Wikipedia- and trivia-philes rejoice: “Best Of Wikipedia” pulls together interesting, bizarre, random and anything else that qualifies as “Best Of” and gives you the first paragraph or summary blurb of the page. Two of my favorites:
D. B. Cooper
D. B. Cooper is the name attributed to a man who hijacked a Boeing 727 aircraft in the United States on November 24, 1971, received US$200,000 in ransom, and parachuted from the plane. The name he used to board the plane was Dan Cooper, but through a later press miscommunication, he became known as “D. B. Cooper”. Despite hundreds of leads through the years, no conclusive evidence has ever surfaced regarding Cooper’s true identity or whereabouts, and the bulk of the money has never been recovered.
Um, I’ve definitely never heard of that story.
Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116
Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 was a name intended for a Swedish child who was born in 1991. Parents Elisabeth Hallin and Lasse Diding had planned to never legally name their child as a protest against the naming law of Sweden so, a district court in Halmstad, southern Sweden, fined them. Responding to the fine, the parents submitted the 43-character name in May 1996. The court rejected the name.
In other Wikipedia news, they have recently announced that they will color certain passages if it is suspected they may be less than factual. Sounds like a good step. More about that here.
[On an unrelated note, my computer is currently in California being fixed by the Apple gods and I've been super busy at work, so I apologize for the few-and-far-between updates.]
Anti-gay closeted homosexual and Florida Governor Charlie Crist has recently said that Florida’s current hurricane dry spell is because of his communications with God:
Crist noted that just before his election in 2006, Florida had been affected by a total of eight hurricanes in 2004 and 2005.
“Do you know the last time it was we had a hurricane in Florida? It’s been awhile. In 2007, I took my first trade mission. Do you know where I went?” said Crist, a Methodist, referring to a trip to Israel.
He then told of going to the Western Wall and inserting a note with a prayer. He said it read, “Dear God, please protect our Florida from storms and other difficulties. Charlie.”
“Time goes on – May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December – no hurricanes,” Crist said. “Thank God.” (Source)
Crist is currently running to become a US senator.
The documentary compiled from Michael Jackson’s rehearsals for the concert series he was preparing when he died will be released in theaters earlier than expected and will be shown for only two weeks. In a news release, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment said that the documentary, called “Michael Jackson THIS IS IT,” would open on Oct. 28, two days sooner than originally announced, and that tickets for the film would go on sale Sept. 27 in most cities. The movie will be directed by Kenny Ortega, the director and choreographer who was working with Mr. Jackson on his planned “This Is It” concerts, a series of 50 shows that Mr. Jackson was to have performed at London’s O2 Arena beginning in July. Sony, which paid $60 million for the film in a deal between the studio, the Jackson estate and the concert promoter AEG Live, said the documentary would draw upon more than 100 hours of behind-the-scenes footage and rehearsals shot between April and June.
I suspect Sony is using the “limited release” threat to drum up sales and I wouldn’t be surprised if the planned two-week run was miraculously extended if the ticket sales (which they are conveniently starting a month before hand) are high.
The teaser trailer to James Cameron’s much-hyped uber-real 3-D film, “Avatar”, has premiered.
The 2-minute spot has got some great action and a healthy sampling of the film’s special effects. Judging by James Cameron’s previous CGI-heavy ventures – namely, “T2″ and “The Abyss” – I’m sure the special effects, coupled with the new 3-D technology, will make for an absolutely amazing visual experience.
Head over to Apple.com (where they’ve been touting a to-the-minute countdown for the past 5 days) to watch it in HD.
“Avatar” comes out December 18, when the collective heads of the geek-iverse will explode.
Contributing to what is a somewhat shitty day, my blog was frozen this morning because of another DMCA violation. This is my second violation – the first was for a leaked Toni Braxton track – and was for posting a Cahill remix of Mariah Carey’s “Obsessed.”
In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have posted Toni track. It was a leak (although fully completed) and was months (it turns out) away from release.
In contrast, the remixes of “Obsessed” are not really available commercially and I therefore have fewer regrets (if any) about posting one of them.
While I don’t pretend to fully understand the music industry, I do know that there is a high demand for remixes that are often only distributed to DJs and sold at a premium price. When these remixes are unavailable for mass, commercial purchase, a black market is going to form and thrive to meet the fans’ desires. Basic economics.
In the post-CD, digital era we are now in, I cannot understand the labels’ apparent refusal to sell such remixes through sites like Amazon.com or the iTunes store. With no physical distribution costs and minimal (any?) overhead, making more songs available for sale seems like a win-win situation. There may be legitimate legal or contractual reasons that prevent some labels from distributing these remixes but we know it can be done: Cascada’s great summertime hit, “Evacuate The Dancefloor”, just hit the iTunes store with a whooping 9 remixes. Well done, guys.
I have been warned that if I receive “multiple” DMCA violations, the blog will be “suspended” – for how long, I do not know. I do not understand the rhyme or reason behind which songs are used to enforce the DMCA or I would try to avoid posting such targets. In the meantime, I’ll try to just keep on doin’ what I’m doin’.
Allergan (maker of Restasis)
Ally Bank (a unit of GMAC Financial Services)
Best Buy
Broadview Security
CVS
Re-Bath
Travelocity
ConAgra
GEICO
Lawyers.com
Men’s Wearhouse
Procter & Gamble
Progressive Insurance
RadioShack
Roche
SC Johnson
Sanofi-Aventis
Sargento
State Farm Insurance
Wal-Mart
They’ve all reportedly pulled their advertisements from airing during Glenn Beck’s daily hour-long Fox News program.
“District 9″ promos (trailer below) have been playing in pretty heavy rotation (not to mention the viral marketing) – and I don’t know about you – but it struck me as something that would be totally mindless, stupid eye candy.
However, reviews are starting to suggest otherwise. For example:
Consider District 9 to be the anti–G.I. Joe. [...] District 9 was made on a relatively lean budget ($30 million), with no well-known actors and a 29-year-old director named Neill Blomkamp (who? Exactly.) And yet, District 9 is the most exciting science fiction movie to come along in ages; definitely the most thrilling film of the summer; and quite possibly the best film I’ve seen all year.
Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weeklycalled the film, “madly original, cheekily political, [and] altogether exciting” before bestowing it with a rare “A” grade.
““District 9” subtly shifts from speculative science fiction to zombie bio-horror and then, less subtly, turns into an escape-action-chase movie full of explosions, gunplay and vehicular mayhem. In the midst of it all you almost take for granted the carefully rendered details of the setting, the tightness of the editing and the inventiveness of the special effects. Not the least of these are the aliens themselves, who are made expressive and soulful without quite being anthropomorphized.”
More reviews at Rotten Tomatoes, where it holds a perfect, 100% Top Critics’ Score!
Remember how everyone was always asking Peter Parker how he got such good photos of Spider-Man?
Well, a TV host of a real crime TV show in Brazil has attracted the attention of the police because of the uncanny ability of his show and its camera crews to beat the police to scene of murder after grizzly murder. All the exclusive footage made for great television ratings but became increasingly suspect.
Now, the police are accusing the host, Wallace Souza, and his son with commissioning the murders for ratings and to buttress Wallace’s claim that the region is plagued by violent crime. Why is this claim important? Because Wallace is a state legislator, of course.
Oh, but it gets better.
Police are accusing the father-son team of commissioning five homicides. How were these poor chaps selected, you ask?! The victims were potential competitors in Souza’s drug trafficking racket.
RE-FUCKING-DICULOUS (and I’m sure the Law & Order episode is being written as you read this).
Souza the son is currently in jail; Souza the father is free due to the immunity given to him as a lawmaker. (Good policy!) Both deny their charges.
The full story – including an interesting history of Souza’s career – here.
The rating, based on methodology drafted by the Environmental Protection Agency, would make the Volt the most fuel-efficient vehicle on the road, although other manufacturers have not revealed the gas mileage for their electric models. The rating assumes that city driving would be done almost entirely on the battery charge. (NY Times)
Overall – with city and highway numbers combined – the Volt is still expected to hit a triple digit rating, said GM.
The mileage calculation is based upon data that 80% of drivers do not drive more than 40 miles in the average day and that the Volt’s electric battery can power the car for 40 miles before the small gasoline engine even turns on. Thus, the car receives a sky-high MPG rating because you’re essentially averaging the unlimited mileage you get on trips under 40 miles on battery with the (gasoline) mileage you receive on the infrequent 40+ mile trips.
Chevrolet was definitely smart for aiming for that 40 mile benchmark for their electric battery as it significantly tilts the math of the EPA’s calculations in their favor. And while the article does note that other manufacturers haven’t published the MPG ratings for their electric cars, Chevrolet still steals the show as being the first mainstream company associated with triple digit fuel efficiency.
GM has committed to begin mass production in November 2010 (i.e., 14 months (!) from now) for release as a 2011 year model. The company has said it’s aiming to price the Volt to be “less than $30,000 but first versions might be closer to $40,000.”
“[The] film is to include scenes of Mr. Jackson rehearsing at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, along with a career retrospective and interviews with friends and collaborators, and parts of it will be in 3-D.”
I’ll be curious to see what this movie becomes. Do they have enough footage to basically “create” the concert? How much time is going to be given to the ‘talking heads’? Are they going to go on and on and on about his whole life or are they going to be focus on the concert? While a retrospective might be interesting (are there things we don’t know?!), I’m hoping this sticks as much as possible to him dancing and singing – simple and sweet.
- Man disrupts town hall meeting by protesting Obama’s health care reform
- Man gets into a fight with pro-reform individuals, is injured
- Man is now taking donations to cover his medical costs
Why?
Because he was recently laid off and consequently LOST HIS INSURANCE.
Okay, Guetta and Rowland’s “When Love Takes Over” definitely takes the title “Song Of The Summer” but Agnes’s track (I’ve never heard of her either) “Release Me” is daaamn fun, especially this Cahill remix.
Add it to your summer and gym playlists and enjoy!
This looks very interesting. From the press release:
Based on the critically acclaimed best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, and directed by Oscar® winner Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Jackson & Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens, “The Lovely Bones” centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal. Oscar® nominee Mark Wahlberg and Oscar® winners Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon star along with Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli and Oscar® nominee Saoirse Ronan.
Wikipedia- and trivia-philes rejoice: “Best Of Wikipedia” pulls together interesting, bizarre, random and anything else that qualifies as “Best Of” and gives you the first paragraph or summary blurb of the page. Two of my favorites:
Posted by Mark 
Posted by Mark 
[On an unrelated note, my computer is currently in California being fixed by the Apple gods and I've been super busy at work, so I apologize for the few-and-far-between updates.]
Posted by Mark 
“District 9″ promos (trailer below) have been playing in pretty heavy rotation (not to mention the 
The 
Okay, Guetta and Rowland’s “
