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17 May 2011 17:13

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Offbeat: “Go the F**k to Sleep”: A kid’s book parody with a killer title

  • Know how this book hit No. 1 on Amazon? A great title. Also, a pirated PDF. Really.  source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Feb 2010 21:52

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Offbeat: The other side of the Epic Beard Man bus-fighting story

  • Let not the Epic Beard Man get all the praise for this video. This video of two dudes getting into a huge fight on an Oakland, Calf. bus shot through the internet like a pair of brass knuckles over the weekend. Here’s the other side of the argument, told by comparing each side to the video itself. Michael’s nose appears to be healing nicely. Key point of the clip: Michael knew the racist overtones of what Thomas Bruso said. Also, he’s 50 – he looks way younger. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

15 Oct 2009 21:03

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U.S.: We bestow a blue ribbon on the Balloon Boy story. A modern classic.

Faux news
Simply put, you had it all. Between the incredibly random nature of your occurrence, the wall-to-wall media coverage, the likelihood of danger, the kid angle (must be emphasized), the reality TV angle, the waste of public resources, the rapt attention you gathered from the public, and the painless resolution that followed hours of panic, Balloon Boy story, you may be the best non-story in the history of news. Way to go, 24-hour news cycle, for giving us hilarity at the cost of actual news. You should be proud. SOURCE
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Sep 2009 10:49

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Politics: Jon Stewart’s “embarrassed” that the media missed ACORN

  • In the video, he says he’s in total disbelief that the ACORN story was broken by two jerks who like pretending to be pimps.source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2009 23:29

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Music: The Revenge of the Revenge of Roxanne Shanté’s Revenge



Nothing like unsubstantiated claims to brighten an evening. Roxanne Shanté, above, was a hip-hop icon before hip hop had its big mainstream breakthrough. Everyone forgot about her for a good twenty years, until this New York Daily News story broke, claiming that Warner Music paid for her to get a doctorate at Cornell. Problem is, it's not true.
  • The lies As reported by the New York Daily News (which will have an interesting retraction to write), the hip-hop icon (who scored her one-hit wonder at 14) had a clause in her contract saying they would pay for her education for life. She fought hard to get the label to pay for her education, eventually earning a doctorate at Cornell in 2001. She’s now a “hip-hop” psychologist. source
  • The lies As reported by the New York Daily News (which will have an interesting retraction to write), the hip-hop icon (who scored her one-hit wonder at 14) had a clause in her contract saying they would pay for her education for life. She fought hard to get the label to pay for her education, eventually earning a doctorate at Cornell in 2001. She’s now a “hip-hop” psychologist.
  • The truth According to Slate, Warner never had a contract with Shanté. School records say that she went to Marymount Manhattan College, but never graduated. She admitted to Slate that she never got a Ph.D. from Cornell or elsewhere. She doesn’t have a license to practice psychology. And Warner says the Daily News never tried to contact them, like the story says. source
  • The lies As reported by the New York Daily News (which will have an interesting retraction to write), the hip-hop icon (who scored her one-hit wonder at 14) had a clause in her contract saying they would pay for her education for life. She fought hard to get the label to pay for her education, eventually earning a doctorate at Cornell in 2001. She’s now a “hip-hop” psychologist.
  • The truth According to Slate, Warner never had a contract with Shanté. School records say that she went to Marymount Manhattan College, but never graduated. She admitted to Slate that she never got a Ph.D. from Cornell or elsewhere. She doesn’t have a license to practice psychology. And Warner says the Daily News never tried to contact them, like the story says.
  • Slate’s dirty work Ben Sheffner put together an article for Slate that ranks up there with anything The Smoking Gun has put together in recent memory. It’s just devastating. The way he dissected the Daily News’ article is admirable. The paper only quoted two sources in the article – Shanté and hip-hop Russell Simmons. Protip: When a story’s this good, fact-check your sources. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jul 2009 11:36

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Biz, Tech: It’s like a dime-store novel, except it’s about Facebook

  • Had he really just watched Mark Zuckerberg — reticent, socially awkward Mark — go home with a Victoria’s Secret model? It was the clearest sign yet that Facebook was going to be the biggest thing in the world.
  • A sample from Ben Mezrich’s “The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal” • Regarding co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s shock that Mark Zuckerberg’s getting laid by a Victoria’s Secret model during their first summer in Silicon Valley. Who knows if this is true, but man, it makes for an entertaining read. Check out the full excerpt at the link. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jun 2009 17:32

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Politics: Rick Sanchez manages to get Bill O’Reilly to apologize. Whoa!

  • Rick Sanchez’s burn Bill O’Reilly claimed there was a lack of coverage of the military recruiter murder story on CNN. Rick Sanchez disagreed.

  • Rick Sanchez’s burn Bill O’Reilly claimed there was a lack of coverage of the military recruiter murder story on CNN. Rick Sanchez disagreed.

  • O’Reilly’s apology The guy himself apologized, but not before calling Sanchez “a snide and surley guy on CNN.” Oooh, testy.

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

08 Apr 2009 20:35

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U.S., World: Wow, that Somalia pirate story got really crazy quick

  • The dudes on the ship managed to fend off the Somali pirates and most got free easily. source
  • A U.S. military destroyer arrived to help the with that pesky Somali pirate problem. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Feb 2009 16:02

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Offbeat: These dogs need a home. This isn’t an e-mail scam.

Cookie & Coko are real dogs, but their sad story led to a e-chain letter with four legs. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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