Harry Potty and Rubber DuckiesTwo un-related items: Garbage Pail Kids, which I loved when I was 10, are returning next month. And 29,000 rubber duckies, adrift at sea for over a decade, are about to wash ashore. (Both links via Reenhead.)
Bush: A “Modern-Day Hoover”?It’s a wonderful thing to have friends who’re way smarter than you.
Responding to my political musings herein, Jack W. says I should dispense with the “anti-Bush rhetoric” and “stay away from citing the NY Times op-ed board too frequently.”
And although he feels we shouldn’t conclude just yet that Iraq never […]
OctodogsEveryone out there: I want an Octodog Frankfurter Converter for Christmas. (Via Miles B., obviously.)
Motorbiking Vietnam RetrospectiveChris D. sends word that Explore Indochina, formerly known as Motorbiking Vietnam, has re-vamped their site.
The fine folks at this Hanoi-based outfit guided us on a thrilling four-day motorcycle ride last year. And their new site includes a couple new photos–me navigating a rather difficult bridge, and Chris dangling from a precarious […]
Back from VilcabambaGot back last night from an excellent weekend-long excursion to Vilcabamba. We stayed at a hosteria called Madre Tierra; it was, as always, exceptional.
Randall Simon, Italian Sausage HaterESPN.com: “Pittsburgh first baseman Randall Simon was booked for misdemeanor battery for hitting one of the Milwaukee Brewers’ popular racing sausages with a bat during Wednesday night’s game.” (Via Miles B.)
Them Crazy Japanese FolksThey crack me up every time.
Blue vs. RedDon’t know how I missed this: back in December, the incomparable David Brooks analyzed the differences between the areas of the US that voted for Bush (the red swaths on the electoral map that covered the American heartland) and the parts of the country that picked Gore (the blue that lined the coasts).
Brooks, […]
When it Comes to Marriage, Do Opposites Attract?Not always, says an interesting new report.
Takeru Kobayashi, Greatest Athlete of All-Time?Last Friday, Takeru Kobayashi, a Japanese man who weighs a mere 145 pounds, won the annual Nathan’s International Hot Dog Eating Contest for the third year in a row.
He ate 44-and-a-half hot dogs in 12 minutes.
This hilarious article (from Miles B. via Mike W., with input from Benny C.) […]
Legally-Grown Bolivian CocoaFarmers in Bolivia’s Yungas Valley grow–legally–a lot of coca leaves. The leaves are chewed, used to make toothpaste, cookies, and liqueurs–and, some say, processed into cocaine. The Bolivian and American governments aren’t happy about the situation.
Volcan Tungurahua Rears its Ugly Head. Again. And AgainEcuadorian health minister Francisco Andino says 16,000 people have been “adversely affected” by the ongoing activity (since 1999, in fact) of the Tungurahua volcano, which has been recently begun spewing ash once again.
DC WeblogsIn “City Wide Web,” Brian Montopoli surveys the wide-ranging Weblogs featured on the excellent DC Blog Map. (Montopoli, a Washington writer, has an interesting Weblog himself.)
Shining Path Rebels in PeruReuters: “Raids by Shining Path guerrillas in remote areas of Peru are posing a renewed threat in this Andean nation traumatized by two decades of violence by the rebel group, analysts and politicians said on Thursday.”
Strom Thurmond’s Black DaughterI’ve heard South Carolinians say this in private for years: a long time ago, Strom Thurmond fathered a daughter with a black woman. And he’d always been very supportive of both mother and child. Not many people talk about it, and the media has never run with the story.
Well, Jack W. […]