a blog from the newsroom

Monthly Archives: March 2009

Stuff we like: Wednesday morning rants

March 18, 2009 – 10:14 am

Lots of writers are getting their grumpy old man on. And we like it.

By Jane Nethercote | Posted in Stuff we like | Comments (0)

Stuff we like: Sassy bus stops and Clooney-flavoured tofu

March 17, 2009 – 11:13 am

Team Crikey’s pick of the web for today:
Clooney-flavoured tofu. Oh, PETA. We thought Sea Kittens was as low as you could get, but you just keep surprising us:
[PETA] President Ingrid Newkirk has come up with this: George Clooney-flavored tofu.
In a letter sent to the actor, Newkirk said that PETA has been offered his gym towel [...]

By Ruth Brown | Posted in Stuff we like | Comments (0)

Stuff we like: Popcorn inflation, Meghan McCain’s smackdown and robots (again)

March 16, 2009 – 11:28 am

Things we like for Monday:
Popcorn prices: the movie. Yes — this is the best bit of data visualisation ever: the rising price of movie popcorn Vs. movie tickets:

Crazy.

when adjusted for inflation, popcorn prices have seen an ironic 666% price increase, while movie ticket prices have increased a more moderate 66%.

I knew it! And don’t even [...]

By Ruth Brown | Posted in Stuff we like | Comments (4)

The fabulous Friday trash wrap: Kanye’s fugly sneakers and Martha Stewart chows down

March 13, 2009 – 12:23 pm

I can see child support from my house. The first couple of the trailer park, Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston, have broken up! Oh noes. My faith in true love is shattered, etc. And he seemed like such a catch, too…
Not so funny. Vanity Fair photographer Annie Leibovitz has done quite a nice photo shoot [...]

By Ruth Brown | Posted in Friday trashwrap, Stuff we like | Comments (0)

Stuff we like: Cupcakes, unicorns, and Michelle Obama’s guns

March 12, 2009 – 11:16 am

Crikey’s pick of the web today:
The risk-o-metre. “EATING X INCREASES YOUR RISK OF CANCER BY 50%!!!11!!!!1″ — Newspapers love these kinds of headlines, but they’re misleading and a pretty poor way of displaying data. As such, BBC reporter Michael Blastland has vowed to represent the data in his columns in a better way:
This is a [...]

By Ruth Brown | Posted in Stuff we like | Comments (0)

Stuff we like: Barbie, Billy Bragg and bad paintings of Barack Obama

March 11, 2009 – 11:42 am

Good things today:
Bad paintings of Barack Obama. What it says on the box.
Fair play. Billy Bragg writes in The Guardian that musicians should take back the online music debate from the hands of record labels.
Don’t ask me, I’m just a girl! Barbie just turned 50, but a legislator in West Virginia wants the dolls banned. [...]

By Ruth Brown | Posted in Stuff we like | Comments (0)

Stuff we like: Lying about books and C3POs

March 10, 2009 – 10:49 am

Things we dig today:
‘Book’ can be yours in just three easy payments! We watch TV all day long here (A-PAC and Sky News, not good stuff like the Sci-Fi channel) and thus we get stuck watching infomercials all day long too (if I ever see a Ped Egg in real life, I will BURN IT). [...]

By Ruth Brown | Posted in Stuff we like | Comments (0)

Stuff we like: Robots, Rush and fish who look like people

March 9, 2009 – 10:57 am

Nice things for today:
Why Rush is wrong. Conservative David Frum laments the rise of Rush Limbaugh in the US Republican Party.
Robots. The Boston Globe’s “Big Picture” features robots! Creepy, yet compelling.
Is art finished? The economic collapse will herald in a new age of art, predicts the Guardian’s Jonathan Jones. No more flashy gold pieces, apparently. [...]

By Ruth Brown | Posted in Stuff we like | Comments (1)

The fabulous Friday trash wrap: Jacko’s face: still creepy, Gwyneth’s naughty word, and who the f- are the Jonas Brothers?

March 6, 2009 – 11:12 am

All the news too trashy for Monday through Thursday:
Plastic not-so-fantastic. HuffPo has THE creepiest photo gallery of Michael Jackson’s face during his announcement that he will be touring again. My eyes!
Octomum: the movie. Apparently a black-market video of Nadya Suleman’s octo-birth is being shopped around. Honestly, I’d rather watch the porno.
Brtiney goes x-rated. Well, this [...]

By Ruth Brown | Posted in Friday trashwrap, Stuff we like | Comments (2)

Stuff we like: Anger, procrastination and flying cats

March 5, 2009 – 12:21 pm

Good reads for today:
Could anger be good for you? asks The Guardian. Expressing your anger and frustration in the workplace could be more productive than repressing it, according to researchers at Harvard.
Airborne cats. If you like pictures of kitties mid-jump, this is the photo gallery for you.
A father’s fate in the Gulag. Reason.tv documents journalist [...]

By Ruth Brown | Posted in Stuff we like | Comments (0)