Things in the news

snowy · Aug 29, 2013

People want more from their pubs these days, according to the Good Pub Guide: Doors will shut on 4,000 'complacent' British pubs, warns drinkers' guide | Business | The Guardian

Personally, I don't expect good food at my local joint. They have passable cheesy breadsticks. I do, however, expect a friendly atmosphere, good service, and lots of beer to choose from. If I want good food, I go somewhere else.

Craven Morehead · Aug 29, 2013

You don't need to go to Zurich to have sex in a hut, just run down to Home Depot!

Couple Arrested For Shacking Up At Home Depot | The Smoking Gun

Taliesin · Aug 29, 2013

Train-truck smash causes transport chaos in Melbourne's southeast

A TRAIN has smashed into a truck at a level crossing, causing massive delays for peak-hour drivers and commuters in Melbourne's southeast.The truck was obstructing a level crossing near Bonbeach station, on the Frankston line, when a city-bound train collided with it at 6.20am.Victoria Police spokeswoman Julie-Anne Newman said the truck driver suffered minor injuries.No other injuries were reported.

No Cookies | Herald Sun

chinese crested · Aug 30, 2013

Good news today. Cameron can not send more of our children to bleed in a foreign sandy oily place. I should imagine he is trying to figure out a way around the vote over breakfast. Mind boggles. Our troops come back from Afghanistan, and get made redundant, lose their family accomodation - out they go, couple of quid in their pocket and good riddance. Where was he intending to get his new troops from? 17yr olds?

redux · Aug 30, 2013

Banned Books Week--Celebrating the Freedom to Read is next month and one of the highlights of the Week is the Top Ten List of Frequently Challenged Books, compiled annually by the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom:

This came out several months ago, but I just came across the top ten most challenged books of 2012

Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey.Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie.Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group

Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher.Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group

Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James.Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit

And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit

Looking for Alaska, by John Green.Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group

Scary Stories (series), by Alvin SchwartzReasons: Unsuited for age group, violence

The Glass Castle, by Jeanette WallsReasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit

Beloved, by Toni MorrisonReasons: Sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence

A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that a book or other material be restricted or removed because of its content or appropriateness. In 2012, OIF received 464 reports on attempts to remove or restrict materials from school curricula and library bookshelves. This is an increase from 2011 totals, which stood at 326 attempts.

The self-righteous right never ceases to amaze in their zeal to restrict our freedoms.

Craven Morehead · Aug 31, 2013

New walking shark discovered in Indonesia? It's not the first

Scientists have discovered the third known species of walking shark in Indonesia. Which means that there are, apparently, other walking shark species. And also, that sharks walk.

Time to take a moment to let that sink in. Meanwhile, watch the video above. The new species, called Hemiscyllium halmahera, is a type of epaulette shark described in the journal Aqua: the International Journal of Ichthyology. The shark lives off the coral reefs along the coast of Halmahera, a remote Indonesian island.

"Its features include a general brown coloration with numerous clusters of mainly 2-3 dark polygonal spots,” according to the dry abstract, which doesn’t really delve into the fact that it walks on rocks.

Epaulette sharks, so named for the dramatic badge-like spot behind the pectoral fin, use their fins to help navigate the uneven environment of a coral reef.

Some researchers have studied its gait to try and understand how sea creatures might have first evolved into landlubbers, according to the ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research.

“The wriggling gait of the Epaulette Shark has been studied as a model of the probable limb movements used by the first tetrapods (four-footed vertebrates) to clamber from the sea onto land,” to the center says. “This research provides evidence supporting the evolutionary theory that the paired limb movements necessary for terrestrial locomotion predate the first amphibians.”

The discovery of the newly named shark highlights the plight of sharks in Indonesia, where they are heaviliy hunted for their meat, says Conservation International.

“For nearly three decades, Indonesia has led the world in the export of dried shark fins and other products from elasmobranchs (sharks, fins and skates),” study coauthor Mark Erdmann wrote in a blog for the nonprofit organization.

Finding the new epaulette shark is a promising sign that the tide is turning and that new environmental protections may be working, Erdmann said.
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New walking shark discovered in Indonesia? It's not the first - chicagotribune.com

Video at above.

So a shark walks into a bar...

redux · Sep 2, 2013

The Dark Phantasmagoric Netherworld Beneath the Capitol
A congressional art competition is the last unsanitized corner of Congress, full of images that baffle and alarm

Shiny-haired, tan, and pretty, Harley Dallojacono, a senior at Patchogue-Medford High School on Long Island, seems like a normal teenager—not the kind of girl who would produce the most haunting photograph hanging in the Capitol. For an art project this year, her teacher told her the theme was horror, and although Harley says she’s not at all into gore, “I was like, OK, I’ll go with that.” After brainstorming with some of her classmates, she used glue, makeup, and a bit of tissue to create “Zipper Face,” a macabre image of a young man unzipping his visage to reveal the bloody form underneath.

Dallojacono was one of thousands this year who entered the art contest, which is supported by the Congressional Institute, a nonprofit whose mission is to educate the public about Congress and help members serve their constituents. More than 650,000 students have competed since 1982. Each House member reaches out to high school art departments and asks local artists to judge. Additional prizes vary by district (at least one student this year won a $10,000 scholarship to art school), but all the winning students get two round-trip tickets to Washington to meet their members and see their art hanging in the Cannon tunnel—a sterile, subterranean channel connecting the Cannon House Office Building to the Capitol.

People rushing back and forth between buildings all day have little else to look at, and what often stands out, amid the more conventional pieces—a portrait of an eagle, a drawing of a soldier holding his daughter, a painting of manatees—are pieces that are deeper, darker, and more complex than what you might expect of a high school art competition. They are thrilling, confounding, unsettling. And they can be jarring for the culturally conservative denizens of the Capitol, who often live sanitized, poll-tested lives designed not to offend (or to offend only the opposing party). This may be the last facet of congressional life not premised on artifice. And it shows.

Visitors inspecting the work during the August recess seemed surprised at what they found. “A lot of them are … odd,” said a woman with short-cropped hair who was pushing an elderly relative in a wheelchair as a staffer walked her through the hallway.

“A lot of them are dark ,” the aide replied. “Last year’s was really dark.”

“I feel like I need to call some of them and ask if they’re OK.”

A red-headed staffer in a short dress passed by moments later with two constituents in tow, pointing out her district’s winning work. “Every time someone comes in for a tour, we have to show them this one. It’s so embarrassing!”
Another khaki-clad staffer told some tourists, “If I were a kid, I’d want to draw, like, a dog or something. Not, like, a lightbulb with an octopus coming out of it.”
...

Another student artist, Madison Safer, won with a haunting photograph of a young woman curled up in a laundry basket turned sideways on a train track.

“It’s really about the struggles of being a young woman; that’s what it meant to me. The feelings of isolation and solitude,” she says, describing the theme behind her winning work, “Dirty Laundry?” “I consider myself to be a feminist, so dealing with the dilemma of women in society and also conservation of the land is also very important to me,” says Safer, whose work represents Republican Rep. Pat Tiberi’s Ohio district.

More: The Dark Phantasmagoric Netherworld Beneath the Capitol - NationalJournal.com

Featured artwork: Featured Artwork From the Congressional Art Competition - NationalJournal.com

Search by state: Art Competition · House.gov
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The future of art in the US is in good hands....if we dont kill it through lack of funding and support.

Craven Morehead · Sep 2, 2013

I was in the Cannon tunnel in May. To say it is sterile is an understatement. What an exceptional venue for these works of art.

Borla · Sep 3, 2013

Once they get the "No Parking" signs up, you should probably heed them...

Photo Of Jaguar Melted By Walkie-Talkie Building - Business Insider

Taliesin · Sep 3, 2013

Tourist, Ryan Blair speaks after being stranded on a Kimberley island for two weeks being stalked by 6m crocodile
A NEW Zealand kayaker prayed for his life as he was kept hostage on a remote Australian island by a giant crocodile he believed would devour him at any moment.
Ryan Blair had an amazing escape after becoming trapped on a remote island off the coast of Western Australia for more than two weeks by the massive crocodile that wouldn't let him leave.

The 37-year-old had been exploring the northern WA coast near Kalumburu, which is between Derby and Kununurra. Having been left on the remote Governor Island, the Kiwi realised he didn't have enough supplies and tried to paddle the 4km back to the mainland.

But he immediately caught the eye of the six-meter saltwater crocodile that had lived in the area for years.

Every time he tried to leave, the crocodile would make his presence felt, leaving the adventurer fearing for his life and stranded for more than a fortnight.

"He was about four meters away from me and I thought 'this is it,''' Mr Blair said.

"It was so close, and if this croc wanted to take me it would not have been an issue.

"I was scared for my life - I was hard core praying for God to save me.''

On Saturday, local Don MacLeod spotted a light on the island, and when he checked it out, the hatless, shirtless and desperate visitor approached.

"He was relieved and shocked, and thankful someone had come along because he was running out of options pretty quickly,'' Mr MacLeod told ABC radio.

"He is a very, very lucky man.''

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/new-zealand-tourist-reportedly-stranded-on-island-in-the-kimberly-after-being-stalked-by-6m-crocodile/story-fnhocxo3-1226709125380

Craven Morehead · Sep 4, 2013

Amazing....

The Time Capsule Ghost Town waiting to be brought Back to Life | Messy Nessy Chic Messy Nessy Chic

Chris Noyb · Sep 5, 2013

Ariel Castro is dead. He either commited suicide, or maybe he had some help, either way it's a good thing.

EDIT: Well, shit, I'm not yet allowed to post links.

redux · Sep 5, 2013

Cliteracy is in the news.

Cliteracy 101: Artist Sophia Wallace Wants You to Know the Truth About the Clitoris

snowy · Sep 6, 2013

Craven Morehead said: ↑

Amazing....

The Time Capsule Ghost Town waiting to be brought Back to Life | Messy Nessy Chic Messy Nessy Chic
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That is super cool. It's interesting that they want to turn it into an LNG terminal. We'll see if that actually happens. Shit, these days they want to develop every deep water port into an LNG terminal.

Craven Morehead · Sep 6, 2013

Foodborne Illness - Men's Health

"Everyone in this country will have at least one incident of sickness this year attributable to a foodborne virus, bacteria, or toxin," Tierno says. Except that most of us won't know what hit us; we'll chalk up the usually mild symptoms—nausea, diarrhea, cramping—to "that stomach flu that's going around."
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amazing

Craven Morehead · Sep 6, 2013

Part of me says why not? Another part says wtf?

Forget rabbit, duck season — it's drone season for hunters in Colorado town - NY Daily News

the_jazz · Sep 6, 2013

I've been to Hartford. I do a lot of business in Hartford. Can't say I disagree with Mr. Chappelle. Mr. Kim, if you please....

Dave Chappelle explains Hartford walk-off on "room full of white people." (AUDIO)

Craven Morehead · Sep 7, 2013

Married to a Doll: Why One Man Advocates Synthetic Love - Julie Beck - The Atlantic

redux · Sep 7, 2013

Cow tipping...physics says no.

Let's get this out of the way: Cow tipping, at least as popularly imagined, does not exist. Drunk young men do not, on any regular basis, sneak into cow pastures and put a hard shoulder into a cow taking a standing snooze, thus tipping the poor animal over.

While in the history of the world there have surely been a few unlucky cows shoved to their side by boozed-up morons, we feel confident in saying this happens at a rate roughly equivalent to the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series.
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Cow tipping fake: Debunking a persistent rural legend. - Slate Magazine

Borla · Sep 7, 2013

Maryland Delegate Darren Swain Beaten, Robbed After Giving Young Men a Ride | NBC4 Washington

His story seems legit.

Who doesn't pick up random strangers at a gas station at 3AM, give them a ride home, then ask them if you can come in and use their bathroom?

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