Tag Archives: us culture

Flying Men!

http://nytimes.com ran an article about one of the forerunners in what is formally called wingsuit diving, Jeb Corliss. Mr. Corliss came to wingsuit diving (which is basically people trying to be flying squirrels) after trying base-jumping and shark-baiting so you can imagine how dangerous this is. Still, despite it's danger, there are teams in at least half a dozen countries trying to be the first to perfect the art of falling without a parachute. The original article can be found "here":http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/10/sports/othersports/10flying.html?ex=1198040400&en=2246abb0d4805064&ei=5070&emc=eta1 at the New York Times website.

Steven Milloy, the evil "scientist"

There are two sides to every argument, fine. But maybe there are certain things that shouldn’t have two sides, the protection of the environment for one. That’s why people like Steve Milloy and his “JunkScience.com”:http://junkscience.com/ really doesn’t make any sense to me. Milloy has set himself up as the defender of truth AGAINST the science of global warming. His site is hard to get through for all the clever wordplay (“Help fight Global Fooling” and the like) and needless Gore-bashing, but once you do it just gets more sinister. Of course, global warming isn’t the only accepted science he argues against, here’s a list of his “top ten”:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,189706,00.html junk science instances.
This move doesn’t make much sense, but for some reason Milloy was behind the very false rumor (you may have heard this one) that compact fluorescent bulbs cost up to $2,000 to clean up if they are broken. The rumor was then perpetuated by his main employers, Fox News and the gang, but he’s the source. For more about that controversy and how full of shit he was, go to “this article”:http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/05/the_real_dirt_o.php from “TreeHugger”:http://www.treehugger.com.

Worst web site ever: Watching Grass Grow

That’s right, this site (“Watching-Grass-Grow.com”:http://www.watching-grass-grow.com/) is a dedicated web cam watching some bloke’s yard. The goal? To watch the grass grow, that’s it. The webcam updates every 3 seconds and, well that’s it. I’ve already spent too much time writing about it.
Previously featured inane things:
* “Roomba TV”:http://duenos.net/article/138/RoombaTV, another hard-to-believe-anyone-watches web cam attached to a guys autonomous vacuum robot.

First Nat'l Rock-Paper-Scissors tournament in Las Vegas


It’s American superficiality at its best in Las Vegas today as the World Rock, Paper, Scissors final tournament is being held. The prize? $50,000.
Oh yes, the same method you used to decide who had to go over the fence and get the baseball as a kid can earn you more than the annual income of most people in the industrialized world. There’s some very well-written commentary about the event in “The New York Times”:http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/14/us/14rock.html?ex=1336795200&en=4ced52bb8421bf8f&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss or you could just watch it on ESPN as it happens. Seriously.
For more about the world of Rock, Paper Scissors I found the “RPS Society website”:http://www.worldrps.com/ to be very helpful. They also have up to the minute tournament coverage on their main blog.

More about Jello, from Utah


After the posts about the “Jello model”:http://duenos.net/article/222/JelloSanFrancisco of San Francisco and the “13 lb Gummy Bear”:http://duenos.net/article/221/13lbGummyBear, I was interested in learning a little more about Jello. It turns out that in addition to being made from connective tissue, Jello is also the official state snack food of Utah. The above picture is Jello celebrity spokesman Bill Cosby receiving the official plaque. For a list of other official state snack foods, check out the helpful “State Food List”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_foods on Wikipedia.
Previously on Duenos:
* “13 lb Gummy Bear”:http://duenos.net/article/221/13lbGummyBear
* “Jello San Francisco”:http://duenos.net/article/222/JelloSanFrancisco

Rubber Duckie, you are the one


“DuckPlanet.com”:http://www.duckplanet.com/ is the number one Rubber Duckie website on the internet and a must-see for the major collectors and the merely curious alike. After perusing the “insanely comprehensive photo collection”:http://www.duckplanet.com/collection_main.html, you may be starting to feel a jonesing for your own rubber duckies. If that’s the case, check out the “duckplanet links”:http://www.duckplanet.com/ducklinks_main.html for a long list of duck suppliers and private collections. Of course if you’re looking for the Paris Hilton-level rubber duckies, try DuckDoos “scented ducks”:http://www.duckdoo.com/. Hmm, mango rubber duckie…
If you do anything at on this site, play the “Duckplanet squeaker game”:http://www.duckplanet.com/squeaker_game_main.html in which you have to guess which rubber toy makes the specific squeak they play for you. Seriously.

Interested in Ballooning?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloon_modelling in its full force and am still catching my breath. The leading balloonaholic website, "Balloonhq.com":http://www.balloonhq.com/index.html, provides endless "pictures of balloon art":http://www.balloonhq.com/photos/db/index?CCHK=1, how to balloon instructions "(601 page pdf)":http://www.balloonhq.com/faq/BHQ_Sculpture_Instructions.pdf, "contact info for “balloonatics”":http://www.balloonhq.com/dbindex/, "balloon history":http://www.balloonhq.com/faq/history.html, and a "bunch of other stuff":http://www.balloonhq.com/member/ you probably don’t care about. At the very least, this article has kept you sharp on "(un)pop culture":http://www.balloonhq.com/faq/pop_culture.html.

The proper way to wear picture-rings

Ever wondered about the right way to wear rings that depict faces? I’ve been wearing an old family ring my Dad gave me for years and people constantly asked me why I wore my ring upside-down. After arguing with everyone about it, I finally broke down and asked the experts at the “Emily Post Institute”:http://www.emilypost.com/. Here is my e-mail, and their response:
??…I have an old family ring that I’ve been wearing for years that depicts the face and head (in profile) of a Roman Centurion. Should the Centurion’s helmet (the top of the picture) be closer to the base of my finger, or the fingertip?…??
??…Usually, a pictorial ring is worn with the base facing the wearer, not the “observer.” Therefore, the centurion’s helmet is closest to the fingertip…??
I guess this is what they mean:

For more information about men’s fashion and style, my favorite writer is GQ’s “Style Guy”:http://men.style.com/gq/fashion/styleguy. He may be an elitist, but he does have a caustic style that’s fun to read.