A Few Good Links Vol. I

In an attempt to increase the number of posts on this blog without forcing readers to wade through piles of drivel (ahhhhh I'm innocent! Really!), I've come up with new "periodical" blog post-type thing.... A Few Good Links.

(Yes, before you ask, A Few Good Men aired on TV the other night, and I'm ripping it off. Blatantly. So don't ask. And don't tell any Scientologists.)

Here goes. One link, one sentence. Sorta.

Why Saddam should have lived, Eroll Mendez, The Ottawa Citizen, January 3, 2007. I think Saddam's trial was nothing less than a bacchanal crap shoot, and this article agrees with me completely, hence my posting it (the headline, "why Saddam should have lived," is a hangman of a misnomer, though. Uh, shame on The Citizen's desk editors...).

Dick in a Box, Saturday Night Live digital short (link: YouTube), December 16, 2006. Step 1: watch this video; step 2: laugh until your lungs rupture; step 3: call 9/11, and remember, for legal purposes, that I warned you.

Canada past 'tipping point' on public smoking, Norma Greenaway, The Montreal Gazette, January 3, 2007. I don't know why The Gazette decided to put 'tipping point' in between apostrophes.

(OK, second sentence: I'm one of those 'health-freaks' who enjoys returning from a 'pub' sans needing to 'wash' a few dozen cigarettes' worth of 'nostalgia' out of my clothes, brain, hair and lungs included.)

Crunks '06: The Year in Media Errors and Corrections, Craig Silverman, Regret the Error, December 16, 2006. I'll let the howlers speak for themselves:

A headline on Page One on Saturday should have made clear that Oregon Health & Science University will be studying the effects of meth, not cooking it.

[...]

An editorial in Friday’s paper incorrectly stated that Florida Cresswell, a candidate for state representative in the 28th District, was convicted in 1999 of battery and stealing Tupperware. In fact he was convicted of stealing a battery from a van as well as Tupperware that was inside the van.

[...]

In Wednesday’s Taste section, a Washington Post recipe on Page F7 included an incorrect cooking time for carbonada (braised beef with onions and red wine). The dish should be cooked for 2 1/2 hours, not 10 to 20 minutes.

[...]

Following our article on Princess Eugenie’s birthday celebrations, we have been asked to point out the party was closely monitored by adults throughout and while a small amount of mess was cleared away at the end of the evening, there was no damage to furniture, no revellers dived into bedrooms in search of drunken romps and to describe the house as being trashed was incorrect. We are happy to make this clear and regret any distress our report caused. Link

An excerpt from the offending story:

ASTONISHED witnesses told last night how Princess Eugenie’s 16th birthday party descended into a drunken rave – with teenage guests snogging, boozing and being sick. Fifty youngsters had flocked to the Hooray Henry bash at the Duchess of York’s Pounds 10 million mansion. But rather than sitting down to a meal prepared by caterers, some began knocking back champagne, spirits and strong lager they had secretly smuggled in – and quickly became legless.
...The witness told how randy guests dived into BEDROOMS in search of drunken romps. Others PASSED out because they were so drunk, while several VOMITED inside the property. And rooms were TRASHED, with carpets stained and cigarettes stubbed out on furniture as the March 18 party continued into the early hours, to the strains of a blaring disco.

[...]

It has come to the editor's attention that the Herald-Leader neglected to cover the civil rights movement. We regret the omission.

Toyota vehicles to refuse drunk drivers, The Associated Press, January 3, 2007. Just a good idea.

Iraq War Coalition Fatalities, arranged in chronological order and superimposed on to a map of Iraq using Flash. Watch it, and make sure your computer speakers are turned on.

Last and probably least...

Lawyer Sayings, Quotes & Quotations. Evidence presented: "Make crime pay. Be a Lawyer."