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Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! February 5, 2008 |
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It’s Super Mardi Gras! Thank you cosmic calendars for lining up perfectly. If you are in one of a number of states having a Primary or Caucus, go vote!
p.s. who is the guy on the left of this picture?
Image from Guardian UK’s the blog tv & radio
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You Suck at Photoshop. February 3, 2008 |
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Have you seen You Suck at Photoshop yet? It’s hilarious:
It’s not often that something so hilarious is also educational, but these videos have actually taught me something about Photoshop. Oh, I see you noticing that videos is plural – that’s right, there are more:
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
There are clues in the videos suggesting Donnie might be none other than Dane Cook, but I never heard of him being a Photoshop whiz. The world may never know. Anyway, enjoy!
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They grew it in his stomach. February 2, 2008 |
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Finland: A 65 year-old man needed a new upper jaw. The normal solution is a bone graft from the patients leg, but that’s not what was done. Instead, stem cells were isolated from his fatty tissues, and cultured in a lab until they had differentiated into bone cells. Then they placed these on a “Calcium Phosphate Biomaterial” scaffolding and implanted the whole mess in the patients abdomen to grow for – you guessed it – nine months. The cells grew up into a full grown jaw, apparently; even blood vessels were formed. After the nine months had passed, they removed the new jaw and implanted it in the patient, using microsurgery. The patient is recovering faster than if he had received a bone graft from his leg, and is not expected to suffer any tissue rejection – after all, they are his tissues!
The image here isn’t the Finnish fellow; it’s actually a guy named Robert Morin, and he did remove his teeth for this photo, which is actually a mug shot. If you want to see what he looks like when he’s not trying to look strange, check out the image source link back to The Smoking Gun.
Story Source: Reuters
Image Source: The Smoking Gun
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Today’s Lesson: Blade Hates Taxes, Vampires Close Second February 1, 2008 |
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Wesley Snipes has given alot to America. He brought Blade to the big screen without completely ruining it. (They originally considered LL Cool J and despite his shining performance in Deep Blue Sea, I think we dodged a bullet there) Add that to Money Train, U.S. Marshals, the quintessential 90′s fashion of White Men Can’t Jump and the priceless phrases of Nino Brown in New Jack City and we’ve got a man who has served his country admirably. He should be knighted, if we did that sort of thing over here. Anyway, it seems that there is one thing Wesley Snipes doesn’t do well: Pay his taxes.
Continue reading Today’s Lesson: Blade Hates Taxes, Vampires Close Second
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Happy Birthday Restaurant Grades! February 1, 2008 |
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In Los Angeles, we are obsessed with looks and cleanliness. Never have I lived anywhere where they clean sidewalks with hoses and leafblowers while simultaneously declaring the toughest emission standards for cars and droughtlike conditions. I can think of a way to help…but I digress.
But something I do love about LA are the restaurant grades! And they are ten years old today.
And nothing says Happy Birthday in America like a government program that actually works! Hurrah!
In the first six months of the program, which began in 1997, 39.9% of restaurants earned the 90 to 100 inspection points required for an A. By mid-2007, 82.5% of restaurants merited the top mark.
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Richest Women in Music: Staying Power January 30, 2008 |
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The top three richest women in music are also a combined 133 years old! Congrats Madonna, Celine, & Barbra!
But where is my girl Cher?
Link: Forbes Article
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Free Refills @ Starbucks January 28, 2008 |
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…and other perks coming soon from the perhaps-maybe-not so really-could be recession.
Good news–get excited!–Starbucks is going to start offering free refills (I suppose this is only on coffee, not my favorite caffeine-free Vanilla Bean whipped drink).
Link:Portfolio Magazine via Yahoo! Finance
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Whose products would you, um…eat? January 15, 2008 |
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Burt’s Bees Bringing Green to Clorox? January 6, 2008 |
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Interesting article from the NY Times about Burt’s Bees timeline up to their recent purchase by Clorox. Apparently, there is a trend of corporation scooping up green companies for their roster:
In the last couple of years, L’Oréal paid $1.4 billion for the Body Shop and Colgate-Palmolive bought 84 percent of Tom’s of Maine, which makes natural toothpaste and deodorant, for $100 million.
I especially enjoyed the Chief Executive taking a spoonful of his own product:
To prove his own bona fides, Mr. Replogle grabs a bottle of Burt’s Bees avocado butter hair treatment, squeezes some onto his finger and dramatically licks it off. He then passes the tube to two Clorox executives so they can have a taste.
“If you can’t put it into your mouth, you shouldn’t put it on your skin,” he says. “I’d like to see other companies do that.”
YUM?!
[Image from NY Times, link below]
Links:
NYT 6 Jan 08 “Can Burt’s Bees Turn Clorox Green” by Louise Story
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Job Cuts @ Chrysler November 1, 2007 |
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Big Three automaker Chrysler is cutting “up to 12,000 jobs” according to a report from the AP.
Also:
“The company announced it will eliminate four auto models through 2008, including the Dodge Magnum wagon, the convertible version of the Chrysler PT Cruiser, the Chrysler Pacifica crossover and the Chrysler Crossfire sports car.
In the same time frame, Chrysler plans to add the Dodge Journey crossover and Dodge Challenger sports car, along with two new hybrid models, the Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango.”
Why is the auto industry so frustratingly yin & yang in this country? It’s great that Chrysler is becoming more green but it’s so sad (pitiful) to see cost savings through layoffs–especially during the holiday season.
Chrysler to Cut Up to 12,000 Jobs [AP, 11/1/2007]
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