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14 Sep 2009 22:13

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14 Sep 2009 22:02

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U.S.: Some raid happened in Queens today; details? Scarce, of course.

  • A bunch of homes in Queens, NY, were raided today by the FBI. Nobody was arrested. Later in the day, a few Congress members were briefed. source
  • Word is that authorities were trying to disrupt a Islamic terror cell after some weekend activity drew the attention of the government. That’s all we know. source

14 Sep 2009 21:46

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Offbeat: Ever wonder what a dog’s worldview was like? Read this post.

  • Hard as we may try, a dog’s-eye view is not immediately accessible to us, however, for we reside within our own umwelt, our own self-world bubble, which clouds our vision.
  • New York Times book reviewer Cathleen Schine • Using very big words to describe Alexandra Horowitz’s “Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know,” a book that tells you about all the stuff the title describes. Basically, dogs think differently from people – seeing things means little to Rover. But if Rover leaves his mark, then it means a lot to him. Their vision and hearing? Imprecise. Their smelling? Immaculate. There, we saved you from reading both the article and Horowitz’s book. But if you want to read either, click the link or something. • source

14 Sep 2009 21:22

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Tech: Google FastFlip: They’re trying to make us obsolete, guys!

Many news Web sites load really slow (including ours – we swear, we’re working on it!), which is why Google’s trying to make reading online more magazine-like. source

14 Sep 2009 21:14

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Culture: Reports of Patrick Swayze’s death: Wildly exaggerated, until it was true

  • Fake death reports kept cropping up for months. Back in May, The Vancouver Sun wrote this article about how reports of Patrick Swayze’s death were tweeted heavily for months, despite the fact they weren’t true. People knew that the actor had been in ill health for months, but many pulled the trigger too early. “Someone shouts out, ‘Patrick Swayze is dead!’ and you’re thrown into action straight away,” notes Hello! Canada editor-in-chief Ciara Hunt. And at that point, it just tweeted out of control. When millions of boys are crying wolf, eventually it doesn’t matter if it isn’t true. source

14 Sep 2009 20:32

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Culture: Patrick Swayze in January: I’m not gonna chase staying alive

  • One thing I’m not gonna do is chase staying alive. You spend so much time chasing staying alive, you won’t live.
  • Patrick Swayze • In an interview with Barbara Walters in January about his pancreatic cancer. At the time, Swayze said he expected to live two years. “I want to last until they find a cure,” he said in the interview, “which means I’d better get a fire under it.” He didn’t get a chance, sadly. • source

14 Sep 2009 20:20

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Culture: Patrick Swayze has died at 57. We reminisce via “Roadhouse.”

  • This was the best movie from which to get the Patrick Swazye experience. It’s not his best film – in fact, it’s laughably bad – but “Roadhouse,” more than any other, explains the appeal of Swayze. He had other notable roles (he was killer in “Donnie Darko,” for example), but he’s best remembered for the three years between 1987 and 1990. Swayze died of pancreatic cancer. He was 57.source
 

14 Sep 2009 12:59

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Music: A really old lady held back the kinda-old Beatles from the U.K. No. 1

  • 92 age of WWII-era entertainer (and chart-topper) Vera Lynn source

14 Sep 2009 11:20

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Culture: Jay Leno has a new set just big enough for his lameness

  • Ooh, a new set. Doesn’t mean his show won’t suck still. His show premieres tonight against a bunch of dramas.source

14 Sep 2009 10:56

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