I don’t root for the downfall of too many industries, but record labels can’t die soon enough. Instead of embracing and capitalizing on web distribution, record labels pissed their leg and fought the web’s ability to move music. They were too busy fighting Napster to invent iTunes. They were too busy fighting iTunes to invent…
Have you heard? The Olympics are in China. China will regret this. The focus of these games will be on how China treats its people, not on the tired storyline of records falling thanks to new technology. Journalists and spectators from around the world will experience a censored Internet. The Internet is essential to journalists. …
LA goes after fast food: The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to place a moratorium on new fast food restaurants in an impoverished swath of the city with a proliferation of such eateries and above-average rates of obesity. The yearlong moratorium — which the mayor still must sign into law — is intended to give…
CNN: A 700 percent increase in Heath Ledger disease. Deaths from medication mistakes at home, such as actor Heath Ledger’s accidental overdose, rose dramatically during the past two decades, an analysis of U.S. death certificates finds. The authors blame soaring home use of prescription painkillers and other potent drugs, which 25 years ago were given…
I heard it on the Internet that Barack Obama blew off American soldiers in Afghanistan. A friend forwarded an email from a soldier who said Obama didn’t even look at soldiers during his visit last week. He didn’t thank them for their service. Then, I remembered a thing called “Google.” I searched for the author’s…
Tuesday, I went to “Frank White Powder Blue T-Shirt Night” at Kauffman Stadium. I had wanted to go, and Geoff came through with free tickets. We entered the stadium and got our free extra large t-shirts. They had a stand where you could go exchange the shirt for a medium. I thought this was a…
Dear Olathe, You always manage to find new ways to make your city unbearable to drive. Your street system is easily the worst out of all the cities in the Kansas City metro. I wanted to treat myself to a showing of The Dark Knight on AMC 30’s IMAX screen. Google Maps puts the theater…
CNN: Paul Street, author of the forthcoming book, “Barack Obama and the Future of American Politics,” says Obama risks becoming an Oval Office version of talk-show host Oprah Winfrey. She and former Secretary of State Colin Powell are African-American figures whose popularity allows some white Americans to congratulate themselves for not being racist, he says.…
Estelle Getty, known to the world as “Ma” from The Golden Girls, is dead at 84. Rest in peace, Ma. We hardly knew ye. Which are the real Ma and Dorothy? (0:56 mp3) Podcast: Download (1.8MB)
Did you see Obama’s 3-pointer? Obama’s 3-point prowess has rendered him a useless candidate for me. His brilliant stroke heightens an already intense insecurity in my basketball skills. I guess it was only a matter of time until an Obama gaffe cost him my vote. He has lost the all important “Who would you like…
A year from now, one of my readers will enter financial ruin due to the current economic situation. That puts your chances at 50 percent.
Fareed Zakaria has a terribly named CNN show: “Fareed Zakaria GPS.” GPS supposedly stands for “Global Public Square,” but I can’t get past the standard meaning for “GPS.” At the very least, CNN should showcase Fareed’s penchant for maps, with a regular segment featuring lost drivers calling Fareed for directions, which he delivers turn-by-turn without…
Dear Insects of Summer, Yes, my skin is beautiful, delicious and a pleasure to suck on. But there’s not enough to go around for everybody. Lay off my shit for awhile. I’ll get you something nice. Promise. Matt
LA Times: With the Games due to start in less than three weeks, Beijing today cranked up anti-pollution measures by yanking cars off the roads, expanding mass transit and staggering work hours in a bid to meet its pledge of a “green” Olympics. Maybe we should just let China have every Olympics for now on. …
CNN: Sujit Bhattacharya knew he felt sluggish and had trouble putting on his socks and shoes. One day, when he tried on a pair of size 30 shorts, his wife pointed out that they fit only under his belly. We never learn his height, but his weight was 193 pounds. What kind of skinny waisted…
Al Gore tells Katie Couric he won’t be VP. Gore: I’ve imposed a personal term limit of two terms as VP. Couric: So absolutely nothing could get you to jump on board. Gore: I … Katie … Couric: This interview will come back to haunt you if you say it without … Gore: This interview…
I’ve been getting a decent amount of traffic from CNN.com on my post “Classified B.S.” CNN shows blogs linking to their articles. I love the idea. Anyhow, I got into a comment-fest with a new reader. I thought I’d share one of my replies on the front page. Jake, Thanks for discussing this. It’s a…
A friend sent me this line from his hotel. “They have amazing towels here. I ganked one of them.” I went on to explain that I’d never heard “ganked” before. He ridiculed me for a brutally late introduction to “gank.” From Google: Related phrases: gang/gank/gangbang Definitions of gank on the Web: Destroying another player’s…
The AP tries to clean up a quote. Jackson apologized last week after being caught saying on an open microphone that he wanted to castrate Obama for speaking down to blacks. The original quote, “I want to cut his nuts off” is far less offensive than the word “castrate” in this context. “I want to…
The Obama campaign doesn’t like The New Yorker’s new cover. The cover, published Sunday, shows Obama in the Oval Office dressed in traditional Muslim attire. His wife, Michelle, wears an Afro hairstyle and has a machine gun slung over her back. An American flag can be seen burning in the fireplace, and a picture of…
Here’s something that doesn’t make sense. The Transportation Security Administration rejected as a “myth” CNN’s report that less than 1 percent of the nation’s daily flights carry armed federal air marshals. Now the agency is conducting an investigation into who talked to CNN and who encouraged other agents to do the same. Spokesman Christopher White…
So, you decided to throw down some extreme coin to watch the Olympics in China. You look forward to scoping the scene and maybe enjoying some authentic Chinese cuisine. Then, the jerks go and take dog meat off the menu.
Good, if creepy, information to know. The “value of a statistical life” is $6.9 million, the Environmental Protection Agency reckoned in May — a drop of nearly $1 million from just five years ago. When drawing up regulations, government agencies put a value on human life and then weigh the costs versus the lifesaving benefits…
It was only a matter of time until jalapeños were added to Salmonella Watch: 2008. Fiery deuces abound.
Does anything stand out in this story? Besides the “cut his nuts off” part? The Rev. Jesse Jackson apologized Wednesday for “crude and hurtful” remarks he made about Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama after finishing an interview with a Fox News correspondent. The remarks came Sunday as Jackson was talking to a fellow interviewee,…
Americans are pretty stupid when it comes to money. Luckily, we have Ed McMahon teaching everyone to learn from his mistakes. “If you spend more money than you make, you know what happens. And it can happen. You know, a couple of divorces thrown in, a few things like that. And, you know, things happen.”…
In 2001, Tony Gonzalez collided with a sideline photographer. Thanks to the collission and trip to the hospital, the man found out he had a brain tumor. Tony saved his life. Last week, Tony Gonzalez performed the Heimlich maneuver on some dude at a restaurant, and saved his life, too. Gonzalez, sitting with his back…
I don’t like to attack my new products with a knife, but some companies leave me no choice. I bought a $17 Duracell battery charger (includes 4 AA rechargeables) at Walmart. It took me 15 minutes to get it out of the packaging. I sustained a superficial cut on the upper knuckle of my right…
KMBC 9 News did a robbery story last night. The police said the suspect was carrying “a man purse.” Congratulations man purse, you’ve made it a long way. Flashback: Man purse in the Sauna (5:50 mp3) Podcast: Download (2.7MB)
Some police departments encourage the teens to send in anonymous tips through text message. “If somebody hears Johnny is going to bring a gun to school, hopefully they’ll text that in,” said Sgt. Brian Bernardi of the Louisville, Ky., Metro Police Department, which rolled out its text-message tip line in June. Sgt. Bernardi went on…