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31 Oct 2009 19:47

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Offbeat: The “vampire cough”: What hip swine-flu infected kids are doing

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  • Ever try sucking your own blood? Especially if you’re sick? That’s what the Miami-Dade Health Department is suggesting to kids going trick-or-treating tonight. Basically, they want kids to cough/sneeze into their elbows to protect other kids from swine flu germs. We think this is terrible advice, because one of these kids is going to be a vampire and draw their own blood. And if they do have swine flu, that little piggy’s gonna run through their bloodstream even quicker. A better bet would to come up with a last-second swine flu costume. This little piggy went to get some candy. This little piggy didn’t stay home. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

31 Oct 2009 19:03

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Culture: Chaz Bono on becoming, not dressing up like, a guy

  • I believe that gender is something between your ears, not between your legs. That is something I discovered in the early ’90s. It was just a long process of being comfortable enough to do something about it.
  • Chaz Bono • Speaking out about his sex change, which started in March. Describing what finally made him decide to do something about it, it was his age. Cher’s new son was pushing 40, and felt that he needed to do it before he missed his chance. “I was turning 40 and I thought it’s now or never,” he said. “I want to still feel vibrant and be able to enjoy my life in a male body and not wait until I am an old man.” • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Oct 2009 18:56

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Culture: Supermodel Heidi Klum puts way too much work into Halloween

This gallery of the supermodel’s Halloween costumes over the last few years only proves that the craziest thing about her isn’t her husband Seal. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Oct 2009 16:52

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Music: Our Saturday Mixtape’s decade-in-review lands in 2005

  • 1. Between this and The Walkmen’s “The Rat,” you have two of the three best songs of the decade right here. (The third is coming in the next few weeks.) A surreal, beautiful, simple song, Antony deserves the high praise this song (and album) earned.
    2. The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn is a walking Wikipedia entry on the city of Minneapolis, something that straight-up defines the sound of “Your Little Hoodrat Friend,” a four-minute explanation of why this band is so awesome to people not in the know.
    3. Sort of a ying to The Hold Steady’s yang, Art Brut’s Eddie Argos is nearly as self-referential as Finn is. On “Emily Kane,” Argos counts down to the second when his first relationship ended. And not surprisingly, the whole album is this clever.
    4. People seem to give Conor Oberst crap for being too pretentious for his own good, but for one shining moment this decade, he was able to get past all that and create a truly shining piece of work, “I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning.” “Land Locked Blues” is our favorite highlight.
    5. Perhaps the best story to come out of 2005 was the long-gestating return of Vashti Bunyan, a former Andrew Loog Oldham protégé who released a spectacular, unheard album, “Just Another Diamond Day,” in 1970, only to disappear for 35 years. Thanks to Devendra Banhart, Animal Collective and other hipster fans, she returned with “Lookaftering,” an amazingly assured victory lap. “Wayward Hum” doesn’t even need words to be a highlight.source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

31 Oct 2009 16:02

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Biz: Some lady’s loud, annoying kid forces Southwest Airlines to apologize

  • It is extremely rare for any situation to escalate to the point where we ask a customer to leave a flight. This was an isolated incident where our flight attendants felt it was the right thing to do.
  • Southwest Airlines representative Chris Mainz • On a highly-buzzed incident where Pamela Root was removed from a flight with her two-year-old son, Adam, because the kid was too freaking loud and whiny. Some would applaud the airline for doing that, but it left Root in a crappy situation, because her checked luggage was still on the fight, meaning she had no diapers or way to take care of the kid. We have sympathy for Root AND Southwest Airlines. It was a tough situation. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Oct 2009 12:04

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Culture: Conan + A Giant Pumpkin + A Monster Truck = Awesome

  • It’s the coolest thing ever, Charlie Brown! Last night, Conan took his amazing ability to smash pumpkins on TV, creating one of the greatest pieces of Halloween television history. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Oct 2009 11:35

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Politics: Daily Poll: Dede Scozzafava and the importance of party politics

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31 Oct 2009 11:16

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U.S.: Dede Scozzafava falls to conservative pressure in N.Y. House race

  • It is increasingly clear that pressure is mounting on many of my supporters to shift their support.
  • New York Republican Dede Scozzafava • On suspending her congressional campaign. The race is something of a symbol of the deep divisions in the Republican Party at the moment. Despite being the “official” candidate, many conservatives (most notably Sarah Palin, but notably NOT Newt Gingrich) supported Conservative party candidate Doug Hoffman. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Oct 2009 11:00

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World: Coup canceled? Manuel Zelaya might be Honduras’ leader again

The U.S. sealed the deal, again playing its solid diplomatic hand and got something done without a single military push. Hopefully it sticks. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Oct 2009 10:52

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U.S.: Did you know HIV-positive people couldn’t enter the U.S. for 22 years?

  • If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it.
  • Barack Obama • Describing his decision to turn over a 22-year-old ban on HIV-positive people entering the country. Just a dozen countries had the ban, which sounds like it was put in place at the height of misinformation and hysteria about the disease. While we’re glad it’s getting overturned, it’s a sad statement on our country that the ban existed in the first place. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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