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05 Jan 2010 09:23

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Offbeat: Dude buys $3 billion item on Amazon just to see what happens

Hear that sound? It’s the sound of someone’s credit card reaching its limit, and then some. This guy, whoever he is, is awesome. source

01 Jan 2010 11:12

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About: ShortFormBlog turns one! Anybody want some cake or something?

  • Julius can now eat solid food! Today, ShortFormBlog celebrates its first birthday, and boy are we excited. A lot has happened in the last year, and boy, we’d love to tell you about it. Our crazy idea of making a blog focused on numbers, quotes and other short stuff has been nothing if a lot of statistics. So here’s a few:
  • 6,098 posts, including this one have been put on the site in the last year
  • 268k people have found their way onto the SFB site in the last year; neat
  • this is our most popular post of all time. People love Transformers, kids!
  • So, what’s next? Well, we’re gonna keep doing what we do best. Blogging and keeping you jerks informed. After a year of doing this, we’ve gotten pretty good, and are always trying new things. That’s our plan for 2010.
  • Any ideas? As you might know, we’re totally open to cool ideas, so send us some! We’re all ears, especially if the ideas are good and can extend our mission of giving the news in as short of a space as possible. source

31 Dec 2009 16:05

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Offbeat: Marijuana Pepsi: It’s not a soft drink. It’s a poor woman’s name.

  • I want to know, what was it about me that made her go, ‘You just look like a Marijuana Pepsi.’
  • College counselor Marijuana Pepsi • On her mother choosing to name her perhaps the most bizarre name ever. This is worse than “Pilot Inspektor,” guys. She also noted that her mom wouldn’t let her teachers give her a nickname – she had to be called “Marijuana.” The best part of the story? It mentions that outside of her office, there’s a sign that says, “If You’re Waiting for Marijuana, Sit Here.” source

31 Dec 2009 11:40

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Offbeat: High schoolers don’t see humor in U. of Chicago’s great joke

  • Dear University of Chicago, It fills me up with that gooey sap you feel late at night when I think about things that are really special to me about you. Tell me, was I just one in a line of many? Was I just another supple ‘applicant’ to you, looking for a place to live, looking for someone to teach me the ways of the world?
  • A University of Chicago sample entrance essay • Which, in our estimation, is the most amazing thing ever. It was sent to high school students last week in an attempt to inspire them to come up with killer application essays ahead of the January 2 deadline. Somehow, though, some people don’t see the humor in this amazingly well-crafted essay and are criticizing its sexual overtones. Others are freaking out big time, afraid that their essays are really similar. WTF?! Enjoy it for what it is, guys! source

30 Dec 2009 20:59

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Biz: Ho-ho-holy crap, did you see this online holiday sales number?

  • $27 billion in “wow that’s a lot of money” money source

30 Dec 2009 08:53

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Culture: The Dude abides: “The Big Lebowski” worthy of academic study

  • The Little Lebowski Urban Achievers will appreciate this. A new book, “The Year’s Work in Lebowski Studies,” gathers a number of heady papers on a guy who wants nothing more than to have a rug that nobody urinated on (and a White Russian). Shut the &!^$ up, Julius. You’re out of your element. source

26 Dec 2009 11:46

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Offbeat: “Tape Measure Tricks”: Like Spiderman for home improvement

  • Super-goofy. Possibly fake. Definitely pretty dang awesome. This guy can use his tape measure to do just about anything, it seems. We’d like to see him get us a beer with it.
 

26 Dec 2009 10:51

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Offbeat: Here’s a Jesus banana peel, for our sake as much as yours

25 Dec 2009 14:03

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Offbeat: We need a Yule Log, guys. Good thing we just found one.

  • Yule Log. ‘Nuff said. source

22 Dec 2009 09:07

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Music: New superduo Broken Bells sounds pretty awesome, guys

On one side: The lead singer and mastermind of The Shins, James Mercer. On the other: Danger Mouse. You got your Danger Mouse in my Shins! source