Showing posts with label Links. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Links. Show all posts

Sunday, February 15, 2009

A Few Articles For Your Sunday

It seems like a while since I last did a roundup of Sunday Morning paper reading.

First up, the master of the Olde Timey-ness - M. Ward

Second, far less painful than reading one of his books, an upbeat column from Thomas Friedman on green energy

And in the WaPost a little reminder of the effects of the recession from those hardest hit.

Also, another green article, this one a bit more realistic and a bit more glib, but hey that's the Post for ya, right?

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Well At Least We Made Out Alright, I Guess

Damo sent me this link yesterday - it's a news story called "The Kiss of Deaf" about a woman who's boyfriend actually ruptured her eardrum during what I have to assume was a pretty hardcore makeout session.

Here's the article -

BEIJING (Reuters) - A young woman in southern China has partially lost her hearing after her boyfriend ruptured her eardrum during an excessively passionate kiss, local media reported Monday.

The 20-something girl from Zhuhai, in southern Guangdong province, went to hospital completely deaf in her left ear, the China Daily said, citing a report in a local newspaper.

"The kiss reduced pressure in the mouth, pulled the eardrum out and caused the breakdown of the ear," the paper quoted a doctor surnamed Li from the hospital as saying.

The woman's hearing would likely return to normal after about two months, Li said.

"While kissing is normally very safe, doctors advise people to proceed with caution," the paper said.

But ear damage isn't the only little known danger of the twilight tongue attack. So as a public service announcement to all you lovers young and old who may be planning some necking later on - a word of caution. Maybe think twice. The danger may be greater than you make it out to be. (get it?)

In high school I had a friend who happened to be tongue tied. Now, I don't mean that she was shy or didn't know her way around a turn of phrase. She actually had the medical condition colloquially known as being "tongue tied" - when extra webbing is present under the tongue and connects it to the bottom of the mouth, keeping the tongue from being able to extend fully. She couldn't actually stick her tongue out of her mouth. As far as I'm aware, there's no real negative health affects to being tongue tied - she was able to speak normally and with clarity, eating wasn't an issue - I certainly wouldn't have known if she hadn't told me.

It is uncommon though, and different than most people, and so an elective surgery is available to snip the webbing and allow full tongue range of motion.

Well one night she was making out with her boyfriend, and he must have a mouth like a hoover vacuum because he sucked so hard on her tongue that he actually ripped the webbing himself and loosened her tongue from it's tied position.

Yes, there was blood.

But for all intents and purposes, he elected to have the surgery for her because to the best of my knowledge she is tongue tied no more.

Blood, hearing loss, detached tongual webbing -
And you thought sex was the scary part.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Sunday Papers

A few amusing things in the Sunday Papers:

First - Daptone Records!

Second - Writers should write books, Joe the Plumber should not. I agree 100%!

Third - We're not the dumbest generation!



Also, I am going to begin a running list of things not needed during the recession. To begin with:

#1 Lexuses for Christmas
#2 Cadillacs ever. (It amazes me that despite the disgusting smugness of bud light commercials the Cadillac ads are even more smug. The cocky dude from the Escalade Hybrid commercials is so smug he literally makes me nauseous just watching the commercial)
#3 Special edition box sets of mediocre summer blockbusters.
#4 Blue ray versions of movies shot before 2005. Theses movies were not in high def to begin with, stop lying to yourself.

To be continued...

Saturday, December 6, 2008

A Year End List I Agree With

As the year end music lists come in, I will certainly have some things to say. (Here's a teaser - Fleet Foxes - they're not that great. Fleet Foxes are to CSNY as Yeasayer are to Jethro Tull). So this is a list that has nothing to do with music.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/2008/12/51-things-i-mis.html?csp=34

Monday, November 17, 2008

A Bit of Belated Suday Reading

From time to time I think it's worth mentioning some amusing things I read in twin bastions of dead trees - The Washington Post and The New York Times Sunday editions.

Also, I know I'm just a living embodiment of Stuff White People Like. But I generally go for Week in Review before the Magazine, so there.

A Book Review on a Book on the Great Books. All the dead white male a boy or girl could ever want:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/books/review/Campbell-t.html?ref=books
And you may be familiar with St. Johns, the University whose curriculum is composed of The Great Books for all students:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_College,_U.S.

What to do with a dead Big Box store:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/13/AR2008111303039.html

And Mr. Kristof, the anti-Maureen Dowd, with a bit of hope:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/opinion/16kristof.html

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Keith Olbermann Speaks on Prop 8

I know Elan is planning on writing about Proposition 8, and I urge you all to come back and read that post once it's up sometime today or tomorrow. But in the meantime, Keith Olbermann says pretty much everything I have to say on the subject, likely better than I could.

I'd also like officially welcome my fellow Gentlemen - you've already read Max Nova and David Pratt - Adam Winer, Elan Strait, and Damien "Damo" Nichols will be joining us soon.