Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on TwitterBe a Facebook FanTumble us!

10 Oct 2011 23:21

tags

World: Study: Chocolate could help lower heart risk for women

  • claimEat more chocolate (in moderation), have a lower risk of getting a stroke? A Swedish study of 33,000 women seemed to come to that sweet confectionary conclusion. Dark chocolate had a better effect on heart health than other kinds.
  • rebuttal Doctors still haven’t recommended chocolate as the best way to reduce the risk of having a stroke, though. They do recommend “blood pressure medicine, quitting smoking, exercising more and eating a healthier diet.” source

04 Oct 2011 00:39

tags

World: “An important document”: What a letter from Hitler (circa 1919) looks like

  • The Museum of Tolerance to put Hitler’s letter on display: Written before his “Mein Kampf” manifesto, the letter mentions the “Jewish threat.” Deborah Lipstadt, a professor at Emory University, said that this letter is “important for helping us understand Adolf Hitler.”  source

04 Oct 2011 00:32

tags

Culture: Andy Rooney: sad to see him go, love to watch him tweet

  • sad news Andy Rooney’s retirement might come as a relief to some people who think he might be too hard on chocolate chip cookies, but you can’t deny the man’s media presence. He’s written many books in addition to appearing in 1,000 “60 Minutes” segments.
  • consolation  There are two really hilarious fake Twitter accounts for Rooney. A sample of their selection? “My great grandson is coming over tomorrow to attach my Twitter to my phone. Luckily, we recently got rid of our rotary and got a touchtone.” source

29 Sep 2011 01:18

tags

World: In Acapulco, Mexico, a brutal manifestation of the drug war’s violence

  • 5 severed heads discovered in front of a primary school in Mexico source
  • » A sign things are getting worse: The city, once noted as a popular tourist destination, is now one of the drug war’s most violent battlegrounds, and this particular story is no exception in this often-disturbing tome. In this case, the heads were discovered while young students and pedestrians stood nearby, causing panic. But for those perpetuating the violence, that’s not their concern; their concern is power and control. (And apparently, stealing teachers’ salaries.) The police say it’s likely that the heads to belong to five decapitated bodies they discovered on Monday.

29 Sep 2011 00:36

tags

U.S.: Today’s lesson: Don’t buy cantaloupe from Jensen Farms.

  • If it’s not Jensen Farms, it’s okay to eat. If you can’t confirm it’s not Jensen Farms, then it’s best to throw it out.
  • CDC director Thomas Frieden • Discussing the tainted cantaloupes that have killed and/or sickened dozens of people. The CDC is calling this listeria outbreak the deadliest one of its kind in the past decade. There’s no official list of the distributors in 25 states of the listeria-ridden cantaloupe, and on top of that, not all of the cantaloupes are labeled — or have such obscure labels as “Colorado Grown,” “Distributed by Frontera Produce,” “Jensenfarms.com” or “Sweet Rocky Fords.” The CDC recommends you ask your grocer where the cantaloupe came from. If it came from US3, however, you should be fine. source

28 Sep 2011 23:56

tags

Tech: Voltaire? Really, Kindle? That’s how you’re gonna play this?

  • “Fire” still looks cool, though: We kind of hate the pretentiousness of this entire ad. Amazon just released this ad to promote the new Kindle Fire … which appears to imply that a Voltaire quote inspired the name. Steve Jobs is probably cursing the hipster marketers at Amazon for just being so dang indie. How can the iPad compete with that?! source

27 Sep 2011 01:38

tags

Tech: Too social? Spotify and Facebook get too friendly for some users’ taste

  • Not cool. My Spotify account isn’t linked to Facebook, and it’ll stay that way, thankyouverymuch. If I didn’t have an account already, this would prevent me from signing up.
  • A Get Satisfaction user • Venting about Spotify’s Facebook-only signup option for new users. On top of that, Spotify recently started cross-posting what songs users are listening to on Facebook, which might be a little to personal for some people. Whistling Britney Spears while you work? Have a soft spot for Depeche Mode? Now all your friends will know, too. Follow these steps to stop or limit Spotify oversharing. source
 

27 Sep 2011 00:54

tags

Politics: When it comes to fundraising, Obama’s still got the magic touch

  • $5 million in donations in two days; he’s makin’ it look kinda easy source
  • » So far, so good for Obama: With a successful West Coast swing (helped in large part by an up-to-$35,800-a-plate dinner in San Diego), President Obama is well on his way to reaching his goal of $55 million in the third quarter of 2011, which Reuters claims is “a more modest total that they say reflects the fact he was stuck in Washington for most of July by a bitter budget debate with Republicans.” Sure, modest total.

27 Sep 2011 00:42

tags

Culture: Dancing With the [CENSORED]: Nancy Grace has a moment

  • Nancy’s grace slipped tonight. Poor taste, sorry.  On tonight’s episode of “Dancing With the Stars,” Nancy Grace had a slight wardrobe malfunction. Faster than you can say “Casey Anthony trial,” producers had to cut to a “static shot of the audience” to prevent potential FCC freakouts. After the performance, Judge Bruno Tonioli quipped: “It was a bit top-heavy at times, my darling. And I got an eyeful! I couldn’t miss that. But it really is great to see you taking over the dance floor and performing.” Sleep tight, America! source

22 Sep 2011 19:02

tags

U.S.: A local government cracks down on … wait for it … Bible study

  • San Juan Capistrano, calif. claims it’s a zoning issue. A couple in California has held a number of twice-weekly Bible study meetings in their home, but the city says that went against city zoning codes. So they fined them $300. A spokeswoman for the city says that it was to stop them from “transforming a residential area into a place where people regularly assemble” — but emphasizing that the city was in fact not trying to block people from being able to hold Bible studies. Pacific Justice Institute (a “religious legal non-profit group” which sounds like the ACLU, except for issues of Christian faith) is fully prepared to take this to the Supreme Court “if necessary.” source