Saturday, August 7, 2010

200,000,00th visitor to this blog comes from South Africa

It took me a little while this morning to locate the exact 200,000,00th visitor to As It Stands – and he/she is from Vanderbijlpark Gauteng, in South Africa.

The viewer spent almost seven minutes reading posts. The last one they read was on a rare plant that could only be found in Namibia, Africa.

It’s called the Welwitschia Mirabilis

 

 Our visitor lives in the southern part of the country.

This is also a real nice vacation destination, and as you can see, it has all the amenities. There’s tours, 4-star hotels, water sports, and plenty of city shopping. It looks like a nice place to go.

So here’s a special shout-out to my unknown 200,000,00 visitor – thanks for the milestone!

Warning - tongue piercing leads to health problems, gaps between teeth, chipped teeth, and more

Tongue piercings are not removed in the way that earrings can be because "the tongue is so vascular that leaving the stud out can result in healing of the opening in the tongue," says professor Sawsan Tabbaa.Tongue piercing can cause chipped and fractured teeth, gum trauma, infection, hemorrhage and even brain abscess.

I’ve never met someone who thought barbells in the tongue was glamorous.It’s not that I don’t talk with younger people, I do. I’ve got nephews and nieces and friends of my sons who I can ask about fashion questions such as tongue piercing.

I’ll be blunt. I think it’s a piss-poor way to get attention (why else would you do it?) and it’s not a healthy thing to do. I suppose if you don’t mind experiencing the above side-effects of this tongue-in-check fad…it’s your way of making a statement. Unfortunately,that statement often comes with health drawbacks.

 

 

 

Vogue Italia's Off-Putting Oil-Spill Photo Spread: Art or Offensive?

I’d say this whole project is just a slick way to get people’s attention – and that I find it offensive.

What do you think?

Excerpt:

“We're big believers in the power of an image to convey the drama, sadness, and gravity of world events. In the case of the BP oil spill, that power was never more apparent, both in the photographs that captured the devastation and in the photographs that were forbidden from being taken
The latest photos causing a stir aren't photojournalism but a fashion spread in Vogue Italia, titled "Water & Oil." Uber-edgy photographer Steven Meisel shoots model
Kristen McMenamy, clad in black, coated in oil, and draped across tainted beaches. In one shot, she has a black feather perched on her lips. In another, an oil-drenched feathered glove stands in for the hundreds of birds soaked in the spill.”

Maybe this is why some adults act like kids: our personalities may be set as early as 1st grade

Study: If you were at chatterbox at 6, you probably still areand so on…

“Our personalities stay pretty much the same throughout our lives, from our early childhood years to after we're over the hill, according to a new study.

The results show personality traits observed in children as young as first graders are a strong predictor of adult behavior.”

image source

Friday, August 6, 2010

Meat-Eaters Beware: 1 Million Pounds of Ground Beef Recalled

7 people sickened by E. coli after eating meat from California company

A meat processor recalled about 1 million pounds of ground beef products Friday after seven people were sickened by E. coli contamination.

Valley Meat Co., of Modesto, sold the potentially contaminated beef patties and ground beef in California, Texas, Oregon, Arizona and internationally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

The beef was processed from Oct. 2, 2009, to Jan. 12, 2010. Most of the products were sold frozen and the company was working to remove them from grocery store shelves.

Friday Follies: America’s Strangest Roadside Attractions

Lucy the Elephant in New Jersey.

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing (and exploring) 28 of the 29 roadside attractions featured here.

Here’s the one attraction I somehow managed to miss:

Lucy the Elephant, Margate, NJ

“Lucy the Elephant’s original role, back in 1882, was to sell real estate. In fact, she’s the first example of zoomorphic architecture in the U.S. and has the patent to prove it. Located in Margate, NJ, this much-loved roadside folly is artfully crafted from wood and tin and has proved far more versatile than her creator imagined. At 65 feet tall, and housing a spacious hall, Lucy has at various times served as a bar, an office, and a summer home.” —Adam McCulloch

As It Stands’s Latest Scum of the Month Candidate: HP’s CEO Hurd quits over sexual-harassment probe

Image: FILE: Hewlett-Packard Cutting 9,000 Jobs Worldwide

August is getting off with a bang as there’s already a bumper crop of scum eligible for the coveted, “As It Stands Scum of the Month Award.”

This will also make Hurd eligible for the “As It Stands” highly selective “Scum of the Year Award” that comes with a Life-time membership in the National Asshole Hall of Fame!

CEO filed erroneous expense reports to cover up relationship

Hewlett-Packard Co. Chairman and CEO Mark Hurd has resigned after a sexual-harassment probe that found he violated company standards, the computer maker said Friday.

Don’t worry: some food is good long past the expiration date

Image: Eggs

Eggs can last weeks, cereal up to a year past the 'use by' date

I’m one of those people guilty of not checking dates on food packaging. If it’s in my refrigerator, or kitchen cupboards, it’s fair game.

Fortunately, my wife keeps a sharp eye out and seems to always be marking containers when she opens them. Sometimes, a product (like eggs) will be past it’s expiration date and she still serves them to us. That made me uncomfortable, but the alternative would have been to forage for myself. Naturally, I trust her judgment (as I’m pretty clueless about this subject), but now I’m feeling much better after reading this article!

What’s in a name? Public schools court corporate sponsors

Image: The Black Knights softball team plays at Schwanger Bros. Field, which is sponsored by a home services company

The final bastion has been breeched.

School districts are turning to advertisers to pay their bills.

Perhaps in a few years, we’ll see Humboldt Schools with playing fields and buildings named after the county’s biggest cash crop. 

Think about it: Local farmers could hock their special brands while supporting our local school districts!  HSU could have “PURPLE KUSH FIELD.” The College of the Redwoods could have “Sour Diesel Study Hall,” and other schools could have their ball fields and buildings adorned with names like; “Grandfather Daddy Library,” or “Headband Field.”

Meanwhile:  

         Districts nationwide seek lucrative naming-rights deals for facilities

“It’s too soon to know yet whether Flamy will show up next spring when Hempfield High School in Landisville, Pa., opens its softball season.

Flamy — a smiling electric, well, flame on blue legs — was there in April when the Black Knights took the field en route to a 13-9 playoff season. That’s because it’s his field they play on.

Flamy is the corporate mascot of Schwanger Bros. & Co. Inc. (“serving Central Pennsylvania for more than 70 years”), a heating and air-conditioning company in nearby Lancaster that owns the rights to the name of Hempstead’s softball diamond — Schwanger Bros. Field. There’s a big yellow Schwanger Bros. banner on the fence. Schwanger Bros. banners hang from each foul pole and along the bottom of the scoreboard. On Opening Day, a Schwanger Bros. logo even graced home plate.”

PHOTO: Hempfield High School in Landisville, Pa., has sold the names of several of its sports and academic facilities. The Black Knights softball team plays at Schwanger Bros. Field, which is sponsored by a home services company. That’s Flamy, the company’s corporate mascot — not the school’s — on the right

Thursday, August 5, 2010

That’s embarrassing : forget about ever running for President now Rudy!

*Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, center, his daughter Caroline and son Andrew pose for photographers as they arrive at Gracie Mansion for Giuliani's wedding to Judith Nathan in this May 24, 2003, file photo.

I’ve heard rumors that Rudy Giuliani has aspirations of someday becoming the President of the United States. This little caper might prove to be a pothole on that road to power.

Being entirely clueless of the average American’s needs, almost qualifies him for a place in one of the Houses, but let’s face it…the little creep wouldn’t look good in the Oval Office and what party would sponsor him?

He’s got other things to think about right now:

The rebellious daughter of former law-and-order Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was busted today for allegedly stealing makeup from an upscale beauty and skin care shop near her Upper East Side home, officials said.

Cops said Caroline Giuliani, 20, a student at Harvard University, was arrested after security cameras caught her stuffing makeup into her jacket pocket at a Sephora store at E. 86th Street and Lexinton Avenue shortly before 2 p.m.

Giuliani, who was in the store by herself, was confronted by a sales clerk and a store security guard, who called police. Sources said she allegedly stole five items, worth about $100.”

PHOTO- Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, center, his daughter Caroline and son Andrew pose for photographers as they arrive at Gracie Mansion for Giuliani's wedding to Judith Nathan in this May 24, 2003, AP file photo.

Trump's Lowest Grift Ever Saved for Holy Week

This is a story about how the devil's puppet, aka Donald Trump, mocked Christianity by selling a book combining the Bible, the Constitu...