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19 Oct 2009 09:17

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Culture: Kurt Vonnegut’s unpublished short stories see the light of day

  • I was sitting in a bar one night, talking rather loudly about a person I hated — and a man with a beard sat down beside me, and he said amiably, ‘Why don’t you have him killed?’
  • From an excerpt of “Look at the Birdie” • A previously unpublished Kurt Vonnegut short story that’s out this week. The excerpt from “Birdie” features the protagonist in the midst of a colorful bar conversation – you know, the kind of colorful bar conversation we’re often involved in. Vonnegut died in 2007, and “Birdie” is his second posthumous work. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Oct 2009 01:01

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Culture: Evolution king Richard Dawkins is willing to meet creationists halfway

  • I have a strong feeling that the subject of evolution is beautiful without the excuse of creationists needing to be bashed.
  • Richard Dawkins • Discussing his newest book, “The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution,” which attempts to tackle the topic evolution without attacking those who don’t believe it on moral ground, or assuming that everyone believes it. Fun fact: Ben Stein’s awful documentary from last year, “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” features Dawkins as the film’s centerpiece. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Sep 2009 01:24

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Culture: Mark your calendars! Sarah Palin has a memoir coming out

  • 11/14 the date that Palin’s “Going Rouge” comes out; fingers crossed that there’s an entire chapter on Levi Johnston
  • four the number of months between her leaving office and the publishing of her 400-page memoir; wow, that was fast source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

23 Sep 2009 11:23

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Tech: Daily poll: Would you buy a tablet PC like the Microsoft Courier?

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Sep 2009 11:12

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U.S.: Ted Kennedy’s memoir: From his brothers to his biggest mistake

  • As I think back to my three brothers, and about what they had accomplished before I was even out of my childhood, it sometimes has occurred to me that my entire life has been a constant state of catching up.
  • Ted Kennedy • In his soon-to-be-released memoir, “True Compass,” about his legacy in comparison to his famous brothers. Kennedy goes over a bunch of other things in the book – most notably that he expresses incredible amounts of remorse over the Chappaquiddick crash, which killed Mary Jo Kopechne and haunted the rest of his political career. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Sep 2009 10:50

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U.S.: Daily poll: Think Blago’s new book, “The Governor,” is truthful?

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jul 2009 11:23

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Politics: Wired editor Chris Anderson: Total prick in interviews.

  • Sorry, I don’t use the word media. I don’t use the word news. I don’t think that those words mean anything anymore. They defined publishing in the 20th century. Today, they are a barrier. They are standing in our way, like ‘horseless carriage.’
  • Chris Anderson • Talking to a German Magazine, Spiegel, about his new book, “Free,” which makes this broad argument that information isn’t of value anymore and that everything should be free. Anderson claims not to read traditional media sources anymore and starts out the interview with this gem of a quote: “This is going to be a very annoying interview. I don’t use the word journalism.” Then he goes further, suggesting journalism – and media in general – will be a hobby. Dude, just because you’re a genius and came up with that Long Tail theory doesn’t mean you should act like a child. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 5 Comments • Permalink
 

31 May 2009 22:58

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Culture, Music: Hedonism hearsay: A roadie sez Jimi Hendrix was murdered

  • ‘I had to do it. Jimi was worth much more to me dead than alive. That son of a b*%^# was going to leave me. If I lost him, I’d lose everything.’
  • James ‘Tappy’ Wright • A roadie for Jimi Hendrix, reciting what manager Michael Jeffery supposedly told him – that he killed Jimi because he was about to leave for a different manager. You should always take claims of things that happened 38 years ago with a grain of salt, especially when tied to a book (“Rock Roadie,” written by Wright), and written about by Robert Gibbs’ least favorite news resource, the British press. (It’s the Daily Mail, though. They’ll say anything, right?) • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 May 2009 01:29

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Offbeat: Guinness’ most-litigious man sues … wait for it … Guinness

  • I’ve filed so many lawsuits with my pen and right hand that I got arthritis in my fingers, numbness in my wrists, crooked fingers. I flush out more lawsuits than a sewer.
  • Jonathan Lee Riches • A man currently incarcerated in Kentucky who filed a lawsuit in Eastern Washington against the Guinness Book of World Records for saying he’s filed more lawsuits than anyone in the history of mankind. Riches, who goes by such nicknames as “Lawsuit Zeus,” “Johnny Sue-nami,” and “Troy McClure,” claims that they plan to print false information about his feat. Dear Johnny Sue-nami, please sue us! We want to be next! • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Apr 2009 11:04

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U.S., World: Hugo Chavez can create a bestseller by handing Obama a book

  • 54,295 Saturday’s sales ranking on Amazon for the paperback edition of “Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent.”
  • 5 Today’s Amazon sales ranking for Uruguayan journalist Eduardo Galeano’s 1971 book, after Chavez handed Obama a copy yesterday. Spiffy. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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