Archive for March, 2009
Seattle P-I: Newspaper Minus the “Paper”
People are celebrating St. Patty’s Day, but for traditionalists and lovers of newspapers, it’s a grim day. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (maybe the worst named paper) is printing its final edition today after a 146 year run. The P-I will become “the nation’s largest daily newspaper to shift to an entirely digital news product.” (Source: SeattlePI.com) [...]
Ides of March
No need to “beware the Ides of March.” The phrase “Ides of March” simply means March 15. More correctly, “an ides was merely one of several common calendar terms used to mark monthly lunar events. The ides simply marked the appearance of the full moon.” (Source: National Geographic News) The phrase and the date became [...]
The “O” in Orangemen Stands for Overtime
The Syracuse basketball team has been busy lately – not with schoolwork but with games. The problem is the Orangemen apparently don’t want to ever stop playing. On March 7, Syracuse beat Marquette in OT to close out the regular season. Then, four days later, on March 11, they took the easy route, beating Seton [...]
Jon Stewart Interviews Jim Cramer
Go anywhere this weekend and people are likely to talk about the “feud” between Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer. Quick updates for those not in the know: Stewart is the anchor of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, which is a newscast delivered by an actor/comedian complete with jokes, mockery, and satire. Jim Cramer is the most [...]
What Is Pork Barrel Spending?
The phrase that never goes away in politics, especially during election years, is the promise to end “pork barrel politics” and to stop all “pork barrel” projects from being passed. Basically, when you hear the term “pork barrel spending” in a U.S. political setting, it refers to the piling on of unrelated expenses to a bill [...]
Speaker of the House
Congress just recently passed a $410 billion spending bill designed to fund various lawmakers’ pet projects, keeping the U.S. government spending and getting into everyone’s business. Obama is expected to sign off on the bill today, but before it makes it to the President, it is the Speaker of the House’s job to make sure [...]
The Ubiquitous Rachael Ray
If you have a normal 9-to-5 job, you still have heard the name Rachael Ray a million times but might not be familiar with her claim to fame. In short, she is like the next generation’s happy, cheery version of Martha Stewart. Most of Ray’s success originates from food, whether it be specials on the [...]
Unemployment Rate
Times are tough, and the unemployment rate rose to 8.1%. Bring everyone down at your party by telling them that’s the highest level since Toto won Album of the Year (1983). At least they’ll laugh at your Toto reference, then everyone can sing “Rosanna” as they cry into their beer, and you can call it [...]
