News, Sports

9 Worse Calls Than Jim Joyce’s Flub

Carmel Lobello :: Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 5:49 pm

I think we can all agree that today is a great day to not be MLB umpire, Jim Joyce. After ruining Armando Galarra’s perfect game last night by erroneously calling a grounder to first base safe, Joyce has spent the day under vicious, unrelenting fire from fans, the press, and even U.S. Senators. After watching the tapes himself, he emotionally admitted that he had messed with baseball history and made one of the worst calls of his career. In an effort to ease some of the pressure on Joyce, we made a list of what we believe are nine far worse calls that have been made in the last century: MORE »

One Man’s Quest to Be an Esquire Man

Matt Kiebus :: Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 4:00 pm

In their Summer 2010 issue, Esquire devised guidelines for how men are supposed to age. They published a list that details the transitions men make and the transitions they should make between the ages 18 and 59 years old. Since I recently turned 23 I decided to check how poorly I match up with the Esquire ideal, and how I see myself aging in the future. MORE »

Download: Dirty Projectors Cover Bob Dylan

Gray Hurlburt :: Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 1:20 pm

It’s only natural for Dirty Projectors to pay tribute to Bob Dylan, by covering his hauntingly tinctured “I Saw St. Augustine,” from the sparse 1968 album John Wesley Harding. After all, just about everyone does a Dylan at one point in their musical career. For a recent example, look to Sufjan Stevens’ waltzing rendition of “Ring Them Bells.” Now the imaginative, pop-progressionists have their fun with Mr. Zimmerman, which is more appealing for a cover than you can ask for…for free, as a download. MORE »

Apartment Gardens: Hipster Trend or City Zen?

Johnny Sanford :: Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 12:15 pm

Few things scream “Hipster” like an apartment garden. But this Spring, when visiting my family in a small village about twenty miles due east of Albany, New York, I found something in the garage that struck my interest. A small cardboard box with a monsterous tomato plant hanging out of an upside down vinyl bag which is “as seen on TV.” It’s called a Topsy Turvy, and I was intrigued. And just like that, the seed was planted in my mind as the frost began to subside in late March. After placing the nearly pristine Topsy Turvy in with my bag of clothes, I had this sudden excitement bubbling up within me: “No more buying tomatoes!” I quietly thought to myself. MORE »

Listen: No Age Debut Three New Songs In Portugal

Gray Hurlburt :: Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 11:45 am

Last week, No Age’s Dean Spunt had his head used like a punching bag in Lisbon, where he and some buddies went out after a show and met some bouncers who really didn’t like the “English.” Ouch! Unfazed by the violence, he and Randy Randall went on to play again in Portugal, showing off three new songs—one of which is “really new”! Check out the new songs here, where you can also hear the full recording. [Prefix]

Gary Coleman 911 Call Released

Johnny Sanford :: Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 11:30 am

There’s a lurid aspect to celebrity deaths: the 911 call. This spring has already been the start of a monumental death march, with the loss of iconic Easy Rider Dennis Hopper (also had a great cameo on “Demon Days” as the narrator of the Gorillaz track “Fire Coming Out of the Monkey’s Head”), and the bite-sized actor/security guard Gary Coleman. In the latter case, the 911 call has been released in relation to his death, but the details are a bit fuzzy. “There’s blood everywhere!” his ex-wife Shannon Price screams to the operator, according to Associated Press. MORE »

Christina Hendricks in Broken Bells Video

Alex Moore :: Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 11:00 am

What’s the best thing about Broken Bells? Christina Hendricks.

Then again, what’s the best thing about anything Christina Hendricks does? Christina Hendricks.

Apparently Hendricks is a bit of a science fiction aficionado, has been known to attend Sc-Fi conventions, and the video is a kind of sexy Star Wars redux with a better Princess Leia.

There’s a subplot where she has to remove body parts and submit them as bank payments. They leave her most celebrated asset out of the story, but I guess that would be too obvious. Continue reading to watch the video. MORE »

Can Al-Qaeda Be Killed?

Andrew Belonsky :: Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 10:30 am

The assassination of Al-Qaeda leader Mustafa Abu al-Yazid this week has people wondering if the terrorist organization, long the world’s collective super villain, will soon be a thing of the past. Good thing I’ve been researching that very question for a little over a month. The short answer is, “Yes, probably.” The long answer is: “Not on your life.” MORE »

Here’s the News, Which is Coke.

Andrew Belonsky :: Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 6:30 pm

Sigh. No wonder journalism’s in the pits: MSNBC, USA Today and at least one hundred other outlets and websites are harping on how Coke mixed with Mentos can propel a “rocket car.” That car’s sponsored by Coca-Cola itself, and offers a glimpse of how deep branding has burrowed into our lives.
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Kid Loses Nut From “Sack Tapping”

Carmel Lobello :: Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 4:23 pm

This just in: punching your friends in the nuts as hard as you can is a terrible idea. “Sack Tapping”, the extremely popular high school “game” of seeing who can withstand the hardest blow to the groin has recently resulted in a kid having to have his testicle surgically removed. I’m not a urologist, or even a boy for that matter, but I totally could have told that kid that the “winner” of that game is actually the loser. Here are a couple other popular activities that look from here like they will eventually result in a hospital visit: MORE »

Ted Haggard Starts New “Church,” Invites You To His House

Alex Moore :: Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 4:00 pm

Ted Haggard, the anti-gay, anti-drug former leader of the National Association of Evangelicals who was booted from his religious post for paying for sex with men and buying drugs, just invited you over to his house this Sunday. Literally. MORE »

10 of The Most Racist Bands Touring America?

Stephen Blackwell :: Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 2:31 pm

Zach de la Rocha and Kanye West are rounding up artists to circumvent the state of Arizona while routing their summer tours and now Belinda Carlisle of Go-Gos fame has had the Lilith Fair Arizona date be cancelled. The artist ban on Arizona is in protest of the controversial SB-1070 law, which empowers police to profile denizens of Arizona in an effort to root out illegal immigrants.

The controversial law, often referred to as the “Papers Please” law, is viewed by lefties and artists as tyrannical and oppressive. Artists that have honored the activist call include Conor Oberst, Rage Against the Machine, Rise Against, Cypress Hill, Joe Satriani (!), Sonic Youth, Tenacious D, and Michael Moore.

But what should we make of the artists who haven’t? Touring artists will continue to make their way through Arizona this summer. Do they view West and de la Rocha’s activism as overwrought, ambitious and publicity hungry? Do they not care? Are they letting capitalism trump morality (Phoenix is a “top-tier” market, after all)? Or are they perhaps a little bit racist? Here’s a smattering of artists still hitting The Grand Canyon State: MORE »

Homeland Security Fail - Rene Gagnon Not A Terrorist

Amy Laviero :: Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 2:00 pm

Street artist Rene Gagnon’s self-portrait has been making appearances all over the world since 2005, although his most recent cameo at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, VA, has caused quite a stir among the Department of Homeland Security. After one of Gagnon’s stickers was found on a trashcan in the airport, DHS sent out an e-mail with a photo attachment, asking anyone with information to “please contact [a] local InfraGard Cooredinator and/or DHS SA.” Government Security News ran an article describing the sticker as “highly unusual,” with “a man clad in a long black jacket, all black pants, shirt, boots and baseball cap with his arms outstretched, his gaze pointed upwards and a bomb prominently attached to his chest.” Gagnon responded to the incident on his website: MORE »

Conan Returns Home… For a Couple Nights

Matt Kiebus :: Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 1:45 pm

America’s funniest ginger not named Carrot Top returned home last night. Conan O’Brien’s Legally Prohibited from Being on Television Tour reached New York City last night, performing the first of two nights at Radio City Music Hall. A mere 200 feet away from NBC headquarters the lanky redhead delighted the crowd with his wacky variety show. Being back in the city that made him famous O’Brien invited some of his famous friends to join in on the fun and Vampire Weekend to play a tune. MORE »

Political Theater, Melodrama, and the BP Investigation

Stephen Blackwell :: Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 12:45 pm

By the time Barack Obama was sworn in in January 2009, he had already introduced several initiatives that would define his presidency, namely the public healthcare option, the shuttering of Guantanamo Bay, and an economic stimulus package powerful enough to galvanize our wilting economy. MORE »