Friday, August 05, 2005

Brain-dead mom makes headlines!

The story of the pregnant brain-dead woman who was kept alive by her family (thanks to more than $400,000 in donations, many from "pro-life" sympathizers, who demonstrate again that Jesus cares much more for a well-off white woman's fetus than he does for, say, the millions of starving people in Niger. But I do go off ...) is very sad.

The headlines, however, are kind of funny.

A representative sampling:
Brain-dead woman has a baby girl [Press Telegram]
Brain-dead woman's fetus hits milestone [Wired News]
Odds good for baby of brain-dead woman [Chicago Sun-Times]
Doctors in U hope brain-dead woman will give birth [News-Medical.net]

Google Ads wants to help you thrive

I just noticed that Google Ads is serving up some wonderful treats based on the recent content of this blog. "Have you got depression?" "Suicide thoughts?" "Need to talk?" "Online depression therapy." Given what's in the news lately, why not?

And speaking of what's in the news ...

The following could kill you:
Pancreatitis
"That old lady that lives up the hall and depends on her monthly check to lay in a thirty day supply of cat food? She could kill you at any moment just by walking past you and sneezing. I know a lot of people claim that you can't get AIDS from casual contact by I'm not buying it. If you're a store owner just touching a Social Security check can get you infected. I'm telling you gotta be careful. Nurse! More Halderol, Stat!"

The following could be fatal:
A
hoax that distracts rescue workers during a real emergency (registration required)
Being a transgendered, HIV-positive Honduran
woman in the U.S. who's sent back to Honduras
"a continuous stream of
electricity "
Tailgating, stopping short in front of , or creeping up on a
motorcyclist
The rays of the
sun on a sunny day
Receiving the
wrong medication for your congestive heart disease
Candor
If Michigan's offense
slips a gear
Slow-release painkillers and alcohol, together 4vr

Wondering what all this talk of death is about? See my
original post.

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Falling mannequin becomes falling celebrities

The falling mannequin Web trifle I first read about on BoingBoing (see post) now comes in Bush, Blair, Bono, and Hilton (with handbag, of course) flavors. What I can't figure out is whether this is another Hamster Dance phenomenon or by all the same person. It seems the former.

Wow. I haven't thought about the Hamster Dance in a long time.

Expressing your road rage could be fatal and other things to fear

Wow, being really behind on work can be fatal to your blog. My month-long experiment with fatality warnings in the news is nearing completion. But it's not quite over yet.

The following could kill you:
Being sat upon by a
large cat in South Beach, to miniature dogs
Ronan Dex
Being sprayed by car fluids

The following could be fatal:
Heat stroke
Tuberculosis
Complacency
Expressing your road rage
Humans, to the rattle snake
"a
repeat of last week's fumbling effort against the Bulldogs" by the Broncos
West Nile Virus, but apparently buying mosquito-eating fish helps
The
undersoil heating system installed at Falkirk Football Club
Heart
arrhythmias
Flawed policy
Retinoblastoma
Meliodosis, a disease caused by bacteria in the soil
Highway-construction delays, to people with a rare form of
hemophilia
Ruptured aortic aneurysm
Streamlining Louisville, Kentucky's fire department
Park
ban, for band that plays there
A delay in Iraq's
adoption of its new constitution
Dengue fever
Loss of productivity due to bomb attacks, to London businesses
Car crash (registration required)

Wondering what all this talk of death is about? See my original post.