Plants Win

A newly published study looks at two low-carb diets and the one featuring plants comes out better for us humans versus the meat based low-carb diet. Eat your vegetables. The Los Angeles Times has the story.

Quixote Strikes Out Again

Terry Gilliam can't catch any luck with his Don Quixote movie. He tried to shoot it earlier this century, but failed miserably (documented in Lost in La Mancha). His current effort lost funding less than 60 days before principle photography was to start. The Independent has the story.

Coolest Looking Synagogue Ever

This has to be the coolest looking synagogue ever. Of course there is much symbolism behind the design.

At the msnbc photoblog.

A Producer Arrested For The Producers Scam

A movie producer must have been a big fan of The Producers because he was arrested for trying that scam on more than 150 investors. Doesn't he know that only works in the theater.

Yahoo news has the story.

Does Gwen Stefani Get Paid For This?

A little Gwen Stefani perfume doll(?) on sale at the EVA Air sky shop. Weird.

http://eservice.evaair.com/preorder/view.aspx?lid=1&list=Category&p=8100660

Robert Reich and The Egg Recall

Robert Reich has some back story on the man behind the company behind the current egg recall (over half a billion so far ...who knew we produced so many eggs in such a small time frame).

http://robertreich.org/post/985703357/corporate-rotten-eggs

Free Pass To 2010 Photoshop World

The Photoshop World Conference and Expo is giving away free expo passes. The conference and expo is September 1-3 (free 2nd - 3rd) at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.

http://Photoshopworld.com/free-expo-pass/

I got mine.

Daringfireball Predicts Lots of new Apple Stuff

John Gruber of http://daringfireball.net is throwing caution to the wind saying new Mac Pros, iMacs and a 27" monitor will debut on Tuesday.

Very excited and hope he is accurate.

The Butler Got It

The Independent has a story about a butler in New York who has just inherited one of the best apartments in the city, from his longtime employer, the actress Ruth Ford.

• The Dakota, like most pre-war residences in Manhattan, is a co-operative building where residents own shares, not bricks. A co-op building has a co-op board that sets the rules; in the case of the Dakota it is going to be conservative and pernickety. Is it about to allow a former butler actually to occupy either one of the apartments in the building he has come to control?

Wall Street Investigation Continues, No Answers Yet

The New York Times updates us with what the government is investigating regarding Wall Street and what may have happened on Thursday May 6th.

• “That trader entered the market at around 2:32 and finished trading by around 2:51,” Mr. Gensler said in his testimony. “The trader had a short futures position that represented on average 9 percent of the volume traded during that period.”

The Kissing of Hands

Britain has a new Prime Minister, its youngest in 200 years.

Fat Isn't Evil

The Independent has a story covering a study of studies that implies that fat isn't so bad after all. It is added sugar and refined carbs that may be the evil in our foods.

• “Foods like cornflakes, white bread, French fries and sweetened soda all put undue stress on the endothelium, which explains for the first time why high glycaemic carbs can affect the progression of heart disease,” says Dr Shecter. His study was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology last year.

Faster and Louder Music Makes You Eat and Drink More

Thedailybeast.com has this story, "How restaurants get you drunk." I had no idea, but this explains why more restaurants seem louder.

• In the mid-1980s, researchers at Fairfield University demonstrated that people increased their rate of chewing by almost a third when listening to faster, louder music, accelerating from 3.83 bites a minute to 4.4 bites a minute.

Dow Jones Index Drops 1000 points, What Happened?

The New York Times has many articles on what may have happened on May 6th, 2010 to the Dow Jones index. Here are the two articles I find most interesting:

• High-Speed Trading Glitch Costs Investors Billions
• Markets Plunge, Then Stage a Rebound
  

Disneyland Paris, not the happiest place on Earth

The Independent has a story on Disneyland Paris and two recent suicides by park workers.

Nick Clegg and the upcoming British Election

The Independent has a story about Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democratic party, writing about where Clegg came from politically and what chances the Lib Dems have in pulling off something historic.

• "Between mouthfuls, Clegg is patiently explaining to me that the Liberal Democrats' extraordinary opinion poll surge, by now extended for two weeks, is not some "inexplicable flash in the pan" and that "something was brewing" for some time."

A bit 'inside baseball' but worth a read.

Frank Rich in the NY Times on Arizona

Frank Rich, Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, writing about the new Arizona illegal immigrant law.

• "DON’T blame it all on Arizona. The Grand Canyon State simply happened to be in the right place at the right time to tilt over to the dark side. Its hysteria is but another symptom of a political virus that can’t be quarantined and whose cure is as yet unknown."

New Resorts in Singapore are Busy

Both Integrated Resorts (IRs) in Singapore are now (mostly) both open and are getting good business. ChannelNewsAsia has two stories this weekend about increased traffic on the SMRT and how the IRs will boost the Singapore economy.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I just started reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Looks promising. Here is the first sentence.

• It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.

Pharyngula Criticizes the Catholic Church

Pharyngula has a very good essay criticizing the Catholic church.

• I do think, though, that we can't let repressed celibate jerks dictate who can be parents, and deprive people who might want to be parents of the privilege simply because a priest does not approve of their love.

Spike Jonze and Where the Wild Things Are

The Independent has a little feature on Spike Jonze and Where the Wild Things Are. It was not a smooth post-production.

• ... after the four-month shoot, Jonze requested that he needed more money for additional photography. Not unreasonably, the studio, Warner Brothers, asked to see a director's cut before they loosened the purse-strings. "When they saw the edit, I think it freaked them out that it wasn't what they normally consider a children's film," he recalls.

Thailand Police sent to Bangkok

Police from all over Thailand are being sent to Bangkok.

From the phuketgazette.net

“Phang Nga, Krabi, Surat Thani, Ranong and Nakhon Sri Thammarat were all asked to send about one company of officers.”

Tropic Thunder

I watched Tropic Thunder last night (for the first time). I can see why Robert Downey Jr. was nominated. Brilliant. Very funny movie (especially while having an adult beverage or two). The two commentary tracks on the DVD couldn't be more boring mostly because of Ben Stiller. Boring boring boring.

Schumacher and Mercedes going back to the test car

"Up to now, I don't think he has had a car that is to his liking so we hope this will give him something more responsive."

channelnewsasia has the story

No Refueling in F1 This Season

The Independent has a story on the upcoming F1 season that mainly covers the McLaren team, but also covers the new rule of no refueling and how that will affect strategy during a race.

Darwin Writes about the Chili Earthquake of 1835

At the Beagle Project Blog there is an entry in which Darwin writes about the aftermath of the 1835 earthquake in Chile.