Odds and Ends, Wed 3 December 2008
1. "Mystery piano in woods perplexes police"
<http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/11/23/massachusetts.piano/>
"Was it a theft? A prank? A roundabout effort to bring some holiday
cheer to the police? Authorities in Harwich, Massachusetts, are probing
the mysterious appearance of a piano, in good working condition, in the
middle of the woods."
2. "One Woman's Story as Told by Shuffle Mode"
<http://www.macnewsworld.com/rsstory/65330.html>
"How much can someone tell about you by looking at what's on your iPod?
Try this -- set your iPod on shuffle mode, then write up a list of Big
Life Events. Each milestone gets its own randomly selected theme song,
for better or for worse, and the result is your life's soundtrack. One
thing it taught Amanda Deprospero: She needs to clean out her
playlists."
3. "Barry Manilow music used as punishment"
<http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/27/2430951.htm>
"A US judge has hailed as a success a new form of punishment for people
who go to court for being too noisy - an hour of listening to Barry
Manilow or the theme tune from the children's TV show Barney And
Friends."
4. "Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year 2008"
<http://www.merriam-webster.com/info/08words.htm>
"With politics and the economy foremost on the minds of many, it is no
wonder that bailout -- a word ubiquitously featured in discussions of
the presidency and fiscal policy -- took home honors as Merriam-
Webster's Word of the Year for 2008."
5. "Oxford compiles list of top ten irritating phrases"
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/debates/3394545/Oxford-
compiles-list-of-top-ten-irritating-phrases.html>
"Heading the list was the expression 'at the end of the day', which was
followed in second place by the phrase 'fairly unique'."
6. "Life Is A Highway: Study Confirms Cars Have Personality"
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081125161542.htm>
"Now a study co-authored by a Florida State University researcher has
confirmed through a complex statistical analysis that many people see
human facial features in the front end of automobiles and ascribe
various personality traits to cars -- a modern experience driven by
our prehistoric psyches."
7. "Man petitions to marry comic book character"
<http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/30/2405987.htm>
"A Japanese man has enlisted hundreds of people in a campaign to allow
marriages between humans and cartoon characters, saying he feels more
at ease in the 'two-dimensional world.'"
8. "The Matrix Runs on Windows"
<http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1886349>
9. "Star Wars Vs. Star Trek"
<http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=v4ijDlbvAxw>
