the 941

Coming soon to a battlefield near you: paratrooper dogs. Really. We’re not kidding, though we wish we were.

• Europeans may thrilled at the prospect of an Obama presidency, but the man himself isn’t giving much time to continental journalists.

• If they are lucky enough to still have a job, most Americans can’t afford a vacation, but Europeans are flocking to Florida.

• How will the American TV networks handle their Chinese overlords during the Olympics?

• The speculation on potential running mates for Barack Obama and John McCain continues unabated. Yes, Hillary and Mitt are still in the running.

• A Vermont librarian, all 4-foot, 10 inches of her, stood up for privacy against a large group of cops - and won.

• Want to spend a frightening afternoon on the computer. Sit down and do a search for: REX 84.

• It’s time: Send Karl Rove to jail.

• As if the bad press from the Jena 6 wasn’t bad enough, violent racism continues in Louisiana.

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This was happening at Sarasota Olive Oil Company yesterday. Wtf. Photo caption contest begins now.

Here’s our first: Goddamn peyote flashbacks. Hand her the coffee, steady hand, don’t cry. Don’t cry.

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And we have ourselves a winner! (Uh, such as, the Iraq and the Asian countries…)

+Miss Teen USA, anyone?  Anyone? [Media Life]

+Gonzales resigns; another one bites the dust. ”Donald Rumsfeld, an architect of the Iraq war, resigned as defense secretary one day after the November elections. Paul Wolfowitz agreed to step down in May as president of the World Bank after an ethics inquiry. And top Bush adviser Karl Rove earlier this month announced he was stepping down.” Just one left to go before we break open the champagne. [npr]

+Daily “which is more disturbing?”: 1) That this heartwarming H-T story made it into the top three “Most Popular” online videos, or 2) that I, a priori cat woman that I am, helped put it up there? [H-T]

+You couldn’t wait for some Simpsons.  I can’t wait to get me some Stephen McTowelie cyber-extras. [Hollywood Reporter]

+Whatwatwat?! Real estate economists predict the first drop in the median cost of U.S. homes since the ’50s. Michael Saunders, we think you’ve got ’splainin to do… [NY Times]

+Former Weekly World News “reporter” Stan Sinberg’s elegy on the now-defunct tabloid.  This shit’s so quotable, I can’t resist giving you a whole paragraph:

For three years, under various pseudonyms (including Jake Anderson — a play on Jack Anderson, the great muckraker of my youth), I “reported” that the real reason for global warming was that teenage space aliens were stealing our glaciers for party ice, that the judicial system was in chaos because a thief stole “the book” that judges throw at them, that leftovers from the Last Supper were found in a man’s fridge, and that a man who killed a fly was arrested for “pesticide” (the police chief chided, “That’s why we have a SWAT team”). And several hundred more “scoops.” [salon]

+Kind of old news at this point, but I know I speak for at least two people in this office when I say that M.I.A.’s new album Kala is galangalanga-good! (Wish I could say the same for Christgau’s writing style, but hey, maybe someone will understand this review.) [Rolling Stone]

+[Insert link to totally tired, ubiquitous Hogan kid story here.]

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Riddle me this: What consists of two flat plates attached at a hinge (traditionally), is a work of art usually devoted to religious themes and iconography, rose and fell during the Middle Ages (well, later in Northern Europe), and…

Oh, forget it. I hate riddles. And this one was already answered, if you were cunning enough to read this title of this post.

In the spirit of the TV sitcom (and because, amazingly, I got my act together early enough to pull this off), I give you a teaser for next week’s UrbEx in the form of two images. See if you can guess what you’re in for.
First diptych below the jump…

(more…)

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Sometimes, on a Wednesday afternoon, when you haven’t gotten enough sleep and your stomach’s growling and you’ve done exactly two of the 83 things on the to-do list you would’ve written if you’d remembered to, and all anyone wants to talk about is how a shmuck radio host (who, because he’s a schmuck, they don’t listen to) acted like a schmuck, you have to lean back, find your chi, and give thanks for this blessed interweb.

Whoever took the time to do that, I love you like a sister.

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Psych. I don’t have a cat.

But these people do — and yikes, if that ain’t the Third Feline Reich I don’t know what is. In case you can’t tell from the super-subtle name, CatsThatLookLikeHitler.com features cats that bear a striking resemblence to one Adolf Hitler. Good times.

They’ve got merch, hate-mail, love letters, even decent puns — the cats are called Kitlers, which sounds a bit like kitty litter, but I’m lettin it go. Why? Becuase of exchanges like this in the site’s FAQ:

Aren’t you glorifying Hitler?
Let’s get this straight. Hitler was an arsehole. Hitler was a disgusting, pus-ridden lump of excrement from the devil’s own anus. Before we go any further, let’s just reiterate that. As such, I think it’s entirely appropriate to reduce him to an object of ridicule by comparing his physical appearance and styling to a bunch of fluffy, cute moggies.

Moggies. British people are funny.

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