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23 Mar 2010 20:57

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U.S.: How young is too young for major weight-loss surgery, anyway?

  • I want to be able to run. I haven’t been able to run since I was 5 years old. … I just want to be normal.
  • 14-year-old Maria Caprigno • Regarding her decision to go under the knife for purposes of losing weight. Caprigno, who weighs over 400 pounds even after losing 45, says that many of her weight problems come from a mix of genes (her parents are also overweight), couch potato status, and overeating. But the gastrectomy surgery she got, which involved removing much of her stomach, is often used on people three times her age (or older). Her doctor, though, claims holding back the surgery would have been unethical. “Her BMI [body mass index], which is a measurement we use to determine how obese someone is, put her in the highest risk category,” said Dr. Evan Nadler. “Not just morbidly obese, but two categories higher than that.” Holy crap. We’re glad she got help. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Mar 2010 20:41

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Biz: Obama’s pay czar to bailed-out firms: Time for another pay cut!

  • 15% average pay cuts for highly-paid workers at bailed-out firms
  • 33% average pay cuts for their non-stock cash payments source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Mar 2010 20:35

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Politics: Mimes know how to deal with xenophobes at immigration rallies

  • Whoever came up with this way of handling dissenting opinion (making Roy Beck of anti-immigration group NumbersUSA basically freak out in this clip due to all the balloons and noisemakers) deserves a gold star and a cookie. If the tea partiers did this instead of getting all angry and stuff, Sarah Palin would probably be president right now. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Mar 2010 20:28

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Politics: Joe Biden is f(#@ing right, isn’t he? Yeah, he really is.

  • And yes Mr. Vice President,
    you’re right …
  • White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs • On handling a major political gaffe with a little bit of levity. Joe Biden told Obama that signing the health care bill was a “big ducking deal.” Except he wasn’t ducking. The video is here. We have to say, Joe Biden amuses the spit out of us. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Mar 2010 20:15

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Culture: Merton, the Chatroulette piano guy, is a genuinely cool dude

  • Mashable did an awesome interview with him. Skype is quickly becoming the blogger’s interview tool of choice. And in the case of Merton, the lovable, not-Ben-Foldsy guy behind Chatroulette’s biggest phenomenon, it drew out some pretty great details.
  • one The original video
    was forced offline
    after two chatters
    felt their privacy
    had been violated
    by the coolest
    guy ever.
  • two That same video
    was also the
    highest-rated
    video YouTube
    has ever hosted,
    which is pretty
    crazy to consider.
  • three Merton, who
    chooses to (for
    now) remain
    anonymous, is
    way more inspired
    by Tori Amos than
    Ben Folds.
  • four That doesn’t
    mean he doesn’t
    find Ben Folds’
    rendition hilarious,
    though, especially
    with the crowd
    interactions.
  • five He says that the
    clips allow him to
    mix his sense of
    humor with his
    often-maudlin
    piano playing.
    Neat. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Mar 2010 11:54

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U.S.: Obama just signed that health care bill or something

We’re kinda health cared out, but we think this is kind of a momentous occasion for the country. Or not. We wonder if those lawsuits will just worsen the situation. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

23 Mar 2010 11:20

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U.S.: We hope we don’t get arrested like this Milwaukee student today

  • The person who shot this is totally in stealth mode, clearly nervously trying to keep this camera out of sight of the scene. The scene? Crazy student gets arrested for throwing a water bottle at a fellow University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student during class. Based on the clip, she let it escalate to this point. But wow, we’re glad we’ve never had a class quite like this. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

23 Mar 2010 11:11

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Offbeat: Paintings of the Last Supper getting hungrier over time

  • 50 paintings of the Biblical Last Supper analyzed by Cornell University for some reason
  • 23%-69% increase in size of the Last
    Supper’s serving sizes, because,
    really, why not? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Mar 2010 11:06

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World: Israeli West Bank settlement drama partly an economic thang

  • Real estate prices on the west side of the fence are the lowest, security arrangements are better than on the east side and (offer) better access to the major cities allows settlers to work in Israel.
  • A analysis piece by the Tel Aviv Macro Centre for Political Economics • Regarding why settlement-building in the West Bank is still an ongoing thing, with 6,657 new structures since 2004 alone. While the U.S. and EU say that the buildings get in the way of peace talks (and have caused the country’s latest blow-up), it’s notable that the structures often have significant economic benefits (that have nothing to do with a land debate), too. “Israelis do not want to live beyond the separation barrier” splitting the east and west sides of the West Bank, the report also notes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Mar 2010 10:54

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Biz: Dish Network makes an ad. So does DirecTV. Lawsuits ahoy!

  • The original commercial Dish Network’s main selling point? It’s cheaper, and it offers the same quality of product as DirecTV. It’s not nearly the same as, say, AT&T and Verizon’s competing maps, but it understandably might provoke a response from DirecTV.
  • The (supposed) rip-off And here’s that response! It’s honestly a more clever approach, using Alex Trebek in a Jeopardy-style game. However, if you listen about halfway through, you’ll hear the same kind of message as the original commercial in this clip, too. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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