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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Aug 29, 2012
August 29, 2012
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The Weather:
Hurricane Isaac made landfall last night in southeast Louisiana as a category one, with winds near 80mph.
The National Hurricane Center says the storm's center reached land in Plaquemines Parish, about 90 miles southeast of New Orleans. Today marks the seven-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the region. Residents there have been hunkering down behind levees fortified after Katrina struck.
While not as powerful as Katrina, Isaac threatens to flood the coasts of four states with storm surge and heavy rains --it is a big, slow-moving storm, and will test a New Orleans levee system bolstered after the catastrophic failures during Katrina. (Maiman)Fast Food:
Mmmmmm, beeeer: French industrial designer PETIT ROMAIN has created the "Heineken Cube."
According to the LA Times, this could do for beer what the box packaging has done for wine. Still just a design concept, it's a long way from your local package store shelf. But Romain says his square glass unit's "minimalist form" would lead to "significant fuel economy during transport," making for a more "economical and ecological" way to drink because of the storage efficiency. (Kaye)Trash talk and satellite dish:
Warning: note sexual and drug content.
Was PRINCE HARRY's game of strip billiards the G-rated portion of fun during his trip to fabulous Las Vegas? Sources tell RadarOnline.com a guest at the shindig took some video of the royal partying with three women in his bedroom and there have been a few "very quiet inquiries" to see how much the footage is worth. Even worse? One guest at the shindig says a few of his new buddies were using cocaine and hallucinogenic mushrooms. Word is the video is worth a small fortune and could kick off the biggest scandal in the history of Buckingham Palace. (Lee)Chic Sh*t?:
Just in time for back to school shopping: Urban Outfitters is selling a controversial line of pro-drinking t-shirts. The slogans include:
--"I Vote For Vodka"
--"USA Drinking Team."
--"I Drink You're Cute." (for added effect, the letters use a blurry font on this one.)
Yahoo News says Urban Outfitters' target market is young adults age 18 to 24. Their secondary target demographic is kids 18 and under. Mothers Against Drunk Driving is --obviously-- opposed to the shirts. JAN WITHERS, MADD's national president says that "Marketing [alcohol-related products] to teens is not in any way acceptable."
Editor's Note: Urban Outfitters hasn't commented yet on the controversy. But bad taste masked as "ironic humor" is their marketing specialty. And idiots masked as hipsters are their target market. The shirts cost $30 bucks. If you're spending that much on a t-shirt, you're not in on the joke. You are the joke. (Bartha)Grace notes:
If there is life on Mars, they already hate our music. Yesterday, NASA broadcast WILL.I.AM's new single, "Reach For The Stars" on the surface of the red planet, through the Curiosity rover. Will was with a group of school kids in Pasadena to see and hear this event.
FYI: Back in 1977, the Voyager spacecraft was sent up with records and a record player for an intelligent extraterrestial life to listen to. We got a message back from space, "Send More Chuck Berry!" (Marino) -
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