely to gain quicker entry into most people's lexicon than, say, a word that includes digits.
In other words, fail will win.
Read the full artilce here: http://www.slate.com/id/2202262/?GT1=38001
Here's some highlights-
What's with all the failing lately? Why fail instead of failure? Why FAIL instead of fail? And why, for that matter, does it have to be "epic"?
It's nearly impossible to pinpoint the first reference, given how common the verb fail is, but online commenters suggest it started with a 1998 Neo Geo arcade game called Blazing Star. (References to the fail meme go as far back as 2003.) Of all the game's obvious draws—among them fast-paced action, disco music, and anime-style cut scenes—its staying power comes from its wonderfully terrible Japanese-to-English translations. If you beat a level, the screen flashes with the words: "You beat it! Your skill is great!" If you lose, you are mocked: "You fail it! Your skill is not enough! See you next time! Bye bye!"
Normally, this sort of game would vanish into the cultural ether. But in the lulz-obsessed echo chamber of online message boards—lulz being the questionable pleasure of hurting someone's feelings on the Web—"You fail it" became the shorthand way to gloat about any humiliation, major or minor. "It" could be anything, from getting a joke to executing a basic mental task. For example, if you told me, "Hey, I liked your article in Salon today," I could say, "You fail it." Convention dictates that I could also add, in parentheses, "(it being reading the titles of publications)." The phrase was soon shortened to fail—or, thanks to the caps-is-always-funnier school of Web writing, FAIL. People started pasting the word in block letters over photos of shameful screw-ups, and a meme was born.
The highest form of fail—the epic fail—involves not just catastrophic failure but hubris as well. Not just coming in second in a bike race but doing so because you fell off your bike after prematurely raising your arms in victory. Totaling your pickup not because the brakes failed but because you were trying to ride on the windshield. Not just destroying your fish tank but doing it while trying to film yourself lifting weights.
Why has fail become so popular? It may simply be that people are thrilled to finally have a way to express their schadenfreude out loud. Schadenfreude, after all, is what you feel when someone else executes a fail. But the fail meme also changes our experience of schadenfreude. What was once a quiet pleasure-taking is now a public—and competitive—sport.
It wouldn't be the first word to owe its ascendance to the Internet. The exclamation w00t—an interjection expressing joy—gained mainstream recognition when Merriam-Webster crowned it Word of the Year in 2007. The phrase pwned, a perversion of owned used by online gamers, made it into an episode of South Park—not quite the OED but still authoritative—and enjoys broad ironic usage. And of course, Google is no longer just a noun.
Unlike those words, though, fail has the luxury of pre-existing forms. It already exists as a noun in the phrase "without fail." It's therefore likely to gain quicker entry into most people's lexicon than, say, a word that includes digits.
In other words, fail will win.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
MILF of the Month (October) - Salma Hayek
Hayek was born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico, the daughter of Diana Jiménez, an opera singer and talent scout, and Sami Hayek, an oil company executive. Hayek's father is of Lebanese descent while her mother is of Spanish descent. Her first given name, Salma, is Arabic for "peace" or "calm". Raised in a wealthy, devoutly Catholic family, she was sent to the Academy of the Sacred Heart, Grand Coteau, Louisiana, at the age of twelve. While there, she was diagnosed with dyslexia. She was also an accomplished gymnast aspiring to compete in the Olympics, but her father prevented her from being recruited by the Mexican national team. The religious sisters running the Academy ejected Hayek, citing behavioral problems, so she returned to Mexico. She was later sent to live with her aunt in Houston, Texas, where she stayed until she was seventeen. She attended college in Mexico City, where she studied International Relations at the Universidad Iberoamericana. To the surprise of her family, she dropped out to pursue a career as an actress.
At 23, Hayek began her acting career by landing the title role in Teresa (1989), a successful Mexican telenovela that made her a star in Mexico. Hayek moved to Los Angeles, California in 1991 to study acting under Stella Adler, hoping for a career in Hollywood, despite limited fluency in English, attributed to her suffering from dyslexia. Robert Rodriguez and his producer wife Elizabeth Avellan soon gave Hayek the break she needed, a starring role opposite Antonio Banderas in 1995's Desperado. 
Around the year 2000, Hayek founded production company Ventanarosa, through which she produces film and television projects. Hayek is an executive producer of Ugly Betty, a television series airing around the world since September 2006. Hayek adapted the series for American television with Ben Silverman, who acquired the rights and scripts from the Colombian telenovela Yo Soy Betty La Fea in 2001. Originally intended as a half hour sitcom for NBC in 2004, the project would later be picked up by ABC for the 2006–2007 season with Silvio Horta also producing. Hayek guest-starred on Ugly Betty as Sofia Reyes, a magazine editor. She also had a cameo playing an actress in the telenovela within the show. The show quickly became a ratings hit and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Comedy Series in 2007. Hayek's performance as Sofia resulted in a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Hayek has appeared in more than thirty films and performed as an actress outside of Hollywood in Mexico and Spain. Hayek's charitable work includes increasing awareness on violence against women and discrimination against immigrants and has spoken in front of Senate committees regarding these issues.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Munchhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!!!
VERO BEACH, Fla. - A McDonald's cashier called 911 after a Vero Beach drive-thru customer allegedly offered to pay for his meal with marijuana.
Sources: The Associated Press, MSNBC
Full Article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27167122/?GT1=43001
Sources: The Associated Press, MSNBC
Full Article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27167122/?GT1=43001
My Own Worst Enemy: Must See TV
Thanks to iTunes' advance download of the series premiere of NBC's new show "My Own Worst Enemy," I had an opportunity to catch this show before it aired. I am not usually one that will endorse or promote a show, especially it's premiere (as most series premieres tend to fall short of the mark and don't really do a good job at explaining what the series is about), however I was very amused and intrigued by this show and its premise. If you like spy thrillers I believe that you will enjoy this show. Christian Slater sort of rocks the shit out of this role! Check it out! It airs tonight at 10pm EST on NBC.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Spider-Man & Stephen Colbert Team-Up!
Spider-Man and acclaimed television personality Stephen Colbert will join forces in an all new eight-page story featured in the extra-sized AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #573! Acclaimed writer Mark Waid and fan favorite artist Patrick Olliffe present Stephen Colbert, a candidate for the U.S. Presidency in the Marvel Universe, teaming up with Marvel's most iconic crime fighter. What could bring these two together? And what will it mean for both their futures?Don't miss out on Stephen Colbert's first full Marvel Universe appearance—in continuity!—and the team up that'll have everyone buzzing! It's the extra-sized AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #573—and no comic book fan can afford to miss it! OUT TODAY!
Source: Marvel Comics
Full article: http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.5119.Spider-Man_%26_Stephen_Colbert_Team_Up
EDIT- The comic was pushed back another week. Check it out NEXT Wednesday!!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
I hate you all...
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" was barking up the right tree with movie-goers, who put the Disney comedy at No. 1 for the weekend with a $29 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Um... what?
Monday, October 6, 2008
Bruce Campbell is GOD!
Bruce Campbell's latest B-movie romp ("My Name is Bruce") will be hitting selected theaters this month, with an anticipated DVD release in January. Bruce Campbell himself will be appearing in selected cities to promote the movie and have a Q&A after previewing the film (hopefully yours truly will get a chance to record some of his Q&A). To see if Bruce is going to be in your hometown go HERE.Trailer for the movie
Sunday, October 5, 2008
I Kissed a........ NO!!!
KUWAIT CITY (AP) -- A Kuwaiti official says authorities abruptly ended a music concert by an Egyptian singer in this conservative Muslim country when a young female fan jumped on stage, hugged the male singer and gave him a kiss.
Qanas al-Adwani, who heads the government department that monitors public entertainment, says the girl's behavior at Friday's concert "defied the conservative traditions" of Kuwait.
Al-Adwani also said Sunday that the fan's behavior broke controls on public entertainment, which were imposed by influential Muslim fundamentalists after they failed in 1997 to ban concerts altogether. Concerts have to be licensed by the government, and monitors from the Information Ministry watch the crowd to make sure nobody stands up to dance.
Source: The Associated Press
Qanas al-Adwani, who heads the government department that monitors public entertainment, says the girl's behavior at Friday's concert "defied the conservative traditions" of Kuwait.
Al-Adwani also said Sunday that the fan's behavior broke controls on public entertainment, which were imposed by influential Muslim fundamentalists after they failed in 1997 to ban concerts altogether. Concerts have to be licensed by the government, and monitors from the Information Ministry watch the crowd to make sure nobody stands up to dance.
Source: The Associated Press
Friday, October 3, 2008
Science & Strippers
BOSTON - Deborah Anderson had heard the urban legends about the contraceptive effectiveness of Coca-Cola products for years.
So she and her colleagues decided to put the soft drink to the test. In the lab, that is.
For discovering that, yes indeed, Coke was a spermicide, Anderson and her team are among this year's winners of the Ig Nobel Prize, the annual award given by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine for oddball but often surprisingly practical scientific achievements.
The ceremony at Harvard University, in which actual Nobel laureates bestow the awards, also honored a British psychologist who found that foods that sound better taste better; a group of researchers who discovered exotic dancers make more money when they are at peak fertility; and a pair of Brazilian archaeologists who determined armadillos can change the course of history.
Geoffrey Miller's work could affect the earning potential of exotic dancers everywhere.
Miller, an associate professor of psychology at the University of New Mexico, and his colleagues knew of prior studies that found women are more attractive to men when at peak fertility. So they took the work one step further — by studying earnings of exotic dancers.
In the 18 subjects Miller studied, average earnings were $250 for a five-hour shift. That jumped to $350 to $400 per five-hour shift when the women were their most fertile, he said.
"I have heard, anecdotally, that some lap dancers have scheduled shifts based on this research," he said.
Armadillos helped win an Ig Nobel for Astolfo Gomes de Mello Araujo and Jose Carlos Marcelino, archaeologists at the Universidade De Sao Paulo in Brazil.
Pesky armadillos, they found, can move artifacts in archaeological dig sites up, down and even laterally by several meters as they dig. Armadillos are burrowing mammals and prolific diggers. Their abodes can range from emergency burrows 20 inches (50 centimeters) deep, to more permanent homes reaching 20 feet (6 meters) deep, with networks of tunnels and multiple entrances, according to the Humane Society of the United States' Web site.
Araujo was thrilled to win. "There is no Nobel Prize for archaeology, so an Ig Nobel is a good thing," he said in an e-mail.
Here's the full list of winners, with links to the research if available:
So she and her colleagues decided to put the soft drink to the test. In the lab, that is.
For discovering that, yes indeed, Coke was a spermicide, Anderson and her team are among this year's winners of the Ig Nobel Prize, the annual award given by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine for oddball but often surprisingly practical scientific achievements.
The ceremony at Harvard University, in which actual Nobel laureates bestow the awards, also honored a British psychologist who found that foods that sound better taste better; a group of researchers who discovered exotic dancers make more money when they are at peak fertility; and a pair of Brazilian archaeologists who determined armadillos can change the course of history.
Geoffrey Miller's work could affect the earning potential of exotic dancers everywhere.
Miller, an associate professor of psychology at the University of New Mexico, and his colleagues knew of prior studies that found women are more attractive to men when at peak fertility. So they took the work one step further — by studying earnings of exotic dancers.
In the 18 subjects Miller studied, average earnings were $250 for a five-hour shift. That jumped to $350 to $400 per five-hour shift when the women were their most fertile, he said.
"I have heard, anecdotally, that some lap dancers have scheduled shifts based on this research," he said.
Armadillos helped win an Ig Nobel for Astolfo Gomes de Mello Araujo and Jose Carlos Marcelino, archaeologists at the Universidade De Sao Paulo in Brazil.
Pesky armadillos, they found, can move artifacts in archaeological dig sites up, down and even laterally by several meters as they dig. Armadillos are burrowing mammals and prolific diggers. Their abodes can range from emergency burrows 20 inches (50 centimeters) deep, to more permanent homes reaching 20 feet (6 meters) deep, with networks of tunnels and multiple entrances, according to the Humane Society of the United States' Web site.
Araujo was thrilled to win. "There is no Nobel Prize for archaeology, so an Ig Nobel is a good thing," he said in an e-mail.
Here's the full list of winners, with links to the research if available:
- Nutrition: Massimiliano Zampini and Charles Spence for demonstrating that food tastes better when it sounds better (report from The Guardian).
- Peace: The Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology and the citizens of Switzerland for adopting the legal principle that plants have dignity.
- Archaeology: Astolfo Gomes de Mello Araujo and Jose Carlos Marcelino for showing armadillos can scramble the contents of an archaeological dig (report from Natural History).
- Biology: Marie-Christine Cadiergues, Christel Joubert and Michel Franc for discovering that fleas that live on a dog can jump higher than fleas that live on a cat.
- Medicine: Dan Ariely for demonstrating that expensive fake medicine is more effective than cheap fake medicine (report in Stanford GSB News).
- Cognitive science: Toshiyuki Nakagaki, Hiroyasu Yamada, Ryo Kobayashi, Atsushi Tero, Akio Ishiguro and Agota Toth for discovering that slime molds can solve puzzles (report in Math in the Media).
- Economics: Geoffrey Miller, Joshua Tyber and Brent Jordan for discovering that exotic dancers earn more when at peak fertility.
- Physics: Dorian Raymer and Douglas Smith for proving that heaps of string or hair will inevitably tangle.
- Chemistry: Sheree Umpierre, Joseph Hill and Deborah Anderson for discovering that Coca-Cola is an effective spermicide, and C.Y. Hong, C.C. Shieh, P. Wu and B.N. Chiang for proving it is not (report at Snopes.com).
- Literature: David Sims for his study “You Bastard: A Narrative Exploration of the Experience of Indignation within Organizations” (report from The Boston Globe).
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26996167/?GT1=43001
Sources: MSNBC, Associated Press
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Now on eBay - MI6 secrets!!!
LONDON - Britain's MI6 intelligence service is investigating how a camera holding sensitive information about al-Qaida suspects came to be lost by one of its agents and then sold on eBay, police said on Tuesday.
A 28-year-old Briton bought the Nikon Coolpix camera for 17 pounds ($31) and discovered the secret material when he downloaded pictures after a vacation in the United States, the Sun newspaper reported.
A document stored on the camera's memory card was marked "top secret" and detailed an encrypted computer system used by intelligence officials, it said. The buyer was not identified.
Its memory had names of suspected al-Qaida members and suspects' academic records as well as pictures of rocket launchers and missiles, the Sun said.
Source: MSNBC
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26958931/?GT1=43001
A 28-year-old Briton bought the Nikon Coolpix camera for 17 pounds ($31) and discovered the secret material when he downloaded pictures after a vacation in the United States, the Sun newspaper reported.
A document stored on the camera's memory card was marked "top secret" and detailed an encrypted computer system used by intelligence officials, it said. The buyer was not identified.
Its memory had names of suspected al-Qaida members and suspects' academic records as well as pictures of rocket launchers and missiles, the Sun said.
Source: MSNBC
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26958931/?GT1=43001
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