hmmm...   March 2008

• Clinton, Obama related to Brangelina? → For all their insistence on how unlike they are from one another, the three U.S. presidential candidates share some noteworthy family connections, the New England Historic Genealogical Society has found. #
• Man scammed by Craigslist ad → A pair of hoax ads on Craigslist cost an Oregon man much of what he owned. #
• The NJ governor’s three-way boy toy → A former aide to ex-New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey claims he had sexual encounters with McGreevey and his now-estranged wife while they dated before the governor took office. #
• Star explodes halfway across universe → The explosion of a star halfway across the universe was so huge it set a record for the most distant object that could be seen on Earth by the naked eye. #
• Woman dies after ray strikes her → A woman on a boat died after a spotted eagle ray leaped from the water off the Florida Keys Thursday and struck her, officials said. #
• Anderson Cooper has skin cancer → CNN’s Anderson Cooper, star of the network’s ‘Anderson Cooper 360,’ has disclosed he has been treated for skin cancer. #
• Illinois-shaped corn flake up for auction → Sounds a little flaky, but someone has offered more than $500 on eBay for a piece of breakfast cereal that is touted as a lookalike to the state of Illinois. #
• Man forced to have breast reduction → A Chinese woman forced her boyfriend to have breast-reduction surgery because his man boobs made her look flat. #
• Brain surgeon operates with £10 cordless drill → An eminent British neuro-surgeon has been performing complex brain operations using a £30 do-it-yourself cordless power drill at a clinic in Ukraine. #
• Pair dress in ‘dead dog’ jumpers → A Newcastle couple have found a unique way of keeping their beloved dead pets close to their hearts - by having the dog hair made into woolly jumpers. #
• Man auctions his life → A man in Australia is auctioning his life — his house, his job, his clothes and his friends — on eBay, after his marriage broke up, saying he wants to start a new life. #
• Dark matter revealed! → Armed with powerful tech, scientists at last bring dark matter to light. #
• Bodies of toddlers, father found in Georgia → Investigators have found the bodies of three small children and the father who allegedly abducted them from their home in Columbus, Georgia, two weeks ago, the FBI said Wednesday. #
• Watch out for energy vampires → Some people bring unexpected lightness and comfort to your life. They crackle with energy, practically electrify you with their presence. And then there are those who leave you feeling stressed out. Or guilty. Or exhausted down to your very last molecule. #
• ‘King of spam’ pleads guilty, faces 26 years in prison → The notorious spammer authorities dubbed “the king of spam” is facing a possible 26-year jail sentence after pleading guilty in Seattle on Friday to charges of fraud and tax evasion. #
• Radiohead has another offer for you → Radiohead allowed fans to choose a price for their latest tunes. Now, the best-selling band is hoping fans will make them a music video, too. #
• Mills awarded $48.6M from McCartney → A judge awarded Heather Mills a total of $48.6 million Monday in the financial settlement of her divorce from former Beatle Paul McCartney. #
• Nepalese gay sex scandal may push poet off Irish syllabus → One of the foremost Irish-language poets is expected to have his work removed from the school curriculum in the wake of a tangled sexual controversy. #
• A Crude Case For War? → Five years after the United States invaded Iraq, plenty of people believe that the war was waged chiefly to secure U.S. petroleum supplies and to make Iraq safe — and lucrative — for the U.S. oil industry. (They’re only waking up to this now?) #
• Searchers find possible graves at Manson compound → Bone-white stretches of salt, leached up from the lifeless soil, lay like a shroud over the high desert where a paranoid Charles Manson holed up after an orgy of murder nearly four decades ago. #
• That’s what friends are for → “Among Friends” is a new web community in English and Spanish for men (over 18 years of age) who are interested in or enjoy mutual and group masturbation with other men, within a healthy framework of friendship and companionship. #
• Pre-Inca temple uncovered in Peru → Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of an ancient temple, roadway and irrigation systems at a famed fortress overlooking the Inca capital of Cuzco, according to officials involved with the dig. #
• 4 dead in Manhattan crane collapse → A crane mounted to the side of a skyscraper under construction toppled with a roar Saturday, smashing into a block of apartment buildings, killing at least four people and setting off a scramble for survivors in the rubble. #
• Kottke.org turns 10 → One of the Internet’s original heartthrobs, and remains one to this day. #
• Archie In… A Different Class! → I’ve always wondered what Pulp’s “Common People” would look like served up in comics, Archie style. #
• Scientists discover gene that controls fruit shape → US scientists have discovered and cloned a gene that controls the shape of tomatoes, a find which could help unravel the morphological mysteries of the plant world. #
• Songs played on Eli Stone → The bestest new law/courtroom show on TV. Bar none. #
• Boyfriend: Phobia caused woman’s 2-year bathroom stay → A 35-year-old woman who sat on her boyfriend’s toilet for so long that her body was stuck to the seat had a phobia about leaving the bathroom, the boyfriend said. #
• Why the Stooges performed for Madonna → Band member Ron Asheton was reacting to online reports that have described the band’s Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame performance as a “tribute” to the dance-pop star, whose music is a far cry from the Stooges’ own gritty, primal Detroit rock. #
• McCain: Romney seems interested in V.P spot → The Arizona senator joked Wednesday he got the impression Romney is interested in the No. 2 spot on the Republican presidential ticket after watching a recent interview with the former Massachusetts governor. #
• Real and virtual pendulums swing as one in mixed reality state → Using a virtual pendulum and its real-world counterpart, scientists at the University of Illinois have created the first mixed reality state in a physical system. #
• 50 people looking for solar image of Virgin Mary lose sight → At least 50 people in a village in India have reportedly lost their vision after gazing at the sun looking for an image of the Virgin Mary. #
• ‘Creepy gnome’ terrorises town → A TOWN in South America is living in fear after several sightings of a ‘creepy gnome’ that locals claim stalks the streets at night. #
• Buddhist builder buried alive for TWO HOURS survives by meditating → A Chinese builder buried alive for two hours used Buddhist meditation techniques to control his breathing and survive on just the air trapped in his safety helmet. #
• Good samaritan hit, killed by own vehicle → A good Samaritan who stopped on an interstate highway to check on a disabled vehicle was killed when his own pickup truck struck him. His daughter, who was riding in his truck with him, was not able to prevent the accident. #
• Pa. stylist shoots angry client → A hairstylist shot an unhappy client after she complained about her haircut, police said. #
• Licence to lie for Italian women → Italy’s highest appeal court has ruled that married Italian women who commit adultery are entitled to lie about it to protect their honour. #
• First advertisement to be broadcast into space → The campaign to broadcast the first ever advertisement into space is launched March 7 with University of Leicester space scientists playing a key part in the process. #
• An egg… inside an egg → How curious. #
• Vatican lists “new sins,” including pollution → Modern times bring with them modern sins. #
• The world’s greatest record collection is for sale. Again. → 3 million records. 300,000 compact discs. More than 6 million song titles. #
• Canadian killer’s art for auction on U.S. website → The prison artwork of a notorious Canadian killer is being offered for sale on an American website that promotes criminals as celebrities. #
• Britain makes camera that “sees” under clothes → A British company has developed a camera that can detect weapons, drugs or explosives hidden under people’s clothes from up to 25 meters away in what could be a breakthrough for the security industry. #
• Thrift store worker finds $30,000 in cash; returns it → A thrift store worker in Southern California says she didn’t think twice about returning $30,000 she found in donated clothing. #
• Madonna’s still fighting → With an album dropping in late April and a documentary about Malawi, I Am Because We Are, due to be released this year, the not-so-material-anymore girl sat down with Interview magazine’s Ingrid Sischy for the editor’s final issue to talk Africa, albums and freedom. #
• Prince Harry’s shirtless moments in Afghanistan → Simply delicious. #
• File-sharers should get ready to pay, say experts → Some of North America’s leading experts in peer-to-peer file sharing on the Internet are convinced that sooner rather than later – maybe within a couple of years – we won’t be downloading music, movies and TV shows for free. (Oh hell na.) #
• Why daylight saving time is bad for the environment → Always sold as a conservation measure, the practice of daylight savings actually jacked electricity use in homes across one central U.S. state by up to four per cent, according to a new American study. #
• Is your Xbox 360 still working? You must be one of the lucky ones. → 16% of Xbox 360s experience a hardware failure within six to ten months after a warranty purchase. (Doh!) #
• Police needled at 111 call to help with sewing → A woman in a rush to get to a garden party called 111 to ask for help with her sewing. #
• Boy, eight, aces Brazil law school exam → An eight-year-old Brazilian boy has passed a law school entrance exam - earning him praise and shocking the country’s legal profession. #
• Indonesia spray paints commuters → Rush-hour trains in Jakarta are sometimes so packed that people are forced to hang in the open doorways - clinging to life by their fingertips. #
• Put your face in the game → Snap photos of your head from the side and front, and Vegas 2 will create an in-game model that looks just like you and can be used in both solo and multiplayer games. #
• China to crack down on singers after Bjork outburst → China will tighten its controls over foreign singers and other performers after Icelandic singer Bjork shouted “Tibet! Tibet!” at a Shanghai concert last weekend, the Ministry of Culture said on Friday. (Spoon! Spoon!) #
• How the herb Charles II used to keep royal mistresses in shape could help fight today’s obesity epidemic → It is an ancient slimming remedy with a royal seal of approval. #
• Black fungus found in Chernobyl eats harmful radiation → Fungi could eat dangerous radiation to survive, an unexpected finding that could one day help feed astronauts in space — at least those willing to eat a crawling fungus. The research began with the discovery of black fungus growing on the walls of the damaged, highly radioactive Chernobyl nuclear reactor and collected by robots. #
• Pollution helps birds sing better → Pollution can actually lead male birds to change their tune, singing better than before. #
• Cemetery full, mayor tells locals not to die → The mayor of a village in southwest France has threatened residents with severe punishment if they die, because there is no room left in the overcrowded cemetery to bury them. #
• Japanese model gets off thanks to large breasts → A bikini model in Japan has been cleared of property destruction after an appeal court heard that her large breasts meant she couldn’t have committed the crime. #
• Ashton Kutcher punks the paparazzi with new show → Paris Hilton had an improbable dinner date in L.A. Saturday: a gray-haired, orange-robed “shaman” who blessed her and urged her to give a diamond necklace to a total stranger. #
• The 50 gayest songs of all time… → …according to Australian homosexuals. (Tellingly, out of the 50, there are only 7 that I do not have. Eeek.) #
• Rare Helen Keller pic with doll discovered → Researchers have uncovered a rare photograph of a young Helen Keller with her teacher Anne Sullivan, nearly 120 years after it was taken on Cape Cod and tucked inside a family album. #
• Justin Timberlake sporting a pornstache and a stuffed speedo → Um. #
• Musician turns to fans for help with new disc → Jill Sobule, whose witty and poignant writing first attracted attention with the song “I Kissed a Girl,” has set up a Web site asking fans to donate money so she can make a new CD. She set a goal of $75,000 and, in a month, she’s made about $58,000 as of midday Tuesday. #
• Bike fetish gave man an ‘overwhelming sense of calm’ → A 36-year-old man has been indicted for satisfying himself on the seats of women’s bicycles. #
• Cannibalism may have killed Neanderthals → Neanderthals who practiced cannibalism may have spread a mad cow-like disease that weakened and reduced populations, thereby contributing to their extinction, according to a new theory. #
• Man asks friend to shoot him to avoid work → A 21-year-old man in the United States asked his friend to shoot him in the shoulder so he could skip work, sheriff’s detectives in Washington say. #
• ‘Idol’ contestant’s previous life: Male stripper → “American Idol” contestant David Hernandez once entertained audiences by removing his clothes instead of singing tunes, a manager at a male strip club in Phoenix told The Associated Press. (Oh, honey, we all knew.) #
• 100 ways to use your iPod to learn and study better → If you think that iPods are used just for listening to music, you obviously haven’t been keeping up with the latest technology. #
• Bankruptcy makes gift cards worthless → You know that Sharper Image gift card you got for Christmas? Right now, it’s worthless. And other gift cards in your wallet could lose their value, too. #
• Soap fans: We want more of gay story → The love affair between two young men on the venerable CBS soap opera “As the World Turns” has triggered a protest campaign by angry viewers. It’s just not the sort of protest you’d expect. #
• What type of cunt are you? → Rate your cuntability. #
• Daughter, 16, charged in murder of mother, brothers → A teenage daughter’s anger over a forbidden romance may have caused the 16-year-old to kill her mother and two brothers, police said. #
• Twin gay porn actors charged in burglary → Twin brothers who have appeared in hardcore gay-porn online videos are charged with the rooftop burglary of a South Philadelphia business and are suspected in dozens of similar crimes in at least three states, authorities said. #
• 10 myths about Windows passwords → With all of our advances in security technology, one aspect remains constant: passwords still play a central role in system security. The difficulty with passwords is that all too often they are the easiest security mechanism to defeat. #

hmmm... by Month

• April 2008 (8)
• March 2008 (75)
• February 2008 (20)
• January 2008 (3)
• December 2007 (9)
• November 2007 (86)