w h o a r . c o . n z

“.. Girl Guide biscuits are being tested after complaints that they were too dry and like eating cardboard.

Girlguiding chief executive Ruth Teasdale said the product had not been recalled “but it looks like there was a problem where the mix was a bit dry in the biscuits that went to Johnsonville.”

The tests by biscuit manufacturer Griffins may also find that there are problems with biscuits in other areas of the country.

It is unknown how many packets have been sent to Griffins for testing, Ms Teasdale said.

“They are going to test them and it could be a bigger issue.

We will have a clearer picture [this] morning.”

(i’ll keep you updated..on this breaking-story..eh..?..)

go to source/story>>Girl Guide biscuits sent for testing - national | Stuff.co.nz

“.. People are already saying you “pulled a Kanye.” What happened?

BURKETT: What happened was the director and I had a bad difference over the direction of the film that resulted in a lawsuit that has settled amicably out of court.

But there have been all these events around the Oscars, and I wasn’t invited to any of them.

And he’s not speaking to me.

So we weren’t even able to discuss ahead of the time who would be the one person allowed to speak if we won.

And then, as I’m sure you saw, when we won, he raced up there to accept the award.

And his mother took her cane and blocked me.

So I couldn’t get up there very fast..”

(how about that mother/cane action..?..eh..?..)

go to source/story>>The story behind Oscar’s “Kanye moment” - Oscar Nominations, Academy Awards 2010 - Salon.com

“.. Anti-gay California State Sen. Roy Ashburn today demanded a sweeping recall of the vehicle that drove him to a gay nightclub this week.

Sen. Ashburn, a Republican who has consistently voted for anti-gay legislation, said that the car drove him to the club “against my will.”

“If we are recalling cars for problems with their brakes and power steering ..

.. then surely we should be recalling vehicles that force their drivers to go to gay nightclubs,” Sen. Ashburn said.

The state senator said not only did the car drive him to the gay nightclub ..

.. but it forced him to enter the club and party there for hours .. resulting in his later arrest for DUI.

“I can’t tell you what a menace this car is,” he said.

“It really is the gayest car I’ve ever seen.”

In addition to calling for a recall of the gay car ..

.. Sen. Ashburn said he would sponsor legislation mandating that all California vehicles be fitted not only with GPS .. but gaydar..”

go to source/story>>GOP Lawmaker Demands Recall of Car That Drove Him to Gay Club | | AlterNet

“..Forty years on from The Female Eunuch, the pioneering sisterhood is still witty and wise

In 1975, American journalist Susan Brownmiller published a book about rape called Against Our Will.

I have it here beside me now and I’ll tell you this for nothing: it’s not an easy read.

Six pages in and Brownmiller has already made reference to Freud, Jung, Marx and Engels, and also to someone called Krafft-Ebing, whose name is unfamiliar to me, but who, she says, is the author of a famous study called Psychopathia Sexualis.

Apparently, Krafft-Ebing is good on frotteurs and fetishists, but terrible on rapists.

She concludes her first chapter by stating that rape is “nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in a state of fear”.

Provocative, closely argued, exhaustively researched, Against Our Will is now considered a feminist classic.

Brownmiller is one of several famous feminists who appear in the first part of Vanessa Engle’s new documentary series, Womenon BBC4.

Do not miss it.

To mark the 40th birthdays of Germaine Greer’s The Female Eunuch and Kate Millett’s Sexual Politics, Engle has gone out with her camera and asked first-generation feminists quite a few blunt questions.

The result is completely delicious.

She asks Ann Oakley, author of a rather serious book on housework and of the novel, The Men’s Room, about the nature of her orgasms.

She asks Brownmiller about her abortions.

And she asks Kate Millett, once a Time magazine cover star .. and now an irascible old lady in Crocs who makes a living selling Christmas trees ..

.. if the women’s movement drove her crazy.

“It drives everyone crazy,” says Millett, lighting another cigarette.

Naturally, Millett is just being mischievous ..

.. because what strikes you most forcefully about these women is how very sane they are..”

go to source/story>>The funny side of feminism | Rachel Cooke | Comment is free | The Observer

“..Bickering couples, celebrities making fun of each other, Madonna and Larry David.

What’s not to love?

Critics hate “The Marriage Ref” (10 p.m. Thursdays on NBC).

They say it’s condescending, awful, wretched, unfunny, canned, corny.

Some viewers seem to agree: ..

.. One tweeted during Thursday night’s premiere, “Now Jerry Seinfeld has been on both the best and the worst TV shows of all time.”

Are we watching the same show?

Because what I’m seeing is married people bickering over something ridiculous and trivial ..

.. (see also: being themselves) while celebrities crack jokes, tease each other, and reveal odd details about their personal lives (see also: being themselves for a change).

What’s not to love?

Let’s consider the portrayals of marriage on TV available to us up until now: ..

.. Angry couples about to divorce on “Dr. Phil,” ..

.. cutesy couples guffawing over their adorable children’s goofy shenanigans with homemade explosives on sitcoms ..

.. and exhausted couples squabbling over who lost the map on “The Amazing Race.”

In all of these cases, you provide the commentary .. and the laugh track .. (especially on Dr. Phil).

On “The Marriage Ref,” Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais and Jerry Seinfeld do it for you.

Now let’s consider the portrayals of celebrities available to us: ..

.. We can gaze at photos of them in sweatpants taking their kids to the park, we can listen to their stilted attempts at warmth and spontaneity on the red carpet ..

..or we can endure their longer, even more stilted attempts at warmth and spontaneity on late night talk shows.

When celebrities speak instead of just standing around and looking pretty ..

.. they tend to speak at great length about whatever movie or show they’re promoting ..

.. then titter nervously through the balance of the interview.

On “The Marriage Ref,” stars finally have something fun and concrete to banter about: the absurd quarrels of married couples.

Here’s a husband who wants his stuffed dead dog displayed in the house, a wife who would like the dining room only to be used on Thanksgiving ..

..(the rest of the year it sits, fully decorated, but untouched) ..

.. a husband who gets pedicures instead of spending time with his kids ..

.. a wife who wants her husband to stop taking off his wedding ring when he plays basketball or goes out with his friends.

“I think if you’re going to stuff your dog, you should stuff it in either a useful or attractive position,”..

.. Alec Baldwin remarks in the show’s sneak preview..”

go to source/story>>Ignore the haters, “The Marriage Ref” rules - Heather Havrilesky - Salon.com

“..Last night Stephen Colbert sat down with Sean Hannity, who “joined [him] live from stuff [he] could edit together,”..

.. and with some crafty splicing, proceeded to turn Hannity into an aspiring prostitute.

Colbert was determined to get Hannity’s thoughts on the reports that James O’Keefe’s ACORN videos had been “heavily edited” to be deceptive.

Hannity had been silent on the issue .. despite being a vocal supporter of O’Keefe.

Using the same misleading tactics O’Keefe employed ..

.. Colbert quickly got what he needed out of Hannity .. and moved along ..

.. donning a pimp’s hat and coat..”

go to source/story>>Colbert Treats Hannity Like A Prostitute (VIDEO)

“..During Lent this year, some Christians will give up sweets or booze.

Will Self, a secular humanist nonbeliever, is giving up art and culture.

In an essay for the New Statesman, Self explains his decision to eschew the pleasures of books, music, museums, and the internet.

He writes:

In a cultural desert, the mind begins to burrow deep within itself - just as, in an actual desert, a human body seeks shelter among the rocks.

Perhaps in this harshly deracinated environment you will be driven to meditate upon the transcendent ..

.. a practice that has become dreadfully unfashionable in the present era .. lacking as it does the requisite aestheticism..”

go to source/story>>Giving Up Art for Lent

“.. In the wake of Tiger Woods’ heartfelt apology that he gave to his fans, his friends, his foundation - and just to be safe, Elizabeth Edwards -

- the media has been interviewing sex addicts: ..

.. on CNN one addict said, “The day Mount Saint Helens blew up, everyone was talking about it. But I didn’t even know it happened because I was having sex all that day.”

Oh, the humanity!

Please get this man some professional help soon .. before he has a hot three-way .. and completely misses a tornado.

Now, I haven’t commented on Tiger Woods much because, well, he’s just a golfer ..

.. and it took me this long to give a shit.

But all this talk about sex addiction now - please - sex addiction is just something Dr. Drew made up because he had no other way to explain Andy Dick.

And that’s not just me saying that - it’s also the American Psychiatric Association, which does not list sex addiction in its manual;..

.. it does not regard it as a real psychological syndrome .. like delirium or bipolar disorder .. or any of the other things Glenn Beck suffers from.

You want to know the surest way that you can spot a “sex addict?”

He’s got a penis.

That’s why Tiger was having sex with more women than even a black celebrity needs to have sex with..

.. and thereby threatening to unbalance the delicate ecosystem of playas and ho’s.

But before Tiger moves on there’s one more apology he really should make ..

.. and that’s to Buddha ..

.. for dragging him into this mess ..

.. and proving once again, that whenever something unspeakably tawdry, loathsome and cheap happens ..

.. just wait a few days.

Religion will make it worse..”

go to source/story>>Bill Maher: New Rule: Stop Saying “Sex Addict” Like It’s a Bad Thing

“..There’s a memorable scene in the 1984 rockumentary This is Spinal Tap in which Harry Shearer’s character, the bass player Derek Smalls, sets off an airport metal detector with a cucumber wrapped in tinfoil shoved down his trousers.

Back then, Smalls was merely humiliated.

In today’s terrorist-wary world, he wouldn’t get off so lightly.

“There’d be what they call a secondary screening,” Shearer says.

Having lampooned heavy metal stars, Shearer (well-known for voicing various characters in The Simpsons) now has more serious subjects in his sights, namely the US economic meltdown.

His new album Greed and Fear, features satirical songs such as Mr Goldman and Mr Sachs, aimed at the infamous Wall Street bankers.

“They stand for so much that went wrong this past decade,” Shearer says.

So, does writing these songs manage to sooth Shearer’s rage?

“It channels it. The rage would be soothed if I felt something was being done about all this.

Since I wrote the Goldman and Sachs song, the company has announced record profits and bonuses for its staff.

While I was laughing at them .. they’re laughing at all of us..”

go to source/story>>Guest List: Harry Shearer on… - Times Online

(i dunno about you..but my favorite tiger-moment still..is the reaction of the dalai lama to the ‘apology’ from (claimed-buddhist) woods..

when asked what he ‘thought of it’..the reply was ‘i don’t know who tiger woods is’…

isn’t that just ‘brilliant’..?..and shows either a man admirably out of touch with the mountains of (largely) erroneous bullshit that surround/distract the rest of us..

..or..a man blessed with the gift of a wicked sense of humour..and great ‘timing’..

..eh..?..)

“.. Tiger Woods may not know it, but he’s singing a new tune.

His 13 1/2-minute apology has been chopped up and reconfigured online, spreading in music and video through social networks and on the radio.

One offering is called “Ke$ha vs. Tiger I’m So Sorry (Blah, Blah, Blah).”

Another features Robin Thicke’s song “Sex Therapy” with Woods talking over still shots ..

.. including one of the media watching him spill it live on TV after a three-month silence..”

go to source/story>>Let the Tiger Woods’ apology spoofs begin | Stuff.co.nz

“..Fresh from the week off, Jon Stewart jumped right in Monday night and took on one of his favorite targets, Glenn Beck, who used his appearance at CPAC as a chance to alert the crowd of the dangers of Progressivism.

At the conference, Beck compared Progressivism to Communism, and cited previous progressives such as Woodrow Wilson and FDR, who pushed for the income tax and universal health care, respectively.

Despite the former being used by elected officials to create things for the common good, Beck stressed that these were the first steps on the road to ruin.

Upon hearing Glenn Beck announce that he learned this by reading books at the library, Stewart had some choice words for the Fox News host:

“Glenn, the library isn’t free! It’s paid for with tax money.

Free public libraries are the result of the Progressive movement to communally share books.

The first public library was the Boston public library in 1854.

It’s statement of purpose: every citizen has the right to access community owned resources.

Community owned?

That sounds just like communist.

You’re a communist!”

go to source/story>>Stewart To Glenn Beck: “You’re A Communist!” (VIDEO)

“..Nerds, wusses, hairy blokes and passionate Phoenix fans rejoice - you may not be destined for life on the dating sidelines after all.

A new survey suggests that not all woman are after a hairless muscle-man from the pages of Men’s Health ..

.. but instead are on the lookout for a guy who is a little rough around the edges.

Top of the desirable traits was the unshaven look - a turn-on for 41 percent of women, while a slightly geeky personality was also popular.

Those who’ve been making frequent visits to the beauty therapist for a wax can also stop with the masochism -

- a hairy chest was voted the third-biggest turn-on ..

.. followed by a bookworm .. or a man who doesn’t mind showing his sensitive side and crying during a soppy film.

Other secret desires of the fairer sex included grey hair .. glasses ..”

(hope springs eternal..eh..?..for grey/glassed me..eh..?..)

go to source/story>>Women want ‘real men’ - oddstuff | Stuff.co.nz

“..Yes, it’s called “The Ricky Gervais Show,” but the real star is that guy, Karl Pilkington.

Billed as “a series of pointless conversations,” the show mostly features the animated faces of Gervais, Merchant and Pilkington talking into microphones.

Occasionally, as the three hosts discuss monkeys flying to the moon or history or Pilkington’s strange stories, those things are animated, too.

“And you’re thinking, well, why are we doing a podcast?” asks Gervais during the first episode.

“It’s because I’d like to be in a room with Karl Pilkington.

You know how people go and help chimps? Karl Pilkington is an ongoing experiment for me, because I’ve seen him sort of blossom from an idiot to an imbecile.”

The madness always begins with a classic That Guy statement from Pilkington.

For example: “We’re in that era where we’ve invented most of the stuff we need, and now we’re just messing about.”

What about airplanes, says Gervais.

“Yeah, but, is that a good thing, planes and that?” Pilkington replies.

“Do you need a plane, really?”

Planes only allow you to fly to places that you need an injection just to visit, he explains.

What’s the use of that?

He wants to know.

If we’re going to invent something, he says, we should invent a way that people could live to the age of 78, die, and when they die, there’s a little baby inside to take their place. Um, right.

In another episode, Gervais brings up Benjamin Franklin, and the fact that he coined the phrase “Waste not, want not.”

Pilkington doesn’t know who Franklin is, and when Gervais tells him and explains the meaning of that phrase, Pilkington replies..

.. “So, he was a bit of a hoarder, then.”

While countless sensitive readers will probably leap to the conclusion that this is yet another British comedy with a hopelessly abusive slant and a disastrously unkind central goal of shaming Pilkington over his lack of intelligence, think again, friends.

Pilkington rather enjoys the hullabaloo and also, he’s as dismissive of what other people think of him as he is of facts and science and history.

You cannot hurt this man with words, because he doesn’t believe anything you say.

In other words, Karl Pilkington is a hero to confused but outspoken amateur theorists — and all dumb people, for that matter — everywhere!

Take the conversation in which Merchant and Gervais discover that Pilkington believes that humans and dinosaurs were “knocking about” at the same time:

Merchant: You know that “The Flintstones” is only partly based on fact?

Dinosaurs and man did not coexist.

Dinosaurs had long gone before man arrived.

Extinct, kaput.

What, you don’t believe us?

Pilkington: Why couldn’t that have happened?

But why weren’t there dinosaurs back then just like we have dogs now?

Gervais: He’s watching “The Flintstones.”

Pilkington: I just think that there must’ve been a crossover point.

Gervais: Exactly.

Why didn’t Hitler meet Nero?

There’s must’ve been … they must’ve met somewhere!..”

go to source/story>>- Salon.com

“..The Tibetan spiritual leader also briefly addressed the Tiger Woods scandal and the golf star’s public comments Friday about straying from his Buddhist faith.

Woods said he was raised Buddhist but needed to focus anew on finding balance between his faith and professional life.

The Dalai Lama said he did not know who Woods was ..

.. but said self-discipline is among Buddhism’s highest values…”

go to source/story>>Dalai Lama Comments On Obama Meeting, Tiger Woods Apology

“.. This morning at 11 a.m., Tiger Woods emerged from his self-imposed sex rehab exile to make his first official public statement since his world went kablooey back in November.

He did not saunter up to the podium with a Hooters girl on either arm .. and announce his desire to pursue a Dionysian life of erotic excess.

He did not weepily declare, “I have sinned.”

He didn’t rip open his shirt to reveal an A seared into his chest..”

go to source/story>>Tiger Woods - Salon.com

(it’s sorta like he/they try to do what casserly and wells do so well..and fail miserably at it..eh..?)

“..People often walk up to me in the street and say, “Hey, great show the other night. Really enjoyed it, but how do you handle bad reviews?”

Often I will say, “Well, I have never really had one.” A case in point is my latest hot review from Herald “TV Eye” columnist Linda Herrick.

“I assume Leigh Hart can be quite amusing but there were so many things wrong with the first episode,” she wrote.

“The mystery is how this series came into being, let alone be scheduled on TV One.”

It is on TV One because TVNZ decided to put it there - that seems quite straightforward. But as to how it came into being, I have no idea.

One minute I was writing 350-word columns, like Linda, at less than $1 a word, and the next I was nut deep in the Amazon, fighting for my life, praying that a canero fish wasn’t going to swim up my urethra and lodge itself up my penis.

“Hart… spent the rest of the tedious hour lurking around the backwoods of Ohio pretending to search for Bigfoot.

Abetted by a ridiculous drawled voiceover, crashing background music and shots of obese Americans ..

.. Hart spouted cliched nonsense and interviewed boring people.”

(and an ‘amen!’ to that..eh..?)

go to source/story>>That Guy : Abetted by Linda in global search for tedium - Opinion - NZ Herald News

“..James, who claims she was twice impregnated by the golf superstar .. demanded an apology from Woods.

Speaking for her client, Allred said:

“I just watched Tiger Woods’ apology on television, and he said that many people believed in him.

He also said he wanted to make amends.

He did not apologize by name to my client, Veronica, and I ask, why no apology?”

Later, James teared up while explaining that she could not control falling in love with Woods.

Allred and James have previously expressed outrage at a set of golf balls depicting Tiger Woods’ alleged mistresses..”

(..y’know..if the claims of stadium-loads of ex-porn-stars/cocktail waitresses/ex-playboy-bunnies/general all-round slappers..waiting for replies to their txts are true..

.. woods is probably going .. “..veronica who..?..put on the video..!..eh..?..i’ll see if i can remember her..oh..!..that one..!..yeah..!..”

go to source/story>>Gloria Allred: Tiger Woods Apology ‘A Staged Stunt’

“..It happens to the best of us– you make “transgressions,” your spouse finds out, you have to apologize.

Only for most of us, the apology isn’t broadcast on national television (and streamed live on YouTube.

In the wake of Tiger Woods’ final (?) ’sorry’ ..

.. we bring you a selection of those who have walked the path of shame before him.

Whose apology is best?..”

go to source/story>>Tiger Woods’ Apology VIDEO & Best Affair Apologies Ever

(i mean..who really gives a flying ‘tiger’..eh..?..)

i still claim the best tiger-story around is the one i linked to yesterday..

..claiming that carloads of cocktail-waitresses/ex-playboy bunnies/hookers..were convening for a rally in a stadium..

..and all claiming to be tiger-squeezes ..

.. and just waiting for a txt-reply from ‘the tiger’..

go to source/story>>“I was convinced normal rules didn’t apply” - Tiger Woods breaks his silence - Sport - NZ Herald News

“.. With Tiger Woods’ much-anticipated press conference set for Friday morning ..

.. thousands of the golf legend’s mistresses converged on Yankee Stadium to watch the proceedings on the stadium’s giant Jumbotron.

Traffic snarled for miles as the vehicles filled with cocktail waitresses, restaurant hostesses and Playboy models clogged the streets leading to the storied baseball venue.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the gathering “a first-class headache” and said that he regretted authorizing it.

“You have thousands of angry women in one place, anything can happen,” he said.

“I never thought I’d say this, but I’d rather host Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.”

Shandi Shanoyne, a former Tiger mistress and thong publicist who organized the Yankee Stadium event ..

.. said that the thousands of women at the gathering were anxious to hear what Mr. Woods has to say.

“A lot of us have been waiting for months for him to text us back,” she said..”

go to source/story>>Andy Borowitz: Tiger’s Mistresses Gather at Yankee Stadium for Press Conference

“..Tina Fey will probably reprise her famous impression of Sarah Palin when she hosts “Saturday Night Live” in April, the comedian told The Associated Press.

“It’s inevitable that we’ll try it, at least,” Fey said in an interview Tuesday.

“We’ll see if it makes it to air.”

Officials at the NBC sketch show wouldn’t comment; “SNL” generally doesn’t discuss any planned sketches, given that much can change even in the hours before show time.

Fey’s performances as the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate were an icon of the 2008 campaign and drew huge ratings for “SNL.”

Fey made four appearances on the show as Palin, earning her an Emmy in September for guest actor.

She was also voted 2008’s AP Entertainer of the Year.

The comedian said the whole experience was “a little overwhelming.”

“It was the strangest thing that’s ever happened to me,” Fey said.

“I’ve never had anything fall in my lap like that.

Everything is usually me trying to convince the people of Earth that it’s OK for me to perform. …

.. That felt like the opposite.”

go to source/story>>Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin ‘SNL’ Impression Likely To Return

“..Tiger Woods will appear in public on Friday to issue a statement.

There will be no question and answer session, according to Darren Rovell of CNBC.

An alert at PGATour.com indicates that the news conference will be held at the headquarters of the PGA Tour.

Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, issued the following statement:

Tiger Woods will be speaking to a small group of friends, colleagues and close associates at 11 a.m. ET Friday at the TPC Sawgrass Clubhouse in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Tiger plans to discuss his past and his future and he plans to apologize for his behavior.

Steinberg told Rovell that “Tiger will make a public statement to begin to make amends.”.

(i dunno about you..but i can hardly wait..!..eh..?..

..we could run a sweepstake as to when the tears actually roll..?..d’yareckon..?…(yawn..!)..)

go to source/story>>Tiger Woods PUBLIC STATEMENT: Golfer To Speak On Friday

no..seriously..!

“..i may not be ten feet tall…but i feel ten feet tall..”

(right-ho..!..)

go to source/story>>Live Avatar Role Playing: LARPers Recreate Na’vi Life In ‘Hometree’, Wisconsin (VIDEO)

“..Online spoofs featuring defaced poster cast doubt on shape of future campaigns

Today David Cameron and his party chairman Eric Pickles will cross the river Thames and in front of the imposing backdrop of Battersea Power Station unveil the latest campaign poster they hope will help them win the next election.

Shortly afterwards someone, somewhere in cyberspace will be making a mockery of it and spreading it across the internet –

- where rather more people are likely to see it.

The launch of a campaign poster used to provide simple, free publicity for a political party when the image was picked up on television and in newspapers.

But senior Conservatives have learned that the benefits of this old-fashioned propaganda tool are not so clear-cut in a multimedia world.

Within hours of a Tory poster being revealed last week, spoof versions were circulating online –

- a growing trend that might eventually leave strategists from all parties wondering whether the campaign poster has had its day.

The Conservatives began a New Year campaigning blitz playing on the personality of Mr Cameron ..

.. who is seen as more popular than the party he leads.

But the resulting poster, with its notorious airbrushed photograph of a smooth-skinned Tory leader saying “I will cut the deficit, not the NHS” ..

.. drew such so much ridicule that the strategy had to be abandoned.

Among the spoofs were Mr Cameron saying “Airbrushing you can believe in” ..

.. “Tough on jobs. Tough on the causes of job” ..

..and “I’m a progressive Conservative. Please stop laughing”.

go to source/story>>Web satires trigger Tory ads rethink - UK Politics, UK - The Independent

“.. Breathtaking, to go from tragedy to the glories of Canada, in a few seconds flat.

No wonder they brought in a heavy-hitter like Brokaw for this one.

Now we can forget about death and sit back and enjoy Brokaw’s voice .. taking us on a quick tour through the Great White North.

“Remember, Canada was a British colony.

That was a long time ago.”

You don’t say!

“Our two nations have the largest trading relationship in the world.”

“Canada is a huge country.”

“In a fight, you want the Canadians on your side.”

Suddenly I’m reminded of one of my favorite headlines from The Onion:..

.. “Perky ‘Canada’ Has Its Own Laws, Government.” Sample line: “And they even export things, like Canadian Bacon, and ice!”

Once our palates have been cleansed of morbid thoughts by Brokaw’s giant valentine ..

.. it’s time for the flashy intro to the Winter games that was probably previously slated for the top of the broadcast: ..

.. Some dramatic photography paired with soaring music .. and a lot of melodramatic prose.

“Here, where a swerving coastline submits to waves of glacial peaks, where the mapping of the Western world came to an end, the discovery yet begins anew!”

Praise Jesus!

Who writes this stuff?

“Which Olympic travelers are destined to know victory’s rapture?”

I was just wondering the same thing a few minutes ago..”

go to source/story>>Heather Havrilesky - Salon.com

“.. In a bedazzled world of bad taste, here are our candidates worthy of true blades of glory

Ah, figure skating.

In a public arena largely cleaned up and made bland by an army of stylists .. skaters dance to their own music.

And what cheesy, sleazy and sometimes gruesome music it is!

For every elegant Vera Wang-designed confection for Michelle Kwan there have been hundreds of taste-impaired showstoppers —

– complete with feathers, capes, bondage straps ..

– and enough sequins to outfit all of Vegas (and the Mustang Ranch) for decades to come.

In eager anticipation of this year’s Olympic glitz, we want to highlight some of the most wonderfully bad figure skating outfits of all time.

(Apologies to the Ukraine.)

Enjoy!..”

go to source/story>>Winter Olympics 2010 - Salon.com

(rightwing bitching in blogworld..heh..!..)

“..Well ex-squeeze me, Russ. I’m sorry but I don’t share your contempt for the views of the general punter ..

.. whose humble opinion in my humble opinion is often worth listening to.

I also don’t share your oleaginous respect for so-called experts..”

(there is more in that (self-rightous) soap-box vein..if you can be bothered..

..some definitions of oleaginous are:..oily..greasy..obsequious..

whoar..!..eh..?..insults using big words..)

go to source/story>>Deborah Hill Cone : Try again, this time with feeling - Opinion - NZ Herald News

now..i don’t know about you..but i am a big bill nighy fan-boy…

and here he does a clever turn..

..as a shifty banker..

..trying to wriggle his way around/out of any idea of a ‘robin hood tax’..

(this is an ad made for british tv..we should also run it here..

..a seemingly complex/obscure idea/proposal..

..is made blindingly obvious…

mmm!!!..i do so love the smell of sucessfully brewed fresh agit-prop..first thing in the morning..

..don’t you..?..)

(recommended-watch..)

go to source/story>>YouTube - Bill Nighy video backing Robin Hood tax on banks

“..On being a dad to three kids (Sascha, 9, Julian, 6, and Shepherd, 4):

“If I was younger, I’d have six kids by now.

I love it.

I love having a family and kids and all the madness.

There is no aspect of it I don’t like.

Even when it’s horrible, I love it.

I didn’t realize how tired of single life I was .. and how ready I was for married life.”

On the three “poison Ps” of parenting:

The first is Praise–”We tell our kids, ‘Great job!’ too much,” he says.

The second is Problem-solving–”We refuse to let our children have problems. Problem-solving is the most important skill to develop for success in life, and we for some reason can’t stand it if our kids have a situation that they need to ‘fix.’ Let them struggle–it’s a gift.”

Just as he’s explaining the third P–”Giving your child too much Pleasure”–a woman comes in the deli with her three young daughters and buys them all huge cookies.

“Can you believe this?” Seinfeld says, gesturing like his TV counterpart used to.

“It’s 5:30 p.m.–when will they have dinner?

At 8?”

go to source/story>>Jerry Seinfeld Gives Parenting Advice

“..With President Obama inviting Republicans to a televised summit on health care, many GOP leaders have been reluctant to attend ..

.. thinking it’s an elaborate trap.

This logic didn’t sit well with Jon Stewart… or Admiral Ackbar.

Stewart jokingly agreed with the Republican sentiment, explaining that having a televised, bipartisan conversation on health care is so reasonable that it’s actually an ingenious trap.

Minority Leader John Boehner expressed concern, worried about having to “walk into some setup… who knows what.”

To this Stewart responded: “It’s a public dialogue about important legislation. Not Little Big Horn.”

Stewart then called Boehner’s bluff:

“The only way this health care meeting is a trap is if Boehner’s got nothing.

It’s like a paper bag is only a trap .. if you can’t punch your way out of it.”

go to source/story>>It’s A Trap! Stewart Mocks GOP’s Reluctance To Join Health Care Summit

“..With President Obama inviting Republicans to a televised summit on health care, many GOP leaders have been reluctant to attend ..

.. thinking it’s an elaborate trap.

This logic didn’t sit well with Jon Stewart… or Admiral Ackbar.

Stewart jokingly agreed with the Republican sentiment, explaining that having a televised, bipartisan conversation on health care is so reasonable that it’s actually an ingenious trap.

Minority Leader John Boehner expressed concern, worried about having to “walk into some setup… who knows what.”

To this Stewart responded: “It’s a public dialogue about important legislation. Not Little Big Horn.”

Stewart then called Boehner’s bluff:

“The only way this health care meeting is a trap is if Boehner’s got nothing.

It’s like a paper bag is only a trap .. if you can’t punch your way out of it.”

go to source/story>>It’s A Trap! Stewart Mocks GOP’s Reluctance To Join Health Care Summit

“.. Stephen Colbert doesn’t really believe the recent snowstorms have proven the theory of global warming wrong.

He’s just doing a bit — one our own Gabriel Winant did very well himself yesterday.

But Colbert’s usual schtick does allow him to go some pretty funny places with the joke;..

.. comparing Fox News personalities who opine on global warming to babies playing peek-a-boo, for instance, is pretty great.

Watch below..”

go to source/story>>War Room - Salon.com

“..The interviewer struck me as solid and reassuring.

It could have been his business-like blue blazer, distinguished grey hair and kindly smile that did it.

Or it could have his crisp, no-nonsense introduction.

“My name is Keith,” he said, shaking my hand.

“My spirit guide’s name is Blue Star. He’s on the intergalactic committee.”

I felt less nervous immediately.

I’d applied for a job as a fortune teller at the New Age shop where Keith worked.

A music student, I was chronically broke, thanks to the cost of books, music lessons, post-rehearsal drinks and the occasional packet of ciggies.

A flexible job at The Orb, a lovely old heritage Victorian terrace house, sounded just the thing.

It was such a beautiful shop.

The ground floor was all sandstone walls and cabinets, filled with crystals and pewter dragons that gleamed in the dim lights.

Little pyramids of soap and boxes of incense lay about, adding their scent to the perfumed candles on the counter..

.. where Keith manned the old fashioned till.

Towards the back of the shop was a wooden staircase, with a sign saying ‘This Way to the Orbe’.

“This is Ruth!” said Keith with a flourish, turning to the woman who had just come down the stairs.

My real name is Fenella, but I chose to use the name Ruth, my middle name.

It made me feel tougher .. and more psychic.

Also, I thought it a clever way to fool the tax people, should they ever raid the shop.

Moira didn’t seem impressed.

The owner of The Orb, she was an attractive woman in her late 30s with clear skin, clear eyes ..

.. and the habit of gazing into the distance for long stretches between sentences.

She looked through me as I presented my credentials: a familiarity with the tarot pack, a stint at a spiritualist church, and a string of friends who swore by my predictions.

“I’m having a dinner for all the psychics,” Moira said at last. “I want to see how everybody’s energies mesh.”

And she wafted back upstairs.

The house where we gathered the next week had trendy lighting and polished floorboards.

Keith sat at one end of the rough-hewn dining table, his silver hair and natty blue blazer making him look like a banker.

Jade, a glossy black-haired woman in her 40s, sat next to me, her silk scarf wrapped expensively around her shoulders.

In between performing spiritual duties, she cut hair for a living, and looked as though she prospered at it.

Opposite her was Gabriella, a giggly heap of beads and frizzy hair, who swore she was gypsy-descended.

And next to me was faraway Moira.

Then there was me, the youngest by at least ten years, longhaired and with lipstick a shade too red.

Everyone was pleasant enough, but it was awkward .. because we were a group of strangers without much to say to each other.

Fortunately, a higher power stepped in.

“Greetings,” said the spirit guide Blue Star, issuing from Keith’s mouth.

“It is wonderful to welcome you here tonight.”

Blue Star’s high-pitched accent suggested he’d dropped in via India, Romania ..

.. and somewhere in New Zealand..”

go to source/story>>How I got a job as a fortune teller - MadamRuth - Open Salon

“..On last night’s Colbert Report, Stephen interviewed author Jonathan Safran Foer..

.. whose new book, Eating Animals .. is a startling exposé of the factory-farmed meat industry..”

go to source/story>>Stephen Colbert Talks Meat with Jonathan Safran Foer (VIDEO) - Vegsource.com

“..Think Stephen Colbert was impressed by Sarah Palin’s speech to Tea Party Nation ..?

.. and her, ahem, handy way of remembering her talking points?

Think again:..”

go to source/story>>War Room - Salon.com

“..Stephen Colbert has fine words for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who defended Rush Limbaugh’s use of the word “retard” this weekend after attacking an Obama aide for the same offense.

“Sarah Palin knows that it’s okay to call someone a retard if like rush you clearly don’t mean it ..

.. which is why we should all come to her defense and say: Sarah Palin is a fucking retard,” Colbert quipped.

Palin’s son, Trig, has Down Syndrome.

She had criticized Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel for telling liberal activists that a political strategy was “fucking retarded” during a private meeting in the White House.

But when Rush Limbaugh used the same word, Palin declared that his usage was acceptable because it was satire.

On his radio show, Limbaugh said: “Our political correct society is acting like some giant insult’s taken place by calling a bunch of people who are retards, retards. I mean these people, these liberal activists are kooks.

They are looney tunes.

And I’m not going to apologize for it, I’m just quoting Emanuel.

It’s in the news.

I think their big news is he’s out there calling Obama’s number one supporters f’ing retards.

So now there’s going to be a meeting.

There’s going to be a retard summit at the White House.”

Palin had no problem with Limbaugh’s remarks during an interview with Fox News on Sunday.

“They are kooks, so I agree with Rush Limbaugh,” Palin said ..

.. claiming Limbaugh was merely “using satire.”

go to source/story>>Stephen Colbert: “Sarah Palin Is a F**cking Retard” | | AlterNet

“..After the two laughed about the recent Conan-Leno-NBC debacle, Maher offered up his political observations.

On health care reform, he wondered why Democrats and the Obama administration were so bad at selling an idea that most Americans agree with..

.. “This is something that would save lives, save money. They couldn’t sell cub scouts to a pedophile.”

And to get back on course, Maher joked, Obama’s taking such a populist tone ..

.. that even Obama wants to see his own birth certificate..”

go to source/story>>Bill Maher Talks Obama’s Birth Certificate, Ann Coulter’s Balls, And More On ‘Leno’

“..Sarah Silverman is getting spanked by her new boyfriend, ‘Family Guy’ writer/producer Alec Sulkin ..

.. and her mom knows because she saw the hand-shaped bruises.

“You know what’s great about parents,” Sarah told David Letterman Wednesday night, “is that when you get famous you can do anything you want and they can’t do anything about it.”

On a recent trip home, Sarah said that she and her mom were hanging out in the bathroom while she waited for the shower to heat up.

As she went to get into the shower, her mom said in horror, “Sarah, what is that?!”

“I looked in the mirror behind me and noticed that on my tushie is a bruise the exact same shape of a hand,” she said.

“And I was able to just say, I’m sleeping with a man that spanks me.”

go to source/story>>Sarah Silverman’s Mom Saw Her Sex Spanking Bruise (VIDEO)

“..A San Francisco man claims he was high on a double dose of medical marijuana cookies when he screamed, dropped his pants and attacked crew members on a cross-country flight, forcing its diversion to Pittsburgh, the FBI said Wednesday.

Kinman Chan, 30, was charged in a criminal complaint with interfering with the duties of a flight attendant on allegations that he fought with crew members of US Airways Flight 1447 from Philadelphia to Los Angeles on Sunday. His federal public defender, Jay Finkelstein, declined to comment.

Crew members said Chan made odd gestures before he entered the plane’s rear restroom shortly after takeoff and began to scream, according to the complaint.

Chan told the FBI that he “came back to reality” and exited the restroom ..

.. at which point the crew noticed his “pants were down, his shirt was untucked and all the compartments in the restroom were opened.”

When crew members tried to get Chan to sit, he fought them and had to be subdued in a choke hold, the complaint said..”

go to source/story>>Kinman Chan Disrupts Cross-Country Flight, Drops Pants, Attacks Crew, Claims Was Due To Pot Cookies

“..The decades-old, super-secret, audacious plans to destroy both political parties from within..”

(a tom tomorrow cartoon..)

go to source/story>>This Modern World - Salon.com