These collections of stories made sense to me, as least they did, right before I winked out on Ambien. Enjoy!
Charity warning on child poverty. Targets to eradicate child poverty will not be met without more money from Westminster, a children's charity says. [BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition]
Missing BBC reporter 'alive'. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas says his security forces have confirmed BBC reporter Alan Johnston is alive. [BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition]
UK tests Moon lander technology. British engineers study the technology needed to land on the Moon - which will also be useful on a Mars mission. [BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition]
Bobby Lee. Xeni Jardin:
Comedian Bobby Lee, best known for his work on Mad TV, is one funny dude. You can totally tell from his MySpace template.
One of the editors at UCLA's "Asia Pacific Arts" project turned me on to
this new online video of an interview with Lee, in which he makes funny faces, hacks, farts, and explains why parodies of Korean telenovelas inexplicably yet consistently make for such terrific sketch comedy.
SF Gate columnist Jeff Yang (who I met by phone today, in the context of a different story) recently wrote a column about Bobby Lee's current blowing-up-edness. Link to Yang's April 10 piece, "Mad Man." Lee has a role in a forthcoming film about breakdancing, and there's some kind of new Comedy Central TV thing in the works or something.
There is a lot of him on YouTube: Link.
[Boing Boing]
Wife accused of barbecue murder. A jealous wife stabbed her husband to death after a barbecue at their home, it is claimed at the start of a trial. [BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition]
UK exports get beef and beer lift. UK food and drink exports hit a record in 2006, the first time they have hit such levels since the BSE crisis. [BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition]
Movie Review | 'Hot Fuzz': Banished to the Country, a Too-Good Cop Finds an Action-Movie Parody. Think of “Hot Fuzz,” a British parody of Hollywood-style action flicks, as “The Full Monty” blown to smithereens. By MANOHLA DARGIS. [NYT > Arts]
Metal detecting is the "world's worst hobby". Mark Frauenfelder:
IvyMike says:
Before you rush out to buy Bill Wyman's new metal detector, you may want to think twice (even though it does seem kind of cool). Check out the hilarious "Human Guinea Pig" article, "Full Metal Racket: The perverse thrill of metal detecting, the world's worst hobby."
After being completely confused by the detectors offered on the Web, my husband called one of the retailers. He explained that we wanted a detector that would be easy for a 7-year-old to use, but that would be suitable for finding Civil War artifacts, since we live close to some known encampments.
The salesman found this hilarious. "Believe me, you're not going to find any Civil War artifacts. I've been doing this for three years and I've never found anything valuable." (Presumably, after this conversation our salesman enlisted and is now in Iraq leading the search for weapons of mass destruction.) The salesman also said not to worry about getting a metal detector that would be easy for our daughter. "She might go with you once, then she'll get completely bored and not want to do it again." Instead of taking this advice, my husband insisted on purchasing one, so the salesman recommended the $130 Tracker IV. Then, perhaps remembering what line of work he was in, he said, "You'll have fun," which turned out to be the equivalent of saying "bon voyage" to the passengers boarding the Titanic.
Link
[Boing Boing]
Talking video cameras in England scold citizens. Mark Frauenfelder:
Tomston says: "Britain gets 1984 telescreens -- CCTV cameras that bark at you when you do something wrong. Scary stuff, particularly when there's a regular CCTV camera for every 5 people in Britain already."
Link
[Boing Boing]
Mother blames verbal bullying for death of her son. School bus driver denies joining in name-calling. [Guardian Unlimited]
Organic Milk Supply Expected to Surge as Farmers Pursue a Payoff. Dairy farmers are rushing to convert to organic milk production before new, more stringent federal regulations take effect. By ANDREW MARTIN. [NYT > Business]
Organic Milk Supply Expected to Surge as Farmers Pursue a Payoff. Dairy farmers are rushing to convert to organic milk production before new, more stringent federal regulations take effect. By ANDREW MARTIN. [NYT > Business]
High-tech dressing rooms become virtual reality. New technology should make it possible for customers to solicit opinions from friends remotely.
[Christian Science Monitor | Top Stories]
Wow, that was harder than I thought it would be.
1:18:02 AM 
