Thursday, January 31, 2008

Another Dance Show!!! Best Dance Crew

OK. I'm officially addicted to another dance show - America's Best Dance Crew on MTV created by Randy Jackson.

I'm watching the audition show - the actual series starts Feb. 7th, and I'm thrilled to see one of the guys who auditioned (but didn't get into So You Think You Can Dance) is a part of the Boston crew Status Quo.

The guys from Indiana BreakSk8 who were doing hip hop on roller skates didn't get in. I need to find a video of them on the 'net somewhere - they were just AMAZING.

The Broadway hip hop crew Iconic was also amazing and hard to explain. "One singular sensation" with a hip hop undertone - just brilliant!

But by far one my favorites going into the competition is Fysh n Chicks. Here's to girls dancin' without showing off their bodies

The pop n' locking from this crew Kaba Modern was amazing - sharp, and all totally together.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Welcome to Australia - Answers from the Australian Tourism Website

This was an email chain I received, and I decided it was so funny that it deserved posting here.

The answers below are the actual responses by the Australian Tourism website officials, who obviously have a sense of humor.
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Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia? I have never seen it rain on TV, how do the plants grow? (UK)

A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.
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Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? (USA)

A: Depends how much you've been drinking.
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Q: I want to walk from Perth to Sydney - can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden)

A: Sure, it's only three thousand miles, take lots of water.
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Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in Australia? Can you send me a list of them in Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville and Hervey Bay? (UK)

A: What did your last slave die of?
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Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia? (USA)

A: A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe.
Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the
middle of the Pacific which does not... oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked.
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Q: Which direction is North in Australia? (USA)

A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.
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Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia? (UK)

A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.
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Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? (USA)

A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is . oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.
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Q: Can I wear high heels in Australia? (UK)

A: You are a British politician, right?
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Q: Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round? (Germany)

A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of vegan hunter/gatherers. Milk is illegal.
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Q: Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can dispense rattlesnake serum. (USA)

A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from. All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.
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Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Australia, but I forget its name. It's a kind of bear and lives in trees. (USA)

A: It's called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of Gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them. You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.

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Q: Can you tell me the regions in Tasmania where the female population is smaller than the male population? (Italy)

A: Yes, gay night clubs.

Google Search Tricks

You know you're a search engine geek when you share Google search tips with your friends, but I found some of these really useful. This is from a full article by LifeHacker.

1. Get the local time anywhere

goog-whattimeisit.png
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2. Track flight status


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3. Convert currency, metrics, bytes, and more
goog-currencyconvert.png
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4. This one is a little complicated, but worth trying:

Find music and comic books

google-napster.png Using a combination of advanced search operators that specify music files available in an Apache directory listing, you can turn Google into your personal Napster. Go ahead, try this search for Nirvana tracks: -inurl:(htm|html|php) intitle:"index of" +"last modified" +"parent directory" +description +size +(wma|mp3) "Nirvana". (Sub out Nirvana for the band you're interested in; use this one in conjunction with number 7 to find new music, too.) The same type of search recipe can find comic books as well.
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5. Track your Shipment Directly through Google
You can also Google tracking numbers for UPS, FedEx, and USPS just by entering the number (e.g. 1Z14662R0340419XXX). This avoids going through the log in and hassle of the individual shipping company site.
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6. Find Movie Times
Find your local movie time by typing in:
Movie Name + City,State

Sunday, January 20, 2008

First Human Embryo Created from Skin Cell

Ok, I have to admit that I wasn't surprised by the new development that scientist have successfully created a human embryo from stems cells created from a skin cell. When I read about the November 2007 study where they had successfully developed stem cells from skin cells, I knew this would be the next step.

However, I'm still stunned that there has not been any legislative discussion on an international level about how to regulate this science. We've successfully created a way for one person to take their own skin cells, turn it into stem cells, create an embryo and potentially create a clone of themselves.

Even weirder, since I'm a woman...in theory, I could take my own skin cell, turn it into a stem cell, then create an embryo from it and implant it into me and birth my a clone of myself.

So creepy!!

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Chinese Blogger Killed for Recording Waste Dumping Protest

Items like this just amaze me. This is from an article in CNN.

A Chinese blogger was beaten to death by government authorities last week for the crime of attempting to record a protest on his mobile phone.

The blogger, Wei Wenhua, happened on a confrontation in the central Chinese province of Hubei between city inspectors and villagers protesting over the dumping of waste near their homes. When Wei took out his cell phone to record the protest, more than 50 municipal inspectors turned on him, attacking him for five minutes and eventually killing him.

According to CNN, the killing has sparked outrage in China, "with thousands expressing outrage in Chinese Internet chat rooms, often the only outlet for public criticism of the government."

It's the combination of a lack of freedom of speech (which I would come to expect from China) AND the inability for citizens to work to have a clean environment (even just outside their homes) which seems like a recipe for environmental disaster.

How horrible does the environment in China need to be before the government changes, and how many people will they kill to keep the status quo?