A tasseled wobbegong shark makes a meal of a brownbanded bamboo shark along Australia’s Great Barrier Reef
For some reason, I keep thinking of politics when I look at this picture. These allergies meds must be getting to me.
Monthly Archives: February 2012
Quote of the Day
“Never again should we pay somebody 99 weeks for doing nothing. In 99 weeks, you can earn an associate degree. I mean, think about the total waste of human capability when you teach people to sit at home for 99 weeks. It’s fundamentally wrong, and a violation of the Declaration of Independence commitment that we have the right to pursue happiness.”
– Newt Gingrich on unemployment insurance
Filed under News
1956 Chevrolet Bel Air
The 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air came with a dramatic facelift when it appeared with a more conventional full-width grille, instead of the Ferrari-inspired front end seen on the 1955 model. The Bel Airs boasted distinctive two-toned side body treatments that, along with the airplane-inspired hood ornament, imparted a look of motion. Single housings incorporated the taillight, stoplight and backup light, and the left one held the gas filler – an idea popularized on Cadillacs. Some buyers of the 1956 Bel Air could even get a Corvette 225-horsepower engine. With a top body weight of 3,506 pounds and a maximum sticker price of $2,608, Chevrolet built 669,064 1956 Bel Airs. Well-restored Bel Airs can get a lot more now than $2,608, which is a down payment for many contemporary vehicles.
Filed under Classics
“Cher: Female Force” Goes on Sale
Cher and comic book fans will think they’ve found nirvana with the publication of a new comic book about the entertainer’s frenetic world. Writer Marc Shapiro said Cher’s life and career “reads like a comic book.” “The clothes, the times, the attitudes of the decades she’s lived through. The different styles of music she’s been involved in. So much of what Cher has experienced is so flamboyant, over the top and just plain out there,” said Shapiro. “She has been very much the real life equivalent of a superhero, and writing about Cher, to a large degree, has been just about letting my imagination go.” If you need any imagination regarding Cher, either she hasn’t done her job well, or you’re asexual.
Filed under Curiosities
Putin Proposes New Russian Great Books Program
Like Germany, Russia is the birthplace of many literary giants: Anton Chekhov, Fyodor Abramov, Leo Tolstoy and, more recently, Boris Akunin and Maria Arbatova. Last month Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced a list of 100 Russian books “that every Russian school leaver will be required to read.” In a 4,500-word editorial published by Russia’s Nezavismaya Gazeta newspaper, Putin notes that, “in the 1920’s, some leading universities in the United States advocated something referred to as the Western Canon,” a collection of books that academics considered to be the most influential in shaping Western culture. Proclaiming that Russia has “always been described as a ‘reading nation,’” Putin proposes taking a survey of the country’s “most influential cultural figures” and compiling their works into a single collection for all future schoolchildren. It’s an ambitious project and a unique one; given Russia’s history of censorship under the Soviet regime. It would be nice to see a similar project here in the U.S. But, I know religious and social politics would probably undermine the endeavor, even before it gets started.
Chekhov
Filed under News
February 15, 2012 – 309 days Until Baktun 12
Survivalist Tip: Get a geographical map of North America that displays all of the indigenous nations. Europeans like to think they were the first to develop maps with geographic and / or human-made boundaries, but as usual, they’re wrong! The native peoples of North America had the entire region divided up completely – even the deserts of what is now the American Southwest. Obviously all that chocolate and peyoté did some good! You’ll need one of these specialized maps because, in the aftermath of the apocalypse, all post-Columbian boundaries will be eliminated, as North America returns to its rightful place on Earth. Even if you’re not Indian, you’ll still be able to survive if you know you’re way around the land. If you have no sense of direction and get lost easily, don’t worry. With a map in your skeletonized hand, future explorers will know you at least tried. If you’re Indian AND you get lost easily, then you just need to go ahead and punch out now because you’ve brought shame upon your people, and the gods will kill you anyway!
Filed under Mayan Calendar Countdown
Today’s Birthdays
James Schlesinger, former U.S. Secretary of Defense (1973 –1976) and former Secretary of Energy (1977) is 83.
Actress Claire Bloom (The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Brideshead Revisited ) is 81.
Songwriter Brian Holland (Baby Love, Stop! In the Name of Love) is 71.
Drummer Mick Avory (The Kinks) is 78.
Actress and model Marisa Berenson (Cabaret, Barry Lyndon) is 65.
Singer Melissa Manchester (Don’t Cry Out Loud, Midnight Blue, You Should Hear How She Talks About You) is 61.
Actress Jane Seymour (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) is 61.
Cartoonist Matt Groening (The Simpsons) is 58.
Musician, guitarist Ali Campbell (UB40) is 53.
Musician Mikey Craig (Culture Club) is 52.
Filed under Birthdays
On February 15…
1842 – Adhesive postage stamps were used for the first time by the City Dispatch Post (Office) in New York City.
1898 – The USS Maine exploded on this day in el Puerto De Habana, Cuba, marking the beginning of the Spanish-American War.
1903 – The first Teddy bear went on sale when toy store owner and inventor Morris Michtom placed 2 stuffed bears in his shop window.
1946 – Edith Houghton, age 33, was signed as a baseball scout by the Philadelphia Phillies; the first female scout in the major leagues.
1950 – Walt Disney’s Cinderella opened in theatres across the U.S.
1965 – Canada adopted its new red and white Maple Leaf flag, which replaced the old Red Ensign standard.
1965 – Singer Nat ‘King’ Cole died in Santa Monica, CA, at age 45.
1984 – Broadway legend Ethel Merman died in New York.
1986 – Whitney Houston reached the #1 spot on the music charts with her single, How Will I Know, which replaced a song recorded by her first cousin, Dionne Warwick (That’s What Friends Are For).
1998 – Dale Earnhardt finally won the Daytona 500 on his 20th try. The day also marked the 40th Anniversary of the Daytona 500 and the 50th Anniversary of NASCAR.
Filed under History
Photo of the Day
A University of Texas – Austin student grabs a pair of condom roses handed out by the Texas Freedom Network to promote safe sex education on Guadalupe Street in Austin, Monday afternoon, the 13th. She didn’t want to end up miserable and angry like Katherine Eyberg – especially on Valentine’s Day.
Photo courtesy: Shila Farahani | Daily Texan Staff
Filed under News
Chief Writing Wolf 