Soda Pop, no!

I don't know where exactly Paw Paw, Michigan is, but consider myself noted to never drive my wheelchair around there. Yowsers!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/07/wheelchair.truck.ap/index.html

Amateur Planet Earth

If you enjoy Planet Earth and other similar nature and animal shows, you'll find this video as fascinating as I do. Fascinating and crazy! I'm impressed the photographer stuck around for all of it. I think I may have floored it. Supposedly, it is incredibly rare to witness a hunt or kill in person on a safari. And man, did these people get a show!

I know this video is 8 minutes, but you really have to watch the entire thing. The plot does NOT flat line after a few minutes like you think it may...

Get well soon because...

Now I'm not all about free plugs for other outlets or anything. Although, if you ask me to sing an Applebee's song in Gabe's presence, I certainly will oblige. But a co-worker sent me a link to the someecards site yesterday. Holy crap are there some gems on there. Here are a few of my favorites. And beware, clicking through will basically devote an hour to reading each and every one. May I recommend the Mothers Day subcategory under Holidays?

SEC Champs!

Last night David Price, the consensus Pitcher of the Year, struck out 15 and Vandy won its first regular season crown since the SEC started recognizing a regular season champ in 1980.

I believe the SEC finals are televised on Saturday. The Nashville Regional may be on TV as Vandy is the likely overall 1 seed (they're currently #1 in all 5 polls). The Super-Regional and College World Series are both on ESPN/ABC.

YEAH VANDY!

Full story -> http://vucommodores.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/051707aaa.html

Yeah Vandy!

Not that we're dissapointed with the women's bowling championship the Commodores earned a few weeks ago. We're not. Or that it doesn't mean anything. It does. A) because bowling is awesome and B) because it was the first NCAA championship in school history. This historic victory came a few years after chancellor Gordon Gee disbanded the athletic department in a move that had many rolling their eyes and laughing at the future state of Vanderbilt's sports teams. Nevermind that the women's bowling team is the sport that replaced our beloved men's soccer. Yet Vandy's men's baseball team has a very strong chance to add another title to the school's resume in the coming months.

You like apples?

The Commodores have positioned themselves for the top seed in the SEC tournament later this month in Hoover, Ala., as well as the No. 1 national seed in the NCAA Tournament. Vanderbilt took two of three games this weekend at Georgia, a College World Series participant a year ago, and has won nine of its last 10 games.

The Commodores have the player many consider to be the No. 1 selection in June's amateur draft (left-handed pitcher David Price) and the player who might be the No. 1 pick in 2008 (third baseman Pedro Alvarez). Throw in senior Casey Weathers, the top closer in college baseball and another possible first-round draft pick next month, and left-handed pitcher Mike Minor, one of the country's top freshmen, and Vanderbilt has the ingredients to make a serious run at winning next month's College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

How about them apples?

Read the full ESPN article

Journalism, Marketing or Deception?

I have been getting more and more frustrated with journalism lately. It just seems like there are so many articles out there that say the same exact thing. You can read the same story almost word for word on ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, SI and CBS Sportsline. They all use the same quotes too and pretty much use the same headlines as well. I'm sure media outlets feel an immense amount of pressure to break or cover any store that is out there. But it's just frustrating from a reader's standpoint. I think I see it most in sports journalism, but perhaps that's just because the majority of news that I read is sports related.

Another point of contention I have is how misleading headlines can be. This is for an Associated Press article published this afternoon:

ESPN headline: McNabb 'shocked' Eagles took quarterback in draft
Yahoo! headline: McNabb was 'shocked' Eagles took QB Kolb

When clicking through, ESPN titled the article "McNabb downplays he's upset Eagles drafted Kolb" (while Yahoo! titled the article "McNabb breaks silence on Eagles drafting QB").

Hmm, that isn't quite the tone that was set by the headline I clicked on... let's read the article.

The first quote from Donovan McNabb these "journalists" provide us with is a complex one. It reads, "'It was shocking,' McNabb said Tuesday in an interview on WIP-AM radio." About half way through the article, after the journalist has tried mightily to stir controversy, we get a bit more from Mr. McNabb:

"'When you draft somebody at the position you're in, of course you have questions of 'What does that mean?' McNabb said. 'The most important thing for me is to make sure I'm healthy and 100 percent and get back out there competing and do the right thing on the field.'"

I'm thinking... this all sounds pretty reasonable. It sounds like he's trying to be very open and honest. It doesn't really sound like he has any animosity like the headline lead us to believe. Then it's not until the second to last paragraph that we get a little bit more about McNabb's supposed "shocked" feelings:

"I think Kevin Kolb is going to do an excellent job for us," McNabb said. "I'm going to try and help him as much as I can. I'm sure he's going to do great. I look forward to working with him this weekend."

Wow. Well... I really don't think "shocked" is an accurate portrayal of what McNabb was trying to convey to his interviewer and audience. In fact, I'd say it is very misleading. Just because McNabb uttered those words, which the AP so proudly lead with as McNabb's first quote of the article, doesn't mean that represents the story. It was certainly a leading question to begin with, one meant to hopefully get the athlete to say something controversial. McNabb simply answered the question honestly.

I don't know if the headline was actually taken out of context, but it is certainly rife with deception. It just seems like such a lame and pathetic level of journalism to stoop to in an attempt to get another click through, another set of eyes on your site, another unique visitor to up your CPM. It's like Fox News last night after 24... "Chloe tells all about having a love affair with Jack." Then after the commercial break, Chloe is on camera answering the question with "No way, that would never happen." Good reporting, Fox News. Bravo, AP.

That is all.

Best Sports Headline of the Year - Period

I mean... wow. I can see this being approved at the NY Post, but am pretty surprised the envelope is being pushed at this local tv news station's website. But I applaud you, WSOCTV 9 Eyewitness News. I do believe you have authored and published the best sports headline of the year. Amazing!

I took a screen shot of it in case it's removed from the site later.

Kitty Spa

I'm not quite sure 'spa' is the right word. I think it looks more like a microwave. But who cares. This is hilarious. I know, I know, I'm a meanie. But come on... Cats need to be cleaned too!



I don't think I am embedding this thing correctly, so here is the link.
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1738258

You won't be disappointed

I guarantee you won't be disappointed if you click this link.

In fact, I'll prove it with these two amazing gems.





Whoever did this...... thank you

Logical Drunk Logic

If you ask me, this man displayed a high degree of logical drunk-logic. Hilarious. Just looking out for his well being, and, the well being of little Sammy too. Here is the story from www.Metro.co.uk

For Real?

Anyone know if this picture is for real? Holycrapballs!

(from deadspin)

Extreme Skydiving

wow... this is insane. This dude could have flown face first into a mountain!

Elevator Forecast

OK... This only pertains to those of us that ride elevators 2-4 times per day. But what percentage of conversations that you have in the elevator or that you hear while in the elevator are in some way related to the weather? Current weather. Upcoming weather. Yesterday's weather. Last weekend's weather. Doesn't matter. Oh, and global warming counts too. It's astonishing! Let's take a poll! ....And if you care to weigh in on the weather in your city (or in your elevator), feel free!

What percentage of conversations that you have in the elevator or that you hear while in the elevator are in some way related to the weather?
	It doesn't happen
	1 - 10%
	11 - 25%
	26 - 50%
	51 - 75%
	76 - 95%
	96 - 100%
pollcode.com free polls

Henry Hudson, $24 and mad hatters

On to the interesting tidbits of the history of Manhattan's settlement:

• Do you know how Henry Hudson died? He was on a voyage in 1610 searching for the northwest passage to the West Indies. He was driving his crew very hard. Their sails were frozen. They were no longer finding bears and seals to eat on the ice. The food they brought was long gone. Their toes were falling off from frostbite. Their gums were bleeding and their teeth were falling out from eating moss... Henry Hudson froze to death. Not because his ship was stuck in the ice but because his crew turned into mutineers. They were fed up with the voyage and did not share the same conviction for discovery that Hudson had. As he woke up one morning, his crew tied him up and lowered him and his young son, John, into a small row boat. His crew sailed back to London and left him there to die in Hudson Bay. Certainly an ironic end for one of history's great explorers, the man who sailed into New York Harbor flying the Dutch flag, navigating all the way up the Hudson River to Fort Orange (Albany is the name the English later gave it)...

• It is somewhat common knowledge that the island of Manhattan was purchased for $24. But this isn't quite accurate and is actually very misleading. Peter Minuit (pronounced Min-wee) purchased the island from a group of local Indians in 1626 for 60 guilders worth of goods. It was the 19th century historian, Edmund O'Callaghan, who calculated it to be $24. Was this really the ruthless and conniving Europeans ripping off the naive Indians? Would the Indians really sell what was most precious to them for $24? No, not really. First of all, the Indians had a much different concept of land ownership and also didn't really have property transfer. They saw the "transaction" more as a land rental agreement and a new defensive alliance. It's not as if they vacated the land after the sale. They fully intended to continue to use and live on the land, and they did. Secondly, the $24 figure dates to the mid 19th century and isn't relevant to buying power 200 years earlier. 60 actual guilders would have been completely useless to the Indians because they had no use for money. The price paid was 60 guilders worth of goods. But again, you have to think about relative worth. As Shorto points out, a steel knife would be worth very little to people in Amsterdam, worth more to a settler living in primitive conditions and worth much much more to Indians living in relative wilderness. Shorto continues to show that, while land in the new world was indeed cheap, the Manhattan transfer was in line with other documented land sales and trades of goods between settlers.


• Do you know where the term "mad hatter" comes from? Beaver fur and skin was one of the most prevalent goods traded between Dutch settlers and Indians. Beaver skin was shipped back to Europe to make into felt. Hat makers used the skin to make felt hats and were subsequently exposed to a high level of mercury during the production process. This lead to mercury poisoning, which led to crazy hat makers, which lead to the term we all know today.

The Island at the Center of the World

I am simply fascinated by this book. It merits earmarking and underlining on basically every page. It's about the somewhat ignored settlement of Manhattan, specifically by the Dutch. And I would absolutlely insist you read it if you live in New York, love NY or just love history. I actually don't even love history. I love bacon. Go figure. But that's neither here nor there.

Anyway, I want to post more frequently about what I'm reading. Just tidbits here and there that I certainly didn't know and I'm guessing you didn't either. Unless of course, gBer gave this book to you. Thanks, Dude. I love it. Tidbits to follow...