This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on July 15, 2010). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.
Sometime between July 14th and July 15th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!
- Colonoscopy: It’s Time to Check Your Colons: "A new colon is on the march. For now let's call it the 'jumper colon'. For grammarians, it's a dependent clause + colon + just about anything, incorporating any and all elements of the other four colons, yet differing crucially in that its pre-colon segment is always a dependent clause. For everyone else: its usefulness lies in that it lifts you up and into a sentence you never thought you'd be reading by giving you a compact little nugget of information prior to the colon and leaving you on the hook for whatever comes thereafter, often rambling on until the reader has exhausted his/her theoretical lung capacity and can continue to read no longer."
- How the Old Spice Videos Are Being Made: "A team of creatives, tech geeks, marketers and writers gathered in an undisclosed location in Portland, Oregon yesterday and produced 87 short comedic YouTube videos about Old Spice. In real time. They leveraged Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and blogs. They dared to touch the wild beasts of 4chan and they lived to tell the tale. Even 4chan loved it. Everybody loved it; those videos and 74 more made so far today have now been viewed more than 4 million times and counting. The team worked for 11 hours yesterday to make 87 short videos, that's just over 7 minutes per video, not accounting for any breaks taken. Then they woke up this morning and they are still making more videos right now. Here's how it's going down."
- What, if Anything, Is Big Bird?: "Zoologist Mike Dickison talks about the PhD research he's been doing on a flightless bird."
- “Fleeting Expletive” Ban Lifted: "Reacting to a Supreme Court order to take a new look at 'indecency' on radio and TV, the Second Circuit Court suggested on Tuesday that constitutional law on free speech may need to be updated for the Digital Age, especially now that 'new offensive and indecent words are invented every day.' Even so, applying First Amendment doctrine as it now exists, the three-judge panel struck down the Federal Communications Commission's ban on the day and evening broadcast of even single 'fleeting expletives.' If the Obama Administration plans to continue defending the ban, the case could be on its way back to the Supreme Court."