“The Incredible True Story of the Collar Bomb Heist”

When I saw the TV ads for the movie 30 Minutes or Less, I thought the plot was interesting but pretty unworkable. A few days ago, I discovered that the basic plot was lifted from real life, nearly verbatim (though the people involved in the movie apparently deny knowing of it). Another case where reality …

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“Religious Expressions Are Rooted in Fear-Based Politics”

A “National Day of Prayer”? “One Nation Under God”? “In God We Trust”? I’ve heard people claim that they’re proof that America was founded on Christian principles. If the speaker acknowledges freedom of religion at all, he invariably means that everyone must be free to practice his religion. Thing is, all three of those were …

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“Autism boom: an epidemic of disease or of discovery?”

The LA Times recently published a four-part investigation of autism. It’s pretty good, it has more information on it than I’ve been able to find in my own research elsewhere. I’m not a scientist, and I’m operating solely on my own experience and what I’ve read of others, but it seems to me that autism …

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“Mysterious metal ball from space falls in Namibia”

A large metal ball that fell from space into the Namibian grasslands last month is not alien, officials say, but that’s about all they know for certain about the object. […] Uh-oh. Ape #1: Dear me. What are these things coming out of her nose? Ape #2 (looks through binoculars): Spaceballs. Ape #1: Oh, shit. …

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“A Very Portal Christmas Tree”

For those of you who don’t know, there’s a rather famous game called Portal. From the Wikipedia entry: […] The game primarily comprises a series of puzzles that must be solved by teleporting the player’s character and simple objects using “the handheld portal device”, a device that can create inter-spatial portals between two flat planes. …

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“Technology confuse lizard! Lizard no like!”

I can’t figure out whether this is EPIC LIZARD-BRAIN FAIL or simply hilarious. Maybe I’ll settle for both. I especially find it amusing when, between rounds, the lizard looks up at the guy behind the camera, as if he really wants to convey his disgust at the proceedings. Here is a short clip of a …

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“Sony sued over PlayStation Network no-suing rules”

It’s about time someone called corporations on this type of self-serving rule change. As a business owner, I can’t blame them for trying to limit their liability. I’d probably do the same thing in their shoes (though I hope I’d find a way to be more fair about it). But as a consumer it always …

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