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

31 Aug 2009 10:30

tags

U.S.: Hmm: Jaycee Dugard’s family had an unremarkable public life

  • Her children went to a birthday party just two weeks ago. Obviously, there are many strange things about the Jaycee Dugard/Phillip Garrido saga, but the strangest is that from the outside, their lives seemed somewhat normal. One person who knows Garrido and his family, Cheyvonne Molino, says that the media “made it seem like these little girls were living like wolves or jungle kids in the backyard dungeon.” What did stand out: One of Garrido’s customers says that the teenage girls dressed “very conservatively.” Hmm. source

29 Aug 2009 11:38

tags

U.S.: Kidnap victim Jaycee Dugard wasn’t always stuck inside a tent

  • She did graphic design work for her captor. Uh. While Jaycee Dugard was largely kept in a tent with her two children, she wasn’t always hidden in there. Suspect Phillip Garrido owned a printing business, and based on one customer’s account, she did graphic design work for his business under the pseudonym “Allyssa.” “She was the design person; she did the art work; she was the genius,” said patron Ben Daughdrill. Another bizarre turn in a bizarre case. source

14 Aug 2009 10:55

tags

Biz: The New York Times is gonna survive the recession using wine (and cheese)

nytwineclub0814
  • If you can’t sell papers, sell wine. That seems to be the philosophy of the New York Times, which has thrown its hat into the wine club ring, playing into its rep as the snootiest print publication around. We hope the New York Post responds by starting up a hard-liquor-on-the-rocks club.source

10 Aug 2009 21:32

tags

Offbeat: Redheads are in fact different from the rest of us, say dentists

  • A gene mutation makes them feel pain more. The American Dental Association recently published a study in their medical journal and found that redheads are more sensitive to pain at the dentist – requiring more anesthesia and often avoiding dentist visits as a result. The ADA blames the gene MC1R, which redheads and some brown-headed stepchildren also have. We wish we understood, guys. But we don’t. Sorry. source

04 Aug 2009 11:26

tags

Music: A whale of a tale: Heath Ledger’s Modest Mouse vid’s a bit dark

modestmouse0804
  • Let’s just say that Heath was dead before this ship even sank. To call this “King Rat” video twisted would be a bit modest.source

01 Aug 2009 12:21

tags

Offbeat: Just like mom used to play: A son buys his mom’s old records

  • May O. Rainey of San Lorenzo, Calif. dies. She was a big fan of music, always bringing her vinyl records to big-band dances, and making sure to label them so they didn’t get lost. source
  • Paul Campfield buys a bunch of records from an antiques store, and doesn’t think about them for months. Earlier this week, he plays them, and realizes they were his mom’s. Whoa. source

09 Jul 2009 10:31

tags

Music: We don’t know what to make of this Discovery album. Do you?

  • The pedigree on this side project is pretty solid for indie circles – a guy from Vampire Weekend and a guy from Ra Ra Riot. But the beats on this bizarre attempt at R&B are so cheesy and over-the-top that we’re not sure whether to dance or laugh. What do you think of “LP”? Check it out above.source
 

23 Jun 2009 10:45

tags

U.S.: S.C. Governor Mark Sanford’s whereabouts take a weird turn

  • After the end of the most recent session (which was especially brutal), the South Carolina governor disappeared and didn’t tell anyone where he was going. According to his wife, he does this all the time, but people in the media noticed this time. source
  • Turns out he went to take a hike. Mark Sanford went to the Appalachian Mountains and went hiking alone. Interestingly, as the Christian Science Monitor reports, he went right around Naked Hiking Day. We’re not saying. We’re just saying. source

14 Jun 2009 11:47

tags

Sports: From hoops to selling cars: Everything but net for Ed O’Bannon

You might remember Ed O’Bannon from his storied career at UCLA. Or his cruddy one in the NBA. Now he sells cars. What happened? source

13 May 2009 09:47

tags

Offbeat: This guy can eat bricks better than you can. Mmmmm.

  • Hey, if he can do it, why not? His doctor appears not to have a problem with his bizarre dieting habit.source