You Learn Something New...

Section 230

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 09:15:00 +0000

Section 230 of the U.S. 1996 Communication Decency Act says that internet providers aren't responsible for offensive or libelous content if the provider has attempted to block at least some of this content.

From The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/24/magazine/mag-24lede-t.html?ref=magazine

Cat Ba Island

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 09:20:00 +0000

One of the Vietnamese islands is named Cat Ba.

From LonelyPlanet.com:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/vietnam/northeast-vietnam/cat-ba-island

Body of Proof Creator

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 09:27:00 +0000

Body of Proof, the television drama starring Dana Delany, was created by Chris Murphey. Murphey is also given sole writing credit for the pilot.

From IMDB.com:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587669/maindetails

NIA countries

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 08:06:00 +0000

There are nine world countries whose names end with the letter combination "-nia": Albania, Armenia, Estonia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mauritania, Romania, Slovenia, and Tanzania.

From NationsOnline.org:
http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/countries_of_the_world.htm

Artemisia Vulgaris

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 08:12:00 +0000

The Latin name for the mugwort/wormwood plant is artemisia vulgaris.

From the United States Department of Agriculture:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ARVU

Taylor plays Taggart

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 08:15:00 +0000

Actress Taylor Schilling plays Dagny Taggart in the recently-released film adaptation of Atlas Shrugged.

From IMDB.com:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480239/combined

Kickstarter.com

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 08:19:00 +0000

Kickstarter.com is a website that facilitates funding creative projects via donations to the creator from any person who wishes to support the project.

From the official website:
http://www.kickstarter.com/

Barramundi

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 08:25:00 +0000

Barramundi is a fish, similar to Seabass, found in Southeast Asia and Australia.

From TheBetterFish.com:
http://www.thebetterfish.com/the-healthy-fish/barramundi-fun-facts

Flagrant Foul

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 08:28:00 +0000

In the National Basketball Association rule book, a flagrant foul is called when unnecessary and/or excessive contact occurs when the ball is not in play.

From the NBA rulebook (Rule 12A -- Section I):
http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_12.html?nav=ArticleList

Bonds Convicted

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 08:31:00 +0000

Former Major League Baseball player Barry Bonds was found guilty of obstruction of justice, but a mistrial was declared on the three charges of perjury regarding Bonds's use of steroids.

From Sports Illustrated:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/baseball/mlb/04/13/bonds.trial.ap/index.html?eref=sihp

Brewer and Shipley

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:17:00 +0000

Michael and Tom are the first names, respectively, of the 1970s music duo Brewer and Shipley.

From the duo's official website:
http://www.brewerandshipley.com/

BPA-free cans

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 10:19:00 +0000

To avoid using metal cans lined with the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) -- which can often leak into high-acidity foods -- the Eden Organics company is putting their tomato products in amber-colored jars. The jars protect the canned tomatoes from light, which can cause discoloration and off-flavor.

From the company's website:
http://www.edenfoods.com/articles/view.php?articles_id=191

The Sure Thing

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 10:25:00 +0000

Eric Adelson wrote the biography The Sure Thing: The Making and Unmaking of Golf Phenom Michelle Wie.

From Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Sure-Thing-Making-Unmaking-Michelle/dp/0345511751

Lithotomy position

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 10:39:00 +0000

The position usually associated with a woman giving birth -- on her back with her legs up -- is technically called the lithotomy position.

From BirthingNaturally.net:
http://www.birthingnaturally.net/barp/lithotomy.html

George Foreman's Lifetime Earnings

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:47:00 +0000

In 2004, boxing legend George Foreman's lifetime earnings were estimated at $240 million -- three times what he earned in the boxing ring. The bulk of these earnings have, of course, come from the sales of the George Foreman grill.

From Business Week:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_51/b3913093.htm

Casabella

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:53:00 +0000

The Casabella company, which specializing in housecleaning products, was founded in 1985 by hardware store manager Bruce Kaminstein, after he visited a housewares trade show in Italy.

From the company's website:
http://www.casabella.com/about.html

1974 Orient Express

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 11:47:00 +0000

The 1974 adaptation of Agatha Christie's murder mystery Murder on the Orient Express stars Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot with multiple A-list stars -- Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, Vanessa Redgrave (to name a few) as the train's passengers.

From IMDB.com:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071877/combined

GoDaddy CEO and Elephants

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 10:55:00 +0000

The GoDaddy.com CEO Bob Parsons has come under fire for killing an elephant while on safari. Parsons says it was a "problem elephant," but is known to enjoy hunting and has several hunting trophies in his home.

From ABC News:
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/daddy-ceo-bob-parsons-africa-elephant-hunt-video/story?id=13279206

Gulf Spill = Bonus?

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 11:22:00 +0000

Despite the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Transocean, Ltd. -- the company responsible for the rig that caused the spill -- felt it appropriate to give its executives hundreds of thousands in bonuses for the company's safety performance.

From CNN.com:
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/BUSINESS/04/03/gulf.spill.bonuses/index.html

Painter Federico Castelluccio

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 11:18:00 +0000

Federico Castelluccio, known for his role on the television show The Sopranos, is also an accomplished artist.

From his official website:
http://www.federicocastelluccio-paintings.com/biography.htm

Silence in the 3rd

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 11:26:00 +0000

Mariners television broadcasters Dave Sims and Mike Blowers were silent during the bottom half of the third inning in the Mariners' opening game as a tribute to the passing of Mariners' broadcasting legend Dave Niehaus. Niehaus would move from the television broadcast to the radio broadcast after the third inning of each game.

From the Mariners' official website:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110401&content_id=17249880&notebook_id=17249886&vkey=notebook_sea&c_id=sea

Gmail Motion!

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:30:00 +0000

Today, Google released their new Gmail feature: Gmail motion....

as an April Fool's Day joke.

From the Gmail website:
http://mail.google.com/mail/help/motion.html

Rutabegorz locations

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 11:32:00 +0000

The Orange County, California restaurant chain Rutabegorz has restaurants in the cities of Fullerton, Orange, and Tustin.

From the official website:
http://www.rutabegorz.com/home

Tuesday Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 12:12:00 +0000

The discount chain Tuesday Morning is named as such because its large events typically start on Tuesday mornings.

From the official website:
http://www.tuesdaymorning.com/ci/ci.asp

Melinda/Wendy

noreply@blogger.com (Shantastic) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 12:13:00 +0000

Melinda is the real first name of Dave Thomas's daughter Wendy, the namesake of his restaurant chain.

From Wendy's website:
http://www.wendys.com/dave/