July 28, 2005
words fail
shipoffools.com and LutheranChik both nailed this one.
LutheranChik:
Now, maybe this is just me being dense, but...if you're letting a significant other read messages (in small fonts, yet) printed across your crotch, isn't that kind of a strong indication that maintaining your virginity isn't a real big priority for you?
shipoffools:
May we humbly suggest a new slogan for their passion-free panties? "If You're Reading This, I've Changed My Mind About That Abstinence Thing."
July 27, 2005
SUMMER WINE PICKS
No LBCO strike, but today's Star has Gordon Stimmell's top picks of Ontario wine, printed just in case. The list is heavy on Riesling, and has a couple of entries from Prince Edward County. Their vineyards were extensively killed back by the harsh winter of 2002-3, so it's nice to see them coming on stream.
July 26, 2005
LCBO run, with car
So, yeah, I took the car to the LCBO and stocked up. There’s always the Kittling Ridge outlet at the Christie/Dupont Loblaws, but their offerings have always stuck me as pretty bad, given the prices.
It was interesting to see what shelves had emptied. Respectable-but-not-expensive table wine in the $7.50-$10 range were very thin on the ground. Cheerful Big Wines, Australian Chardonnays, that kind of thing, were seriously picked over. More expensive offerings were available in all categories, but the hoarding customer seems to be pretty price-conscious. I’m told bars and clubs are vacuuming spirits off the shelves.
July 22, 2005
Al-ways look on the bright side of life!
Finder’s points to Poynter:
When terror attacks cause mayhem and alarm, what is the happy, happy news team at happynews.com (‘Real News. Compelling stories. Always positive.’) to do?
Updated: 07/22/05
London spared more explosions
By Roger Jones
Happynews Citizen Journalist
LONDON, U.K. -- London is still suffering the emotional and financial backlash of the bombings on the underground and on-board bus thirty on July 7 and yesterday, July 21, was spared another tragedy when somehow an attempt to repeat the bombings went awry yesterday morning. Police were called out to underground stations at The Oval, Warren Street and Shepherds Bush where small explosions were reported to have taken place and a bus was also evacuated in the East London suburb of Hackney. The area around the bus was evacuated after a rucksack containing explosive material was left on the bus.
full story.
One of the Buffalo TV stations tried this kind of formula years ago. Their competitors had cornered the arson-and-murders beat, they reasoned, so why not become the good-news station? Puppies, grip-and-grin, that sort of thing? Their ratings nosedived, and the experiment was quickly abandoned.
July 20, 2005
so what did my ancestors misunderstand?
One of the better threads on BoingBoing recently has had to do with the extremely strange relationship between Christianity and Japanese popular culture.
One reader describes the town of Herai in Aomori Prefecture:
In a truly bizarre twist on the life of Jesus, the town has two large crosses in a small, out of the way park - one for Jesus, who is supposedly buried there, and one for Isukiri, his brother.
"It turns out, according to local lore, it was Jesus' brother who was crucified so that Jesus could escape and move to Japan, where he lived for many years.
Another writes:
Another Japanese Christmas 'tradition' is the ubiquitous strawberry shortcake, which Japanese believe graces every Christian's table on said day, to go with the Kentucky Fried Chicken. A single woman of 26 used to be considered past her 'sale date' (like a Christmas cake on Dec 26), and so a new pejorative entered the language.
I'm sure the Western take on Buddhism is at least as odd.
(Update: Zoom in as far as it will let you.)