Busted Brackets

The final four combination was so improbable that only 2 of the nearly 6 million people who filled out brackets on ESPN picked:


One of those who got it right was Joe Pearlman of East Brunswick, NJ.

Accidentally Brilliant Audio Embed: BBC, PRI & WBUR's Here & Now 4/1/11, Host: Robin Young.

So now let's all hope for great games... That's pay-off enough!

Samurais' Sacrifice

Japanese nuclear workers have told relatives they know they could die from radiation-caused cancer within years, or exposure within weeks.


Video analysis by Newsy.com

Moving Day

Moving Out

The man who monitored the "success" of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (a.k.a. "Wall Street Bailout") leaves with mixed feelings.

How Do You Measure a T.A.R.P.? Audio Embed: CBS Radio's Osgood File 3/30/11.

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Move Your Money

Will you personally turn away from Too Big To Fail megabanks?

Smaller Scale Alternatives Audio Embed: Dave Ross, KIRO-FM/Seattle, 4/1/11.

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Move Your Music

Amazon.com rolled out two new products this week: "Cloud Drive" for storing up to 5gb of music on their Internet servers and "Cloud Player" for playing it back... Accessible from anywhere you're online.

Should you put your music on a cloud? Audio Embed: APM's Marketplace Tech Report, Host: John Moe.

Vermont Opts Out

A bill in the Vermont legislature would opt out of the federal health care program, but unlike other states, improve it with single payer.

Animation Nation

Schwarzenegger as ‘The Governator’

As he promised, Arnold's back as an animated hero

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Jay & Silent Bob Series

Characters resurface despite Kevin Smith's announced retirement

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Silver Anniversary Celebration


Pixar Feature Films Used (In order of release)

• Toy Story (1995)
• A Bug's Life (1998)
• Toy Story 2 (1999)
• Monster's Inc. (2001)
• Finding Nemo (2003)
• The Incredibles (2004)
• Cars (2006)
• Ratatouille (2007)
• WALL-E (2008)
• Up (2009)
• Toy Story 3 (2010)
• Cars 2 (2011)

Roger Ebert Predicted The Future Of Film In 1987

Ambient World

A 2010 two-disc set of contemplative & textural electronic music by David Arkenstone, Ambient World flavored with the tastes of Japan.

Listening Eastward Audio Embed: Echoes, an ambient music program on public radio with extensive archives of subscriber downloads.

Funny Girl

She's Mugging For the Radio


American stand-up comedian and voice actor Maria Bamford gives the CBC's QTV a glimpse into the mind of one crazy comic.

Stop Deforestation

The Lines Are Already a Bitch!

From The Daily Tail dog blog, Spring 2010

Shoes For Industry

Proud celebrity chihuahua owner Paris Hilton selected Mexico City as the latest place to get paid for showing up and posing on March 30th.
The vapid vamp's latest venture: a line of shoes...



For those who don't know a Jimmy Choo from a chalupa:

click to enlarge

And for those who prefer "monster jams..."


The Eagles - "Those Shoes" - The Long Run (1979)

#snakeinbondage

After what could be a final tweet...

	BronxZoosCobra
There's a Facebook page "Bronx Zoo's Cobra to Host SNL." Apparently it worked for Betty White. #snakeonsnl

Thursday, the evasive reptile was recaptured inside the reptile house, lured by the tasty temptation of live mice... Unless this news is what passes for April Fools in NYC these days. #snakeinbondage

Exit Strategy

Regis Philbin & David Letterman talk about riding off into the sunset.

Form Follows Function

Similar Shape

Sized To Fit

Sure looks like brain food! Don't it?

Eat Up, Go Nuts Audio Embed: CBS Radio's Osgood File 3/28/11.

Staggering Solidarity

Demonstrating, Damaged, Drunk & Damn Late



Angry that their afternoon march on the Capitol had been ignored, The Damaged Women's Coalition returned later... Drunk and crying.

Clarification

Sorry for previous confusion.

AFFLECK

AFLAC

Play Ball!

Visitors	Home	Time ET	TV
Braves	Nationals	1:05 pm
Tigers	Yankees	1:05 pm	ESPN
Brewers	Reds	2:10 pm
Angels	Royals	4:10 pm
Padres	Cardinals	4:15 pm	ESPN
Giants	Dodgers	8:00 pm

Christianity Is Fattening

News Item: Study Correlates Obesity & Church

"He dined for your sins." Photo post by Mike Mitchell

Combining Burger King with Bible Study just makes it worse (sigh).

Yahweh Or No Way


Jesus is totally cut... Unfortunately not true of his followers.

Stephen Colbert's Next Religion


Stephen Colbert gave up Catholicism for Lent, so Stephen Prothero helps him find a new faith by describing Quakers and Shakers.

"We are building a religion
We are building it bigger
We are widening the corridors
And adding more lanes

"We are building a religion
A limited edition
We are now accepting callers
For these pendant key chains"

-- Cake - "Comfort Eagle" (2001)

Oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies are the new Devil's Food

Nuclear Threat Assessment

More Than Only Three Mile Island

It doesn't take an earthquake and/or tsunami to cripple a nuclear plant... Anything that shuts off the electricity risks catastrophe.



Rachel Maddow reviews a litany of malfunctions and safety problems at American nuclear facilities that are not part of common pubic knowledge and offers suggestions for bolstering back-up systems.

Some environmental groups say the nuclear disaster in Japan is a wake-up call and they would not support building new U.S. nuclear plants. Others say that nuclear power is still one of the safest technologies invented. But both sides agree that the priority should be to examine existing U.S. nuclear plants for safety risks.

Environmental Impact Statements Audio Embed: All Things Considered 3/28/11, Reporter: Elizabeth Shogren.

Jonathan Livingston Robot

Do mechanical gulls drop solid-state "clams?"


Two meter wing-span "Smart Bird" autonomously flying robo-gulls weigh less than half a kilo and are the latest from Festo, a company with a history of developing mind-boggling, biologically-inspired bots.

Someday My Prints Will Come

Mercury's Basically Another Moon


First ever close-ups released from NASA's "Messenger" Mercury probe.

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But That's No Ordinary Honda

Millennium Falcon window sticker via GeekStir

American Exceptionalism

Countries That Don't Use The Metric System

ZME Science via Gizmodo

The U.S., Liberia & Myanmar... Miles behind the rest of the world.

Mascot Massacre

B&P resent efforts to purge Indian imagery from NCAA sports teams. And my former dentist, the original mascot at my high school, always insisted what looked like his tomahawk was really a stone hammer.

Scalping More Than Tickets Audio Embed: Berger & Prescott, podcast via Facebook.

Birther Backfire

When investigators found the papers Donald Trump furnished to prove his own American birth weren't official, the egomaniacal entrepreneur was sent scrambling for genuine documents of his own. Following a controversial right-wing rabble-rousing appearance on "The View," "The Donald" released the real thing to ABC News.


Odd coincidence: I didn't have possession of my own birth certificate until 2008, when I obtained one from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for dealings with the Social Security Administration, who accepted it without question. It is very similar in form to what Hawaii issued for Mr. Obama... I believe my mother had a hospital certificate much like Mr. Trump's. They were common in that era.

Dream On

American Dream Dead, Final Believer Gives Up



The last vestige of the American Dream slipped away quietly as a Pennington, IL resident laid aside his hope of owning a bar & grill.

Take This Job & Shove It

Businesses push employees closer to their Johnny Pavcheck moment.

I Ain't Workin' Here No More Audio Embed: CBS Radio's Osgood File 3/29/11.

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The Animals - "We've Gotta Get Out Of This Place" - (1965)

#snakeonthetown

The Bronx Zoo is missing a cobra, but apparently he's joined Twitter.

	BronxZoosCobra
Leaving Wall Street. These guys make my skin crawl. #snakeonthetown

Jimmy Kimmel's Cousin Sal gets reactions to NYC's escaped cobra.

	BronxZoosCobra
FYI, I've had it with Samuel L. Jackson, too. #snakeonthetown

Paula Abdul - "Cold Hearted (Snake)" - Forever Your Girl (1989)

	BronxZoosCobra
I'm 20 inches long. Just sayin'. #snakeonthetown

Bronx Zoo's Top Ten Excuses


CBS / Late Show with David Letterman, 3/28/11.

Product Placement Palooza

One of the favorites at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was Morgan Spurlock‘s documentary about branding, advertising and product placement that is financed and made possible by brands, advertising and product placement. Now called "Pom Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold," it’s scheduled for release on April 22.

The creator of the McDonald's exposé "Super Size Me" asks a simple question... Backed by the right brands, could a documentary ever reach the same marketing success as Hollywood's latest blockbuster?

In Your Facebook!

"Facebook addiction" news from WFTS-TV/Tampa & KIRO-FM/Seattle.

Looking for Cyber Symptoms Audio Embed: Dave Ross, KIRO-FM/ Seattle, 3/28/11.

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And... Because sadness knows no bounds, Cloudgirlfriend.com is a website that will create fake Facebook girlfriends for pathetic dudes.

click to enlarge

Cartoon from Shoeboxblog

Self Esteem

Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome, performing as Garfunkel & Oates

Casus Belli*

The wait for President Obama's justification for acts of war is over.


MSNBC's Lawrence O’Donnell and Rachel Maddow dissect President Obama’s address to the nation on the U.S. military action in Libya.


Hostilities continue, whatever the situation over Tripoli... On the airwaves, accusations from Congress and critics still fly freely.



* Casus belli is a Latin expression for an event or action that explains or allegedly justifies acts of war or armed response.

Butter Knives and Brutality

When Iman Al-Obeidi burst into a Tripoli hotel lobby on Saturday claiming that she had been raped by Gaddafi supporters, Jonathan Miller of the UK’s Channel 4 News was an eyewitness to the events: accusation, arrest and attempt to suppress news of the incident.

Explosive Accusations & Reaction Audio Embed: BBC, PRI & WBUR's Here & Now 3/28/11, Host: Robin Young.

Biased Against Al Jazeera?

Probably Not... If You Think You're Watching CNN

Ph.D candidates in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor conducted a study which proves Americans don’t see Al Jazeera English as biased. That is, as long as they don’t know what they’re watching.

Study participants who watched a test segment of AJE news coverage branded with a CNN International logo found it to be fair... People watching the same clip correctly labeled as Al Jazeera were more likely to conclude the story was biased.

“The findings that show differential bias ratings between AJE and CNNI based on the same exact news clip suggest Americans are, on average, still unable to fairly evaluate the station,” concluded William Youmans & Katie Brown.

And that's a shame, because it an era of American network austerity, no one has been better positioned to respond to this year's Arabian "awakenings," or pro-democracy uprisings, than Al Jazeera.


Ayman Mohyeldin says the American cable companies that refuse to carry Al Jazeera help contribute to misunderstanding the Middle East.

The Book on Broadway

Original (un-injured) cast in action!

South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have been obsessed with Mormons... Probably more than anyone outside the LDS church, and since long before anyone killed Kenny. Now they've taken their fascination to the Broadway stage with "The Book of Mormon."

A 'Mormon' Swipe At Everything Audio Embed: All Things Considered 3/24/11, Reviewer: Robert Smith, speaking on opening night.