Exploding Dog
Not content with posting some of the finest drawings available on the web, sam brown also writes a model faq.

Underground map of London with the locations of various movie settings substituted for stations.

Yum yum

"The flavor and chic style of the brand make this a natural fit for female audiences," said Stephanie Miller, the company's new-products manager.

"This" = Brutal Fruit, an alcoholic malted drink in four flavours: Sultry Strawberry, Kinky Kiwi, Manic Mango and Luscious Litchi.

Richmond Times-Dispatch, 7 March 2005.

Oh, Chris.
"The best way to develop self esteem is to teach children to read and write, to add up and to know something about the world," he [Chris Woodhead, ex-chief inspector of schools] told BBC Radio's Today. BBC, 7 March 2005.

That may be the way you developed your self-esteem, Chris.

Film Studio in Surbiton
The ballroom in Regent House, an old mansion, provided the setting for this one-stage studio formed in 1918 by the Stoll Film Company Limited. Their first production was Comradeship, produced by Maurice Elvey, starring stage actor Gerald Ames and Lily Elsie. By 1920, Stoll had moved to a larger studio at Cricklewood, and cinematographer Geoffrey Malins had formed the Garrick Film Company and was using the Surbiton Studio. Although Malins made a number of comedy films, in the main his productions were shorts and educational films, which included Our Girls And Their Physique. Stoll retained the ownership of the studio until 1923 when it was taken over by British Instructional Films.
Patricia Warren, British Film Studios: an illustrated history, Batsford, second edition, 2001.

White Migraine
I've had Classic Migraine since my teens, and the occasional (and very horrible) period of cluster headache (for which I prefer the spookier-sounding name "migrainous neuralgia"). But in the last few years my CM has mutated to pretty much exclude the headache part of the deal. I get the aura (zigzags etc) and the postdrome (feeling like you've been hit by a bus) but very little in the way of a drum solo. So I think I need a name for this condition, and I think that name had better be White Migraine. I don't know why; it just sounds right, don't it?

Three Things That Have Increased By 61 Percent

Over the course of the last 10 years, from 1991 to 2000, the percentage of obese Americans has increased by 61 percent. Today, there are over 60 million people in this country who are considered to be obese.
James Swierzbin, Fighting obesity in America, The Berkeley Beacon, 17 February 2005

Another major crop that has shown impressive growth as a result of the policy reforms is maize. [...] Production has increased by 61 percent from 3.3 million tons in 1982 to 5.4 million tons in 1994.
Egypt State Information Service

Revenues generated per employee increased by 61 percent between 1993 and 1997.
Solar Turbines Inc.

The Great Debate: Plastic Bags

In addition to exacerbating the mosquito problem, plastic bags block gutters and drains, choke farm animals and marine wildlife, pollute the soil, can ruin Kenya's dramatic natural vistas and can take 20 to 1,000 years to decompose.
Tribune de Geneve, 23 February 2005

But it's plastic bags that really define my lifestyle. I love plastic bags. I love them almost as much as I love my cats. On some days, I love the bags more.
Harriet Cooper, A Woman of a Certain Age, 26 June 2002

"I love plastic bags because my customers can really see my logo. I use the bags as giveaways at trade shows and other meetings -- and put gifts and materials for my customers and friends inside." - A Satisfied Customer.
OnlineOrganizing.com

i hate plastic bags
Title of a review of American Beauty at Epinions.com, 26 October 1999

Goat hair from General Bailey Homestead Farm.

On this day in: 1905
Three thousand pounds of goat hair came to Redding from the ranges of G. Williams & Sons of Bella Vista. The ranges were to receive about 35 cents per pound for the goat hair.
Redding Record Searchlight, 23 Febraury 2005 (registration required)

History In The Making
Floor and Decor Outlets of America opened its first Phoenix location last month to record-breaking sales, making it the retailer's strongest opening in history.
eReleases.com, 22 February 2005

Say What?
"I thought they were ridgy-didge," he said.
Daily Telegraph [Australia], 21 February 2005

Now Lenten observances are less rigorous, and they certainly didn't inhibit the Grilled Cheese-Eating Championships from being held last week in Venice Beach, Calif., where renowned gurgitator Sonya Thomas walked away with the $3,500 grand prize after eating 25 grilled cheese sandwiches in 10 minutes. Weighing in at only 105 pounds, Sonya is prominent among the new type of athletes known as competitive eaters, or gurgitators, and she holds numerous titles, including asparagus (5.75 pounds of fried tempura-coated spears in 10 minutes), lobsters (38 in 12 minutes), and cheesecake (11 pounds in 9 minutes).
These and many other gorging contests are sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive Eating, which disallows people younger than 18 from competing and discourages speed-eating at home, even for training.
The IFOCE considers speed-eating a sport. Their pantheon of athletes includes 409-pound Cookie Jarvis (one gallon, 9 ounces of ice cream in 12 minutes), the cornbread-loving Yellow Cake Subich and Carlene LeFevre, "a fierce and highly focused competitor who releases excess energy by popping up and down as she eats," which "helps to tamp down the food in her stomach."
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, 21 February 2005

I Could Do This Job Single-Handed
Mobile phone company 3 are looking for an Entertainment Project Manager with attributes that include: "Enthusiasm for adult entertainment, broad minded & customer savvy ".

Pod User's Manual.

Translation

They say:

The project is examining how spaces between buildings can be used to create a streetscape matching the cosmopolitan feel of the location and improve the pedestrian experience in accordance with the Urban Realm Strategy for the city centre. Aberdeen City Council, 16 February 2005.

They mean:
We're going to repave Thistle Street.

Headlines That Make History

Americans still like thicker towels

Charlotte Observer, 17 February 2005 [subscription required].

According to that shining light of reason, Princess Michael, the Queen relaxes by exercising her Cockney accent. This news comes hot (or not) on the heels of the revelation that Buckingham Palace lacks double-glazing, and is oozing heat into the Mall.

Who'd have guessed that the royal family were so common? My sources tell me that Princess Michael has done her own secondary glazing at her pad in Kensington. Perhaps she used clingfilm, and a hair dryer.

Cheese theft
Police were called Sunday to Cub Foods, 2600 Rice Creek Road, on a theft report. A Cub security officer said she saw a man entering and leaving the bathroom of the store several times. The man then left the store, and allegedly tried to break into three vehicles, including the security officer's vehicle. She confronted the man, who told her he had cheese in his pocket and it was not paid for. Police asked the man why he was trying to get into the vehicles, and he said he was cold. The man was cited for shoplifting and motor-vehicle tampering. Police gave him a ride home.
St. Paul Pioneer Press, 28 January 2005 [subscription required]

British Culture Triumphs in Hollywood

"I am ashamed of the drink-punch-smash-vomit culture which has spread like an ugly acne on the face of our once proud towns and cities." Steve Green, Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police. The Scotsman, 22 January 2005.

"I'm too scared to put on a dress in case the baby vomits on it." Cate Blanchett, Oscar (R) nominee. Ananova, 1 February 2005.