9.15.2008 | Comic relief

What do you get when you cross one YouTube video hit with a controversial moment in a televised interview about a political figure previously unknown to the national stage?



Room for satire.

But of course, SNL does it best:

8.04.2008 | Newsy grab bag

Professional life is full of joys and hardship, one of the latter being that I don't have as much time to keep up with the news as I used to. But I still snatch enough peeks that something catches my eye, so in case you missed it, here goes:

• Global warming has a new victim. There were penguins, island natives and seaside residents; now landlubbers have something to worry about: their kidneys. Increasing temperatures will mean people might be more susceptible to getting the painful little buggers – more than 2 million in America alone, but fortunately the cure's easy enough (assuming enough of it will be around given the droughts going on in certain parts of the world): drink more water.


• Chavez wants a hug. That evil little Latin American dictator that called Bush the devil (and has the power to shift time)? He's a softy. After a spat last year in which the King of Spain told the Venezuelan leader to "shut up," Chavez offered the guy a hug. And you know what? The guy took him up on it – sort of (The New York Times has the full story). Maybe international relations aren't so complicated after all.


• Going boldly where New Media has been before — a recent study shows that online ad campaigns are more effective when they can also be printed out, a new twist on Internet advertising for "old media" print publications that are making the jump online. Don't forget to make those ads printable, guys. Are you listening, Washington Post? (Not to mention — many Internet users will link to printable editions of articles to avoid all the clutter.)

There you go – just a taste. Hopefully more to follow.

8.28.2007 | In other news

• Holy seats for the holy set — The Vatican has launched its own low-fare airline to ferry pilgrims to holy sites throughout Europe — and possibly beyond. Operated by Italy's Air Mistral (Vatican City proper has no airport to call its own), the airline features seats engraved with the Vatican's seal and décor featuring spiritual slogans such as "I am searching for your face, Lord." Headline writers at various news agencies had fun with this story — the Tampa Bay Times chose "On a wing and a prayer," while Reuters decided to begin their story with the following gem:
  
  

  While some passengers only turn to prayer when jolted by turbulence, the Vatican made it standard on Monday by launching the world's first airline for Catholic pilgrims.

  
  There's more in the article. Don't read on if contrived puns make you grimace.
  
  
  
• Digging himself deeper — U.S. Senator Larry Craig is at it again, this time coming out swinging with a shocking defense:
  
  

  I am not gay, I never have been gay.

  
  As any media consultant could tell you, speaking from the negative is not the best way to get people on your side. This one ranks right up there with Nixon's "I am not a crook." And we believed him, didn't we?
  
  The story has been picked up abroad by the BBC, and Reuters, right there with the pithy details, had a particularly punchy headline to describe the situation. Didn't they outsource their headline writers to India?
  
  
  
• A second chance at failure — Seeking to allay the fears raised about "U.S. American" education since her questionable answer at the Teen Miss USA pageant last week, Miss Teen South Carolina appeared on the Today show to try to answer the question the right way, and she did mostly well. Her defense only raised more questions, though:
  
  

  Everybody makes a mistake. I'm human.

  
  Yes, everybody makes mistakes.
  

8.13.2007 | The new face of Death

Extreme makeover: Before and after

Something of a cult figure in Mexico, Santa Muerte, or the Angel of Death, has eschewed the usual scythe and globe for something a bit more accessible: a crown and veil. Venerating the saint of death is controversial in the Catholic Church, which frowns upon it as a sort of pseudo-Satanism linked with black magic. Still, as this one Mother Jones article on immigration showed in 2006, she plays a central role in the dangerous life on the Mexican border, and this military researcher calls her "Mexico's patron saint of crime."

At least now she's a little easier on the eyes.

8.09.2007 | Let the LOLcat jokes begin

(They already have in at least one Internet forum.) While some U.S. communities have considered bans on feeding strays, this Moscow woman may just be the archetypal reason to do so. One hundred thirty cats flood her apartment. She says she loves homeless pets and just wants to help them. English Russia has the photos — and the incredible video.

7.19.2007 | Chasing rainbows

5.11.2007 | Gonzo v. Gonzo

What happens when you take the House and Senate testimony of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales from this month and last and play them side-by-side? TV magic, that's what happens. (From Countdown with Keith Olbermann – 5/10/07)

5.01.2007 | Retro cool

Did you know that you could telephone anywhere in the world for just $12 for the first 3 minutes? Apparently it's the next best thing to being there (ad in National Geographic c.1960s).

2.12.2006 | It's snowing

11.24.2005 | Fun

If this doesn't make you dance, laugh and/or smile at at least one point in the video, then I don't know what will (RealPlayer required).

5.30.2005 | Crime on the rise at VCU

An unknown urban male was seen carryin off his turban friend the other night. No other details are forthcoming:

(Okay, okay, this is a really late and lame attempt at an April Fool's joke. Just laugh anyway.)

2.13.2005 | Coincidence?

So by chance I decided to rent an old 80s Disney sci fi flick upon Netflix's recommendation, and it nearly blew my mind when I saw in the alien spaceship a pattern that looked not unlike Apple's Firewire logo.

Here's the scene from the movie:



And here's the logo:



Freaky.