1.03.2015

The great kale rebellion of aught-fifteen

10 Leafy Greens That Are Healthier Than Kale | Alternet

"A recent report published by the Centers for Disease Control that ranked 47 'powerhouse fruits and vegetables,' kale placed only 15th (with 49.07 points out of 100 for nutrient density)!"

Appleton: About as far away from Wyoming as you can get

Cheney should face charges on use of torture

"Let me say this as clearly as possible. Dick Cheney should be forced to stand trial for war crimes. His recent comments have made that point crystal clear. Anybody who can easily dismiss the torture and murder of a human being is an unrepentant sociopath."

Pus tip?

Obamas eat at restaurant charging up to $500G for membership | Fox News

"According to Honolulu magazine, the bill for two can approach $1,000. "

The game

Why Jim Harbaugh is worth $40 million to the University of Michigan’s football team - The Washington Post

"Most schools that play football would save millions of dollars if they stopped playing football. But they aren’t the ones playing on national TV week after week. They aren’t Michigan, where paying Jim Harbaugh $40 million may sound obscene but, in fact, is a very sound investment."

Butt…butt…

'The Interview': no laughing matter for N. Korean defectors - Yahoo News

"'We've talked a lot about this flick over the past week, and we simply did not understand why it gives foreigners laughs.'"

Whatever happened to ketchup?

The best and worst burgers of 2014 - CSMonitor.com

"For example, at Luxe Burger Bar in Providence, R.I., Richard Cordeiro’s ‘The Portugese’ was this year’s BYOB Contest. The build: Gold Label beef, fried egg, chorizo links, sliced fried potatoes, creamy goat cheese, caramelized onions and roasted peppers on a sesame bun."

A little disarray among the Buckeyes (and one Michigan fan)

Oregon Territory? Not if it involves any Ducks - Toledo Blade

"‘Call it ‘East East Toledo,’ ' he said. ‘Call it anything but ‘Oregon.’ ’"

1.02.2015

Afternoon sky

Write a letter to yourself in the future

FutureMe.org: Write a Letter to the Future

Because why not.

I'll remember

New research suggests chocolate may help boost your memory

Hold your breath

The Flu Has Reached Epidemic Levels, CDC Says

"But health experts caution against panic. Reaching the ‘epidemic’ threshold isn’t actually that unusual, and it’s too early yet to predict how bad the entire influenza season will be, CDC health communications specialist Erin Burns tells the Post."

But why is DC the only place on the map marked “insufficient data”? Congress can’t even figure out who’s got the flu?

Newsweek's fearless forecast

Let’s Get Crazy: Predictions for the Unpredictable College Football Playoff

"Anything can happen."

It's Florida, and do you know where your dog is sleeping?

Cops: Naked Florida man laid on dog beds at CVS - CBS News

"He's facing lewd or lascivious charges, according to the Bradenton Herald.

"He was also charged with theft because the store couldn't sell the dog beds after that, according to the station."

On throwing away the key

Death penalty for Tsarnaev? Why Bostonians don't favor that possibility. - CSMonitor.com

"‘Massachusetts as a commonwealth has a basic commitment to civic virtues, to decency. These are deep, deep, deep in our soil,’ says the Rev. Nancy Taylor, senior minister at Boston’s historic Old South Church, which stands next to the marathon’s finish line. ‘The death penalty kind of defiles the best of what it is to be virtuous in a civic sense. It kind of starts to wreck the equation.’"

When Harvard freaking Law can't get it right…

Harvard Law Title IX violations: Will other colleges take notice? - CSMonitor.com

"In this case, OCR clearly states that the ‘previous and current sexual harassment policies and procedures used by the Law School do not, as written and as applied in the two sexual assault cases examined by OCR, comply with Title IX’s requirements.’"

…your odds, Bunky, are probably not too good.

Ooops

CNN hacking threat a hoax | New York Post

"A Tennessee man named David C. Garrett Jr. came out on social media Wednesday as the ‘boy who cried Wolf.’"

Post ran with this story two days ago.

Bucks and Ducks to biggest game

College Football Playoff National Championship -- Oregon Ducks 7-point favorites over Ohio State Buckeyes - ESPN

"It's the third straight game in which the Buckeyes are projected as underdogs. Ohio State was an underdog to Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game and to No. 1 Alabama in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The Buckeyes blew out the Badgers and then upset the Crimson Tide 42-35 on Thursday behind third-string quarterback Cardale Jones."

I’d be a little reluctant to bet against Ohio State myself, but it was a lot of fun watching Oregon in the Rose Bowl.

1.01.2015

Still looking for a New Year's resolution?

18 Libraries Every Book Lover Should Visit In Their Lifetime in Featured Reads curated by Trove Editors

Inhaled

Illinois has no explanation for missing target date for pot permits | Chicago

The well-dressed gladiator in Southern California

Rose Parade gets off to unusually chilly start

"The University of Southern California mascot, Tommy Trojan, wore a long coat over his roman armor and gladiator sandals. "

What goes up…

…I’ve never figured out why more people don’t get hurt by “celebratory gunfire.” 

Woman struck in leg at Busch Gardens by bullet from possible celebratory gunfire, police say | Tampa Bay Times

"Tampa Bay area police have reported other injuries in recent years, including a man who was struck in the nose on Fourth of July in 2012 while he was watching fireworks in Safety Harbor [sic]."

The language evolves

Mom killed in Wal-Mart accidental shooting kept gun in special pocket - CBS News

"'She was not the least bit irresponsible,’ [Father-in-Law] Terry Rutledge said in a brief interview with The Associated Press."

12.31.2014

This was so much fun the first time around, let's do it again

Sony hackers threaten attack on US news organization | New York Post

“…previous messages posted by the hackers suggest that the anonymous media organization is in fact CNN…"

Will hackers make watching Wolf Blitzer your patriotic duty next? The year may be ending but the excitement goes on.

Fantastic

From blurb for sci-fi flick called the Philadelphia Experiment:

"In 1943, a secret government project attempted to create a cloaking device that would make warships invisible. During the first test, the USS Eldridge vanished completely, never to be found again.…"

Still time to waste this year

Say Goodbye to 2014 With These Weird Internet Clocks - The Atlantic

There was a time, a long, long, very long time ago…

…when “woman drivers are terrorists” would have been the punchline for a joke.

Saudi Women Drivers Sent to Terrorism Court - Atlantic Mobile

"Two Saudi women, who have been detained for nearly a month after defying a ban on female drivers, were referred on Thursday to a court established to try terrorism cases, according to the BBC. "

But not now. Of course. Stop! DON’T THROW THAT.

Half moderately confident is not exactly a rave review (but Congress is worse)

2014's Dumbest Local Ordinances - CityLab

"Fully 70 percent of Americans lacked faith in the federal government at the outset of the year, according to an Associated Press poll, yet over 50 percent felt at least 'moderately confident' in their local officials."

Avoiding work in the frozen North

Record for largest paper wad set in Minnesota

"The ball was built around a cardboard frame and held together with paper netting. In keeping with Guinness guidelines, no adhesives or tape was used."

Maybe next time just txt

I know he’s a doofus, but he’s so romantic | Boston Herald

"A man hired a crane to lift him up to his girlfriend’s bedroom window so he could propose to her in the central Dutch town of IJsselstein. But the crane fell over and destroyed the house. She said ‘yes’ anyway."

Veggies arrive

White Castle debuts new ‘Veggie slider’ | New York Post

"The longstanding fast food chain claims that each burger will be ‘chock full of lots of vegetables like carrots, zucchini, peas, spinach, broccoli, and more.’"

12.30.2014

Always with the questions

“Why sleep at home when you can sleep in Congress?” – Will Rogers | Shawn Stoller's Blog

This is the last straw

Our advice: Don't read this

Michael from the grocery store says, this morning:

It’s so cold out there I saw a chicken cross the street with a capon.

Hey, we warned you.

OK, now we're really confused

Why Singles Should Say ‘I Don’t’ to The Self-Marriage Movement - The Daily Beast

"These (roughly) $2,500 ceremonies are supposedly about encouraging ‘positive feelings’ on the part of the single brides. It seems more like a makeover though, because there’s an option of renting a ‘decorative’ man, aged between 20 and 70 to pose alongside you if you so wish."

Imagine our relief

Possum Drop won't ring in 2015 with live animal - NY Daily News

"BRASSTOWN, N.C. — For most of the past 20 years, a live animal has been used in a small North Carolina town's annual New Year's Eve Possum Drop. But this year, following challenges from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the organizer says he'll no longer use a live opossum — instead, it'll be a road-kill opossum or perhaps a pot of opossum stew."

But hey, that whole North Korea angle sure sold a lot of tickets

Firm blames Sony hack on canned employee - NY Daily News

"Norse’s research directly contradicts claims made by the FBI and President Obama, who have maintained the attack was carried out by the authoritarian regime."

12.29.2014

Down beyond the mountains


We have completed, for yet another year, the Christmas cinema trifecta

A Christmas Story, the 1983 version (accept no substitutes), is on our official blog movie list. Not one kiss in the whole thing.

Miracle on 34th Street, 1947 (see above, and beware the 1994 remake), includes a kiss, but it’s right at the end. You can avoid it if you turn the movie off when the little girl runs into the house (you’ll know when it happens). And anyway, the story’s over by then. So, carefully watched, it’s OK.

It’s a Wonderful Life the FBI called it a communist plot in it’s day—but it’s much worse than that. It’s very likely the sappiest movie ever made, and it’s riddled with kissing. Avoid it if you can.

And Happy New Year.

Mopping up in Chicago

Bears fire GM Phil Emery, coach Marc Trestman | Chicago

"Unable to overcome a rash of injuries in both seasons and overseeing a regression in quarterback Jay Cutler after he was signed to a seven-year, $127 million contract in January, Trestman becomes the first Bears coach to be fired after fewer than three seasons since the end of the George Halas era."

New Yorker wants to ride train, makes front-page news

Ticket to ride: Greenfield transplant looks forward to hopping train home from New York | The Recorder

"‘I plan to ride the train whenever I come home,’ said Ashley Tetreault, 29, of Queens, N.Y."

And I thought it was just Canada leaking again

Cold week ahead for Oklahoma | News OK

"Tuesday night will see lows in the teens. Winds will be gusty Monday night, Tuesday and Tuesday night making wind chills near or below zero degrees, the service reported."

It’s going to be cold here, too. Maybe it’s Oklahoma’s fault.

There's that

President’s Test: Family Vacation With Teenage Girls - NYTimes.com

"‘It’s an oxymoron to have a ‘family vacation’ with two teenagers,’ said Madeline Levine, a psychologist and author of ‘The Price of Privilege.’"

And don't ask about Mouse Island, Maine

To ring in the New Year, Pennsylvania town plans to drop giant nail in honor of ex-local mill | Fox News

"The inaugural nail drop joins a host of creative New Year's Eve traditions in neighboring towns, such as the dropping of a giant wrench in Mechanicsburg and a huge pickle in Dillsburg."

(Or a lot of other places we could name.)

Got those darn Republicans right where we want them, Obama says

Obama: America 'less racially divided' since 2009 | Fox News

"‘Now you've got Republicans in a position where it's not enough for them simply to grind the wheels of Congress to a halt and then blame me,' he said."

Guess that’ll show ‘em.

(And other fairly weird stuff.)

12.28.2014

You knew this was gonna happen, right?

Join Seth Rogen, James Franco and Evan Goldberg as they live-Tweet #TheInterview today at 2pm PST

Of course you did.

One of our new benches (see below)

Actually, the only one. So far.

It looks pretty difficult to sleep on unless you're really short or really curly. And it's really uncomfortable to sit on. So it just might work.

And if it doesn't, the top (which is metal) might work as an emergency barbecue grill.

How can we get this guy to move here?

French mayor puts cages on benches to dissuade homeless - NY Daily News

"Some locals backed the move to 'restore public order', but a former French lawmaker, Guillame Garot, said 'this is not France' and one twitter user quipped that next year the fences will be electrified."

We go through this cycle about once every five years:

1) Somebody decides there should be benches on Main Street.

2) Benches get installed.

3) People complain about who’s sitting on the benches.

4) The benches get un-installed.

I’ve never figured out if they save the benches to use in the next cycle, but there’s a significant amount of labor cost nonetheless. These cages sound like a good, economical idea.

Currently, there are no benches on Main Street. I read the other day about a new plan to install some.