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Entries from August 2008

the great u.s.-russian chicken war of 2008

August 29th, 2008 · No Comments

From an overly sensationalist in article in Forbes magazine:

The first economic blow of the new Cold War between the West and Russia has been struck–although instead of aiming for the energy markets, Russia has decided to target the humble hen.

From September 1, Russia will reportedly ban poultry imports from 19 American producers, with the fate […]

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Tags: crazy · dumb · europe · food · russia · usa

world chess capital is europe’s only buddhist republic

August 28th, 2008 · No Comments

Though it’s not exactly independent, the tiny Republic of Kalmykia is a self-governing member state of the Russian Federation. Located just west of the Caspian Sea and not far from Ukraine, it’s a bit of an oddity in über-secular Russia for the prominence that Kalmykian leaders give to spirituality — all the more so […]

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Tags: curio · europe · fun and games · history · neato · russia

the power of google

August 26th, 2008 · No Comments

My metrics widgets tell me that someone reached this site today by googling “montreal massage older indonesian woman” three times. If that was you, you’re a very strange person.
The guy ended up here, and though I suspect it’s not exactly what he was looking for, I’m willing to bet he read it anyway.

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Tags: housekeeping

north korea’s hunger-fighting super-noodles come up limp

August 26th, 2008 · No Comments

About a million North Koreans died of starvation in the late 1990s, and the World Food Programme says 6 million more are on the brink. But just as the world is starting to think that Kim Jong-Il doesn’t care about his starving people, he comes up with new super-noodles designed to fight hunger.
From the […]

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Tags: asia · food · invention · korea · sad

calls to strip russia of 2014 olympics

August 26th, 2008 · No Comments

You likely know that just before the Beijing Olympics, Russia invaded the neighbouring Republic of Georgia. The move earned widespread international condemnation, and the resulting war of words with the West has been making headlines for weeks.

You may not know that last July the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the 2014 Winter […]

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Tags: europe · government · news · olympics · politics · russia · sport · usa · war

photography tips from regular folk

August 25th, 2008 · No Comments

A few days ago, some guy on MetaFilter asked “What Is YOUR Best Photography Tip, Secret, Trick, Lesson, Technique, or Hack?” The resulting 72 replies (so far) contain a wealth of tried-and-true tips on framing, composition, colour, playing with light and other goodies.
It’s worth a long look if you’re an amateur photographer like me.

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Tags: neato · photography

explainer: large hadron collider (and why it probably won’t destroy the world)

August 25th, 2008 · 1 Comment

You’ve got to figure that if anything goes wrong in this room, that guy’s hard hat isn’t going to be good for much.
Articles have popped up all over the media about this wonderful new large hadron collider thing, but I had to go to Wikipedia and beyond to gain any real insight into what it […]

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Tags: holy crap · neato · news · scary · science

truly strange flash games

August 22nd, 2008 · 1 Comment

Can someone explain to me what this is?
I *think* it’s a series of creepily beautiful flash games that may or may not have any kind of goal or purpose. Either that or a real-life version of fear.com. If someone’s trying to sell something here, they’re certainly not advertising it.
What is this site? […]

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Tags: beautiful · curio · fun and games

five bizarrest moments in olympic history

August 22nd, 2008 · 1 Comment

If you’re sick of all those tired old “greatest Olympic moments” round-ups, check out Neatorama’s collection of five truly bizarre moments in Olympic history, including a British ski jumper with Coke-bottle glasses who had never seen a ski jump, two Kenyan cross-county-skiiers who had never seen skis, and a German track star who was […]

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Tags: curio · funny · movies/tv/video · neato · olympics · sport

you guys are awesome

August 21st, 2008 · No Comments

To the 20,999 unique visitors from 166 countries and territories who’ve checked out this site since it launched six months ago, thanks.
You’ve made a little blogger happy.

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Tags: darn tootin' · housekeeping · neato