I love the way news stories are written. Here's an example:
"Seeking common ground with Republicans on energy and climate issues, President Obama on Tuesday pledged $8 billion in loan guarantees needed to build the first U.S. nuclear reactors in nearly three decades."
This story could so easily have a different slant by simply changing, "Seeking common ground..." to "Seeking ground-zero..."
-----------------------------
Have you heard about the Disneyland employees who have been on a hunger strike to protest the break-down in negotiations on a new labor contract? Well, they decided to break their fast today as they move their demonstration from Anaheim to Disney's corporate headquarters in Burbank.
They are trying to draw attention to negotiations that have been stalled since 2008. Disney proposes that union members should begin paying for their own healthcare plan.
A Disney spokesperson said, "We were ready to meet and instead they held a hunger strike."
No doubt the Disney negotiating team in Burbank will throw them a bone...?
-----------------------------
"Come and Get It..."
Abbey Road, the Beatles recording studio, has been put on the market by EMI Records!
EMI has apparently been courting bidders for the property. A sale could raise tens of millions of pounds.
It was not immediately clear whether EMI would sell the Abbey Road brand name along with the property, but one media lawyer said: “The brand is worth more than the building...anybody who wants the studios will want the brand.”
What history this place has!
EMI bought the house at number 3 Abbey Road for £100,000 in 1929 and transformed it into the world’s first custom-built recording studios. In World War II Abbey Road was used for propaganda recordings for the British government and BBC radio broadcasts.
The Beatles put the studios on the map, using it for 90% of their recordings between 1962 and 1969 and naming their final album, "Abbey Road". EMI used the studios for last year’s release of remastered Beatles albums.
Pink Floyd recorded Dark Side of the Moon at the studios and films such as Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone were scored there.
As was the first triple album by a solo artist. George Harrison's...
..."All Things Must Pass".
-----------------------------
This past Sunday marked the beginning of a Chinese calendar new year: the year of the Tiger.
Each year on the Chinese calendar is assigned an animal from the Chinese zodiac, which rotates on a 12-year cycle. People born during a specific year are thought to have attributes of their animal — tigers are confident, daring and unpredictable, for example.
I guess we all found that out at the "tail" end of last year.
Other ancient traditions associated with the Chinese new year (dating back thousands of years) are...endorsement deals.
I wonder if the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution would be interested?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
In The Noise - Thursday, February 11, 2010
Controversy is brewing as the Obama administration argues that the FBI can track anyone's cell phone without a warrant because Americans enjoy no "reasonable expectation of privacy" in their cell phones' whereabouts(!)
The federal lawyers claim "a customer's Fourth Amendment rights are not violated when the phone company reveals to the government its own records" that show "where a cell phone placed and received calls".
This is kind of like labling SUVs as "faceless demons". You know, when you hear a traffic report, "The 101 is backed-up due to an SUV hitting a power pole." (Clearly, the driver had nothing to do with it.)
Likewise, the cell phone legally has no rights.
So, be sure to keep an eye on who your cell phone is calling...and from where!
-----------------------------
Sunspots are expected to be increasing soon, researchers announced today.
After a long period of low solar activity, the sun is now on its way to a "solar maximum", which is not a happy thing for those who depend on satellite navigation.
The irregular atmospheric changes caused by sunspots can wreak havoc with the sat-nav signals we use.
On the "plus side", maybe those poor cell phones can finally get some privacy! (see lead story)
----------------------------
Good news: The overall crime rate in Los Angeles is significantly dropping.
Bad news: Bicycle thefts increased 29% in 2009. That's almost 2,000 bikes that were stolen!
LAPD detectives believe the increase is due - in part - to more people using bikes to get around in some neighborhoods. In particular, the USC campus, downtown L.A. and Venice were cited as especially bad areas for bike thefts.
Police also blame theft-rings that steal bikes and then sell them on Craigslist.
A modern variation of "Pedal Pushers", I guess.
-----------------------------
In Camden, New Jersey, a 20-year-old man has been charged with child endangerment for putting a tattoo on the rear end of a 1-year-old baby.
The tattoo is the letter “A”, and could not be removed, according to the complaint filed by police.
It was not clear why the child was given a tattoo or what the “A” signifies.
Both baby and mother are fine. The perpetrator is in custody.
A caged canary at the victim's home was quoted as saying, "I tawt I taw a booty tat!"
The federal lawyers claim "a customer's Fourth Amendment rights are not violated when the phone company reveals to the government its own records" that show "where a cell phone placed and received calls".
This is kind of like labling SUVs as "faceless demons". You know, when you hear a traffic report, "The 101 is backed-up due to an SUV hitting a power pole." (Clearly, the driver had nothing to do with it.)
Likewise, the cell phone legally has no rights.
So, be sure to keep an eye on who your cell phone is calling...and from where!
-----------------------------
Sunspots are expected to be increasing soon, researchers announced today.
After a long period of low solar activity, the sun is now on its way to a "solar maximum", which is not a happy thing for those who depend on satellite navigation.
The irregular atmospheric changes caused by sunspots can wreak havoc with the sat-nav signals we use.
On the "plus side", maybe those poor cell phones can finally get some privacy! (see lead story)
----------------------------
Good news: The overall crime rate in Los Angeles is significantly dropping.
Bad news: Bicycle thefts increased 29% in 2009. That's almost 2,000 bikes that were stolen!
LAPD detectives believe the increase is due - in part - to more people using bikes to get around in some neighborhoods. In particular, the USC campus, downtown L.A. and Venice were cited as especially bad areas for bike thefts.
Police also blame theft-rings that steal bikes and then sell them on Craigslist.
A modern variation of "Pedal Pushers", I guess.
-----------------------------
In Camden, New Jersey, a 20-year-old man has been charged with child endangerment for putting a tattoo on the rear end of a 1-year-old baby.
The tattoo is the letter “A”, and could not be removed, according to the complaint filed by police.
It was not clear why the child was given a tattoo or what the “A” signifies.
Both baby and mother are fine. The perpetrator is in custody.
A caged canary at the victim's home was quoted as saying, "I tawt I taw a booty tat!"
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
In The Noise - Tuesday, February 9, 2010
"I am not a crook!"
San Fernando Valley cops and the FBI are asking for the public's help in finding the "Ex-President Bandit".
No, "W" hasn't gone off the wagon.
There is a guy who has robbed four Encino banks at gunpoint - two of them while wearing a Richard Nixon mask.
A spokesperson for the FBI said the suspect is described as "black, about 40, with a medium build." And clearly with a sense of irony.
"During both robberies, the bandit was armed with a handgun, which he brandished liberally," the spokesperson said.
Aha! A liberal sense of irony.
San Fernando Valley cops and the FBI are asking for the public's help in finding the "Ex-President Bandit".
No, "W" hasn't gone off the wagon.
There is a guy who has robbed four Encino banks at gunpoint - two of them while wearing a Richard Nixon mask.
A spokesperson for the FBI said the suspect is described as "black, about 40, with a medium build." And clearly with a sense of irony.
"During both robberies, the bandit was armed with a handgun, which he brandished liberally," the spokesperson said.
Aha! A liberal sense of irony.
Monday, February 8, 2010
In The Noise - February 8, 2010
"Live Science" magazine reports that scientists have discovered a female sex hormone in a tree. ('Makes you want to read further, right?)
Until now, scientists thought that only animals could make the hormone "progesterone".
It's actually a steroid hormone secreted by the ovaries in humans, which prepares the uterus for pregnancy and maintains pregnancy.
The scientists are quoted in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Natural Products as saying, "While the biological role of progesterone has been extensively studied in mammals, the reason for its presence in plants is less apparent."
They used two complicated-sounding laboratory techniques - nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectroscopy - to detect the progesterone in leaves of the English Walnut tree.
Female hormones from a tree of nuts. Go figure!
-----------------------------
Men At Work`s Kookaburragate will be back in court on February 25 to discuss the court findings and the settlement.
Your heard about this right? The music publisher of an old 1930's kiddie tune, Kookaburra ("Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree. Merry, merry king of the bush is he...") sued the Australian rock group, Men At Work for using what the judge and publisher considered to be a “substantial portion” of the tune in the classic Men At Work song ‘Down Under’.
Men At Work songwriter, Colin Hay, does admit that Greg Ham played a bit of the old song in his flute solo, he considers the legal action against them to be nothing more the “opportunistic greed”.
By the way, the publisher suing Men At Work for hundreds of thousand of dollars bought the rights from the original 1930's songwriter's estate for $6,000.
I guess there's nothing to be said, except to leave you with the last verse:
"Kookaburra sits on a rusty nail
Gets a boo-boo in his tail
Cry, Kookaburra! Cry, kookaburra!
Oh how life can be"
-----------------------------
And to wrap things UP...
The Burj Khalifa's owner said today that the observation deck of the world's tallest tower (2,717-feet, 160-stories) has been unexpectedly shut down - disappointing thousands of tourists and spoiling the spire's image just a month after it opened.
The precise cause of the Dubai skyscraper's closure is unknown. In a brief statement responding to questions, the building owner blamed the closure on "unexpected high traffic".
"Unexpected...High...Traffic" That's a quote. From the P.R. flacks for the tallest building in the world.
Until now, scientists thought that only animals could make the hormone "progesterone".
It's actually a steroid hormone secreted by the ovaries in humans, which prepares the uterus for pregnancy and maintains pregnancy.
The scientists are quoted in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Natural Products as saying, "While the biological role of progesterone has been extensively studied in mammals, the reason for its presence in plants is less apparent."
They used two complicated-sounding laboratory techniques - nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectroscopy - to detect the progesterone in leaves of the English Walnut tree.
Female hormones from a tree of nuts. Go figure!
-----------------------------
Men At Work`s Kookaburragate will be back in court on February 25 to discuss the court findings and the settlement.
Your heard about this right? The music publisher of an old 1930's kiddie tune, Kookaburra ("Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree. Merry, merry king of the bush is he...") sued the Australian rock group, Men At Work for using what the judge and publisher considered to be a “substantial portion” of the tune in the classic Men At Work song ‘Down Under’.
Men At Work songwriter, Colin Hay, does admit that Greg Ham played a bit of the old song in his flute solo, he considers the legal action against them to be nothing more the “opportunistic greed”.
By the way, the publisher suing Men At Work for hundreds of thousand of dollars bought the rights from the original 1930's songwriter's estate for $6,000.
I guess there's nothing to be said, except to leave you with the last verse:
"Kookaburra sits on a rusty nail
Gets a boo-boo in his tail
Cry, Kookaburra! Cry, kookaburra!
Oh how life can be"
-----------------------------
And to wrap things UP...
The Burj Khalifa's owner said today that the observation deck of the world's tallest tower (2,717-feet, 160-stories) has been unexpectedly shut down - disappointing thousands of tourists and spoiling the spire's image just a month after it opened.
The precise cause of the Dubai skyscraper's closure is unknown. In a brief statement responding to questions, the building owner blamed the closure on "unexpected high traffic".
"Unexpected...High...Traffic" That's a quote. From the P.R. flacks for the tallest building in the world.
Friday, February 5, 2010
In The Noise - February 5, 2010
This may be the biggest fast-food restaurant news since we started talking to Jack, The Clown at the drive-thru.
The ketchup packet is being revised!
Yep, that tear-it-open-and-spill-ketchup-everywhere-but-on-your-sandwich-packet is being redesigned by the Heinz ketchup company.
The new "Dip & Squeeze Heinz Tomato Ketchup" package has a base that's like a little cup for dipping and also a tear-off end for squeezing, plus it holds three times as much ketchup than a traditional packet.
Heinz even bought it's research team a used minivan to test if the new Dip & Squeeze packet actually worked while eating on the road (they also probably gave them a cell phone and shaving kit, too, 'just to make sure they'd be completely distracted).
Anyway, that's the latest news on "ketchup" - and it's no Pulp Fiction.
-----------------------------
Fines for red-light traffic violations in Los Angeles County have skyrocketed over the past eight years - from $271 to $446!
And the number of tickets that have been generated by the red-light traffic camera systems has grown to 13,000 tickets with almost $1.6 million in revenue.
'Gives "Red Light District" a whole new meaning.
-----------------------------
Time to issue a White House gag order (or maybe a gaffe order would be more appropriate).
This week, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel referred to a group of liberal Democrats as "f***ing retarded."
Needless, to say, he was forced to issue a public apology - not to the liberal Democrats, but to persons with disabilities.
But even before this latest gaffe, Emanuel has been in hot water for salty language and heated political controversies.
On Thursday, a White House official (who was not authorized to speak publicly on the topic) made no apologies for Emanuel's tough, but sometimes childish style.
"Doo-Doo, Rahm Rahm!!", he reportedly said.
-----------------------------
Have you heard about the "demon sheep" ad?
It's a political attack ad produced by the campaign for California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina against her opposition, candidate Tom Campbell.
It features a pastoral field of grazing sheep (which are supposed to represent fiscal conservatives), and a devilish interloper - a man in a sheep's clothing - who is supposed to represent Campbell (implying that he is not what he appears to be).
The video has gone viral on YouTube.
The producer proclaims that any attempt to prevent the ad from being aired is "ewes-less". According to the Wool Street Journal, he was quoted as saying, "Flock anyone who tries to stop us!"
Where's Ram Emanual when we need him?
The ketchup packet is being revised!
Yep, that tear-it-open-and-spill-ketchup-everywhere-but-on-your-sandwich-packet is being redesigned by the Heinz ketchup company.
The new "Dip & Squeeze Heinz Tomato Ketchup" package has a base that's like a little cup for dipping and also a tear-off end for squeezing, plus it holds three times as much ketchup than a traditional packet.
Heinz even bought it's research team a used minivan to test if the new Dip & Squeeze packet actually worked while eating on the road (they also probably gave them a cell phone and shaving kit, too, 'just to make sure they'd be completely distracted).
Anyway, that's the latest news on "ketchup" - and it's no Pulp Fiction.
-----------------------------
Fines for red-light traffic violations in Los Angeles County have skyrocketed over the past eight years - from $271 to $446!
And the number of tickets that have been generated by the red-light traffic camera systems has grown to 13,000 tickets with almost $1.6 million in revenue.
'Gives "Red Light District" a whole new meaning.
-----------------------------
Time to issue a White House gag order (or maybe a gaffe order would be more appropriate).
This week, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel referred to a group of liberal Democrats as "f***ing retarded."
Needless, to say, he was forced to issue a public apology - not to the liberal Democrats, but to persons with disabilities.
But even before this latest gaffe, Emanuel has been in hot water for salty language and heated political controversies.
On Thursday, a White House official (who was not authorized to speak publicly on the topic) made no apologies for Emanuel's tough, but sometimes childish style.
"Doo-Doo, Rahm Rahm!!", he reportedly said.
-----------------------------
Have you heard about the "demon sheep" ad?
It's a political attack ad produced by the campaign for California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina against her opposition, candidate Tom Campbell.
It features a pastoral field of grazing sheep (which are supposed to represent fiscal conservatives), and a devilish interloper - a man in a sheep's clothing - who is supposed to represent Campbell (implying that he is not what he appears to be).
The video has gone viral on YouTube.
The producer proclaims that any attempt to prevent the ad from being aired is "ewes-less". According to the Wool Street Journal, he was quoted as saying, "Flock anyone who tries to stop us!"
Where's Ram Emanual when we need him?
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