Kinda Funny

If you got a kick out of the improveverywhere blue shirts mission, have a listen to Episode 286 of This American Life (my favorite radio show...I like to pass out that superlative, apparently). We happened to listen to that episode this weekend, and there was a good segment about improveverywhere...especially for you indie rock types who can imagine what it would be like to form a band, record a few songs, put them on your web site, go on your first tour, show up as unknowns for a show in NYC, and have 35 rabid fans go wild at your show.

This is one of those stories that sounds like a fake...like it's from The Onion, but it was reported in my favorite magazine (The Week), The Brussels Journal (whatever that is), and other Spanish-language sources.

Spain's Socialist government last week introduced a measure to grant the equivalent of human rights to gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and bonobos. The law would recognize great apes as "kinds of persons," protect them from mistreatment, and prohibit their use in circuses and scientific experiments. "We need to break the barrier between the species," said parliament member Francisco Garrido. Opponents, including the Catholic Church, said the proposal denigrated human beings. "Too much ‘progress' becomes ridiculous," said Archbishop Fernando Sebastian.

Not that I think it's a bad idea to be kind to the great apes. Insert obligatory Planet of the Apes reference. By the way, I've heard of bonobos on several science shows lately. For some folks, I think, bonobo society would sound like an attractive proposition.

Via my favorite magazine, The Week: from an article by Brian Tracey on MSNBC.com:

...a Reno, Nev. company has come up with a truly innovative solution: The Beerbelly -- a stealthy strap-on beer holder that disguises itself as a bulging stomach. According to the Ananova Web portal, the Beerbelly was the creation of three middle-aged men who wanted a way of sneaking beer into movies and ball games. The Beerbelly holds 80 ounces of your favorite brew, and at $34.95, the gizmo pays for itself when compared to consuming six ballpark beverages at $7 a pop, the inventors claim.

From an article on ESPN.com:

NFL defensive back Ricky Manning Jr. was arrested on suspicion of assault Sunday after a fight at a restaurant near the UCLA campus. Manning, a 25-year-old restricted free agent who signed a five-year, $21 million offer sheet with the Chicago Bears on Friday after three seasons with Carolina, was arrested at about 3 a.m. after he allegedly hit a man in the face along with four or five companions at a Denny's restaurant in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, said officer Mike Lopez, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department... According to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times, Los Angeles Police Department detective Robert Lewis said a group of people -- including Manning -- attacked a man in a Denny's after teasing him for working on a laptop computer. "The group began by making comments that the victim looked like a geek or a nerd," Lewis said, according to the Sun-Times. The newspaper quoted Lewis saying the victim complained to a Denny's manager. He was then punched in the face, then punched and kicked by multiple attackers until losing consciousness... "I was pretty down this morning because of the situation," Manning said."But when I found out I was a Chicago Bear, it kind of brought a little light to the day. ... I can't let something like this let me have a bad start to my football career in Chicago."

Yes, Ricky, after being arrested for beating someone, the important thing is to make sure it doesn't cause you to have a bad day.

Via my favorite magazine, The Week: from a Reuters article on MSNBC.com:

Among the crowing, slurs and insults being flung around in Mexico's presidential campaign, political ads in this country are even competing over which candidate has the greatest manhood... "We know why we are with Roberto. It's because he has big ones," says a farmer in a TV spot to promote Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, candidate Roberto Madrazo, running in third place in opinion polls. A radio ad for ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon, ranked second in polls, says the conservative is the one who could spur job creation because "he's got balls."