resist. unlearn. defy.
Oh yeah, version 2.0 of the iPhone is expected to be unveiled today. The Apple Product cycle begins again…
The frenzy has begun. Already, Butthurt and OHNOES have ensued on the discussion forums. And I play the role of: The Forum Troll. 😀
UPDATE: In case you haven’t figured it out by now, the announcement is here. 3G iPhone, $199 for the 8GB model, $299 for the 16GB model. Release date in the US is July 11. Apple fanboys everywhere (myself included) must pine for one until then.
Ever since Fidel Castro has relinquished power in Cuba to his brother Raul, some interesting decrees have come forth. For example, Cuban citizens are now able to buy common things most of the developed world takes for granted, like DVD players and computers (Internet access remains restricted, however). They can now sleep in tourist-designated hotels. Air Conditioners and water heaters? Not yet… the planned date for lifting this restriction is April 2009. Those in the Northeast: think about this as you brave the heat wave in your refrigerated air-conditioned abodes.
But, to hold ya over… you CAN get a free sex change!
Cuba has authorised sex-change operations and will offer them free to qualifying citizens, officials say.
The move is the latest in a series of policy changes implemented by President Raul Castro since he succeeded his elder brother, Fidel, in February.
Raul Castro’s daughter, who heads the National Centre for Sex Education, spearheaded the changes in a country renowned for sexual conservatism.
So far, 28 people have applied to get The Snip.
Unbelievable! $156 Billion spent to construct and run a space station, and they only built one creaky-ass toilet?!
Also: no plumbers in space LOLZ:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The international space station’s lone toilet is broken, leaving the crew with almost nowhere to go. So NASA may order an in-orbit plumbing service call when space shuttle Discovery visits next week.
Until then, the three-man crew will have to make do with a jury-rigged system when they need to urinate.
While one of the crew was using the Russian-made toilet last week, the toilet motor fan stopped working, according to NASA. Since then, the liquid waste gathering part of the toilet has been working on-and-off.
I remember wanting to be an astronaut as a kid. But this is one of the few things they normally don’t tell you: taking a dump in space is a big deal.
So, lots of people with Tivos in the New York City area all got their jollies on Friday when this was dutifully recorded for posterity on their hard drives:
WARNING: Audio is not safe for work. Listen with headphones!
That’s right. Sue Simmons, news anchor for WNBC, dropped the F-Bomb on live TV. The backstory: she thought the segment was being taped, her co-anchor missed his cue, and she got a little… well, punchy.
Naturally, everyone had to get their licks in regarding this incident, including the New York Times, who devoted a whole story to the affair, complete with typical “person on the street” quotes:
Peter King, who works in an architectural office on the Upper West Side, echoed Mr. Villaneuva’s point. “It’s overused, and we are crasser than we were for it,” Mr. King said. “It’s just another indication of standards declining. I mean, I curse like a sailor, but I know how to talk to my dad and talk to clients, versus how to talk to my friends.”
You know, I’m sure Sue Simmons knows how to talk too. Is this a symbol of “standards declining?” Hardly. The standards have always been there, and “Fuck” has been the old’ standby of curse words for ages.
The declining standards, I think, show in how the incident is being reported. The Times comes up with the above “what do YOU think?” drivel. Other news sources immediately raised the question of whether she was drunk at the time. My take: clearly no. This is what being under the influence looks like on-air. And Simmons is not the only one to be caught pissed-off.
Even more interesting is that while all of the reports raise the question of whether Simmons will be fired, almost none have taken heed of the fact that the F-Bomb was dropped at 10:30 p.m., or about 30 minutes after the 6:00 am to 10:00 pm “safe harbor” period that the FCC enforces decency rules. This may be what saves her career, unlike poor Arthur Chi’en.
The shock value really doesn’t come from the word. You simply don’t expect someone as polished and coiffed and classy as Simmons to spout it, and in the way she did it too. Did you EVER dream that someone with such perfect diction would suddenly belt out a straight-from-Harlem “…the FUCK you doin’?”-punch so quickly after flawlessly reading a news teaser?
In any case, I really do hope she keeps her job, and if she does, more power to her. It all boils down to a word. And while people insist that allowing curse words to fly only desensitizes us to profanity, I say GOOD. Ultimately, profanity is profane simply because certain people are sensitive to certain utterances.
What if I Simmons had belted out the word “TULIPS” instead? Would people had reacted so strongly? Probably not. Yet, she would have still been just as angry and the intent would still have been there, right or wrong. So, why would we not have been so shocked or offended?
UPDATE: Looks like Simmons is being moved up to the 6:00 p.m. evening news. A definite vote of confidence by WNBC. But now the pressure’s on for her to watch her mouth!
Dear CNN,
Okay really now. It’s time for an intervention.
I know you’re trying to get into this whole Web 2.0 thing. Even though you may not grasp what it is (and who does really? Web 2.0 is a contrived construct… a catchphrase. In itself, it means nothing), you’re trying really, really hard to wrap yourself up in this candy sheen veneer of The New Web Hawtness.
And it just isn’t working.
First there was that whole CNN Video thing. You got all caught up in the need to be all You Tubey, and decided to pepper your site with annoying, commercial ridden video clips (though only after your first attempt, a subscription based pay-for-video model, failed miserably). And then you kinda forgot that a lot of the Web 2.0 faddists are Mac users and even Linux geeks, and made your video incompatible with their computers. Whoops.
But that brain fart doesn’t quite compare to what I began noticing lately on your website. Namely, these teeny tiny little icons that looked like t-shirts. After sitting there and scratching my head, wondering what they could be, I finally clicked on one. And then I saw this monstrosity:
Oh, Joy. Apparently you thought we’d feel all Hip & Cool if we put random headlines on T-Shirts, with the CNN logo. And bought them… and presumably you think we should wear them. Oh Ho! You should be so lucky.
So let me get this straight. You think it would be teh hawtness if someone like me bought such a shirt and felt Scene++ as I pick up chicks with suave lines like “Hey baby, did you know that Ethopian Children are Dying Daily From Starvation? Yeah. I saw it on CNN. My t-shirt says so!”
Yeah, I’m so gonna score that way.
Seriously CNN, who in your moronic marketing department came up with this crap? And why weren’t they laughed out of the building, carrying their box o’ office trinkets en route to the unemployment office?
And if you REALLY think people will want this waste of fabric, then… why do you still exist?
Oh, one more thing. You really should consider checking what headlines are allowed for t-shirt creation. Or else you can find yourself stuck with lots of shirts like these.
