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The place where the world comes together in honesty and mirth.
Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.


Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Science News

Spending on science in the developing world grew at three times the rate of that of richer countries between 2002 and 2007, according to figures released yesterday (6 October) by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS).

And the number of researchers in developing countries jumped from 1.8 million to 2.7 million over the same period.

Poor countries spending more on science

Battery made of salt and paper

Battery made of salt and paper

Scientists use a kitchen staple to create a biodegradable energy source.

What your child's teacher really thinks

What your child's teacher really thinks

"Your kid will lie to get out of trouble" is just one thing teachers want to tell parents but won't.

Model photo sparks controversy

Model photo sparks controversy

Airbrushing allegations over a Ralph Lauren ad have prompted a heated feud.

Opposition to swine flu vaccine

Opposition to swine flu vaccine

More than a third of parents don't want their kids vaccinated against the swine flu, a new poll shows.

Pirates attack wrong ship

Pirates attack wrong ship

Somali pirates mistakenly try to storm an 18,000-ton French navy flagship.

Good olive oils that don't cost a lot

Good olive oils that don't cost a lot

These high-quality brands are also cheap, with most in the $10 range.

FBI's 'Operation Phish Phry' snares nearly 100 people

The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday charged almost 100 people in Operation Phish Phry, the largest cyber fraud phishing case to date.

'Operation Phish Phry'

Afghan, US forces seize 50 tons of opium, kill 17 Taliban

US and Afghan forces seized 50 tons of opium and 1.8 tons of heroin, and killed 17 Taliban insurgents in a joint operation in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, the defense ministry said.

Full Story

NYC Investigation Exposes Gun Show Loopholes, Illegal Sales


It's known as the "gun show loophole."
Federal law requires criminal background checks only for guns sold through licensed firearm dealers.
The "loophole" allows individuals "not engaged in the business” of selling firearms to sell guns without background checks.

Full Story.

Most Important Free Speech Case in 25 Years Goes Before High Court

First Amendment advocates were generally encouraged by Tuesday’s oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in U.S. v Stevens.

The case, which many First Amendment supporters have called the most important free speech case in 25 years, involves the conviction of Robert Stevens for selling a dog-fighting video that a federal court found violated a 1999 law that makes it’s a crime to create, sell or possess videos and other depictions of cruelty to animals.

The original intent of the law was to prevent the sale so-called “crush videos.” Stevens conviction was overturned, but the U.S. Justice Department appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court.

David Horowtiz, executive director of the Media Coalition and who was at the hearing, said the tone of the arguments made him “cautiously optimistic” that the court would uphold the appeals court decision that the law was unconstitutional. He said the justices seemed skeptical about the breath of the law.

In its amicus brief, the Media Coalition argued that the law was in fact over-broad and would criminalize material that was protected by the First Amendment. Horowitz pointed to the example given by the appeals court in overturning Stevens’ conviction about how the law could be wrongly applied. “If a person hunts or fishes out of season, films the activity and sells it to an out-of-state party, it appears that the statute has been violated,” the court said.

While the Media Coalition would like to see the law found unconstitutional, there is a chance that the Supreme Court could find a way to limit the scope of the law without completely throwing out the law.

How nonsense makes you smarter

How nonsense makes you smarter

Bizarre experiences may actually help your brain make sense of things.

Woman grows 1,725-pound pumpkin

Woman grows 1,725-pound pumpkin

An Ohio teacher harvests a gargantuan gourd that could land her in the Guinness record book.

Beware of fake swine-flu remedies

Beware of fake swine-flu remedies

Online pharmacies are trying to cash in on people hoping to get the H1N1 vaccine.

What the housing rebound means for you

What the housing rebound means for you

Cheaper homes are moving fast, so hesitation as a buyer and inflexibility as a seller could burn you.

Tips
Also:

Taliban say they pose no threat to West

Taliban say they pose no threat to West

We have "no plan of harming countries of the world," the Afghan Taliban say in a new statement.

Cop News

What men should wear to big interviews

What men should wear to big interviews

When meeting a prospective boss, your appearance deserves as much thought as your resumé.

Egypt severs ties to Louvre Museum

Egypt severs ties to Louvre Museum

Egypt has cut all ties to the renowned French museum until "stolen" antiquities are returned.

Where to find the next big boom

Where to find the next big boom

Experts say these technologies could build industries, generate jobs, and mint fortunes.

Cities where Americans earn the most

Cities where Americans earn the most

Residents here are lucky enough to enjoy the highest median incomes in the nation.

Worst automobiles of the decade

Worst automobiles of the decade

Car critics consider these models poorly executed, ill-conceived, or just downright dreadful.

The Big Picture

From BBC-Science

Click to reveal

Tim Wise on the Creation of Whiteness

The video is of a speech given by Tim Wise at Mt. Holyoke College, October 1, 2007.

Good Stuff. Too bad he's correct.

Golden Yeggs

Daffy Duck and Porky Pig

Get Used to Americans Spending Less

It's a conundrum.

Americans have been told for years they need to save more, but America been a society of spendthrifts.
In this global recession, many have said that a recovery will not occur, including job recovery, until America starts spending again, yet here we have Tim Geithner, Treasury Secretary, saying that, as a matter of course, Americans will save more, and spend less in the future.

Full Story

Now that's one big foot

Paleontologists in eastern France have reported the discovery of some of the largest dinosaur footprints ever documented, measuring about 1.4 meters to 1.5 meters in diameter.

Now that's one big foot

Winchester alien spotted wearing ballet shoes and a UFO tutu

Council Adrian Hicks poses on the spot where he saw the alien.

Winchester councilor Adrian Hicks is on the search for an alien dressed like a ballerina that he spotted five years ago.

Visible only to the chosen few, the pretty blonde female UFO interloper is said to shuffle along the pavement in a penguin-like walk, wearing only a white ballet outfit and broad smile.

Full Story

Will airports screen for body signals?

The days of being able to walk through airport security checkpoints while wearing shoes and a jacket could return if an experimental program proves successful, some Department of Homeland Security officials say.

Full Story

Nursery rhymes 'too old fashioned'

Nursery rhymes are losing ground in Britain's affections, according to a survey, with many parents finding them too old fashioned and of no educational value.

'Too old fashioned'

Michelle Obama, other First Ladies seen as 'beauty contest' foes by Carla Bruni

Carla Bruni claims she is posing in a never-ending 'beauty contest' with the spouses of other world leaders.

Michelle Obama, other First Ladies seen as 'beauty contest' foes by Carla Bruni

Two Felons Caught In Tennessee Corn Maze

Running into a corn maze probably isn't the best move for a wanted felon.

Jefferson County, Tennessee, authorities report assault suspect Daniel Lockheart and his girlfriend were spotted at the Echo Valley Farm corn field.
Police say they ran into a 32-acre maze, but they didn't make an amazing escape.
Police evacuated the area and started looking for the couple.
It took officers and police dogs about two hours to find the pair.
The maze was reopened later that same evening.

Edgar Allan Poe Finally Receiving Proper Funeral

Poe finally receiving a proper funeral

Edgar Allan Poe died poor, delirious, and forgotten in 1849, but now is getting a better sendoff.

For Edgar Allan Poe, 2009 has been a better year than 1849. After dozens of events in several cities to mark the 200th anniversary of his birth, he's about to get the grand funeral that a writer of his stature should have received when he died.

One hundred sixty years ago, the beleaguered, impoverished Poe was found, delirious and in distress outside a Baltimore tavern. He was never coherent enough to explain what had befallen him since leaving Richmond, Va., a week earlier. He spent four days in a hospital before he died at age 40.

Poe's cousin, Neilson Poe, never announced his death publicly. Fewer than 10 people attended the hasty funeral for one of the 19th century's greatest writers. And the injustices piled on. Poe's tombstone was destroyed before it could be installed, when a train derailed and crashed into a stonecutter's yard. Rufus Griswold, a Poe enemy, published a libelous obituary that damaged Poe's reputation for decades.

But on Sunday, Poe's funeral will get an elaborate do-over, with two services expected to draw about 350 people each — the most a former church next to his grave can hold. Actors portraying Poe's contemporaries and other long-dead writers and artists will pay their respects, reading eulogies adapted from their writings about Poe.

"We are following the proper etiquette for funerals. We want to make it as realistic as possible," said Jeff Jerome, curator of the Poe House and Museum.

Advance tickets are sold out, although Jerome will make some seats available at the door to ensure packed houses. Fans are traveling from as far away as Vietnam.

The funeral is arguably the splashiest of a year's worth of events honoring the 200th anniversary of Poe's birth. Along with Baltimore — where he spent some of his leanest years in the mid-1830s — Poe lived in or has strong connections to Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Richmond.

With the funeral angle covered, the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond staged a re-enactment last weekend of his death. Those with a more academic interest in Poe can attend the Poe Studies Association's annual conference from Thursday through Sunday in Philadelphia.

Visitors in Baltimore for the funeral can enjoy a new exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art, "Edgar Allan Poe: A Baltimore Icon," which includes chilling illustrations to "The Raven" by Edouard Manet.

Baltimore has a decided advantage over the other cities that lay claim to Poe, notes BMA director Doreen Bolger. "We have the body," she said.

This week, that's true in more ways than one. Jerome said he's gotten calls from people who thought he was going to exhume Poe's remains and rebury them.

"When they dug up Poe's body in 1875 to move it, it was mostly skeletal remains," Jerome said. "I've seen remains of people who've been in the ground since that time period, and there's hardly anything left."

Instead, Jerome commissioned local special-effects artist Eric Supensky to create an eerily lifelike — or deathlike — mock-up of Poe's corpse.

"I got chills," Jerome said Monday upon seeing the body for the first time. "This is going to freak people out."

The body will lie in state for 12 hours Wednesday at the Poe House, a tiny rowhome in a gritty section of west Baltimore. Visitors are invited to pay their respects.

Following the viewing will be an all-night vigil at Poe's grave at Westminster Burying Ground. Anyone who attends will have the opportunity to deliver a tribute.

On Sunday morning, a horse-drawn carriage will transport the replica of Poe's body from his former home to the graveyard for the funeral.

Actor John Astin, best known as Gomez Addams on TV's "The Addams Family," will serve as master of ceremonies.

"It's sort of a way of saying, 'Well, Eddie, your first funeral wasn't a very good one, but we're going to try to make it up to you, because we have so much respect for you,'" said Astin, who toured as Poe for years in a one-man show.

The service won't be a total lovefest, however. The first eulogy will come from none other than Griswold.

"People are asking me, 'Jeff, why are you inviting him? He hated Poe!'" Jerome said. "The reason is, most of these people defended Poe in response to what he said about Poe's life, so we can't have this service without having old Rufus sitting in the front row, spewing forth his hatred."

Eulogies will follow from actors portraying, among others, Sarah Helen Whitman, a minor poet whom Poe courted after his wife's death, and Walt Whitman, who attended the dedication of Poe's new gravestone in 1875 but didn't feel well enough to speak. Writers and artists influenced by Poe, including Arthur Conan Doyle and Alfred Hitchcock, will also be represented.

Jerome expects to cry — one reason he won't be speaking. Even his rivals are impressed with the scale of the tribute.

"Annoyed as I am with Baltimore sometimes, I have to give them credit," said Philadelphia-based Poe scholar Edward Pettit, who argues his city was of greater importance to Poe's life and literary career. "Baltimore has done an awful lot to maintain the legacy of Poe over the last 100-some years."

Chinese dissidents top Nobel Peace Prize speculation in 20th anniversary year of Tiananmen

Chinese dissidents are leading the odds of winning the Nobel Peace Prize this year, the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre and the 60th since the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

Full Story

Unusual Holidays and Celebrations

Today is Balloons Around The World Day.

Daily Almanac

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 7, the 280th day of 2009.

There are 85 days left in the year.

Today in History, October 7.

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Sundbyberg, Stockholms Lan, Swewden
Vilnius. Vilniaus Apskirtis, Lithuania
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Northampton, England, United Kingdom
Brussels, Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, Belgium

as well as Scotland, and the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

Do whatever you can to feel good about yourself.
It's very important to care for others, but make sure you're not neglecting yourself in that -- after all, you're a person, too.
So pinpoint something that would make you happy, and do it, no matter how frivolous, silly or generally un-adultlike it seems.
Want to buy some Silly Putty?
Do it.
Want to see two matinees in a row?
Then do it!
Cheer yourself up any way you know how.

Oh, Goody ... Play Time!