10.20.2012

One October morning

One October morning by Ted Compton
One October morning, a photo by Ted Compton on Flickr.

3D!

Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader


Wait. Three?

Cute little old people all worried about the techie stuff

Mary Kipin, 82, has a computer, but all she really uses it for is to play bridge. Marie Mutz, also in her 80s, is eager to find out what a PDF is… 
New York Times

Also, get off my lawn.

You didn't really think…


Three leading Democratic "super PACs" raised more money in September than in any other month this election cycle, officials said, underscoring the growing willingness of wealthy Democrats to bankroll groups whose existence they had long opposed.

New York Times

No. Of course not.

Oh no! Texas!


…on Friday, Big Tex caught fire and was all but destroyed in the flames and thick smoke. His fiberglass head, hat and boots were consumed, as were most of his fabric clothes, leaving only his outstretched arms, belt buckle and metal skeleton intact. 
New York Times

"We’ve got a rather tall cowboy, all his clothes burned off.”

10.19.2012

Ford

                                         
iPhone photo: Phil Compton

From the consumer desk

We are supporting the global boycott of Starbucks being waged single-handedly by our Seattle bureau chief, even though our nearest Starbucks is 20 away. We can't go there but we wouldn't if we could, more or less.

In other consumer news, Walgreens is sticking Christmas stuff on their shelves as we speak. How awesome is that? You could dress up as Santa Claus for Halloween.

Yeah!


Demi Moore bouncing back, may soon start dating again 
By Bill Zwecker October 16, 2012 7:58PM

Watch this, hurt all day


10.18.2012

It's a comedy show, right?

President Barack Obama reiterated his 2008 pledge to close the military prison facility at Guantanamo Bay during a taping of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Thursday afternoon. 
TPM

Yeah, yeah, something something Congress.

The lethal presidency


The war that the United States is waging — a war, let it be noted, that the United States is waging purely at the behest of its president, who is currently standing for re-election, and a war for which the consent of the governed was never sought — claimed six more people the other day in Pakistan. One of them was a "senior al-Qaeda figure," whatever that means, and we do not know what it means because the president who is waging the war would rather we not know what it means anymore. I am not here to discuss him. I am here to discuss The Others.

Read more: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/#ixzz29gIDusZJ

Which streak?

XKCD

It ain't a shotgun wedding anymore

An Iowa jeweler is offering free rifles for husbands-to-be who spend at least $1,999 on an engagement ring at his store near Iowa City.

10.17.2012

Binders full of oh shut up already

it’s telling that the most memorable phrase to emerge from the whole evening was “binders full of women.” It was, as many commentators have pointed out, this debate’s Big Bird. 
Christian Science Monitor

If we are really going to elect a president based on this kind of gibberish we are screwed.

Pin Romney down on his tax plan

Here, says M. 
Imaginary Corner


iPhone abstract:  Phil Compton

Every day's a day

Today is "Hagfish Day," and even though it may be hard to celebrate this disgusting yet interesting creature, we can at least embrace the importance of biodiversity. 
Yahoo!

Right. At least. 

10.16.2012

So when they talk about how things are getting better…


WASHINGTON — Income inequality has soared to the highest levels since the Great Depression, and the recession has done little to reverse the trend, with the top 1 percent of earners taking 93 percent of the income gains in the first full year of the recovery. 

Debate's "memorandum of understanding," and much more


Gawker's John Cook has an excellent breakdown of the 21-page memo. In his piece, entitled "Leaked Debate Agreement Shows Both Obama and Romney are Sniveling Cowards", Cook details how the rules imposed on these debates demonstrate that, above all else, "both campaigns are terrified at anything even remotely spontaneous happening." 
Under this elaborate regime, the candidates "aren't permitted to ask each other questions, propose pledges to each other, or walk outside a 'predesignated area.'" Worse, "the audience members posing questions aren't allowed to ask follow-ups (their mics will be cut off as soon as they get their questions out). Nor will moderator Candy Crowley." The rules even "forbid television coverage from showing reaction shots of the candidates." 
Greenwald
Read it and weep.

You can almost set your watch by these guys

Christian conservative Dinesh D’Souza is facing some tough questions over a night spent in a hotel room with a woman he introduced as a his fiancée – despite still having a wife.

Just say four

This may surprise some but I've been down to one cup of coffee per day for several months now, and that one is the small-black-to-go I pick up at McDonald's every morning on my walk. Meanwhile, I've taken to drinking tea like a fiend. I have developed a taste for the tea, but tea drinkers are worse than wine drinkers when it comes to nitpicking every little thing. And what do they mean when they say "brew 3 to 5 minutes?" Calm down, earthlings. Do you think we're going to boot up the atomic clock just to make a cup of tea? Three to five is four. Just say four.

Whoa…the world came to an end and we missed it

BlackBerry outcasts say that, increasingly, they suffer from shame and public humiliation as they watch their counterparts mingle on social networking apps that are not available to them…

New York Times

10.15.2012

Soup fight!

The head of a northeast Ohio charity says that the Romney campaign last week “ramrodded their way” into the group’s Youngstown soup kitchen so that GOP vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan could get his picture taken washing dishes in the dining hall.

EU throwing its peace prize around already


European Union foreign ministers have agreed a new round of tough new financial and trade sanctions against Iran… 
The new package targets EU dealings with Iran's banks, shipping and gas imports.

Awwwwww

A Chinese scientist says that humans used to eat pandas.

Mother Jones

Gambling? So what do you do, smoke the chips?

Smoking cannabis is no worse than eating junk food or gambling, according to a new report by an independent panel of experts.

BBC

OK wait, which one is starboard again?


NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The Pentagon is investigating a collision over the weekend involving a Navy nuclear submarine and an Aegis cruiser off the East Coast.

10.14.2012

Obama to get passionate on Tuesday

Washington (CNN) -- After near-universal bad reviews of his first presidential debate with Mitt Romney, President Barack Obama will bring more energy and passion to his second showdown with the GOP nominee, advisers to the president said Sunday.

Yeah. Right. Boo.


Mr. Strauss-Kahn, 63, a silver-haired economist, is seeking to throw out criminal charges in an inquiry into ties to a prostitution ring in northern France with the legal argument that the authorities are unfairly trying to “criminalize lust.”

Save your dime


In the weeks before Election Day, millions of voters will hear from callers with surprisingly detailed knowledge of their lives. These callers — friends of friends or long-lost work colleagues — will identify themselves as volunteers for the campaigns or independent political groups.  
The callers will be guided by scripts and call lists compiled by people — or computers — with access to details like whether voters may have visited pornography Web sites, have homes in foreclosure, are more prone to drink Michelob Ultra than Corona or have gay friends or enjoy expensive vacations. 

New York Times

(My favorite quote from this piece: “You don’t want your analytical efforts to be obvious because voters get creeped out,” said a Romney campaign official who was not authorized to speak to a reporter." And oh yeah, the Obama people do it too, at least as much.)
Chevrolet


iPhone photo: Phil Compton