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05 Dec 2009 23:38

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Culture: Zhu Zhu Hamsters: Impossible to find, may cause cancer

  • We are disputing the findings of Good Guide, and we are 100 percent confident that Mr. Squiggles, and all other Zhu Zhu toys, are safe and compliant with all U.S. and European standards for consumer health and safety in toys.
  • Cepia CEO Russ Hornsby • In a statement defending his products from a report by a California consumer group that says his company’s signature product, the popular Zhu Zhu Hamster, contains a chemical that might cause cancer. The metal, antimony, “can lead to cancer, reproductive health, and other human health hazards” if ingested at high enough levels, according to Good Guide, a consumer watchdog group. Can they cause cancer just because they’re so popular? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Dec 2009 20:54

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Music: Our Saturday Mixtape wants to live in Montreal or something

  • 1. This song has been embedded in our brains for approximately two weeks. Montreal’s Think About Life, who come out on paper as a combination of TV on the Radio and Chromeo, is somewhat hit-and-miss, but when they hit, as on “Havin’ My Baby,” it’s a sugar rush you can’t ignore.
  • 2. Land of Talk – a fellow Montreal band fronted by Elizabeth Powell who comes off as a guitar superhero live – mixes the low-key and the guitar-smashers deftly. The centerpiece of their new “Fun and Laughter” EP, “May You Never” mixes calm and chaos (and the gift of hazy atmosphere) into a tasty stew.
  • 3. Disclosure: Plants and Animals will be in the mixtape two weeks in a row, because their 2008 album “Parc Avenue” is that good. “A L’Oree Des Bois” has this way of starting out loose and then expanding slowly.
  • 4. There’s a few obvious picks that can go on this list: Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Wolf Parade, and so on. Handsome Furs are sort of on the cusp of that, but we admittedly like Dan Boeckner’s non-Wolf Parade band a little more than the main act, especially on “All We Want, Baby, Is Everything,” which manages to come across as unpretentious dance-rock. At least it’s less pretentious than Toronto’s Crystal Castles.
  • 5. The Lovely Feathers have a little of the Arcade Fire rising hugeness going on with “Lowiza,” but what’s really interesting is that the chorus sort of breaks into a group oy-style endeavor. It’s like they’re the Dropkick Murphys doing “Neighborhood #1.” (Well, kinda.) It’s pretty awesome to hear, actually.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Dec 2009 17:34

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World: Iran’s not too happy about Switzerland’s new minaret ban

  • Values such as tolerance, dialogue and respecting others’ religions should never be put to referendum.
  • Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki • Speaking to his Swiss counterpart about the referendum that led to a ban on minarets. He warns that there could be consequences for the country long-term. For those keeping score at home: Iran is 90% Muslim, but (despite the image of leaders being completely unaccepting of other religions and faiths) does allow Christian churches and Jewish synagogues to be built in the country. There have been complaints about this being difficult, though. Switzerland and Iran have a tight relationship, by the way, due to the Swiss acting as an intermediary between the U.S. and Iran. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Dec 2009 17:23

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Biz: Bank Failure Friday’s still taking victims well into the holidays

  • 130
    banks     have failed so far this year – it’s a good thing we’re in December
  • $12
    billion     the value of AmTrust Bank, the fourth-largest to fail this year source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Dec 2009 17:10

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Tech: Would you pay a boatload for a super-awesome Twitter app?

  • CoTweet The app, aimed specifically at corporate users, plans to charge $1,500 a MONTH for their enterprise features.
  • HootSuite The app (which we use and just added Facebook pages – thank you!) plans to charge too, but not nearly that much. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Dec 2009 17:04

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World: Russia’s deadly nightclub fire blamed on a pyrotechnic FAIL

  • 5 have been held in the nightclub disaster that killed 109+ source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Dec 2009 11:22

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Culture: Tiger’s voicemail could definitely be a bedroom jam, guys

  • Hey, uh, it’s Tiger. This may officially be the slow jam of the fourth quarter. Take your name off your phone. Just have it as a number.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 

05 Dec 2009 11:16

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Tech: Daily poll: Apple’s buyout of Lala, good or bad?


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05 Dec 2009 11:06

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Offbeat: Twitter is collectively enthralled by the idea of snow

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05 Dec 2009 10:55

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World: Militants in Pakistan getting more blatant in their mosque attacks

  • 37+ were killed in a mosque bombing, including many civilians
  • 86+ were injured in the blatant daytime attack in Rawalpindi source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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