Parapoetica

infosnacking: checking e-mail, Googling sports scores, shopping online and surfing the latest headlines. It’s the Webster’s New World College Dictionary Word of 2005.

Via Adweek

We can’t become an outcome-based democracy. Even in a time of war, you have to follow the process because that’s what a democracy is all about.
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Face the Nation (via the WP)

Who’dathunk I’d be quoting a Republican from South Carolina about governance?

Finally: a drug made for people like me. By people like me.

I want the president to look across the country and find the best man, woman or minority that he can find…

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Trent Lott. (via the Daily Dish)

Too cool. A page full of a particular kind of optical illusion: Still pictures that appear to move.

http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/index-e.html

Today’s Washington Post Style Invitational entries are a cut above. The contest: Using only words found in the Constitution, come up with additional proposed amendments. The winners:

Third runner-up: No person of excessive tonnage shall remove his jersey at a public event. (Pam Sweeney, Germantown)

Second runner-up: Congress shall make no laws that direct people to work out with weights and engage in regular body training. We the People are no longer into the exercise thing. (Chris Doyle, Forsyth, Mo.)

First runner-up, the winner of the Snake Wine containing a whole snake: No persons shall in all cases be given what they do desire but, upon trial, at times may be informed that they shall receive that for which they be needful. — M. Jagger (Russell Beland, Springfield)

And the winner of the Inker: Those persons resident in the District are second-class, inferior citizens. But they have the right to death, taxes and post offices. (Marty McCullen, Gettysburg, Pa.)

As always, the runners-up are every bit as good. Read them.

Alexander Chappell, a Clarkson University senior, died Saturday after trying to cliff-dive into Lake Bonaparte. There’s a low cliff there, where people can dive into deep water. But Chappell tried diving off a much higher cliff, 80 to 100 feet up, which was farther back from the water.

Chappell’s major? Mechanical engineering.

Michael ‘The Interdictor’ Barnett is a data-center crisis manager in the heart of New Orleans who’s been keeping the world updated via his LiveJournal. He’s also ex-Special Forces, and has run a tight ship, securing the building, patrolling the area, obtaining supplies.

This morning, the 82nd Airborne saw the lights on, and came up to investigate. Which means that the formerly-barricaded emergency exit was now open and unguarded, in a city where people are being killed for their bicycles. They claimed they found it that way.

So, naturally, he requested their assistance in sweeping the building to ensure that nobody else was present. The 27-floor building. With no elevators.

Ten thumbs up and a simultaneous hat tip to Mike! Patrolling is one thing. Breaking in, and lying about it to a citzen, is quite another.

Sign in the repair shop of a Natick car dealer:

Want to sign up for e-mails about upcoming specials while getting serviced?

You could walk into a store and grab a product at random and it would look more like an abominable snowman than this toy does.

From bubblegumfink via boingboing