Stonehenge Solved?

"The Readers"

"FOR a quarter of a century, surveys of reading habits by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), a federally-funded body, have been favourite material for anyone who thinks America is dumbing down. Susan Jacoby, author of “The Age of American Unreason”, for example, cites the 2007 NEA report that “the proportion of 17-year-olds who read nothing (unless required to do so for school) more than doubled between 1984 and 2004.”

So it is a surprise that this bellwether seems to have taken a turn for the better. This week the NEA reported that, for the first time since 1982 when its survey began, the number of adults who said they had read a novel, short story, poem or play in the past 12 months had gone up, rising from 47% of the population in 2002 to over 50% in 2008.*
"

http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12941110

Kid Cudi

This song took bit of time to warm up to but it's dope:

Benjamin Button...Crazy!!

Leona Lewis is VERY pretty

FDIC Insured Jet Memberships

 

Everybody's scared about their money getting vaporized...even the super-rich

Conan guest..hilarious - "Everything's amazing and nobody's happy"

Burn E - A side story from the movie Wall E

Slumdog Millionaire

Well worth a watch

Bill Ackman on how to deal with GM, Fannie and Freddie

Rotoscoping

"In Heartless, director Hype Williams uses a method called Rotoscoping. It’s an animation technique in which illustrators trace over live-action film movement and turn it into animation. Originally, pre-recorded films were projected onto frosted glass panels and re-drawn by an animator, but now it’s all computers. This technique allows animators to perfectly emulate a character’s idiosyncrasies, even someone as complex and nuanced as Kanye West! " - Complex


Other examples of rotoscoping:



Link: http://www.complex.com/blogs/2008/11/07/how-kanye-made-the-heartless-video/

Largest Bankruptcies

Company	Bankruptcy Date	Total Assets Pre-Bankruptcy	Total assets pre-bankruptcy in 2007 US dollars[6]	Filing Court District
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.	2008-09-15	$639,063,000,000	?	NY-S
Washington Mutual	2008-09-26	$327,913,000,000	?	DE
Worldcom Inc.	2002-07-21	$103,914,000,000	FY2007 US$119,716,589,862	NY-S
Enron Corp.*	2001-02-12	$63,392,000,000	FY2007 US$74,229,508,197	NY-S
Conseco, Inc.	2002-12-18	$61,392,000,000	FY2007 US$70,728,110,599	IL-N
Texaco, Inc.	1987-04-12	$35,892,000,000	FY2007 US$62,638,743,455	NY-S
Financial Corp. of America	1988-09-09	$33,864,000,000	FY2007 US$57,010,101,010	CA-C
Refco Inc.	2005-10-17	$33,333,172,000	FY2007 US$35,385,532,909	NY-S
Global Crossing Ltd.	2002-01-28	$30,185,000,000	?	NY-S
Pacific Gas and Electric Co.	2001-04-06	$29,770,000,000	Fy2007 US$34,859,484,778	CA-N
UAL Corp.	2002-12-09	$25,197,000,000	?	IL-N
Delta Air Lines, Inc.	2005-09-14	$21,801,000,000	?	NY-S

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapter_11,_Title_11,_United_States_Code

Women might take over America

http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2008/11/girl-power-females-dominate-higher.html

Love This...Heartless Video

Heartless from kwest on Vimeo.

I.O.U.S.A.

A 30-minute short version of the full movie that details the potential consequences of the US debt. Target audience is an average American.

Nanoscaffolding - US Military Regrows Limbs and Organs

"The technology works by placing a very fine apparatus called a scaffold, which is made of polymer fibres hundreds of times finer than a human hair, in place of a missing limb or damaged organ. The scaffold acts as a guide for cells to grab onto so they can begin to rebuild missing bones and tissue. The tissue grows through tiny holes in the scaffold, in the same way a vine snakes its way up a trellis."


Link to Article 

Riding Dirty

Ten flips and a completely torn up shoulder later...worth it?

AHH! My beloved home state..

from Calculatedrisk.blogspot.com:

"As the California recession deepens, the state is facing an enormous budget deficit ... 

From the LA Times: Schwarzenegger calls for sales tax hike, cuts in services

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled a plan today for a steep sales tax increase, new levies on alcoholic drinks and the oil industry, and deep cuts in services to wipe out a budget shortfall that is expected to swell to more than $24 billion by the middle of 2010.

The linchpin of the plan is the sales tax increase of 1 1/2 cents on the dollar, which could raise $10.8 billion through fiscal 2009-10. ...

The governor also wants a number of significant spending reductions, including cuts of $2.5 billion from schools and community colleges.

This proposal would push the LA sales tax rate to 10.25% - Yikes!

Tax increases and budget cuts during a recession usually just make the recession worse. My guess is the next stimulus plan from the U.S. government will include some relief for state and local governments."