Groupon Pulls Super Bowl Ads: What Else Will Go Wrong?
Hamilton Nolan · 02/11/11 11:28AMIncessant coupon-offering behemoth Groupon made a jokey Super Bowl ad about Tibet that didn't go over well with... well, anyone. (Yes, even though it was for charity, okay.) After a week of vague public anger about this relatively unimportant topic, the company is finally pulling the ads, reasoning—correctly—that the drama is not accomplishing the ostensible purpose of the ads, which is to help Groupon become a mighty, unavoidable middleman in the buying and selling of goods in America.
Fun New Music Video Illustrates the Power of Slow Motion
Marie Bardi · 02/11/11 11:15AMThe track "Luv(sic) pt. 2" by Nujabes, emphasizes the beauty of happiness by drastically slowing down the visuals.
Which Singer Gets Happy Endings from His Private Masseuse?
Brian Moylan · 02/11/11 11:01AMHungry Dog Probably Dreaming About Food
Richard Blakeley · 02/11/11 10:58AMKe$ha: 'I Am Shooting Glitter Out of Every Orifice of My Body'
Maureen O'Connor · 02/11/11 10:55AMWhat a Skijumper Sees When He Jumps the Biggest Hill in the World
Ajay Mehta · 02/11/11 10:50AMVikersund, Norway is home to the biggest hill in the world for ski-jumping. Combine that with professional jumper Jon Aaraas and a helmet-cam, and fasten your seatbelt.
Beautiful Supercut of TV's Greatest Kisses Will Make You Feel Warm and Fuzzy
Kristina Grosspietsch · 02/11/11 10:40AMCapybara Relaxes in the Shower
Madeleine Davies · 02/11/11 10:00AMLiving in the zoo can be stressful, but as this adorable capybara discovers, it's nothing that can't be washed away by a nice hot shower.
Mike Bloomberg Knows a Good One About the Irish
Hamilton Nolan · 02/11/11 09:55AMWatch a Series of Vintage Treatments for ABC From the 60s and 70s
Whitney Jefferson · 02/11/11 09:30AMIt's easy to see why these sketch-ideas for ABC's logo were tossed, but it doesn't mean that they aren't fun to look at. Just one thought: what's with the logo that looks like Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon?"
Venezuelan Politicians Brawl in the National Assembly
Hamilton Nolan · 02/11/11 09:15AMVenezuelan politicians: when they're not holding boob job fundraisers, they're brawling in the national assembly, as they did yesterday, when this spat between a pro and an anti-Chavez legislator turned into one of those big "everybody rush the stage and watch other people pushing each other" nightclub-style fights. Sure, you could say "Incidents like this and the cheap jokes they inspire just prove that Americans don't pay attention to other countries unless they do something bad and sensational," but that's kind of the point.
Freeze Frame
Whitney Jefferson · 02/11/11 09:00AM'Aging Pipelines' Will Kill Us All
Max Read · 02/11/11 07:02AM
We will all die eventually, yes, but now we know what will kill us: Aging pipelines! Well, not the pipelines specifically, so much as the explosions that will occur when natural gas leaks from those aging pipelines and then sparks and blows up, as happened in Allentown, Pa. on Thursday, killing six. There is, according to The Wall Street Journal, a "growing consensus that the U.S. has a problem with aging infrastructure," also, "federal investigators... are concerned about the accuracy of utility records on pipelines they operate"; a bill has been proposed to improve pipeline safety but it's unclear whether Republicans will support it. Of course. Look: Just don't light any matches for a while, okay? [WSJ via TDB]
We Produce Six Newspapers' Worth of Information a Day
Max Read · 02/11/11 05:56AMEgyptian Military Backs Mubarak
Max Read · 02/11/11 05:02AM
Who thinks Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's hilarious fake-out announcement that he's staying in office was good idea? Well, Mubarak, probably, and his vice president, Omar Suleiman. And, apparently, Egyptian military leaders, who, in a statement read aloud on national television, backed Mubarak's "plan" for a peaceful transfer of power, encouraging protestors to go home.
Man Brings Flowers to Ex, Shoots Her in Face
Max Read · 02/11/11 04:01AM
Alexander Figueroa, a 38-year-old ex-con, reportedly brought flowers to his ex-wife Guimmia Villa at the pharmacy where she worked on Thursday. He then shot her, returned to his apartment, and committed suicide. Villa had orders of protection against Figueroa in both Queens and Nassau County; one had expired in January. Figueroa had done time for murder in the 1990s. [NYP]
The Best Scientology Video You'll See Today
Max Read · 02/11/11 03:15AMSure, Scientology may just be a front for slave-built motorcycles for celebrities, but it's got a positive side! For example, did you know that Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard was also a songwriter? Don't take our word for it! Watch actor/bon vivant Frank Stallone, clad in leather slacks, sing two of Hubbard's fantastic songs, live in concert. "Hey," you may find yourself asking, "is that onetime teen idol Leif Garrett?" You bet it is! Sample lyric: "You are not minds/Or chemicals/You don't even have a phone/You're in a trap/Of senseless minds/And baby it's time to be reborn." [via minge]
Arizona Sues Feds Over Stupid Law
Max Read · 02/11/11 02:24AMShould a KKK Grand Wizard Get a Special License Plate?
Max Read · 02/11/11 01:36AM
Should Mississippi honor Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest by giving him a special license plate? Probably not, no. But the Mississippi Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans seems to think it would be a good idea, having proposed a commemorative Forrest License plate for 2014 as part of a series of license plates that "mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, which it calls the 'War Between the States.'"





