A steady steam of news.. From the world and beyond..
Justin Bieber set to annoy Instagram.. he is bungling their opportunity to introduce ads.. Why? WIRED says it is because he and others who are popular eclipse anything that advertisers are willing to offer and have people actually buy through using Instagram..
Violence Iraq: car bomb..
Violence Nigeria: Town attacked after cease fire..
Speaking of Nigeria, there was profound hope to get back all of the kidnapped girls taken earlier in 2014. But that hope is dwindling, with the latest attacks and the fact that the cease fire is not doing anything to stop BOKO HARAM..
The great pumpkin riot of 2014: Keene New Hampshire was the focus of national attention this weekend as college kids, drunk on affluence and alcohol, created havoc.. Now the town is set to address the actions in response mayhem..There is also a bit of controversy regarding the pumpkin festival itself.. The woman whoi is the head organizer lost her cool during television coverage of the rioting.. She was trying to keep the focus on the pumpkin festival. All the while rioters were flipping cars in the streets, which was gaining much coverage than anything community driven.. Which is a shame. I feel for her. Jared Goodell certainly owned her, however..
Savior in a blue dress.. Monica Lewinsky is back.. And this time her goal is to stop cyber bullying.. While that is fine and good, one part is something I simply cannot find myself in any agreement with. Lots of news stories are referring to the DRUDGE REPORT story as a form of cyber bullying. You may recall why DRUDGE got the story.. or maybe you don't. Drudge ran it one Friday night because her found out that NEWSWEEK spiled a Michael Iskoff story about the scandal--Drudge made his fame at the moment, and became the go-to-guy for everyone in the media itself. Drudge was not a bully--there needs to be a distinction between reporting news and bullying people online..
This past weekend, a once in a lifetime event occured.. (They seem to be happening a lot in space lately?) Comet Siding Spring zoomed by Mars. Thankfully without impact, wouldn't want the Martians to be hurt, or any of those ancient pyramids we just KNOW are still there. Regardless, the real thing we can now learn is much more about our early universe..
Has the EBOLA hysteria just gone too far? Now after weeks of rapid foam at the mouth reporting, some journalists are asking that very important question. I say it has.. There are some facts to consider: Thomas Eric Duncan was around lots of folks.. and those folks, to this point, have yet to develop Ebola--two did, but think of all the others who were in contact with him. Perhaps that is the best scenario we can ask for, especially given the troubling circumstances reported by the nurses union at the hospital in Dallas that become ground zero for the Ebola nightmare in America.. A few days ago on Facebook, I actually wrote that I thought Ebola was being overdone by reporters and that the fear reporting was becoming unbridled fear porn. I stand by that statement, and that's BIG for a hypochondriac like me to think.. Another example of the fear promotion: The idea that the 'hazmat' suit was selling out just in time for Halloween. Ask anyone, it is not selling out at all.. This all does not mean Ebola is not big--Africa may tell you exactly how big it is.. But what it does tell me are two things: 1) Fear still sells and the mainstream media is better at selling fear than blogs and Twitter accounts. And 2) No matter what happens in Africa, it is not big news or top story status until it hits the shores of America. And that is sad..
BUT HERE IS THE DISTURBING PART of the Ebola story--and I will turn the volume up on the fear porn for this one. We are sending our troops into the Ebola hot zone.. And today it is being reported that troops who come in contact with Ebola will be quarantined in Liberia.. Let us all hope that this mission, of whatever nature it is, is over quickly and that our troops don't succumb to this awful plague..
The future is bright. And dim.. all at the same time. And here is what the virtual reality hologram filled future may actually look like according to experts of today.. No turning back now..
This is not a hoax.. I actually just found the story, despite it being reported this summer.. According to some weird scientific research, the act smelling farts may actually help prevent cancer.. So ...the gas we pass is a blast, smell away Meryl. Don't hold back. Stay healthy.. I will remind my wife of this the next time she gets a little testy about it.
I have been hearing for years that the Catholic Church would love to baptize an alien. As outlandish as that may sound, priests in the Vatican have actually said it.. So what religions would have the most trouble accepting life on other planets? According to this article at least, it would be the evangelical Christians..
