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14 Aug 2009 11:33

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Offbeat: We do this all the time when we’re at hotels, guys

  • He was a bit surprised that there were two people in his room and he was butt naked.
  • Sergeant Steve Watt of the Queenstown, Australia police • Describing the scene after a drunk, naked man barged into a hotel room that wasn’t his own and fell asleep on the bed. Sounds like someone had an interesting night. Charges weren’t pressed, by the way. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Aug 2009 11:20

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U.S.: “Squeaky” gets out: Wannabe Ford assassin released from prison

  • The former Manson family member was in 34 years. Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme was convicted in 1975 of attempting to shoot Gerald Ford. She pointed a gun at him, but was stopped by the Secret Service. (There wasn’t a bullet in the chamber, by the way.) She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole but got off on good behavior and (we’re guessing) overcrowding. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

14 Aug 2009 11:07

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Biz, U.S.: Need twenty bucks? Ask these super-rich guys for a loan

  • $702.4 million the amount Blackstone Group LP’s Stephen Schwarzman, made last year, largely from the vesting of equity grants source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Aug 2009 10:55

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Biz: The New York Times is gonna survive the recession using wine (and cheese)

nytwineclub0814
  • If you can’t sell papers, sell wine. That seems to be the philosophy of the New York Times, which has thrown its hat into the wine club ring, playing into its rep as the snootiest print publication around. We hope the New York Post responds by starting up a hard-liquor-on-the-rocks club.source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Aug 2009 10:43

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Politics, U.S.: On death panels and bold-faced lies spread about health care

  • I guess what surprised me is the ferocity, it’s much stronger than I expected. It’s people who are ideologically opposed to Mr. Obama, and this is the opportunity to weaken the president.
  • AARP executive vice president John Rother • Which supports changing the health care plan, on attacks the plan has received, including suggestions of a “death panel” by Sarah Palin, a claim which is completely false but has much more traction than it should. The claims have much in common with the claims used to kill the health care movement in 1994. One conservative commentator from that era who flipped sides, David Brock, put it best: “In the 90s, every misrepresentation under the sun was made about the Clinton plan and there was no real capacity to push back. Now, there is that capacity.” • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Aug 2009 10:28

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U.S.: Forget puberty. Damon Weaver proves even kids can interview Obama

  • 11 you must be this old to grill President Obama on TV source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Aug 2009 10:12

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World: Afghanistan just passed a law screwing over women

Want to live in a country where you can deny your wife food? Or pay off a rape charge in lieu of prosecution? Move to sunny Afghanistan. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

14 Aug 2009 00:45

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Music: Gibson’s CEO says Les Paul had a huge influence on the company

  • The guitar shines in modern music. … In the ’50s and before the ’50s, the guitar was amplified, but it was just louder. In other words, it still sounded just like an acoustic guitar, but you could turn it up. What Les did was turn it into a whole new instrument.
  • Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz • Describing the Les Paul guitar’s role in musical history, and how the guitar became a musical icon. Paul’s influence has helped the company in numerous ways – he convinced Gibson to start selling cheaper models of the namesake model, helping the guitar fly off the shelves and putting it in the hands of the average person. And to think, they laughed at “The Log!” • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

14 Aug 2009 00:26

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Music: More on the coolest guitar hack ever, Les Paul’s “The Log”

When Paul introduced this guitar to guitar manufacturers, they laughed at him, calling it a “broomstick with pickups.” They’re not laughing anymore, kids. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Aug 2009 00:11

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Music: Five key moments in guitar innovator Les Paul’s life (R.I.P., bro)

  • Paul, a jazz musician, decided to get more sound out of his guitar by putting a log in the middle. In the process, he invented the solid-body guitar. source
  • Paul experiments with a tape recorder in his garage. He layers his guitar’s tone on one song, “Lover,” and invents multi-track recording. source
  • Paul divorces his first wife and marries Mary Ford, his music partner. The two spend much of the early 1950s as major musical stars, notching hits until 1955. source
  • Gibson asks Paul to promote its new solid-body guitar; Paul influenced the guitar’s design only a little, but the guitar’s name helped build Paul’s legend. source
  • Paul never gave up his craft and continued to be a musical icon late in life, playing NYC clubs well into his 90s. Paul died Thursday at 94. His legacy is insane. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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