FUBAR!

Ok so FUBAR! from now on is when a story, like the one I'm about to put forth, is just so weird and not comprehensive that you just say "what?!" Like this 33-year-old Czech woman managed to fool teachers and child care workers in that she was a 13-year-old boy! What?! Barbora Skrlova, 5-foot-2, shaved her head, bound her breasts and fooled a school in Oslo, Norway, for months into thinking she was a 13-year-old boy named Adam. School principal, Ingjerd Eriksen explained, "We did react to Adam's behavior. But it's not easy to know. Children at that age can be so different." Tell me about it!  They discovered her after "Adam" had gone missing from a children's home which prompted a nationwide search. She was deported back to the Czech Republic and detained, though it now appears that this was not her first acting job. She once posed as an adopted 13-year-old girl in the city of Bruno in the Republic. One more time, all together now: WHAT?!?

D.E.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

The Diary Of Anne Frank: The Musical?

Anne Frank, the Jewish girl who chronicled her life during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, has been revered by many around the world. She tells a tale of fear, hiding and sorrow. Her diary has been translated into 60 languages (one of the most widely read books in the world with 25 million copies sold), her story made into plays and films. But now, someone in Madrid  has decided to innovate where others have not in the last 60 years and transform the story into a musical! The Anne Frank Foundation, the rights holders for the diary, those who once turned down Steven freakin' Spielberg's proposal for a movie, gave their support. Jan Erik Dubbelman of the Foundation explains, "This production respects the message of tolerance, within the tragedy, that we want to keep alive. Being in Spanish, it can also help to take the message of Anne Frank to Latin America." 

But you said it Jan, it's a tragedy. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that while music is a great way to transmit emotions to the audience, I don't see how well a bunch of actors singing-a-long or dancing can transmit feelings of despair. Is this not what you truly want to convey to the Latin America? Although, I have to be honest, while I've heard quite a bit about the story, I've never actually read the diary, so I could be missing something here. If you think I'm wrong let me know...

D.E.

Source: The Guardian 

Image Source: johnnyalive on flickr

Man Hunted Down By His Own Dog!

In Houston, a chocolate Labrador retriever named Arthur, stepped on a loaded shotgun in the back of his owner's pickup truck, creating a blast that "pierced the vehicle" and hit the hunter's leg, according to local sheriff. The man, Perry Price, a 46-year-old math teacher, had gone goose hunting. After shooting one, he put it in his truck's bed while awaiting the dog to retrieve it. The dog then shot his so-called "best friend." Price was brought to a local hospital, but due to massive loss of blood, the doctors were unable to revive him. Now, was this really an "accident"? Did the dog not have motive to shoot his master? Or is this part of a much larger conspiracy?! Are all dogs coming for us?? Should we all lock up our dogs in their dog houses?!? You, the readers decide!

D.E.

Update: Ok, so I realize, now having reread my post (yeah I read my own blog), that I may have been a little insensitive with the story. After all, a man did die by accident and guns are no laughing matter. If you're thinking about getting a gun, really, think hard. They are not simply "cool", they can end someone's life. If you do own one, use the upmost safety when hiding it, having it on you or using it. Accidents like the one above shouldn't happen.

Source: Reuters

Image Source: smellyknee on flickr

Clarkson Victim Of £500 Theft!

I love Jeremy Clarkson. I find him hilarious. From his rants, to his pranks or to his outrageous segments on the BBC's automotive show Top Gear. Really he brings the fun back into cars, taking away from the mechanical engineering aspect many other programs give (and most people have zero understanding of) and giving voice to your gut feelings. This time, Clarkson published his bank account details on his column for The Sun to prove the point that there's nothing to worry about losing their personal information because, as he stated, "All you'll be able to do with them is put money into my account. Not take it out." As you can surmise from the title of this post, he is now out £500. When good ol' Jeremy checked his bank statement days after the article, he noticed he had recently "donated" £500 to a diabetes charity in the UK. He admits, now being a victim of identity theft, that he was wrong. He should let the charity keep its donation rather than try to reclaim it. Though mind you, he might have trouble convincing the bank that he was a victim given that he very well brought this upon himself.

D.E.

Source: Autoblog

Image Source: hegarty david on flickr

Sex Beat Out As Most Popular Search Term In China

In the past few years, its become tradition, even in the media, to analyze which were the most popular search terms on Google in the past year. Checking out the Google 2007 Year-End Zeitgeist, you will notice (*SHOCK*) that "iPhone" has been the fastest growing search term. However, one would assume that the term that is most widely searched for is going to be something like "sex" right? Well not in China at least. The second most connected nation (and soon to be the first with 162M people) was more interested in making money than watching porn this year as "the names of three banks and word 'stocks' beat 'sex' to become the four most Googled words." Coming from a socialist country and even given that Shanghai shares grew 97% in the last year, it's a little interesting and odd wouldn't you say?!

D.E.

Source: Reuters

Image Source: netzkobold on flickr

Warner Goes Blu!

Hard not to notice the next-generation, high-definition disc, format war that's been imposed upon us consumers by the Blu-ray Disk Association and the DVD Forum. You may or may not understand it, but with the advertisements on movie releases and their prominence in Best Buy and Circuit City retail stores throughout North America, chances are you at least know of the existence of Blu-ray and its competitor, HD-DVD. Here's a quick rundown: First Blu-ray had the upperhand with a larger installed base (thanks to the built-in player in PS3's) and more studios supporting it. Then HD-DVD got Paramount to go exclusively HD-DVD (rumored for a sum of $150 million) and sold players at Wal-Mart for around $100 over a weekend, improving their install base. So up until yesterday, we were at a stalemate.

Yesterday, Warner Bros., one of the largest producers of movies and t.v. shows in the world, announced that due to sales figures, they were going to go exclusively Blu-ray by May 2008 (That noise you're hearing is coming from those guys still partying over at the Blu-ray camp). Subsequently, HD-DVD responded to the decision by expressing their "particular disappointment," reaffirming their "belief that HD-DVD is the format best suited to the wants and needs of the consumer" and that they were canceling their press conference at CES, the biggest consumer electronics trade show. In the words of Ryan Block over at Engadget: daaamn. 

Personally, I haven't put much money in the war myself. I bought a PS3, which incidentally is a Blu-ray disc player, and I bought 300 on Blu-ray (sick movie!). That's all! This is because, like many people, I'm waiting (or was waiting) for a definitive winner. Let's say that these latest developments are reassuring me and my purchases quite a bit. 

D.E.

Source: Engadget (Warner story) / Engadget (HD-DVD story)

DRM Is Dead! (At Least For Music Anyways)

Sony BMG, the last DRM holdout of the big 4 major music labels, famous for the root-kit scandal, has finally caved! (but not completely) Sony will be offering at least part of its catalog DRM-free in the first quarter of this beautiful new year of ours. Again this is only for the Amazon store so far and only in the United States. With Macworld in a couple of weeks, we could be seeing a similar announcement for iTunes. But I would like to take a minute to talk about us Canadians. Too often are we pushed to the side because we are a relatively small market (32 million compared to 300 million) or treated as a nation of pirates because our copyright system hasn't been updated to deal with our new digital world. I don't mean to pontificate but here are a few facts:

• Digital music sales growth in Canada has surpassed that of the U.S. for the second year in a row. This year with 73% compared to 45%.
• Digital Album sales growth this year has been 93% for Canada and 53% in America.
• Album sales decline in the last year has been 9.5% in the U.S. of A. and, wait for it.... only 6.4% in Canada.

Give us a break already and be good neighbors!

D.E.

Source: Businessweek / Michael Geist's Blog