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Monthly Archives: July 2005

Clone-Like Dolls

31-Jul-05

The My Twinn doll is just plain creepy.

Alert! Unidentified Chinese Sea Monster with Detached Tailbone Found!

31-Jul-05

China.org.cn:
Early on the morning of July 23, a fisherman from Ningbo City in east China’s Zhejiang Province was shocked by the sight of a huge creature lying dead beside the seawall near his home.
Liu, who lives in Yangshashan of Chunxiao Town in Beilun District and who has been a fisherman for over ten years, said […]

Ecuador, Peru, and the Failed States Index Map

30-Jul-05

Check out Foreign Policy’s Failed States Index Map. Interesting stuff.
My gripe: Ecuador is listed as “borderline,” while neighboring Peru is described as “in danger.”
Is Peru really in worse shape than Ecuador, which has seen three presidents deposed since 1997? While Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo’s approval ratings have been subterranean for a while (only […]

Motorcycles Around the World

29-Jul-05

Question: why are motorcycles so prevalent in Asia and yet comparatively less widespread in other parts of the world? I have no idea. I’ve asked smart people about this in the past but have received no compelling explanation.
Is it because Asian cities are more compact than those in the West, making shorter distances more […]

Chelsea FC vs. DC United

29-Jul-05

Last night Chris D. and I went to see Chelsea, the reigning champions of the English Premier League, play DC United in an exhibition game.
Chelsea won 2-1; their star-studded lineup was highly impressive, though DCU put up a good fight (and, in fact, scored first and held the lead for a fleeting four minutes).
Here’re […]

Dude, Watch Out or I’ll Sick My Hyena On You

28-Jul-05

Seriously. Reason number 541 that I want to go to Nigeria. Behold:

More pics here. More info here.
Perhaps the most amusing photo of the lot:

Where Can I Get a Ken Version?

27-Jul-05

I find this more than a little disturbing. For a variety of reasons.

Run Free, Little Bouncy Balls, Run Free!

27-Jul-05

Check out this fabulous photo.

Nap Cap Pricing and Indigenous Indonesian Clog Wearing Customs

26-Jul-05

In an ongoing email thread, my Dad and I have been pondering an interesting question he raised: since Indonesia was colonized by the Dutch, did the native population ever take to wearing clogs?
He writes:
Newl-
Did you notice that the NC [Ed — he’s referring, of course, to the previously-mentioned Nap Cap] is $99.95! Your brain […]

Myanmar (nee Burma)

26-Jul-05

Economist:
Ostracising Myanmar has not helped its people. It is time to explore the possibility of a deal

Newley Purnell, Internet Trendsetter

26-Jul-05

I can now die a happy geek.
Last week, I sent a New York Times article about a Starbucks knockoff in Ethopia to the most popular blog on the Web, BoingBoing. Technology journalist/Internet starlet Xeni Jardin posted it, as well as a link back to newley.com.
The idea of world-wide Starbucks rip-offs has since gained […]

“The Weirdest Book in the World”

25-Jul-05

A few years back, when I was living in Ecuador, Jill and I went to the sleepy coastal town of Puerto Lopez for a beach vacation. We stayed at the excellent Hosteria Mandala. As we were checking out, I noticed that the owners of the place, an Italian-German couple in their 40’s, had a big […]

You Have Got to be Kidding Me

25-Jul-05

AP: “N.J. May Ban Drivers’ Smoking”:
Ashtrays have been disappearing in cars like fins on Cadillacs, and so could smoking while driving in New Jersey, under a measure introduced in the Legislature.
Although the measure faces long odds, it still has smokers incensed and arguing it’s a Big Brother intrusion that threatens to take away one of […]

The Nap Cap

25-Jul-05

Andi G. sends along this exceptional product. I give you The Nap Cap.

Illegal Immigrants from Ecuador

25-Jul-05

The News-Times of Danbury, CT has this interesting report about undocumented workers from Ecuador.
Some stuff I didn’t know:
If all the people who boarded boats in Ecuador last year and sailed toward the United States gathered in one spot, they could fill the University of Connecticut’s 40,000-seat Rentschler Field — and then some.
And that doesn’t […]