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Weekly Blog Round-Up: Flying Chihuahua Edition

Eric Johnson — Sun, 03 May 2009 16:00:54 +0000

Hello, and welcome to the Flying Chihuahua Edition of the Weekly Blog Round-Up. As always, we’ve got five great articles from our news blog to share with you, plus five awesome things from those other websites on The Internets. You know the ones we’re talking about.

From the News Blog

1) Definitely the weirdest story on our blog all week–a couple in Michigan learned the hard way that tiny dogs are not a good match for strong winds. Goose has the full story on an eight-month old chihuahua named Tinker Bell that took to the sky, and without the aid Pixie Dust.

2) Speaking of crazy stuff in the air, pigs didn’t fly, but swine flu. Eh? Get it? Meh. Anyway, on Monday, we were safe. On Wednesday and Thursday, people started to get worried as three cases of the H1N1 virus were reported in Rhode Island. A fourth possible case popped up at Johnson & Wales University yesterday, but some health officials now say the virus isn’t as deadly as they initially thought.

3) And now for something completely different…this week, police in Rhode Island confiscated over 1500 pounds of marijuana, worth about $2 million. I just wish our news reporter Quyen Ngo had had use for the term “drug mule” in her story so that all five of our top stories this week would be animal-related.

4) Well, all the stories would be animal-related if you count Chewbacca and Jar-Jar Binks as animals. On Thursday, we found out the Paw Sox are holding their first ever Star Wars Day at McCoy Stadium, and among those expected to be in attendance are Jedi, Darth Vader and a local garrison of Stormtroopers. The Star Wars Day is today, Sunday, and if you’re reading this shortly after I posted it, then you still have time to get down to Pawtucket–the game starts at 1:05. Drive carefully, and may the Force be with you.

5) OK, are the Star Wars nerds gone? Good. Here’s a cool video report from WBRU’s George Mesthos on the arrival of circus elephants in Providence Tuesday night. Insert funny remark about elephants here.

Five Awesome Things

1) I’m a big fan of the New York-based group Improv Everywhere, the masterminds behind such YouTube classics as Best Game Ever, the Food Court Musical and the No Pants Subway Ride. Everything they do is in good fun, but I think this is their most heartwarming prank to date: the Romantic Comedy Cab.

2) Mind= Blown. What if all of Ferris Bueller was just Cameron’s Fight Club-esque fantasy? Holy crap. I’m never going to watch this movie the same way again. I mean, it all makes so much sense, and yet at the same time I don’t want to believe it…or do I? This is going to take some mulling over. Just move on to #3.

3) Speaking of great films from the 80s, I certainly hope you’ve seen Back to the Future: Part II. If you haven’t, then this beautiful, rambling indictment of Hollywood deception won’t make any sense to you at all: The Hoverboard Lie: How Back to the Future Ruined Childhood.

4) Wow, I didn’t plan it this way consciously, but this edition of “Five Awesome Things” is just rife with nostalgia. From mental_floss, a devious little quiz about Oregon Trail. WBRU will not accept responsibility if you die of dysentery while taking this quiz.

5) And finally, last week we asked what would happen if all the world leaders belonged to the same Facebook network. This week, Slate delivers an even funnier Facebook parody: 100 Days of Barack Obama’s Facebook News Feed.

Weekly Blog Round-Up: Insane Vegetarian Edition

Eric Johnson — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:17:09 +0000

Good evening, and welcome to the Insane Vegetarian Edition of the Weekly Blog-Round Up! As always, we’ve got five articles from our wonderful blog to spotlight this week, and then five awesome sites and blog posts from the rest of the Web that you should check out. Let’s do this. Shake ‘n’ bake!

From the News Blog

1) This week, we got wind of a serious WTF story from Coachella. Brit rocker Morrissey smelled meat in the crowd and stopped his performance to tell fans that he hoped it was burning human flesh. Yeesh. I somehow doubt they sell salads at Coachella, but I could be wrong.

2) Speaking of veggies, Wednesday was Earth Day, a day dedicated to environmentalism and sustainable care of the planet. For the BRU Brief, Stephanie Bernhard talked with an active contributor: Farm Fresh RI’s Noah Fulmer.

3) Spring Awakening came to the Providence Performing Arts Center this week, and, as expected, it rocked. WBRU’s reviewer Mirage says “it’s exciting and challenging, and you just might leave wanting some action back at home yourself…”

4) Speaking of action–Oh! Canada! This week, things were all too easy for our Sports team as the Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens into the ice in a four-game sweep. Police in Canada (mounties? we doubt it, but it’s always possible) even bunkered down for riots following game 4.

5) Finally, for the second year in a row a marijuana-related bill has made inroads in the Rhode Island Senate. The bill would allow for the creation of medical marijuana “compassion centers.”

Five Awesome Things

1) What if your popcorn tasted like booze? Some people might see this question as an invitation to pour a Gansett over their movie snacks. But others dare to aim higher. That’s right, it’s a real frikkin’ product. The A.V. Club reviews Pub-Corn.

2) Speaking of food, you’ve probably heard all the stereotypes about Twitter, and how “everyone uses it to talk about what they had for breakfast.” I can say from experience that this is patently not true. But for those of you who are still skeptical, the fine folks at Lifehacker have whipped up this list of six ways to use Twitter that don’t involve breakfast.

3) Speaking of technology, what if all the world leaders were in one Facebook group? One of the better “Hey, look, we can make fun of popular websites!” pages I’ve seen.

4) From my old favorite Cracked, the awful secrets of 25 famous cartoon characters. Disclaimer: Lots of imagery you wouldn’t want to have to explain to your boss.

5) And finally, from Gizmodo, one of Giz’s editors eats the world’s largest Cheeto over the world’s most expensive keyboard. That looks disgusting. I’m so glad I didn’t have to do this, so I can laugh at his misfortune.

Weekly Blog Round-Up: History of the Universe Edition

Eric Johnson — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:35:19 +0000

Hello, and welcome to the Weekly Blog Round-Up, now in its new home on Sundays. Hopefully our knack for finding cool articles won’t be thrown off by the time change. As you know, each week we count down the top 5 articles from the WBRU News blog, followed by 5 things from elsewhere on the internet that you just have to see.

From the News Blog

5) After some, er, false starts, the Providence Bruins finally showed up in full force last night for a thrilling shootout with the Portland Pirates. Omar Taveras has the full story here.

4) Nine Inch Nails completely owned April Fools’ Day this week. They said they were releasing a new album, produced by Timbaland, got Trent Reznor to pose in Kanye West glasses–ah, screw it. Just read this for full details on one of the best pranks this year. You’ll thank me later.

3) The bonuses awarded to top executives at AIG, American International Group, left many Americans in a blind rage. George Mesthos cuts through the crap in this piece for the BRU Brief. The Brief is our weekly newsmagazine piece, and airs Monday nights at 11. You can listen on Mondays by tuning to 95.5 FM, of course, but you can also stream everything that goes on-air for WBRU by clicking on that blue button in the right-hand column.

2) Are your representatives eating too well? The state is spending $23/day on food for Smith Hill legislators. What do you think about this story? Let us know in the comments.

1) Our Entertainment News reporters Nicky G and Goose are sick and tired of people sitting at home on the weekends, waiting for someone to tell them what to do. Their new feature, the Arts Beat, is worth a look if you’re interested in the local arts scene. And if movies & the theatre aren’t your bag, remember that you can always find recommendations for alternative weekend activities on Thursdays, in our Party Line feature.

Five Awesome Things

5) How would you sum up the history of the universe? This guy did it in 182 words. When I posted this on Twitter, someone sent me a private message saying you could read this block of text like a Red Hot Chili Peppers song. And whaddya know, it works! Try it!

4) I maintain that Nick Park’s oft-silly Wallace & Gromit shorts are modern classics of animation. I’m not alone in that belief, but whether you agree with me or not, check out these 8 Cracking Facts About Wallace & Gromit from the mental_floss blog.

3) This one will only be funny to a very select segment of the population, but its brilliance had me in tears, I was laughing so hard: Frank Miller plans to adapt the most beloved comic of your childhood.

2) Now something with a bit broader appeal: the strangest sights in Google Street View. Everyone knows Street View is great when you need a visual aid in a discussion of George Orwell’s “1984,” but who knew the Google driver was so indifferent to things like physical violence, house fires and giant dinosaurs?

1) The Top 9 Video Game OCD Moments You Know You’re Guilty Of. This one will hit home with anyone who’s played any of these games. I always do #s 3 & 4, every single time I play. The fact that I’m not the only one is highly reassuring.