Burninating Your Thursday

It is no secret that I am a fan of Homestar Runner. I have peppered the occasional post and comments on other's blogs with references to the website and the creative stuff they do. Well, if you know Trogdor The Burninator, then you have got to get this for the "teeniest tiniest of babies" in your life. It is way too cute. I'm buying in advance for "my childrens."

The local paper is called the Vancouver Columbian, and it is really only suitable for wrapping dead fish. Well, that might be too high of a compliment. They have some good pieces on occasion, but they are usually not written locally, but from the AP or something of the like. They are so liberal (and stupid) that I can't stand to read most of what's in the paper. I buy it on occasion, but only for the Bi-Mart ads. Bi-Mart is like a sportsman's version of Wal-Mart, but about 1/10 the size of Wal-Mart. They have an electronics section with a decent selection, and they sell dry goods, beer, and wine. They carry small kitchen appliances and housewares. They also have a pharmacy and even a section with board games and kids toys. But most of the store is dedicated to hunting, fishing, landscaping, and automotive. I love that place. If only I could live there. Anyway, (getting back to the story) I bought the paper last Thursday so I could read the Bi-Mart ads. The cover story is "Alleged Drug Ring Arrested." Let's see, you bust a bunch a people with a ton of drugs in their house, which they were obviously all aware of, and they are an "alleged" drug ring? Real geniuses on the loose here in local journalism. Of course, that would fall on the editor's shoulders, not necessarily the author of the article. You just wonder what is wrong with this country when a bunch of people are caught with a bunch of dope and you can't even call them drug runners. No, no: they're "alleged" drug runners.

I've been using the guest restroom at work lately. It may seem a little pathetic and inane, but around here, it is something. It is like having my own private bathroom that no one uses. The only other ones close by are production area restrooms, and I won't tell you what they look or smell like. It is a special blessing and pleasure to have a clean and tidy bathroom to use.

Here is yet another piece on skinny models. It is a video report from Reuters about the French modeling industry responding to what happened in Madrid. I am actually beginning to feel as if there might be some sense of victory nearby. However, I am not so naive to think that such steps will solve the problem. It is a small amount of headway though. And maybe, just maybe, it will have a trickle down effect. We can always hope.

Here's an inspiring report on the prosthesis community. There are some outrageously cool video clips on it, one being of a working, robotic prosthetic limb made from LEGO Technic parts. You must see it!

How about some cool facts and funny stories to get you over that mid-week slump?

Revenge!

In November 2002, Detroit Free Press columnist Mike Wendland wrote a story about a man named Alan Ralsky, who had become a multimillionaire through marketing spam on the Internet—his company sent up to 250 million e-mails a day. The story told readers of Ralsky’s new 8,000-square-foot $740,000 home.
A group of spam haters posted Ralsky’s home address on hundreds of Web sites, starting an avalanche of junk mail in his mailbox. Then they posted his e-mail address and phone number and he got inundated with the very thing he’d made his millions from—spam.

Strange Headlines from around the world:

Psychics Predict World Didn’t End Yesterday (These psychics wouldn't be French, would they?) Chicago Checking on Elderly in Heat (You can't tell me they're worried about reproductive issues at that age)
High-Speed Train Could Reach Valley in Five Years (That is one slow high-speed train)
Suicide Bomber Strikes Again (Back from the dead?!)
Marijuana Issue Sent to Joint Committee (I wonder if they will approve legalization after the first or second hit?)
Girl Kicked by Horse Upgraded to Stable (Where were they keeping her before?)
Sun or Rain Expected Today, Dark Tonight (You don't say!)
Here's How You Can Lick Doberman's Leg Sores (ewww)

Brazilian sports fans are so rowdy that many of the country's soccer fields are surrounded by moats. Now those are fanatics!

A salute to the rubber ducky, America's favorite bath toy: This bright yellow bath pal first appeared in the mid-1800s when the New York Rubber Company started manufacturing rubber squeak toys. But it would be more than 100 years before rubber duckies became popular. Who do we have to thank for that? The Muppets. In 1970 Ernie sang the song “Rubber Ducky” on Sesame Street . . . and suddenly every kid wanted one.

The earliest use of "the flashback" in western literature was Homer's Odyssey. I love facts like this. They make me feel smarter.

Some quotes about America's best friend, the TV:

- “TV is chewing gum for the eyes.”—Frank Lloyd Wright

-“The remarkable thing about television is that it permits several million people to laugh at the same joke and still feel lonely.”—T. S. Eliot

-“Men don’t care what’s on. They only care what else is on.”—Jerry Seinfeld, on remote controls

-“Seeing a murder on television can help work off one’s antagonisms. And if you haven’t any antagonisms, the commercials will give you some.”—Alfred Hitchcock

Speaking of TV: It cost $647,000 per minute of film to make Terminator 2. It almost seems like it should be illegal. I won't make enough to pay for a minute over the first 15 years of my adult life, and that doesn't even account for inflation!!!

For some "stately" trivia: Herbert Hoover was the first president to put a phone in the White House, which happened in 1929. No, it wasn't the "Bat Phone." It was your average telephone.

Going a little further back: In 1924, a new Ford cost $265. So how much did you pay for your last new car?

Going much further backward: From 1790 to 1800, the capital of the United States was Philadelphia, PA. Anyone hazard a guess at what it was before that?

Blessings,

Big J

"Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it." Fyodor Dostoevsky