…and they apparently store all your important files. A 2-gig USB drive, in a Lego brick:

How cool is that?! Order one here!

From the NYT:

Federal immigration authorities yesterday unveiled 100 new questions immigrants will have to study to pass a civics test to become naturalized American citizens.

That got me thinking. How many natural-born Americans could pass the test?

From 2006 using the old test in downtown Roanoke:

QUESTION #1: What do the stars on the flag represent?

Michelle McGee said, “The freedom… the freedom of… uhhhh.”

Melissa Richards answered, “Stars represent colonies. I don’t know.”

And after a few minutes of thinking, Bethany Gramm said, “Isn’t that the amount of the states?

There we go. Finally. Old Glory’s 50 stars do represent the 50 states of the Union.

Let’s stick with numbers for our second question.

QUESTION #2: How many senators are there?

Daniel Colton of Roanoke said, “50.” Carol Conway, also from Roanoke, said, “There’s two from each state. So that would be 102 or 104.”

Roanoker Anne Perrin came in a little lower, saying, “Uhhh. 45?”

Dina Daniels from Boones Mill didn’t even give it a guess. “I have no idea.” Shirley Wright did have a guess, although it was a little high, saying, “125… maybe.”

And the right answer is, given to us by Matt Wiram from Roanoke, is 100. There are two senators from each state.

And from Jay Leno several years back:

Think you can answer these questions? Test yourself here. Good luck with #19. That should be the only one you miss!

Designed by: Kyle Cooper
Year: 2002

Designed by: Kyle Cooper
Year: 2004

News came today of a special effects technician that was killed while working on a stunt sequence for the new Batman film.

Stuntmen and those who work supporting stunt sequences in movies deserve more credit from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Just as there should be an Oscar for Best Film Title Sequence, there should be an Oscar for Best Stunt Sequence.

Of all the crew who work on a film, who besides the stunt crew are willing to be severely injured or risk death for their art and the film? How many costume designers, make-up artists, or film composers risk their safety and well-being for their job? And how many films have crucial scenes involving stunts and would not be the same film without those sequences?

The last major push for inclusion in the Oscar ceremony came in 2005, but as was previously done since 1990, the Academy said no.

It is beyond time to recognize this hard-working, injury-suffering group of people with an Oscar.

Just a random musing here: Wendy’s commercials used to be wholesome and innocuous, usually staring founder Dave Thomas, such as this one:

With Dave Thomas’s passing, Wendy’s marketing has taken on a new, shall I say, flavor:

Now what would Dave Thomas think about that? My, how times have changed.

Jerry Sanders, the Republican mayor of San Diego, who has a lesbian daughter, has reversed course and now supports gay marriage. Watch this incredibly moving announcement:

All I can think of while watching this is contrasting the father-of-a-lesbian Republican mayor’s heartfelt and poignant message with the less-than heartfelt messages of the father-of-a-lesbian Republican vice president.

Score one for reason, equality, and social justice.

(Nod: The DailyDish)

How fun, yet creepy, is this?

Bob Herbert at the New York Times has an editorial today discussing the proposed California initiative to split the state’s electoral votes by congressional district.

The proponents of the initiative understand completely that a constitutional crisis could damage the nation’s democratic process and undermine the legitimacy of a presidential election. In their view that’s preferable to a Republican defeat.

The interesting tidbit in the article is this:

Laurence Tribe, a Harvard law professor and one of the nation’s pre-eminent constitutional scholars, believes the initiative is blatantly unconstitutional. “Entirely apart from the politics,” he said, “this clearly violates Article II of the Constitution, which very explicitly requires that the electors for president be selected ‘in such manner as the Legislature’ of the state directs.”

Yep. California voters can’t change how the state allocates electoral votes. The legislature has to. Here it is, Article II, Section I, of the U.S. Constitution:

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress

This isn’t going to go away without a fight. Let’s hope reason and constitutionality win.

This Family Guy clip is loaded with humorous references, from Top Gun to airplane pilot and safety announcements to Star Wars to President Bush on September 11th. Check it out!

Today :-) turns 25.

Caution: Language at the very end may be offensive to some viewers.

Designed by: Laurent Brett, Specimen France
Year: 2005

A Ladies Home Journal article in 1900 made predictions for the future. One blog gives some commentary on our progress since the predictions.

(Nod: The Daily Dish)

Leave it to these goof balls to come up with the highlight of the evening:

And unlike the motion picture academy, the television academy awards best main title design. This year’s winner, “Dexter”:

And finally, what awards show can be complete without some controversy? This time it was censoring an anti-war message. It might have been because Sally Field used the word “god-damn,” but apparently that word is allowed to be said on TV.

Today the U.S. Constitution turns 220 years old. This document has weathered domestic strife, endured countless criticisms, and has undergone many recent interpretations and setbacks, but it has survived as a shining beacon of American ideals.

But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.

James Madison or Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Papers, No. 51

Designed by: Danny Yount
Year: 2005

Three generations of America’s Middle East involvement:

And yet Rudy Giuliani questions America’s foreign policy consequences.

Fun things to do with the hole in the middle of a CD, like this:

…until something else comes along. But for now, the Dubai Tower is both the tallest building and tallest free-standing structure in the world:

The Burj Dubai tower is now 555 metres (1,831.5 feet) tall and has surpassed the 553-metre- (1,824.9-feet) CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, which held the record for the world’s tallest free-standing structure since 1976, developers Emaar Properties said in a statement. […]

The developer announced in July that Burj Dubai, Arabic for Dubai Tower, had exceeded Taiwan’s Taipei 101 which is 508 metres (1,676.4 feet) tall, to become the tallest building in the world.

The building’s maximum height? It’s a secret.

…on getting along with others who are different than we:

They’re an odd couple in every sense but a monkey and a pigeon have become inseparable at an animal sanctuary in China.The 12-week-old macaque who was abandoned by his mother was close to death when it was rescued on Neilingding Island, in Goangdong Province.

After being taken to an animal hospital his health began to improve but he seemed spiritless until he developed a friendship with a white pigeon.

Cue the “awwwww”s.

(Photo: Photoshot)

Media Circus has an interesting commentary on the branding of terrorist organizations:

Ellen Butters [graphic designer]: This logo has the opposite problem. All the elements are integrated too much, to the point that you can’t tell what they are anymore. From a distance, you can’t really tell that those are fists, or that those are guns.

David Friedman [photographer]: True, but I don’t see any other terrorist logos with the fists straight out like that. So at least there’s some brand identity.

(Nod: The Daily Dish)

Designed by: Saul Bass
Year: 1955

Scientists are baffled at this giant web of spiders in Texas:

The spiders have collectivized. Who knew spiders were socialists?

A variety of spider species built on one another’s work to create a sprawling web that blanketed hundreds of yards of trees and shrubs at a north Texas park, according to entomologists who studied the unusual formation.Heavy rains early this summer created prime feeding conditions for the spiders, which worked collectively to spin a web that nearly covered a pond ripe with mosquitoes and other insects.

I wonder what it sounds like when you get close to the webs. With that many little creatures roaming around, there ought to be a cool sound. Rather, a creepy sound.

(Photo: Donna Garde / Texas Parks and Wildlife)

Designed by: Shadowplay Studio
Year: 2006

Designed by: MK12
Year: 2006

Here’s an extremely cool, well-programmed, and astoundingly powerful tool to keep you occupied for a while: Flash Earth. Enjoy!