What would the Mona Lisa look like painted by other artists?

  

  Matt Groening                                   Pablo Picasso 

Andy Warhol

Manga Style Art                              Roy Lichtenstein

All Art by Aviary

  

How to compound a catastrophe, or Murphy's Law wins!

  

You think the above is the end of this situation, don't you? Not even. It's only the start of what must have been a long day for several tow-truck drivers. Click here and watch how the whole story pans out in photos. You'll be amazed at the resulting havoc which reportedly took place in Ireland somewhere.

Israeli airstrikes continue to bombard Hamas in Gaza

 

Hatem Omar, Associated Press

A Palestinian family flees the Rafah refugee camp after an Israeli strike. The Palestinian death toll rose to 303 with an estimated 900 injured as raids continued. Some Gazans reportedly tried to break through the border to Egypt, but were repelled by Egyptian forces.

As It Stands Column is #1 & #5 in Online Top Stories in T-S

By James Faulk/Times-Standard     

For most of this year, I was the Web editor here at the old Times-Standard, toiling away on making sure that this newspaper did its best to bring all of its brilliant content to the Internet.

It was a nice job in a cozy office with Jeff Soderberg, the technical guru of all things interactive at the T-S.

But since early November or so, I have switched jobs, becoming the city editor and leaving my digital roots behind. But even with that transition, I can't help but be interested when the top 10 list of online stories for 2008 was circulated in the office.

First, here goes the list for 2008:

1. Judge says Feds violated 10th Amendment by subverting state marijuana laws (See column to the right under Times-Standard for a link)

2. Feds launch massive pot sting (with video)

3. SoCal's atheist billboard taken down

4. UPDATED: Major sting targets commercial grow op (with video)

5. America in Crisis: Are we preparing for martial law?

(See column to the right under Times-Standard for a link)

6. No longer a Long shot?: Raiders' Davis may land his prized possession after all

7. Rodoni dies in 101 crash

8. Seized pot worth $25M to $60M

9. Arcata man falls to his death

10. Driver sought: Suspected drag race on 299 results in fatal crash

So what does this reveal about the Web? I argue, absolutely nothing! What we have here is a collection of random stories, some of which went viral. Those that went viral, for whatever reason and because of this or that blogger, got the most hits.

The Web is such a strange, interesting place, the likes of which have never been seen before in human history. It's such a dynamic place that it's hardly possible to predict what will be the top 10 stories of the year ahead of time, or even what type.

It depends so much on what gets noticed, and what gets forwarded, that developing a plan of action to produce such results is self-defeating.

I would argue that only the Rodoni story, and one or two others, were made popular by primarily local views, and the only ones driven by our paper's traditional news audience. The rest is directly the result of a viral spread.

What does that teach us for driving traffic at the T-S Web site? Beats me, but it sure is fun to watch.

Today's As It Stands: Here We Go Kissing in the New Year

(editor's note: The Times-Standard didn't update their Opinion section in the Online version 12/28. So here it is.)

Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 12/28/2008 01:31:06 AM PST

Have you ever been to a New Year's party where, at the stroke of midnight, everyone started kissing? Who hasn't? It's an old tradition and also a superstition.

In Biblical times the act of kissing or touching ones lips to those of another, or to another person's cheek was a token of affection or respect.

Kissing was common not only between male and female relatives (Genesis 29:11; 31:28), but also between male relatives. (Genesis 27:26, 27; 45:15; Exodus 18:7; 2 Samuel 14:33) It was likewise a gesture of affection between close friends. (1 Samuel 20:41, 42; 2 Samuel 19:39) Kissing might accompany a blessing. (Genesis 31:55)

Historians credit the Romans (are we surprised?) with starting the tradition of kissing and merrymaking on New Year's Eve. They called it the Festival of Saturnalia. Later on, the English and the Germans would celebrate the coming of the new year by kissing the first person they met when the bells chimed twelve.

Europeans have celebrated with masked balls on New Year's Eve for hundreds of years. Tradition says the mask symbolizes evil spirits from the old year and the kiss (after taking off the mask) is an act of purification.

I've always viewed this superstition/tradition with anticipation. What better way to start the new year than with a kiss? Beats a kick, as they say. My first kiss of the year, for the past 34 years, has been for my wife, Shirley.

Before marriage, I went to some pretty odd New Years Eve parties. The saddest one was in 1970, just days before I left for Vietnam. A lot of people kissed me that night, probably thinking they wouldn't see me again.

My buddy and I threw a New Year's Eve costume party three years later, when I was a civilian again, and someone showed up in a frog costume. I think (this was long time ago and it was a good party) he went around telling the women he was really a handsome prince and a kiss would release him from his warty exterior.

To kiss the one dearest to us, at any time, is sublime. On New Year's Eve, it takes on meaning from that last moment of the old year, and gives the promise of a good year ahead. It says you both believe the best is yet to come.

Because Jan. 1st is the first day of the year, people have historically connected what they do on that day with their fate throughout the rest of the year.

Don't attend a New Years party without a date, if you don't want to end up watching everyone else pucker up. Then again, booze doesn't disinfect mouths, and in a room full of strangers you're probably better off kissing the dog when the clock strikes twelve.

If you find yourself at a New Year's party where you have no wish to kiss anyone in the room, there are tactics to it. For example, have something physical in, or over, your mouth. An inhaler, toothpick, or even a surgical mask, will do the job.

Another ploy worth considering is to excuse yourself a few minutes before midnight to take a “head-clearing” walk. You can return after the kissing has stopped. Sometimes retreat is the better part of valor.

This kissing thing at New Year's can be serious stuff. Michael Christian, who wrote “The Art of Kissing” under the pen name William Cane, said the zeal of New Year's Eve can lead to mixed messages and lingering awkwardness. In other words, be careful how you kiss your neighbor's wife when she wanders under the mistletoe.

A recent survey for an American mouthwash manufacturer found that 6 percent of people greeting the New Year at midnight plan to kiss their pets. I find it odd that this statistic isn't higher. There's a lot of animal lovers out there.

I plan to greet the New Year by kissing my wife first, and then my pug. After all, there is a pecking order in our house.

As It Stands, I'd like to wish all my readers a safe and Happy New Year!

Image from http://www.allposters.co.uk

Bush's Legacy: He Leaves us a World that Hates Americans!

Click here to read how America's image has been badly tarnished during his eight years in office.

Find out why the world doesn't like us nowadays. This article in today's Chicago Tribune lays out the whole mess.

Robert Graham, LA sculptor, dies at 90

    

photos by Bob Chamberlin/LA Times

Robert Graham was known for his major civic monuments across the nation. Most of his work can be found in the LA area, however, as the artist lived in Venice. His legacy is visible all over LA. The largest, and most prominent public work that he did is in LA. Called the "Great Bronze Doors", it is a huge entryway topped by an angel, and was made for the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, in 2002.

How many cats do you see in this illusion?

HINT: There's more than 7 of them.

A Writer Tries Not to Use, or Buy, Plastic for One Week

Your probably saying "it doesn't sound that hard." But think about what that really means. No plastics period. "No one can do the whole thing in one week," warned Beth Terry, an accountant from Oakland California, who blogs about trying to live the plastic-free life at fakeplasticfish.com

Did the writer manage to do it? Read this article in the Chicago Tribune Online edition to find out, and to get educated on just how much plastics play a part in our everyday routine.

The Snow Plough Business is Booming in a Bad Economy

All we seem to hear about these days are businesses going bankrupt or laying off thousands of employees.

But there's one business that is benefiting from the snowy blanket that covers many northern states right now: the snow plough business.

It just goes to show that one person's misery may be another's gold mine!

Snow plough operators everywhere right now are singing, "Let it Snow! Let it Snow!" Click here to read how ice is nice for some people.