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MTV redesigns logo, drops 'Music Television' (pic)
After 29 years, MTV has redesigned its logo and finally dropped "Music Television."
Basically it looks just like the old logo, only with some cropping. The design is getting flak from bloggers, but this is long overdue. Having "Music Television" on there was just a constant reminder that MTV was branding itself one way, programming itself another. Here's the logo...
This CNET news proves that the more things "change," the more they stay the same. BTW, I'm not necessarily knocking the Obama administration over this. It just once again demonstrates how complicated the real world can be. Feds push for tracking cell phones
...the Obama administration has argued that warrantless tracking is permitted because Americans enjoy no "reasonable expectation of privacy" in their--or at least their cell phones'--whereabouts. U.S. Department of Justice lawyers say that "a customer's Fourth Amendment rights are not violated when the phone company reveals to the government its own records" that show where a mobile device placed and received calls.
Not that the world has been demanding one, but a company in Dallas, Texas is marketing an electric incinerating toilet called the "INCINOLET."Seems simple enough. But, I'd read the manual VERY carefully.INCINOLET uses electric heat to reduce human waste (urine, solids, paper) to a small amount of clean ash, which is dumped periodically into the garbage. INCINOLET remains clean because waste never touches the bowl surface. A bowl liner, dropped into the bowl prior to use, captures the waste, then both liner and its content drop into the incinerator chamber when the foot pedal is pushed. You can use INCINOLET at any time-even while it is in cycle.
"Don’t worry. We ask everyone if they have a latex allergy."However, the finalists weren't any better:
Man, 62, is burned in rocket sled stunt
A 62-year-old Independence Township man remained hospitalized Monday with injuries he sustained after authorities said a rocket-like backpack he rigged to power him on a sled exploded.
Oakland County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a backyard sledding party in the 6000 block of Townview at 7:35 p.m. Sunday to aid the host, who had burns over 18% of his body, Undersheriff Mike McCabe said.
"Apparently, he has this sledding party every year, and he always does outrageous things at it, but he's never blown himself up before," McCabe said Monday.
A friend of mine forwarded me this today. It's the top grossing movies of all time, based on inflation adjusted dollars (US and Canada only)Currently, Avatar is 24th ($.56b).
BTW, MadTV was ahead of the curve with this 2006 bit (h/t Slant):The iPad’s Name Makes Some Women Cringe
When Apple announced the name of its tablet computer today — the iPad — my mind immediately went to the feminine hygiene aisle of the drugstore. It turns out I wasn’t alone.The term “iTampon” quickly became a trending topic on Twitter because of Tweets like this one: “Heavy flow? There’s an app for that!” A CNBC anchor, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, said the iPad was a “terrible name” for the tablet. “It reminds me of feminine products,” she said.
“Are there any women in Apple marketing?” asked Brooke Hammerling, founder of Brew Media Relations, a technology public relations firm. “The first impression of every single woman I’ve spoken to is that it’s cringe-inducing. It indicates to me that there wasn’t a lot of testing or feedback.”
While I didn't find the last season of the SyFy Channel's Peabody Award winning Battlestar Galactica completely satisfying, I was hooked for its entire run. Like Mad Men, the writing was top-notch and explored complex themes relevent to a contemporary audience. Also (and I say this while ducking), as much as I love January Jones, my vote for television's most sexy blond still goes to Trisha Helfer as the iconic "Number Six."
"...and so, to make a long story short..."At the risk of sounding bitter, none (let me repeat that, NONE) of the winners fit the illustration better than mine.
Sigh. Brett Favre was, as they say, being Brett Favre when he threw away a chance at another Super Bowl ring with a 4th Quarter interception off a pass that made absolutely no sense.
"Prostidude?" Would his customers be called "Janes?"First legal U.S. gigolo starts work in Nevada
A brothel in a Nevada desert town has hired the state's first male prostitute, a muscular college dropout who abandoned a brief stint as a porn actor in Los Angeles to become the only legal gigolo in the United States.The Shady Lady Ranch successfully won state and county approval to clear the way for the "prostidude," as Nevada's newest sex worker is already being called. After a slow first week on the job, his first appointments are scheduled for this weekend.
...he created a dustup after telling Details Magazine that his pioneering role in the sex business was "just the same" as civil rights icon Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat and move to the back of the bus during racial segregation in the U.S. South. Not surprisingly, he has been forbidden from doing interviews after the remarks.
Dallas linebacker Keith Brooking ragged on Brett Favre after the last Viking touchdown that concluded Minnesota's blowout of the Cowboys.
Remember when being called a "rocket scientist" meant you were smart?Cocaine Found In Restricted Facility Near Shuttle
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER -- NASA is launching an investigation after cocaine was found in one of its shuttle processing facilities.
The discovery caused a large number of workers to be tested before they left for the day Wednesday.
NASA told News 13 that a small amount of while powder residue was found in a plastic bag in the Orbiter Processing Facility Number 3, just west of the VAB on Tuesday. It's the building where maintenance work is done on Shuttle Discovery as it is being prepped for its upcoming March mission.
"My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government."Meanwhile, C-SPAN has sent a letter to House and Senate leaders asking that negotiations on the health care bill be open to cameras which, as of now, are not going to be (full article).
Symptomatic of a compulsive streak in my nature, I’ve always been a tad obsessed with seeing the exact moment a digital display on a clock or cell phone clicks off a major milestone. For instance, I often feel a pang of frustration upon glancing down at a car’s odometer to see that it has advanced into a new hundred, thousand, ten thousand, or (heaven forbid) hundred thousand series without my noticing it. If you can recall the extra excitement exhibited ten years ago by New Year’s revelers as 1999 gave way to 2000 even though, technically, the millennium didn’t turn over until the following year, you may be able to empathize.
"Surprisingly, their broth is pretty good."
The official winners included:
If you look closely, you can see Lee Harvey Oswald standing by the dingy holding his Mannlicher-Carcano rifle.Now that the photo has been so easily debunked, it's fun to watch TMZ's "expert" testify to its authenticity.TMZ Falls For JFK Photo Hoax
Photo that "could have changed history" actually from a Playboy shootIn a colossal screw-up, the gossip web site TMZ today published a photo purporting to show John F. Kennedy frolicking on a yacht with a harem of naked women--except that the image actually appeared as part of a November 1967 Playboy photo spread, The Smoking Gun has learned. The TMZ hoax was billed as an "exclusive" featuring a photo that "could have altered world events" had it surfaced prior to JFK's presidential campaign. "It could have torpedoed his run, and changed world history," the site added. In reality, the photo appeared in story about Playboy's "Charter Yacht Party: How to Have a Ball on the Briny with an Able-Bodied Complement of Ship's Belles."
In the spring of 2008, Sons of Maxwell were traveling to Nebraska for a one-week tour and my Taylor guitar was witnessed being thrown by United Airlines baggage handlers in Chicago. I discovered later that the $3500 guitar was severely damaged. They didn’t deny the experience occurred but for nine months the various people I communicated with put the responsibility for dealing with the damage on everyone other than themselves and finally said they would do nothing to compensate me for my loss. So I promised the last person to finally say “no” to compensation (Ms. Irlweg) that I would write and produce three songs about my experience with United Airlines and make videos for each to be viewed online by anyone in the world. United: Song 1 is the first of those songs. United: Song 2 has been written and video production is underway. United: Song 3 is coming. I omise.
A Jersey Shore joke is in here somewhere...Bizarre Tongue-Eating Parasite Discovered Off the Jersey Coast
There's been a spate of amazing animal discoveries recently--the giant rat-eating plants found in the Philippines, a huge woolly rat discovered in a volcanic crater--and now, yet another creature has emerged that could be right out of a sci-fi film. It's a bizarre creature that survives by eating its hosts' tongue and then attaching itself inside the mouth.
The sea-dwelling parasite attacks fish, burrows into it, and then devours its tongue. After eating the tongue, the parasite proceeds to live inside the fish's mouth. There's a horror film waiting to be made about this thing. Surprisingly, the fish doesn't seem to suffer any severe impediment--just the loss of its tongue--and seems to have no trouble surviving with its new, far uglier tongue.
You've got to be f'n kidding me. A billion dollar Defense project penetrated by a $26 software program available on the Internet.US drones hacked by Iraqi insurgents
One of America's most sophisticated weapons in the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the unmanned drone, has been successfully penetrated by insurgents using software available on the internet for $26 (£16).
Insurgents in Iraq intercepted live video feeds from the drones being relayed back to a US controller and revealing potential targets. A US official said the flaw was identified and fixed in the past 12 months.
...The US air force is responsible for drones in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the CIA for those in Pakistan. The CIA video feeds are reported to have been encrypted, while some of the air forces ones were not.
The Pentagon had been aware of the problem for many years, but had assumed the insurgents would not have the technical knowledge to intercept the feeds.
Once again, we've rested on our laurels and let another Y2K bug sneak up on us. This issue could loom large over the 2010's, 2020's, 2030's. Only the 2040's seem to offer some hope.How best to solve the problem of Happy 2010 New Year’s Eve glasses?
We have a problem, Internet. You know how on New Year’s Eve everyone walks around with Happy 2009 (or whatever) glasses? That bunk ain’t gonna fly this year. Try wearing a 2010 pair of glasses: where are you going to look through, the 1? This is a serious situation that demands the attention of our best engineers.
Think about it: these glasses mean big business. Unless you’re prepared to wear wacky glasses like these, where the 2 and 1 are extra small, and the 1 rests on the bridge of your nose. And this isn’t even very elegant: the 2 is going to tilt those glasses to the right like nobody’s business.
"I saw these in a discount bin next to the check-out counter and just couldn't help myself. "
When I first heard about this, I thought it was a joke. But no. Eugene Robinson is most disappointed at Tiger Woods for not having a diverse stable of mistresses.Tiger's validation complex
...Here's my real question, though: What's with the whole Barbie thing?
No offense to anyone who actually looks like Barbie, but it really is striking how much the women who've been linked to Woods resemble one another. I'm talking about the long hair, the specific body type, even the facial features. Mattel could sue for trademark infringement.
This may be the most interesting aspect of the whole Tiger Woods story -- and one of the most disappointing. He seems to have been bent on proving to himself that he could have any woman he wanted. But from the evidence, his aim wasn't variety but some kind of validation.
Of course, I’m stating the obvious when I point out that turning a well-known literary work into a film can be a tricky thing. There’s always a dedicated group of fans that will balk at any changes made to migrate the work from one medium to another. I tend to fall into that category. Certainly, a lengthy written piece will have to be adjusted to fit into the typical two-hour running time of a film. And this reality may result in taking artistic licenses with other aspects of the narrative. Steven Spielberg didn’t have time in include the scene in Jaws where Matt Hooper shtupps Mrs. Brody. Thus, it’s understandable why he gets a reprieve from a gory death in the shark cage. But I still struggle to discern a reasonable artistic argument for having Hobbs hit a game winning home run at the end of The Natural rather than deliberately strike out as he does in Bernard Malamud’s novel. 
Method Pulls 'Shiny Suds' Ad After Sexism Complaints
Household cleaner marketer Method has pulled down a viral video roundly applauded by marketers at the Association of National Advertisers annual conference last month and by most viewers who've seen it because of heated complaints from some women who view it as sexist and even condoning rape.
...The video got more than 700,000 views in a week on YouTube and a five-star rating from viewers before Method pulled the plug.
I'm not sure that it's worth $9.95 a month, but I wish I'd thought of it.Grandma has no computer? Still send her e-mail
A mailbox containing real mail with real family pictures is about as rare these days as a day without e-mail. But for those who don't use e-mail -- like many of our non-wired grandparents -- there's now a service that sends family news and digital pictures from your e-mail account to someone's snail mailbox for $9.95 a month.
...Sunnygram collects all of the e-mails addressed to her and mails out a weekly, cheery compilation of our messages (large font is an option) with embedded pictures.
The Secret Service claims that the gatecrashers to last Tuesday's White House dinner weren't a threat to the president. Whew. For a second there, I thought the lax security was a problem.Secret Service: Crashers posed no danger to Obama
The Secret Service maintains that President Barack Obama was never in danger at a state dinner after an uninvited Virginia couple got through security, but it wouldn't comment on whether anyone is screened for radiological or biological weapons.
...Michaele and Tareq Salahi went through the same security screening for weapons as the 300-plus people invited to the dinner Tuesday for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Great list. Would these be retro-anachronisms? BTW, there's no mention of "Black Friday" either.Today... according to Freejack
Back in 1992, Freejack predicted what would happen on 23rd November 2009. Did it get it right?
Freejack is a 1992 sci-fi/action film that's based in the future. A future that we've arrived at today. This happens so rarely that we thought it fitting to put a microscope to the predictions that Freejack foresaw for November 23, 2009.
...contrary to all the scientific, medical and technological achievements, another look at the neon date sign shows what our 2009ers surely didn't fail to notice: that no one from the production team bothered to look up what day November 23rd 2009 actually falls on.You'd think calendars and math were nonexistent in our Nineties.
To highlight the increased crime during the holidays, security company McAfee has come up with the "12 Scams of Christmas" ranging from bogus electronic greeting cards that deliver malware instead of cheer to fake charities that steal your money and your identity which are posted Larry Magid's CNET blog.The 12 Scams of Christmas
(sung to the tune "The 12 Days of Christmas")
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:
Twelve malware hackers
Eleven e-mail bank scams
Ten passwords stolen
Nine auction site frauds
Eight fake "at home jobs"
Seven holiday lyric sites
Six unsecured wireless shopping sessions
Five fake Cartiers
Four holiday e-cards
Three email friend requests
Two bogus invoices
And a charitable phishing scam...
There’s an interesting bit of dialog linking the action at Sterling Cooper with that at the lawyer’s office visited by Betty and Henry. Just after Roger, Don and Bert discuss why they no longer want to be compelled to join McCann Erickson, the lawyer in the next scene is pointedly discussing “grounds for divorce.” Betty, who wants to leave Don, is wearing a grey suit. In an earlier scene with Don, while informing him of her desire to leave, she is wearing a grey turtleneck. This is not unlike the turtlenecks Duck was wearing when trying to woo Pete and Peggy. The scene at the lawyer's office also echoes the clandestine meetings Duck arranged for Pete and Peggy. For Betty, the idea of getting a “Reno divorce” must seem “tawdry.”
The Whitman money is kept in a green jar while Don is pointedly shown eating out of a blue container. This is consistent with Season Three's use of green to symbolize a yearning for change (as with Miss Farrell’s maypole dance) while blue represents the status quo. In this case, IF the Whitman’s had more reserve money, Archie wouldn’t have been forced to sell his wheat. In effect, the pragmatic need to put food on the table (blue) outweighed Archie’s desire for something more (green). Furthermore, Abigail is wearing BOTH green and blue. This corresponds to the two paths which have been presented to the characters in Season 3.
Following Allison’s discovery, there’s a quick bit of dialog where she expresses disappointment over the fact that Don didn’t leave a note. One usually associates “notes” with suicides not robberies. So, in a way, Allison’s remark may be linked to Mad Men’s imagery of a man falling down the side of a building. Making the act, in this case, deliberate.Hello,
How are you hope fine,
I Want to introduce
my self to you before
i go further,
My Name is charity Umar
from southern part of sudan.
Please i want you to write
me back Because
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very well. so will
you write me back in my
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(miss.charityumar@gmx.com)
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Thanks and God bless,
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"THIS time make sure to get the film rights and TV residuals."Two of the finalists seem to miss the point that it's MOSES doing the writing:
This is one of the aforementioned “tantrums” Margaret displays in the episode. She is upset that the new earrings Roger’s wife Jane bought for the wedding are also blue (as in the wedding tradition of “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”). Having Margaret say, in effect, that something blue cannot be “new” is consistent with the color's use as a motif throughout all of Season 3.
In The Color Blue, Roger Sterling quotes his ex-wife Mona comparing Don and Betty to the figures on top of a traditional wedding cake. It’s perfectly consistent with Roger and Mona’s dry, cynical, and often spot-on sense of humor. But the observation also pointedly highlights the false premise upon which Don and Betty’s marriage has been built. From that standpoint, the lack of a wedding cake at Margaret’s reception in The Grown-ups is notable. In the context of the episode, this event is depicted as part of the turmoil resulting from the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination. However, that there is no cake for this wedding would seem consistent with how the last few episodes have significantly eroded the foundation of the Draper marriage. Because of Don’s lies coming to the surface and the strong emotions evoked in Betty over JFK’s death, the balustrade of their relationship no longer exists and they aren’t the same “couple” anymore.As pointed out earlier, Betty very deliberately discards her blue scarf after her confrontation with Don as if to shed herself of a role she no longer desires to play.
The office is mostly dark when Don arrives. Only he and Peggy have come in. Peggy asks if Don wants to watch President Kennedy's funeral with her. He declines. Don walks into his office and pours a drink.
Posted this to Basket of Kisses yesterday. Hopefully, I'll have my complete re-cap up today.
