It’s quite possible you’ve already seen this as the clip is over a decade old, but Hurra Torpedo‘s interpretation of this Bonnie Tyler classic is a classic unto itself.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Most of you know that a family member, was diagnosed with Lyme disease last Fall. I expect that with the exception of my office partner, most of you and I include myself until recently, are only vaguely aware of this disease. I’ve recently started poking about following the trail of rumors that the origins of Lyme is linked to some very rather dubious research by the Government in the 1950′s. The history of the emergence of the disease reads like an X-Files case. Some of the doctors we have worked with recently are also very cagey about the subject, one refusing to admit that they are treating the disease in any other way than that suggested under official guidelines.

This story has it all, Secret Government Labs, Ex-Nazi Germ warfare Scientists, Project ‘Paperclip’, and deliberate leakages of modified micro-organisms into the environment. The circumstantial evidence for some of the theories is pretty compelling, not to mention the fact that the disease gets it’s name from an area close to Plum Island in Mass. where the earliest cases were reported. The island is the home of a Government facility listed as a ‘USDA Animal Disease Research Center’ that has a very interesting past.

So, whip out the DEET spray this summer and stay out of the long grass. The incidence of Lyme infections is growing rapidly right across the US.

If you fancy a good conspiracy theory that’s close to home start here:

Plum Island, Lyme Disease And Operation Paperclip – A Deadly Triangle

Lab257: The Disturbing Story of the Government’s Secret Plum Island Germ Laboratory

A

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

It’s not a new topic, in fact it’s at least a couple of years old (according to conflicting reports on the topic), but Drawball still strikes me as something that is ahead of its time. Drawball is fairly straight forward – it’s a huge digital circle which users can draw/write/scribble on with digital ink. The ink is rationed out in small amounts after a user completes a simple puzzle. Much of the murkiness that surrounds the history of Drawball is due to the retaliatory nature of the international canvas. Even the Wikipedia entry has been vandalized to the point of collapse under the weight of controversy. For sometime a huge South Korean flag adorned the upper region of the ball – the efforts of countless dedicated souls who put an enormous amount of time (and digital ink) into the icon. The flag was turned into a Pepsi logo by vandals and is nearly undecipherable today behind all the layers of graffiti.

In essence, Drawball is a living artistic expression of people all over the world. It’s arguably the largest collective canvas the world has ever seen, and from what I can tell, still fairly obscure. Check it out if you get a chance. The Hall of Fame is especially fascinating.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

(From the desk of a photo-nut) The Library of Congress has recently started digitally archiving and uploading thousands of brilliantly-detailed images from their collection onto Flickr. The images offer a crisp glimpse into early to mid 20th century America, and cover a number of topics, mainly the war machine and the vibrancy of American industry. Don’t tell my boss, but when I’m not working on 120+ different websites, I will often drift into a digital daydream on Flickr, recharging my batteries with countless user-added images (10,444 of which are mine, forever preserved and wherever I want them). If you haven’t Flickr-surfed before, a good place to start is the Flickr World Map.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

You may have seen Tom Brady gracing the cover of all sorts of men’s and women’s magazines of late.

Wondering where he learned to pose like that? Check out this excerpt of the newest Camp Bauercrest alumni newsletter with some recently unearthed photos from 1986. Yep, that’s me, middle row, right column.

Damn, that’s hot. Really wasted at an all boys camp.  Maybe I should send this over to Camp Pembroke instead. You know, locker material.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Amazing!! 5 stars!!

I found myself high above the floor in the stadium seats of Westbrook’s Cinemagic theater for the first time the other night. The comfy seats, high-definition digital screen, and Dolby-whatever sound was magical! Cinemagical!! As those who know me would tell you, I’m not really that big on movies or television. Unless it’s a really organic documentary, I have trouble seeing anything more than a bunch of actors standing around on a sound stage. Due to some recent “adjustments” in my domestic routine, I find myself going on a lot more dates recently, hence my trip to Cinemagic. I’ve watched more movies in the last 4 months than I have in the last 4 years! I’ll usually just sit there grinning and bearing the experience, but within two minutes of “There Will Be Blood“, I was mesmorized! Perhaps it was the big damn screen, or that intense surround sound, or maybe the brilliant landscapes of the film, but I suddenly found myself standing out there on the dusty hills of turn-of-the-century New Mexico. For the next 158 minutes, I rode the edge of my seat, totally emersed in the ever-thickening plot of the film.

I won’t try to summarize the movie, but I will say that “There Will Be Blood” is suddenly on my very exclusive top-10 movies list! Check it out!

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Yes, it was the only thing missing from a the 2008 TV Blockbuster line-up for 2008. Move over Sarah Connor……. 

Andy 

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

I’m not a fan of those overly-forwarded joke emails. But, every once in a while, one comes along that’s actually funny. This falls into that category, IMHO. I have no proof that any of these are actually true, but they fall into the category of “if it ain’t true, it ought to be.”

These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters.
_______________________________

ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth?
WITNESS: July 18th.
ATTORNEY: What year?
WITNESS: Every year.
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: How old is your son, the one living with you?
WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can’t remember which.
ATTORNEY: How long has he lived with you?
WITNESS: Forty-five years.
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, ‘Where am I, Cathy?’
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn’t know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
____________________________________

ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-one-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: Uh, he’s twenty-one.
________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Would you repeat the question?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Uh….
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy on him!
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Huh?
____________________________________________

And the best for last

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Gloria

Bookmark It

Hide Sites