I can’t quite put it into words, but on a certain level this video reminds me of what my entire childhood was like. (… for those stuck on slow connections, it’s a four-year old kid who for some reason is standing in the end zone at a football game and gets tackled full-force by […]
Entries Tagged as 'News'
Roundup: Forest for the Trees Edition
April 23rd, 2007 · 2 Comments · Activism, Apple, Blogs, Business, Climate Change, Comedy, Culture, Food, Health, Heroes, Labor, LGBT, Music, Nature, News, Peace, Pet Food, Politics, Science, Tech, TV
France heads for a runoff election between right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy and left-winger Ségolène Royal. The country’s future hangs in the balance, and a lot depends on where the defeated centrist candidate steers his followers. Right wing blogs are now trying to push the idea that there was a massive conspiracy to hide WMDs in Iraq. […]
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The Honey Bees in the Mine Shaft
April 23rd, 2007 · 8 Comments · Food, Nature, News, Science, Tech
For a while now I’ve been reading about the mysterious wide-scale disappearance of honey bee colonies, a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder, which has disturbing implications for a huge range of food crops. (According to Wikipedia, honey bees are responsible for pollinating about a third of all crop species in the U.S.) Now there’s […]
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You’re a Good Man, Peter Parker
April 22nd, 2007 · 4 Comments · Comics, Culture, Film, News, Theater
The new Spider-Man movie opens in the U.S. on May 4th, but in the meantime, Peter Parker is already preparing to take on the scariest super-villains of all: Broadway critics. I know this sounds like a late April Fool’s gag, but it’s a for-real story from the New York Daily News. Marvel Comics is developing […]
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Theater: Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
April 19th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Culture, Foreign Policy, News, Peace, Performance, Theater
Indian-American playwright Rajiv Joseph has a new play opening off Broadway this week. It’s called Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, and it tells the story of the “shock and awe” campaign in Baghdad as seen through the eyes of a “ratty old Bengal tiger caged in the bombed-out Baghdad zoo.” Joseph told DNA he […]
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News Roundup: Back Alley Edition
April 19th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Business, Chicago, Culture, Guns, Health, Internet, Labor, LGBT, Music, Nature, News, Pet Food, Politics, Science, Supreme Court
Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling on abortion makes no exception for women whose health is in danger. This DKos diary, “5 out of 9 SCOTUS justices say my mom should be dead,” describes in vivid personal terms how a late-term abortion saved the life of the writer’s mother, and how this new ruling means that a […]
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Help Save Women & Children First Bookstore
April 19th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Activism, Books, Business, Chicago, Culture, Feminism, LGBT, Media, News
Women & Children First bookstore here in Andersonville is in danger of closing, possibly before the end of the summer, according to recent stories in the Chicago Tribune and the Windy City Times. One factor hurting sales at W&CF is competition, of course. Borders Books & Music, for instance, has four locations—all within four miles […]
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Illinois Legislators Mock Transgendered People
April 19th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Human Rights, LGBT, News, Politics
This is appalling. I’m ashamed of my state right now. Several Illinois lawmakers mocked sex changes and the idea of debating the subject Tuesday before rejecting a measure that would have made it easier to get a new birth certificate after switching genders. One representative compared sex changes to voodoo and joked that he had […]
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Pet Food Recall Update — Natural Balance Info
April 17th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Business, Cats, Factory Farming, Food, Health, Journal, Kiwi, Mr. Blue, News, Pet Food
I’m getting a lot of Google traffic today from people who are searching for information about the recall of Natural Balance’s pet food, specifically the venison varieties. So, if you’re one of those folks, here’s a link to the Natural Balance site and here’s what it currently says: NOTICE: We are receiving consumer complaints regarding […]
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Tolkien’s Children of Hurin: Break a Leg, Professor
April 17th, 2007 · 5 Comments · Books, Culture, Fantasy, Journal, Lit, Mythology, News, Peoria
It appears that Christopher Tolkien has one more book to produce out of his father’s magic hat, although this one will almost certainly be the last. The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien goes on sale today, three decades after his death: Tolkien’s son and literary executor Christopher, now in his eighties, constructed “The Children […]
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Remembering Kurt Vonnegut: “A Rather Daft and Kind Old Man”
April 16th, 2007 · Comments Off on Remembering Kurt Vonnegut: “A Rather Daft and Kind Old Man” · Blogroll, Blogs, Books, Culture, History, Lit, News, Peace, Uncategorized
Gregory Rodriguez has a piece in the LA Times today in which he remembers working as an editorial assistant for Kurt Vonnegut’s publisher, and getting to know Vonnegut as he worked on revising Hocus Pocus for publication. Their first meeting, as Rodriguez recounts it, has Vonnegut displaying a vulnerability that is at once charming and […]
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News Roundup: Indirect Role-Playing Edition
April 16th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Adobe, Business, Comics, Culture, Food, Hate Crimes, Health, LGBT, Media, Music, New Wave, News, Politics, Software
Gonzales is now helpfully explaining that he only had an “indirect” role in the firing of the U.S. attorneys. Yes, just like I had an indirect role in what happened to the passersby who got hit by those water balloons I dropped yesterday. I mean, all I did was let go! It was the water […]
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In Chicago: More on the May 2nd Special Edition of The Partly Dave Show
April 13th, 2007 · 6 Comments · Chicago, Comedy, Culture, Fringe, Journal, Music, Neo-Futurists, News, Performance, Poetry, The Partly Dave Show, Theater
Continuing the brand-new tradition of breaking news about The Partly Dave Show here on Ocelopotamus first, I can now confirm the full lineup for our upcoming show, and fill you in on why we’re doing it and what’s so goll-dang special about it. Here’s the deal: the shadowy white-coated figures at The Partly Dave Show’s […]
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DVD: The History Boys
April 13th, 2007 · Comments Off on DVD: The History Boys · Culture, Education, Film, History, LGBT, Lit, New Wave, News, Poetry, Theater
The History Boys is finally being released on DVD this coming Tuesday, April 17. According to this review, the DVD comes with a solid curriculum of extras: Writer Alan Bennett and director Nicholas Hynter share an informative track addressing the changes made to the play but, sadly, do not discuss the interesting cast in personal […]
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