IGNORANCE IS NOT CUTE.

What's the going rate for a baby these days?

2009-02-24T07:56:00.003-06:00

A woman in India sold her baby for $130 USD when the baby's father abandoned her and the baby. She decided that she wanted to marry someone else and couldn't do so with this baggage so she sold her little one.
I'm assuming that in India this is illegal because if she is convicted she could face up to ten years in prison. Is this considered human trafficking?

Satellite FAIL.

2009-02-24T07:48:00.002-06:00

NASA's satellite designed to orbit the earth to monitor greenhouse gases launched early this morning and is already a failure.

The mission was to collect carbon dioxide measurements to help better determine its effects on our atmosphere and to better predict climate changes.

Maybe next time, NASA!

(oh, and because we are all money-conscious these days, this project that didn't do anything cost $273 million)

If you care..... Oscar Awards.

2009-02-23T01:51:00.002-06:00

I didn't watch the Academy Awards. With the economy in the shape it's in and with movie studios trying to get a piece of the stimulus package I think this was totally unnecessary. No one with a REAL job gets honored this way. Anyway, without further ado, I give you the winners:

BEST PICTURE
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Frost/Nixon"
"Milk"
"The Reader"
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Winner)

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"
Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"
Meryl Streep, "Doubt"
Kate Winslet, "The Reader" (Winner)

BEST ACTOR
Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"
Sean Penn, "Milk" (Winner)
Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"
Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, "Doubt"
Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (Winner)
Viola Davis, "Doubt"
Taraji P. Henson, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin, "Milk"
Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt"
Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight" (Winner)
Michael Shannon, "Revolutionary Road"

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire" (Winner)
Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"
David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon"
Gus Van Sant, "Milk"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Dustin Lance Black, "Milk" (Winner)
Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"
Mike Leigh, "Happy-Go-Lucky"
Martin McDonagh, "In Bruges"
Andrew Stanton, and Jim Reardon; original story by Stanton and Pete Docter "WALL-E"

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire" (Winner)
David Hare, "The Reader"
Peter Morgan, "Frost/Nixon"
John Patrick Shanley, "Doubt"
Eric Roth, Robin Swicord, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"The Baader-Meinhof Complex" (Germany)
"The Class" (France)
"Departures" (Japan) (Winner)
"Revanche" (Austria)
"Waltz with Bashir" (Israel)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
"Bolt"
"Kung Fu Panda"
"WALL-E" (Winner)

BEST ART DIRECTION
"Changeling"
"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" (Winner)
"The Dark Knight"
"The Duchess"
"Revolutionary Road"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
"Changeling" Tom Stern
"Slumdog Millionaire," Anthony Dod Mantle (Winner)
"The Reader," Chris Menges
"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button," Claudio Miranda
"The Dark Knight," Wally Pfister

BEST FILM EDITING
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall
"The Dark Knight," Lee Smith
"Frost/Nixon," Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill
"Milk," Elliot Graham
"Slumdog Millionaire," Chris Dickens (Winner)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
"Australia," Catherine Martin
"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button," Jacqueline West
"The Duchess," Michael O'Conner (Winner)
"Milk", Danny Glicker
"Revolutionary Road," Albert Wolsky
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"
"Encounters at the End of the World"
"The Garden"
"Man on Wire" (Winner)
"Trouble the Water"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Slumdog Millionaire," "Jai Ho" (Winner)
"Slumdog Millionaire," "O Saya"
"WALL-E," "Down To Earth"

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button," Alexandre Desplat
"Defiance," James Newton Howard
"Milk," Danny Elfman
"Slumdog Millionaire," A.R. Rahman (Winner)
"WALL-E," Thomas Newman

BEST MAKEUP
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,"(Winner)
"The Dark Knight,"
"Hellboy II: The Golden Army,"

BEST SOUND EDITING
"The Dark Knight"(Winner)
"Iron Man"
"Slumdog Millionaire""
"WALL-E"
"Wanted"

BEST SOUND MIXING
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"The Dark Knight"
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Winner)
"WALL-E"
"Wanted"

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Winner)
"The Dark Knight"
"Iron Man"

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
"Auf der Strecke (On the Line)"
"Manon on the Asphalt"
"New Boy"
"The Pig"
"Spielzeugland (Toyland)" (Winner)

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
"La Maison en Petits Cubes" (Winner)
"Lavatory - Lovestory"
"Oktapodi"
"Presto"
"This Way Up"

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
"The Conscience of Nhem En"
"The Final Inch"
"Smile Pinki" (Winner)
"The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306"

Rihanna was beaten by her fella-ella-ella.

2009-02-20T09:46:00.002-06:00

Okay, it's NOT funny. A photo was released by TMZ today so poor little pop star Rihanna after she was allegedly beaten by her boyfriend Chris Brown who also happens to be a pop star. The incident was reported to the police on the night of the Grammy awards a couple of weeks ago but Rihanna was laying low and apparently Chris Brown went to Vegas.

Anyway, here's the photo:

Kids these days...

2009-02-19T17:31:00.003-06:00

A nine-year-old boy in Arizona pleaded guilty of the November murder of his father. He will not be serving time in a juvenille facility but will remain on probation until he is 18. He will have mental health evaluations every couple of years until then but if he appears to take a turn for the worse he will then be placed in a facility. The boy said that he shot his father to end his suffering. What was he suffering from? Beats me.

Racism can be funny!

2009-02-19T14:31:00.002-06:00

I did not interpret the comic as racist, but you be the judge.

Southpaw.

2009-02-19T08:52:00.002-06:00

PresO is left-handed! I had no idea! I also noticed that every time he signed his named yesterday he used a different pen and that made me wonder if it was some kind of presidential superstitious ritual or if PresO was just a weirdo.

According to Wiki Answers it's because each pen is given to someone who worked on the document that the president is signing or is in someway significant to the document.

Interesting. I guess. It seems kind of wasteful.

Them bones.

2009-02-18T15:07:00.003-06:00

A woman walking her dog found a human bone in the New Mexico desert. Once she reported it and crews starting digging they unearthed six sets of remains. Only one set has been identified from dental records.
CREEPY!

GM is writing checks its ass can't cash!

2009-02-18T15:04:00.002-06:00

GM has already received over $13 billion in federal assistance and is now asking for $30 billion. Not only do they want the additional funds but the company still plans on laying off 47,000 people and closing down at least five of their plants.
WTF dude.... you want $30 billion and you're still going to give that many folks the boot? That's not a very convincing argument to the person signing over the check.
I say don't help them out. It doesn't sound like they'll be using the money the way it's intended anyway.

Need an abortion? Don't go to North Dakota!

2009-02-18T15:00:00.002-06:00

North Dakota's House has just passed a law stating that abortions are now illegal. The law was passed by a 51-41 vote earlier today. Basically any abortion will be considered murder and that fetuses have the same rights as everyone else.
I won't get into my personal feelings on this hot button topic but I'm pretty sure that there are more timely issues to focus on than abortion. But what do I know?!

Gimme some money!

2009-02-17T18:36:00.002-06:00

GM and Chrysler are asking for $30 billion to keep them from filing for backruptcy. Do you think that the government should bail them out?

It's like calling up your third cousin from your second cousin's first marriage to 'borrow' money after you see them on the news for winning the lottery.

A lot of companies are struggling - is it the government's responsibility to save them? I don't think it is but my opinion doesn't matter because hey, I'm still employed.

How stimulating!

2009-02-17T14:08:00.003-06:00

PresO is going to sign the $787 billion stimulus bill today in Denver, CO. I'm watching his speech right now and I must say he's quite charming.
Regardless, the Dow Jones is down 268 points right now so let's see what happens once this bill is signed. Like many people I have hope that this will make a difference to the common person and not just to big businesses. Bring it on!

I don't mean to reveal just what a big nerd I am but...

2009-02-17T12:49:00.003-06:00

I just saw a preview for X-Men Origins: Wolverine on TV and I couldn't help but rewind it and re-watch it about five times.

I realize that a movie release isn't really news, but it's news to me and it's the most interesting thing I've seen all day.

Besides, Hugh Jackman's hair as Logan/Wolverine is AWESOME.

Missing girl in FL

2009-02-17T12:40:00.002-06:00

Haleigh Ann-Marie Cummings, five-years-old, was abducted last week in Florida and the police now have some decent leads which will hopefully aid in recovering the little girl. The night she disappeared her father's girlfriend put her to bed and she somehow got out of the house and was abducted. Police are following several leads including looking into the 44 registered sex offenders within a five-mile radius of the girl's home. An Amber Alert was issued once the girl was reported missing.

Livestrong and Stealstrong!

2009-02-16T18:21:00.002-06:00

Cyclist Lance Armstrong's one-of-a-kind bicycle was stolen on Saturday night after the first day of a nine day race in California.

The man only has one testicle, c'mon! His bike is unique and will be impossible to pawn. Why bother? Isn't Armstrong kind of an American hero? Some people are just jerks.

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... debris?

2009-02-16T18:17:00.002-06:00

Why do random unexplained things seem to only appear in the sky over Texas?

The rest of the country probably thinks we're all retarded.

It might be debris from two satellites that collided last week. There were sightings of debris in Australia from the crash so that's a possibility but NASA is still looking into it. It could also be a meteor. Who knows.... Let's all speculate!

I love some hot ash.

2009-02-15T09:23:00.002-06:00

Galeras volcano in Colombia has erupted..... again! It has erupted several times since it became active again in 1989. Around 7,000 people live near the volcano and were quickly evacuated last night before things got too messy. No one was killed.

Rich countries, save us!

2009-02-15T09:14:00.002-06:00

The seven richest countries in the world had representatives get together to decide on what to do to 'save' the world's crappy economy. The meeting was hosted in Italy and the United States, Germany, Japan, France, Italy, Britain and Canada were in attendance. USA's member of G-7 is treasury secretary Timothy Geithner. He shared the approval of the stimulus plan with the other members and they were supportive of it (like it matters, but whatever).

Other than that I'm sure that nothing was accomplished but financial buzz words were thrown around like transparency, global market, tax cuts, etc.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T10:26:00.002-06:00

It's Saturday which means that posting is minimal and half-assed :-) Deal with it.

TODAY IN HISTORY! (brought to you by history.com):

"On February 14 around the year 278 A.D., Valentine, a holy priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, was executed.Under the rule of Claudius the Cruel, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns. The emperor had to maintain a strong army, but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. Claudius believed that Roman men were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families.To get rid of the problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret.

When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. The sentence was carried out on February 14, on or about the year 270.Legend also has it that while in jail, St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine."For his great service, Valentine was named a saint after his death.

In truth, the exact origins and identity of St. Valentine are unclear. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under the date of 14 February." One was a priest in Rome, the second one was a bishop of Interamna (now Terni, Italy) and the third St. Valentine was a martyr in the Roman province of Africa.Legends vary on how the martyr's name became connected with romance. The date of his death may have become mingled with the Feast of Lupercalia, a pagan festival of love. On these occasions, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius decided to put an end to the Feast of Lupercalia, and he declared that February 14 be celebrated as St Valentine's Day."

Kids these days....

2009-02-13T10:20:00.003-06:00

This is disgusting! A 13-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl in England have just had a baby. The girl looks a little older but the boy looks like he's about 10. This makes me want to vomit.

The boy said that when he found out and told his parents that he was afraid he'd get in trouble. WTF!! It's one thing to ruin your life but now you'll be ruining the baby's. How the hell does a 13-year-old support a family? HE DOESN'T. His parents must be so proud that they raised such a fine young man.

For the millionth time, it IS safer to fly! I swear!

2009-02-13T08:17:00.002-06:00

A Continental Airlines flight crashed last night into a home in Buffalo, NY killing 49 passengers and one of the residents inside the home. Some speculate that the icy conditions and ice on the wings may have been contributing factors to the crash.

Galileo let me go!!!!

2009-02-13T08:05:00.004-06:00

How about a long-winded edition of TODAY IN HISTORY!?! I didn't write this, someone at history.com did.

"On this day in 1633, Italian philosopher, astronomer and mathematician Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome to face charges of heresy for advocating Copernican theory, which holds that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Galileo officially faced the Roman Inquisition in April of that same year and agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence. Put under house arrest indefinitely by Pope Urban VIII, Galileo spent the rest of his days at his villa in Arcetri, near Florence, before dying on January 8, 1642.

Galileo, the son of a musician, was born February 15, 1564, in Pisa, Italy. He entered the University of Pisa planning to study medicine, but shifted his focus to philosophy and mathematics. In 1589, he became a professor at Pisa for several years, during which time he demonstrated that the speed of a falling object is not proportional to its weight, as Aristotle had believed. According to some reports, Galileo conducted his research by dropping objects of different weights from the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

From 1592 to 1630, Galileo was a math professor at the University of Padua, where he developed a telescope that enabled him to observe lunar mountains and craters, the four largest satellites of Jupiter and the phases of Jupiter. He also discovered that the Milky Way was made up of stars. Following the publication of his research in 1610, Galileo gained acclaim and was appointed court mathematician at Florence.Galileo's research led him to become an advocate of the work of the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1573). However, the Copernican theory of a sun-centered solar system conflicted with the teachings of the powerful Roman Catholic Church, which essentially ruled Italy at the time. Church teachings contended that Earth, not the sun, was at the center of the universe.

In 1633, Galileo was brought before the Roman Inquisition, a judicial system established by the papacy in 1542 to regulate church doctrine. This included the banning of books that conflicted with church teachings. The Roman Inquisition had its roots in the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, the purpose of which was to seek out and prosecute heretics, considered enemies of the state.Today, Galileo is recognized for making important contributions to the study of motion and astronomy. His work influenced later scientists such as the English mathematician and physicist Sir Isaac Newton, who developed the law of universal gravitation. In 1992, the Vatican formally acknowledged its mistake in condemning Galileo."

It is NOT peanut butter & jelly time.

2009-02-12T19:38:00.001-06:00

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

Ooh how stimulating!

2009-02-12T09:55:00.003-06:00

PresO's stimulus package has been scrutinzed and reviewed and we finally have some good programs nailed down that the money will be going to as opposed to where the plan started out last month will some BS spending.

A lot of the programs will not directly impact the average person, but here are a few things that will:

- Most individuals will get a $400 tax credit, and most couples will get an $800 credit. That amounts to an extra $13 a week in a person's paycheck, starting in June.
- Many students will get $2,500 tuition tax credit.
- First-time home buyers may qualify for a tax credit of up to $8,000.
- People who receive Social Security will get a one-time payment of $250.

Hooray for money! I hope this will do what the government is hoping and get people to put money back into circulation.

You've got to be kidding me!!

2009-02-12T09:45:00.003-06:00

Thanks Cindy for sharing this!

That is the stupidest thing I've ever seen.

A silent elevator ride?

2009-02-11T18:36:00.002-06:00

Muzak is filing for bankruptcy! The company owes almost $500 million to various creditors and they'd like to get paid.

No longer will you hear the sweet sounds of a rendition of "Girl from Epinema" on your way up to the sixth floor.

If you've got a Paypal account you should donate!

2009-02-11T18:31:00.002-06:00

No, please don't donate. Super Breeder has enlisted the free services of a couple (suckers!) who have set up a web site where you can go to make donations to the mother and her gazillion children.

She chose to have those children which means she chose to accept the financial burden of those children.

I didn't mean to post twice in one day about her, but when I saw this I couldn't resist.

44 cents? I can't afford that!!!

2009-02-11T11:18:00.003-06:00

The cost of a stamp will increase to 44 cents (from 42 cents) on May 11th to help with the USPS' rising costs of production. I guess that an additional 2 cents is going to pull them out of their slump in addition to reducing their service to five days a week.

I am truly tired of this broad.

2009-02-11T11:10:00.002-06:00

Super breeder Nadya Suleman, the mother of 14 children, is apparently on government assistance. IMAGINE THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The dense woman doesn't think that getting food stamps and welfare are considered help from the government.

Sorry, Californians, you are now paying for this woman's insanity. Being a tax payer is awesome!

Super breeder's mother is speaking out saying that her daughter is crazy and has no idea what the hell she's doing.

This woman is making me sick. She also had cosmetic surgery recently, too. Did your hard earned money go towards that, too?

Money can't buy you happiness but it will keep you from being homeless.

2009-02-10T16:04:00.003-06:00

The Dow Jones fell 4.6% today once the stimulus package was announced. That is the lowest it's been in over three months. Investors are weary because the last bank bailout didn't do what it was supposed to do and with PresO's bailout people are still skeptical and rightfully so. You can't just give big faceless corporations a wad of money and expect them to do the right thing with it.

General Motors is laying off 10,000 of its global workfoce and cutting the salaries of any remaining employees.

UBS is getting rid of 2,000 jobs.

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!

Were there any other big layoffs that I missed? Usually they are announced on Monday but I found the above two today. Either way it still sucks.

Demand and Supply.

2009-02-10T08:39:00.003-06:00

I will not be posting until later today. My schedule is all wonky today and I won't have the chance to digest and regurgitate the day's events to you until later. Deal with it.

I heart Snopes.

2009-02-09T11:51:00.006-06:00

My aunt (poor thing must be as bored at work as I am) forwarded me an email about bank ATM pin numbers and how if you are being robbed at an ATM you can type your pin number in backwards and it will allow you to withdraw money but it will also alert the police. At the bottom of the email it claims that you can verify this on Snopes. Well, I did, and it's FALSE.

There is no way that something like that would work. What about palindromic pin numbers (1221, 4004, etc.)?

I usually don't read her forwarded emails (or anyone else's for that matter) but that's just how bored I am today. So beware of goofy junk that ends up in your email because it's probably inaccurate!

Oh, Facebook, you crazy kiddo.

2009-02-09T09:39:00.000-06:00

Facebook wants you to dance!

No really, flying IS safer!

2009-02-09T09:33:00.002-06:00

A Cesna 206 (that's a little plane, FYI) with a pilot and five passengers crashed into the coast of Northern Puerto Rico yesterday and all the Coast Guard can find is debris from the plane. All six people are still missing but there will be a full-blown search starting today.

I don't know why the plane crashed but I'll update this post once I find out.

And the Grammy goes to....

2009-02-09T08:58:00.002-06:00

I promised that I would post these this morning, didn't I? Have I ever let you down? You're welcome.

Album of the Year -
WINNER: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand·
Nominees: Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
Ne-Yo - Year of the Gentleman
Radiohead - In Rainbows

Record of the Year -
WINNER: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - "Please Read the Letter"
Nominees: Adele - "Chasing Pavements"
Coldplay - "Viva la Vida"
Leona Lewis - "Bleeding Love"
M.I.A. - "Paper Planes"

Song of the Year -
WINNER: Coldplay - "Viva la Vida"
Nominees: Estelle (featuring Kanye West) - "American Boy"
Adele - "Chasing Pavements"·
Jason Mraz - "I'm Yours"·
Sara Bareilles - "Love Song"

Best New Artist -
WINNER: Adele·
Nominees: Duffy·
Jonas Brothers·
Lady Antebellum·
Jazmine Sullivan

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance -
WINNER: Adele - "Chasing Pavements"·
Nominees: Sara Bareilles - "Love Song"·
Duffy - "Mercy"·
Leona Lewis - "Bleeding Love"·
Katy Perry - "I Kissed a Girl"·
Pink - "So What"

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance -
WINNER: John Mayer - "Say"·
Nominees - Kid Rock - "All Summer Long"·
Paul McCartney - "That Was Me"·
Jason Mraz - "I'm Yours"·
Ne-Yo - "Closer"·
James Taylor - "Wichita Lineman"

Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals -
WINNER: Coldplay - "Viva la Vida"·
Nominees: The Eagles - "Waiting in the Weeds"·
Gnarls Barkley - "Going On"·
Maroon 5 - "Won't Go Home Without You"·
OneRepublic - "Apologize"

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals -
WINNER: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - "Rich Woman"·
Nominees: Alicia Keys & John Mayer - "Lesson Learned"·
Madonna, Justin Timberlake & Timbaland - "4 Minutes"·
Rihanna & Maroon 5 - "If I Never See Your Face Again"·
Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - "No Air"

Best Dance Recording -
WINNER: "Harder Better Faster Stronger"Daft Punk·
Nominees: "Ready for the Floor"Hot Chip
"Just Dance"Lady Gaga
"Give It 2 Me"Madonna
"Disturbia"Rihanna

Best Electronic/Dance Album -
WINNER: Alive 2007 - Daft Punk·
Nominees: New York City - Brazilian Girls·
Bring Ya to the Brink - Cyndi Lauper·
X - Kylie Minogue·
Last Night - Moby·
Robyn - Robyn.

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance -
WINNER: "Gravity"John Mayer
Nominees: "I Saw Her Standing There"Paul McCartney
"Girls In Their Summer Clothes"Bruce Springsteen
"Rise"Eddie Vedder
"No Hidden Path"Neil Young

Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals -
WINNER: Kings Of Leon - "Sex on Fire"·
Nominees: AC/DC - "Rock N Roll Train"·
Coldplay - "Violet Hill"·
Eagles - "Long Road Out of Eden"·
Radiohead - "House of Cards"

Best Hard Rock Performance -
WINNER: The Mars Volta - "Wax Simulacra"·
Disturbed - "Inside the Fire"·
Judas Priest - "Visions"·
Mötley Crüe - "Saints of Los Angeles"·
Rob Zombie - "Lords of Salem"

Best Metal Performance -
WINNER: "My Apocalypse"Metallica
"Heroes of Our Time"DragonForce
"Nostradamus"Judas Priest
"Under My Thumb"Ministry
"Psychosocial"SlipknotTrack from: All Hope Is Gone

Best Rock Song -
WINNER: "Girls In Their Summer Clothes"
Nominees: "House of Cards"
"I Will Possess Your Heart"
"Sex on Fire"
"Violet Hill"

Best Rock Album -
WINNER: Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends - Coldplay·
Nominees: Rock N Roll Jesus - Kid Rock·
Only by the Night - Kings Of Leon·
Death Magnetic - Metallica·
Consolers of the Lonely - The Raconteurs.

Best Alternative Music Album -
WINNER: In Rainbows - Radiohead·
Nominees: Modern Guilt - Beck·
Narrow Stairs - Death Cab For Cutie·
The Odd Couple - Gnarls Barkley·
Evil Urges - My Morning Jacket.

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance -
WINNER: "Superwoman" Alicia Keys
Nominees: "Me, Myself and I" Beyoncé
"Heaven Sent" Keyshia Cole
"Spotlight" Jennifer Hudson
"Need U Bad" Jazmine Sullivan

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance -
WINNER: "Miss Independent" Ne-Yo
Nominees: "You're the Only One" Eric Benét
"Take You Down" Chris Brown
"Can't Help But Wait" Trey Songz
"Here I Stand" Usher

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals -
WINNER: "Stay With Me (By the Sea)" Al Green
Nominees :"Ribbon in the Sky" Boyz II Men
"Words" Anthony David
"I'm His Only Woman" Jennifer Hudson
"Never Give You Up" Raphael Saadiq

Best Urban/Alternative Performance -
WINNER: "Be OK"Chrisette Michele
Nominees: "Say Goodbye To Love"Kenna
"That's the Way of the World"Dwele
"Wanna Be"Maiysha
"Many Moons"Janelle Monae
"Lovin' You (Music)"Wayna

Best R&B Songn -
WINNER: "Miss Independent"
Nominees: "Bust Your Windows"
"Customer"
"Heaven Sent"
"Spotlight"

Best R&B Album -
WINNER: Jennifer Hudson - Jennifer Hudson·
Nominees: Love & Life - Eric Benét·
Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA - Boyz II Men·
Lay It Down - Al Green·
The Way I See It - Raphael Saadiq.

Best Contemporary R&B Album -
WINNER: Growing Pains - Mary J. Blige·
Nominees: Back Of My Lac' - J. Holiday·
First Love - Karina·
Year of the Gentleman - Ne-Yo·
Fearless - Jazmine Sullivan.

Best Rap Solo Performance -
WINNER: "A Milli" Lil Wayne
Nominees: "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)..." Jay-Z
"Paris, Tokyo" Lupe Fiasco
"N.i.*.*.e.r. (The Slave and the Master)" Nas
"Sexual Eruption" Snoop Dogg

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group -
WINNER: "Swagga Like Us" jay-z & T.I.
Nominees: "Royal Flush"Big Boi (featuring Raekwon And Andre 3000)·
"Mr. Carter"Lil Wayne (featuring Jay-Z)·
"Wish You Would"Ludacris (featuring T.I.)

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration -.
WINNER: "American Boy"Estelle (featuring Kanye West)
Nominees: "Low"Flo Rida (featuring T-Pain)
"Green Light"John Legend (featuring Andre 3000)
"Got Money"Lil Wayne (featuring T-Pain)
"Superstar"Lupe Fiasco (featuring Matthew Santos)

Best Rap Song -
WINNER: "Lollipop"
Nominees: "Low"
"Superstar"
"Swagga Like Us"

Best Rap Album -
WINNER: Tha Carter III - Lil Wayne·
Nominees: American Gangster - Jay-Z·
The Cool - Lupe Fiasco·
Untitled - Nas·
Paper Trail - T.I.

Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media -
WINNER: "Down To Earth" (From "Wall-E")
Nominees: "Ever Ever After" (from "Enchanted")
"Say" (from "The Bucket List")
"That's How You Know" (From "Enchanted")
"Walk Hard" (From "Walk Hard -- The Dewey Cox Story")

Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media -WINNER: Juno
Nominees: American Gangster
August Rush
Mamma Mia!
Sweeney Todd

Best Score Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media -WINNER: "The Dark Knight"
Nominees: "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"
"Iron Man"
"There Will Be Blood"
"Wall-E"

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical -
WINNER: Rick Rubin· Death Magnetic (Metallica)·
Nominees: Home Before Dark (Neil Diamond)·
Mercy (Dancing For The Death Of An Imaginary Enemy)·
Seeing Things (Jakob Dylan)·
Weezer (Red Album (Weezer) Danger Mouse·
Attack & Release (The Black Keys)·
Modern Guilt (Beck)·
The Odd Couple (Gnarls Barkley)Nigel Godrich·
In Rainbows (Radiohead)Johnny K·
Big Bad World (The Black Keys)·
The Illusion Of Progress (Beck)·
Light From Above (Black Tide)·
3 Doors Down (3 Doors Down)will.i.am·

Best Short Form Music Video -
WINNER:"Pork and Beans" Weezer
Nominees: "Honey" Erykah
"Who's Gonna Save My Soul" Gnarls
"Another Way To Die"Alicia Keys & Jack White
"House of Cards" Radiohead

Do not watch the Grammy's.

2009-02-08T21:44:00.002-06:00

I realize that it's almost over anyway but don't watch it. I will post the winners tomorrow - I promise.

(I'm not even watching it. It's Sunday which means I'm watching the House marathon on USA like I do every Sunday night instead of doing laundry.)

GET A JOB.

2009-02-08T20:25:00.002-06:00

Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs within the past few months - have they had success in finding something comparable to what they just lost? Probably not. I bet most people have too much pride to settle for something that may not be a 'real' job. Well, I don't happen to have a real job (in my opinion - I work at the McDonalds of the printing industry) either even though I'm a manager. Anyway, this guy got laid off from his six-figure job and got a job as a barista at Starbucks making $10 an hour. He wrote a book about it and of course made some money off that, but he still works there pushing caffeine.

I see 'NOW HIRING' signs all over the place. If all of these folks are getting laid off, where are they going? Get a job, dude. I'd rather work at Burger King than nowhere at all. (although I do love the Whopper and knowing that freebies were thrown in would be a huge deciding factor for me.... mmmmm... hamburgers....).

I'm on fire!

2009-02-08T17:44:00.002-06:00

Over 100 people are reported dead after a crazy wildfire spread through Victoria, Australia over the weekend destroying hundreds of thousands of acres in the small towns in the area. The damage is already going to cost over $10 million and the residents are receiving aid from the government.

Hopefully their emergency service is better than FEMA.

I wish it was Sunday... oh wait, it is.

2009-02-08T11:38:00.001-06:00

Minimal posting (if any) today. I actually do have other things to do and I will be doing them today. Deal with it.

Gimme some juice!

2009-02-07T12:57:00.002-06:00

New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez apparently tested positive for steroids when he was playing for the Texas Rangers (the team still wasn't that good) in 2003 as discovered in a list published by Sports Illustrated recently. That year he was voted the American League's MVP and traded to New York in 2004.

Honestly, who cares if these athletes are using steroids? If he wants to cause permanent damage to his body that's his choice. It isn't illegal and I don't think it's even against the rules of either of the US's baseball leagues. I'm not sure why a published witch hunt-esque list is even necessary. Are the Yankees going to fire him? Probably not. It might be embarassing but if you are helping a team win championship games do you think they are going to give you the boot? No. Taking steroids is clearly unethical since the drugs make you practially super-human and that by no means is a level playing field, but this witch hunt needs to stop.

No one really cares anyway. Except that I just wrote two paragraphs about it.... So maybe I care. It doesn't matter. Enjoy your weekend.

Your Saturday dosage of worthlessness.

2009-02-07T12:40:00.002-06:00

I have other things to do today and really don't feel like posting at all but it's important to maintain my current momentum in order to keep this blog going. If I skip a day, why not skip two or three or a whole week? So today's post is fluffy. It is the weekend, afterall, and who wants to be bombarded by all of the crap going on in the world? Not me.

So, here is.... Today in History!

1964 - The Beatles arrive in New York. They were visiting the states after their hit 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' became #1 in the U.S. and they performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. This kind of changed the landscape of modern music forever. I used to hate the Beatles but now I appreciate their talent and longevity even though now its individual members are either dead or annoying.

1992 - The European Union was established. It was designed to unify western Europe economically and politically. The EU started with 12 countries and now includes the following - Great Britain, France, Germany, the Irish Republic, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Denmark, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Sweden, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

I know that's only two but the other ones I found don't seem interesting or important enough to write about.

I can't get out of traffic tickets either...

2009-02-06T17:31:00.002-06:00

There are vehicles that cops apparently love to pull over. I didn't see my car on the list yet I feel like I'm always getting stopped by the cops. Whatever. Anyway, here are the top ten vehicles that are ticket magnets:

1. Hummer H2 - I HATE HUMMERS. I am so tired of seeing these on the road.
2. Scion tC
3. Scion xB - #2 and #3 are usually driven by younger people, probably douche bags.
4. Mercedes Benz CLK63 AMG - Pull me over, do it. I drive an effing Mercedes Benz.
5. Toyota Solara Coupe
6. Mercedes Benz CLS63 AMG
7. Scion xA
8. Subaru Outback - These are so ugly.
9. Audi A4 - Someone should buy me this car. Like, now.
10. Toyota Matrix

(Sorry... This was a totally disposable blog post. Get over it.)

The Superbreeder speaks!

2009-02-06T12:35:00.004-06:00

Nadya Suleman. Do you recognize that name yet? She was known all week as the 'octuplets' mom' until yesterday. I want to punch this woman in the face. Really hard. She did an exclusive interview on the Today Show and she claimed that because she was an only child that she always wanted a huge family. Couldn't she have waited until after she finished school? There is no way that a single parent will make enough money on her own for all fifteen of them to live comfortably.

She also says that she holds each newborn for 45 minutes a day. Multiply that by eight and you've got a full day of snuggling with babies, but don't newborns need more than that? Isn't that why most normal and rational women have just one or two? I am growing my own parasite at the moment and I can't imagine feeling a bond with her in only 45 minutes a day. I spend more time checking e-mail than that! What about her six other children all under the age of seven? Their grandparents are helping out but I just think this is totally unfair.

Essentially within one week from having her children Nadya went from being very private about the details of the births to being on national television. She will become quite the media whore and I think that's exactly what she was hoping for. Hell, if I could cash in on giving birth I would, too! Let's exploit our children! Wheee! But really, someone should just punch her. Hard.

Black History Month's Daily Person of Interest

2009-02-06T08:04:00.002-06:00

I saw a story on E! about this last night (there was literally nothing on TV) and it was so stupid that I had to post it. I'm a giver.

Etta James is ticked off at Beyonce for performing James' hit 'At Last' at the inauguration. Why didn't they ask James to perform it? Let's see here..... You think that James is going to draw a TV audience like Beyonce? Seriously. Besides, 'At Last' wasn't written or even originally performed by James. It was written for a musical in 1941 by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren and performed and recorded by Glenn Miller. Then, Nat King Cole recorded it in 1957. Etta James finally recorded a cover of the song in 1960. A ton of performers have covered the song over the years so Ms. James needs to calm down and quit being such a jerk. I know this is purely for publicity. I honestly thought she was dead so I'm sure she is about to release an album or star in a movie or something that would need some additional press coverage. What better way to do that than to latch onto Beyonce?

I guess my BHMDPOI is Etta James for making me think that she was dead when in fact she was just waiting for something to jump onto in order to become relevant again. Kudos!

Chicks in red.

2009-02-06T07:59:00.002-06:00

Today is Women's Heart Disease Awareness Day! Heart disease is the number one killer of women so hopefully today while you're out wearing red you are also helping to raise awareness for this nasty killer of chicks everywhere. Anyway, wear red today to support the cause - if you shop at Macy's you'll even get a discount if you've got some red on.

Who would you die for?

2009-02-05T08:18:00.002-06:00

A 13 year old Chinese girl tried to kill herself by overdosing on sleeping pills in order to give her father her liver. The man has cancer and his daughter found out that he only had three months to live so she decided to take action and commit suicide to save her father's life. The suicide note read,

"Mom, I'm sorry I couldn't stay with you any longer. Please give my liver to dad and save him after my death."

She didn't die because her mother found her and the girl is now in ICU in the same hospital that is treating her father.

I guess you can't exactly live without a liver, but couldn't she have donated part of her's so that she didn't feel like she needed to kill herself? I don't know how organ transplants work but I would think that they both could function on partial livers. No? I don't think this has come up in an episode of House because otherwise I'd have the answer.

Black History Month's Daily People of Interest

2009-02-05T08:04:00.002-06:00

I forgot to do yesterday's installment of BHMDPOI so today I'll focus on TWO African Americans of note. I am getting somewhat lazy about this bit and it's only the 5th of the month. Deal with it.

Today's BHMDPOI are Sasha and Malia Obama. These of course are the children of PresO and First Lady Michelle and they are too cute. I am surprised that they don't already have their own website, but considering that they are both too young to even join Myspace that's probably a good idea. There are some real weirdos out there.

Scandal has already surrounded the girls in the form of creepy little dolls bearing their names and likenesses that were actually pulled from the shelves thanks to their mother. Way to go, Mom! I wouldn't want my 7 and 10 year olds to be immortalized in doll form.

We live in a digital world... almost.

2009-02-04T16:14:00.002-06:00

The House voted to delay the conversion to digital television from February 17th to June 12th because some people still can't figure out that you either have digital cable or you have to get one of those converter boxes. How hard is that to understand? Apparently the American people are morons and the government knows that so they are giving the morons more time to still not get what is necessary to be able to watch TV. By pushing it back another four months people are just going to wait until the last possible moment anyway. GET DIGITAL CABLE. Don't be a savage.

Grammar Queen

2009-02-04T09:48:00.003-06:00

For those of you who cringe at misspellings and the improper use of words I have found just the article for you! The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar has sat down and explained the proper uses for the word 'got' because it is apparently quite commonly misused. I thought the article was amusing and since I can be kind of a word Nazi and I know I'm not alone I just wanted to share it with you. You're welcome.

I cannot tell a lie - I am totally awesome!

2009-02-04T08:29:00.001-06:00

Today in 1789 George Washington was unanimously elected as the first President of the United States. I bet it was because of his wig. It was HOT.

How can they be bad parents if they are drowning their children in sugar?

2009-02-04T08:00:00.002-06:00

A nine-year-old Dallas girl has died because of her un-managed type I diabetes thanks to her neglectful mother and her clearly oblivious father. She was found in bed next to a pile of candy and a cupcake. Her parents discovered that she had diabetes when she slipped into a diabetic coma and they took her to the hospital (at least they got that part right). They obviously chose to not manage the child's illness, but that wasn't their only offense that caught the attention of Child Protective Services. Their four children had been seen unattended in public places on several occassions, and the mother never took the diabetic child to any of her follow up appointments. The girl's younger sister was supposedly put in charge of giving her older sibling her daily insulin shot. The mother is now in jail (yay!) and all four children have been placed in the care of their grandmother. The father seems focused on getting his wife out of jail - more concerned about that than the welfare of his children. Seriously, folks, if you are a bad parent you don't get to keep your children. It's that simple. You can screw up your own life but not someone else's.

"I think I screwed up."

2009-02-04T07:45:00.003-06:00

PresO appointed Senator Tom Daschle (D) to be his health and human services secretary (does that sound like a made-up position to you? It's like being the secretary of 'keeping it real') but Daschle withdrew when it came to light that he was not paying his taxes. PresO admits that choosing Daschle was a mistake and that people in his cabinet need to be held to a higher standard and that they aren't above the law. Isn't that nice.

(Bart is Lisa's Sec. of Keeping it Real in an episode of the Simpsons- in case you didn't get the reference which you probably didn't and that's okay. I forgive you. I'm a forgiving blogger. You're welcome.)

Black History Month's Daily Person of Interest

2009-02-03T22:32:00.002-06:00

I am trying to not actually post about people who are all that important to the African American community. I would like to keep it lighthearted and not mention the big names that are so frequently associated with BHM even though they are very important not just to black people but to all Americans. So today's selection is someone that I consider to be musically relevant even though he's kind of a cocky jerk.

With that said, today's BHMDPOI is Kanye West. His most recent tour was such a hit that he decided to release a book about his tour. It's good that his talent is being recognized by the masses but I wish he'd keep his mouth and his ego in check. It's okay to be successful AND humble. I promise.

That is so gay.

2009-02-03T15:40:00.002-06:00

A local politician in Enid, OK owns a bar and only allows certain kinds of people to patronize his establishment. The people he'll gladly ask to leave? "Trash" and "people on welfare" are mentioned and he doesn't specify but he hints at gay people, too. This is unreal! I can't believe that people like that still exist. Anyway, his bar is called the Chicaro Club so if you're ever in Enid, OK do not go there. This is disgusting.

What would you do with $885 billion!??

2009-02-03T08:19:00.003-06:00

The House Republicans got together and decided that there were some pretty stupid items in the stimulus bill that was passed last week. There are a LOT but here are a few that I thought were just outright ridiculous:

$2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois that the Department of Energy defunded last year because it said the project was inefficient. If it was inefficient then why are we throwing more money at it? AWESOME!

A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film. Seriously? Shouldn't regular businesses get some tax breaks? Those people aren't hurting for money.

$248 million for furniture at the new Homeland Security headquarters. GO TO IKEA. I bet that'll chop that number in half.

$600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees. HAHAHAAAAA Shut up.

$25 million for tribal alcohol and substance abuse reduction. Tribal? As in Native American? Is there a substance abuse epidemic amongst this particular group of people?

$850 million for Amtrak. As in the train? What does that have to do with the government? I want to know who their lobbyist is because, well, NICE WORK.

Man's two loves - porn and football.

2009-02-02T22:06:00.003-06:00

I never thought that football was interesting.... until now!! Someone hacked into Tucson, AZ's Comcast signal of the Super Bowl and aired about 10 seconds of porn during the game. It was only broadcast locally to Comcast subscribers. That's one way to get higher ratings.

Tonight there's gonna be a jailbreak!

2009-02-02T21:57:00.003-06:00

Our government ROCKS!! We started building a prison in Iraq and put about $40 million into it and it just sits there! The prison is still under construction and at this point there are no plans to finish it. Awesome!! This was one of many construction projects that was to help rebuild Iraq and apparently this one was half-assed and didn't get finished. What a waste.

Do you still have a job?

2009-02-02T15:20:00.003-06:00

If you are a lowly peon you may not know if your company has announced layoffs or filed for bankruptcy. That little memo may have skipped over you - are you surprised? They don't care about you! I happen to care about you (awwwww) and have found a site that has listed all of the companies that are laying off people as well as the number of folks that will be given the boot within each company. It appears that just about every industry has been effected by the recession so don't think you are immune!

Since you obviously aren't doing anything right now why don't you update your resume? You know, just in case.

Ooh wee ooh I look just like Buddy Holly

2009-02-02T15:09:00.004-06:00

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. These three were rock stars in their day and they died in a plane crash in Iowa while on tour.

While this may not be relevant to you young people, I'm sure the older crowd remembers the music of these guys. I am familiar with Buddy Holly mostly because he's from Texas, namely the insignificant town of Lubbock which I'm unfortunately also familiar with.

Anyway, I'm sure that you don't care about this at all but I feel obligated to share it with you. You're welcome.

Black History Month's Daily Person of Interest

2009-02-02T09:50:00.003-06:00

So that I'm not ruffling anyone's feathers (also referred to as wet blankets or people that can't take a joke) I am putting a disclaimer in this post about today's BHMDPOI - I saw the article and it was amusing to me. If he had been white I would have posted it anyway but now I can kill two birds with one blog post. This is why I'm awesome.

Anyway, onto today's BHMDPOI!

PresO's half brother George Obama was caught by Kenyan police in possession of marijuana. He was released a few hours later but the police say it has nothing to do with his relation to PresO. Apparently being caught with cannabis is a serious crime in Kenya that will get you about a year in jail.

George and PresO have the same father and the president has only met George once before on a trip his family took to Kenya a long time ago. George was one of the few family members that did not show up to the inauguration.

Monday's dosage of useless information

2009-02-02T09:19:00.003-06:00

Did you all have a nice weekend? Mine was lovely - thanks for effing asking. We're probably all back to work today so here's some totally irrelevant crap for you to read instead of doing anything truly productive. You're welcome.

Today in History:

1882 - Author James Joyce is born.

1887 - The very first Groundhog Day (animal exploitation!)

1943 - End of the battle at Stalingrad.

1979 - Sid Vicious dies but it was totally his fault. Jerk.

Messing around with my cell phone is something that I enjoy doing while at work (shhh don't tell! Although I'm sure that blogging on the clock is also a terminable offense) and I love to find new ringtones. However, that can get costly and you might not always get the song or part of the song that you want. With that being said you should check out Phonezoo. One of my subordinates told me about it and after playing around on the site for about an hour I was in love with my new custom 'tones. DO IT. (and no, I don't get paid to mention certain sites. I do it because I care. About you.)

Hugs, not drugs!

2009-02-01T23:02:00.002-06:00

Beijing Olympic gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps was caught on camera smoking pot from a bong and the photo was published in a British tabloid. He of course issued some type of insincere public apology. Five years ago Phelps was pulled over by the cops for driving while drunk. OMFG guys!! He's a human being!! The only difference between being a celebrity and the rest of us is that when you do something illegal there is bound to be a camera rolling to catch it.

Here is some advice for those celebrities who choose to engage in acts that aren't totally on the side of the law - DO THEM IN PRIVATE WITH PEOPLE YOU TRUST WHO DO NOT HAVE CAMERAS ON THEM! Common sense will prevail.

Just in case you care...

2009-02-01T21:43:00.001-06:00

The Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl. Good for them.

Here, watch some ads from the game.

Call me unpatriotic, but....

2009-02-01T18:50:00.002-06:00

I don't like football. I really don't. I think the Super Bowl has been on for about two hours and I'm not watching it. I might catch the half-time show and watch some of the commercials but otherwise I don't care. I don't even know the teams that are playing. However, since this is a news-themed blog I figure that I probably should take a second and read a little bit about it so that I can post something halfway intelligent for you to halfway read. You're welcome.

Actually, screw that. It's the Steelers vs. the Cardinals and here's a site that has up-to-date information on the game. If you care enough about the game you are probably watching it anyway and not surfing the internet for blogs written by individuals who do not share your fervor for football. The only thing I ever liked about the Super Bowl was watching it with friends at a bar and being too drunk to even notice that the game was on. I have put those days behind me (it's easy to do that when you have a giant belly that reminds you that hey, fetal alcohol syndrome is bad bad bad) so until I can combine beer with football again it just isn't going to happen.

Enjoy the game or whatever. I'll probably be watching the House marathon on USA and doing laundry which is what I do every Sunday.

Want something to do today?

2009-02-01T10:46:00.002-06:00

I look at a lot of stuff on the internet and since today is Sunday you are probably just as bored as I am here are a couple of sites you should probably check out today (unless you want to save them for when you get to work tomorrow and don't actually feel like working).

Stuff White People Like - It's becoming quite popular but I know a lot of folks still aren't hip to it. It's funny.

Post Secret - Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always interesting.

The Onion - It's the like the news, only better.

Another throw-away weekend post.

2009-02-01T10:33:00.002-06:00

I love totally random and useless factoids and the weekend seems like the perfect time to share them because I personally don't feel like scouring the news for stuff that you won't care about anyway on the weekend.

So, I present to you..... This Day in History!

1790 - The very first session of the US Supreme Court takes place.

1861 - Texas secedes from the Union! (I think it would be cool if we were still a separate country. Texas is big enough and we're pretty stable. We could print our own money!)

2003 - Space shuttle Columbia explodes.

And today is the beginning of Black History Month!

I am looking for a six-fingered man.

2009-01-31T21:56:00.002-06:00

Crazy! A baby was born with six fully functional fingers on each hand and six fully functional toes on each foot! It looks so bizarre but if they all work like normal digits that would be awesome. What would you do with an extra finger? It probably doesn't make much of a difference but that is still totally cool even if it is a little gross.

Fireworks are pretty... pretty deadly!

2009-01-31T21:40:00.002-06:00

15 people were killed during an amateur fireworks show at a night club in China. A group of morons celebrating a friend's birthday decided to set fireworks off at their table INSIDE the club and obviously it set the place on fire. 17 other patrons were injured.

Useless factoids! Yay!

2009-01-31T07:51:00.002-06:00

It's Saturday so I don't want to inundate you with tragedies and other heavy topics so let's play a game of TODAY IN HISTORY. You're welcome!

1606 - Guy Fawkes dies. Remember the fifth of November? Guy Fawkes failed to blow up Parliament but the British still celebrate his attempt every year, and sparked the creation of a comic book and a movie 400 years later. He was sentenced to death by hanging but jumped from the ladder and fell to his death.

1865 - The House of Representatives passes the 13th ammendent which makes slavery unconstitutional. It received more than the majority vote required and it was bipartisan.

1990 - The first McDonald's is open in the Soviet Union.

Have some more kids why don't ya!?

2009-01-30T15:21:00.002-06:00

We finally have some more details about the woman who delivered octuplets this week:

1. She's NUTS.
2. She is single and her mom and dad live with her and her FOURTEEN children.
3. All of her children were conceived via a sperm donor - the last round which caused the woman to get pregnant with eight babies was not done with the donor's knowledge of it.
4. She doesn't work (how could she?) and her dad is having to go to Iraq to work with the troops to pay for this absurd bullshit.

This is turning into quite the freakshow.

Do you smell that? Of course you don't.

2009-01-30T11:09:00.003-06:00

A family of 17 was all living in one house in NW Dallas when they started getting sick around 4am this morning. By 7am one of the family members decided to call 911 and as it turns out the house was leaking carbon monoxide. Awesome!

Luckily someone called for help early enough so that there wasn't too much irreversible bodily damage. Like death. They were taken to a local hospital and treated for carbon monoxide poisoning.

17 people in one house? I mean, it's good that everyone is okay but seriously? Aren't there codes or ordinances that determine the safe maximum number of people that can reside in one place?

I can't imagine that the home is very clean. This is NW Dallas we're talking about here. If you're from DFW you might be aware of how shitty and run down that part of town is. At least the family of 17 wasn't involved in a drive-by. That's also a likelihood.

It's the end of the world as we know it or whatever.

2009-01-30T07:59:00.002-06:00

You may or may not know this about me, but I am a huge fan of this 2012/apocalypse stuff. I think it's fascinating and totally crazy. I was doing some random searches online for more 2012 theories and came across a movie trailer for 2012 (click the link to see the trailer)! Apparently it is a feature film that will be in wide release on November 13, 2009. Way to cash in on people's fear! The film is directed by disaster flick veteran Roland Emmerich who was at the helm of Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow (and both of those scenarios could totally happen, right?).

THIS IS GOING TO BE AWESOME! I want to make some money off this doomsday theory too!

Kersplode!

2009-01-30T07:46:00.002-06:00

Mount Redoubt, a volcano in Alaska, is probably going to erupt very soon. It's been showing some gnarly seismic activity lately which is bad because that means it's awake and eager to cover the landscape in hot molten lava and ash. The last time this sucker erupted was in 1989 and it lasted for four months solid before it finally stopped. That eruption shot ash all over the place and caused some issues with air traffic control as well as engine failure on a jet.

VOLCANO ERUPTION = BAD

(I wanted to post the live webcam of Mount Redoubt but I am guessing that since this story was posted online the site is being hit hard and it won't load for me so you'll just have to wait or search for it yourself.)

Who throws a shoe, honestly, you fight like a woman!

2009-01-30T00:04:00.002-06:00

A huge statue of the shoe that was thrown at former President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in December by journalist Muntadhir al-Zaidi has been built in Tikrit by a local artist and some orphans. Al-Zaidi went to jail for the incident but has not yet gone to court. He is a much-loved and trusted celebrity in Iraq and his fans are protesting saying that the rebelious act was heroic. Apparently in the Arab world having a shoe thrown at you is a huge insult - I would imagine that if anyone anywhere in the world threw something at you with malice it would be insulting.

Murder/Suicides are popular this week.

2009-01-29T16:24:00.003-06:00

For the second time in one week a man has shot and killed his wife, their children - two kiddos, and then himself. This time it was in Ohio and detectives say that there was a suicide note but it did not state the family's financial situation as a motive. Mark Meeks was employed and his family saw no signs of distress before the incident.

This needs to stop!! What is wrong with people!! It's wintertime and the economy sucks which give all of us plenty of reasons to be depressed but why aren't people seeking help instead of killing their loved ones and/or committing suicide? Nothing is that bad that you have to end your life.

If you feel that death is the only way out or know someone who is depressed please check out this site. Help is available and it's easy to find.

The weather is nasty so stay home and read my blog instead!

2009-01-29T12:49:00.002-06:00

I'm not going to go into depth about how shitty the weather has been not just in TX and OK but pretty much everywhere west of Texas. I think so far 24 people have died and millions are/were without electricity.So stay home if you can. I don't have that luxury but I am trying to not whine about my job in my blog. It just feels like masturbation.

Anyway, today in 1845 Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven was published in the New York Daily Mirror. Any person who went through a moody goth phase in high school is very familiar with this deliciously creepy piece of work.

Oh, and today's Site of the Day is The Sartorialist. You will never dress this chic and neither will any of your friends. Beautiful photography by Scott Schuman who is a regular contributor to GQ and Vogue magazines.

(Photo totally stolen from the Sartorialist)

A man's love for his mannequin.

2009-01-29T12:47:00.003-06:00

A mannequinn named Fay and $50 worth of panties were stolen from a Condoms to Go in Dallas early Monday morning. A photo of Fay was sent to Condoms to Go's VP Gary Krupkin along with a threat to dismember the mannequin if the thief's demands were not met. He apparently wants to swap Fay for Tina, another mannequin at the store. Krupkin refuses to give into the wacko's demands but hopes that Fay is still returned safely.It's a goddamn mannequin!I just thought this story was too fucking stupid to not share with you folks. You're welcome.

Gimme some money!

2009-01-29T12:46:00.000-06:00

PresO's stimulus bill passed in the House today thanks to the democrats since they outnumber republicans. PresO didn't want the bill to divide the House but obviously you can't always get what you want. At least it passed! There are some fluffy uses for the money that will hopefully get pulled from the bill before it is completely passed. I don't think any part of the $819 billion should go towards the politicians pet projects, but since when does my opinion matter?This bill needs to create more jobs and not just pad the mattresses of big businesses.

Don't show up to work today - stay home and kill yourself.

2009-01-29T12:43:00.001-06:00

That was what Ervin Antonio Lupoe claimed he was told by his boss one morning in December when he showed up for work at Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles, CA. He and his wife were both employed at the hospital as technicians and were both terminated based on unethical suspicions of behavior.This devistated Lupoe so he decided to kill his wife and their five children. He then called 911 to tell them he was going to kill himself and then faxed a letter to a local television news station before killing himself.In the letter he said that it was his wife's idea to end their lives and the lives of their children so that they don't end up in the care of someone else (ya know, someone that probably wouldn't have murdered them. good call). Lupoe pulled the children out of school a couple of weeks before the murder/suicide and told the school that the family was moving to Kansas.This is the most selfish fucking thing I've seen in a long time. I feel sick.