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Don Herbert, who explained the wonderful world of science to millions children on his Nickelodeon cable TV show "Mr. Wizard's World", has died after a long battle with multiple myeloma. He was 89.

Herbert used basic experiments to teach scientific principles to his TV audience via an in-studio guest boy or girl who assisted in the experiments. Herbert liked to perform his scientific experiments as "tricks" to get the kids hooked, then explain the science behind it later.

Herbert wrote several books, including "Mr. Wizard's Supermarket Science" and "Mr. Wizard's Experiments for Young Scientists."

In recent years, he helped set up his website mrwizardstudios.com.

[Via latimes.com]

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Labels: tv

Today Apple posted a page detailing the cost of the iPhone rate plans (US). And they aren't as bad as most people had thought. All plans have unlimited data (nice!) - $60 for 450 minutes, $80 for 900 minutes and $100 for 1350 minutes. Existing AT&T customers can add unlimited data for $20 - $40 with a varying number of text messages.

• All iPhone service plans include Visual Voicemail and unlimited data — Internet and email — so you only have to decide how many minutes and SMS text messages you need. You’ll select your plan when you activate your iPhone using iTunes on your computer.
  
  
• If you’re already an AT&T customer and want to keep your current voice plan, you can just add an iPhone Data Plan with unlimited data (email and web) and Visual Voicemail for just $20 per month.
  

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Labels: gadgets

Good news for Apple TV and the iPhone. Starting today, Apple TV owners can start watching YouTube content on their TV sets. YouTube content will also be available to the iPhone when it officially launches on June 29th.

Apple TV users can download a free update via the built-in software update option to enable a new YouTube content menu. An option to "check for updates" is listed under the Apple TV settings screen.

iPhone users will be able to enjoy YouTube's originally-created content on their iPhones when they begin shipping on June 29. A YouTube player application on the iPhone will wirelessly stream YouTube's videos to the iPhone over Wi-Fi or EDGE networks and play it on iPhone's 3.5 inch display.



Both AppleTV and the iPhone will play YouTube content that has been reencoded into Apple's h.264 video format. 10,000 of YouTube's videos have been converted so far with the remainder expected by the fall. An Apple press release claims that h.264 was chosen "to achieve higher video quality and longer battery life on mobile devices."

Reports coming out of WWDC 2007 say that one of Apple's justifications of avoiding Flash video playback on the iPhone is improved battery life. The iPhone contains dedicated hardware capable of playing h.264 content, while Flash content would require more intensive use of the iPhone's CPU, resulting in higher battery drain.

You can read a review of the Apple TV here.


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There have been many dicks in the annals of baseball. I’m not talking about Ty Cobb or Barry Bonds. I’m talking Dick Cox and Dick Manville. Dick Hoover and Dick Pole. To date, 131 Dicks have taken the field as part of Major League Baseball (not including dicks of the lowercase variety). But there’s also been at least one Kuntz. One Boozer. And one Putz. The history of bizarre, bawdy and just plain bad baseball names is long and fascinating. This is a tribute to those men who lost out in the lottery of baseball names (this is also a chance to laugh at them).

KUNTZ AND RANDYS

RUSTY KUNTZ Kuntz had a .236 lifetime batting average — seems his bat was rusty, too. Good ol’ Rusty. I cherish my Rusty Kuntz baseball cards more than anything. They’re worth about a nickel apiece, but the joy I got out of seeing the name “Rusty Kuntz” is priceless. He inspired this list and my fascination for bad baseball names. Thanks, Kuntz!

RANDY JOHNSON It sounds like a nice enough name — then, upon further inspection, you’ll discover it is the filthiest name in baseball history. Let’s do the math. Randy = horny. As in “Do I make you randy?” Johnson = penis. As in “My johnson itches in this jock!” That makes Randy Johnson a double threat and just another way of saying “horny penis.” Maybe it’s not a coincidence that his nickname is the Big Unit, which, again, is just another way of saying “horny penis.” (Note: To be fair, there have been three Randy Johnsons in the history of baseball. The other two were position players in the early ’80s.)

RANDY BUSH Just as Superman has Bizarro, Randy Johnson has Randy Bush. Unfortunately, the baseball gods never saw fit to have these two double sexual innuendoes face each other. Outfielder Randy B. was in the American League while pitcher Randy J. was in the National, so the world never got to see what would happen if a randy bush squared off against a randy johnson. We know who’d win this one, though, don’t we fellas?

A GAYLORD, A BOOZER, A PUTZ

GAYLORD PERRY Truly one of my all-time favorite baseball names. He was not only named Gaylord. And Perry. He was famous for spitting on his balls. Gaylord Perry has the gayest name since the late 19th century infielder Pussyfoot Hymen. But Pussyfoot isn’t in the Hall of Fame, is he?

TIM SPOONEYBARGER His name doesn’t have any sexual connotation. It’s just freakin’ stupid. Say it out loud. Spooney-barger! Now, try not to laugh. Spooneybarger hasn’t played in the big leagues since 2003. Maybe he’d do better as an H.R. Pufnstuf character.

JUNG BONG Sounds like a character in a Cheech and Chong movie. If the Korean pitcher was about 30 years older, we could have seen a match up with this guy…

JOHN BOOZER It’s one of those match-ups baseball fan dream about…Bob Gibson vs. Nolan Ryan…Roger Clemens vs. Sandy Koufax…but wouldn’t you rather see the outcome of Boozer vs. Bong? It would answer a lot of questions, wouldn’t it?

J.J. PUTZ It’s a pretty bad name. But when you learn what his parents really wanted to name him, you realize he got lucky. I mean, would Topps even print a baseball card with the name Pussyfart McQueef?

DOE BOYLAND I just like this one because it sounds like the name of Michael Jackson’s next estate.

COCO CRISP Mmmm…Coco Crisp





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Labels: silly

Chances are, you have at least one coworker with a tendency to "let one go" at the office. Hopefully you don't work in cramped cubicle farm. It's not exactly a fun time. Especially when the said fart "lingers" and someone has overkill the room with Axe Body Spray (Paul).

Honestly, we all blow hot air from time-to-time... whether it be talking smack to our boss about how busy we are, or literally blowing hot air after a big Mexican lunch (Chris). In the latter case, it’s good to know we have back up from the good folks at Thanko.


She looks pretty happy. I wonder what she ate for lunch.
The Thanko USB seat vent is designed to cool off that hot seat of yours while increasing air flow to the immediate area. Greg at GetUSB.info proudly filed this under useless USB gadgets. That's probably because he doesn't know Chris or Paul.

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Labels: gadgets

American broadcast network, NBC, has removed the shroud of secrecy around their new controversial reality dating series called Age of Love.

The series centers on Melbourne tennis champion Mark Philippoussis (age 31) as he's wooed by a group of 13 special ladies. What Philippoussis doesn't know is that these women range in age from 21 to 48. Will he go for one of the younger gals (Kittens), or will he become smitten by someone more mature (Cougars)?

Age of Love's "Kittens" will feature six young, enthusiastic women in their 20's who could probably better keep-up with Philippoussis' fast-paced lifestyle, while the "Cougars" will consist of seven women in their 40's who are more sophisticated and thus probably better equipped to deal with his fame as a tennis pro.

Watch This Channel | Channels by NBC
View more Partners channels | More VMIX videos | Embed this channel

Similar to the manner in which the "geek versus hunks" twists on NBC's Average Joe reality dating shows played out, Philippoussis will initially be introduced to his older "Cougars" suitors. Later, he will learn that the younger "Kittens" -- who will also initially be unaware of the "Cougars" and vice versa -- will also be attempting to vie for his affection.

Once the "Cougars" meet the "Kittens," the claws come out and all the bachelorettes will try to win him over. From there, the field of suitors will be narrowed until Philippoussis picks his final bachelorette.

I guess "Age of Love" just sounds better than "Primetime Catfight," though I would argue the latter is a more fitting title.

Age of Love premieres on Monday, June 18 at 10PM ET. You can see a preview clip of Age of Love on Vmix.com or get more info about the show at nbc.com.

[Via TV Squad]


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Labels: tv

It's been an interesting few days for Apple and their Safari web browser. On Monday, Apple released a PC version of Safari 3 (beta) at the 2007 Worldwide Developers Conference. But within a few hours, Internet security specialists and hackers had uncovered several bugs capable of crashing the Windows operating system as well as a major security flaw making it possible to remotely take control a PC without the owners knowledge.

Just hours after Apple made Safari 3 available for Windows, David Maynor from Errata Security and independent expert Aviv Raff both blogged about the Safari security bugs they found.

"I can't speak for anybody else, but the bugs [I] found in the beta copy of Safari on Windows work on the production copy on OS X as well... The exploit is robust mostly thanks to the lack of any kind of advanced security features in [Mac] OS X." erratasec.blogspot.com

"A first glance at the debugger showed me that this memory corruption might be exploitable. Although, I'll have to dig more to be sure of that. Again, this is just a beta version. But, don't you hate those pathetic claims?" net-security.org

At last count, 6 total bugs in Safari have been recorded despite this claim on the Safari 3 download page: "Apple engineers designed Safari to be secure from day one."

But hell, Safari 3 is just a beta version, it's supposed to have bugs, right?


So why did Apple decide to make their Safari web browser Windows compatible in the first place? Three reasons come to mind:

• A cross platform web browser will encourage web developers to create web-based programs for the iPhone and make their sites more compatible for existing Safari (Mac) users.
  
  
• A PC version of Safari is an opportunity to expose Windows users to another Apple product. Apple hopes PC users will enjoy their Safari experience and think about getting a Mac the next time they get a new computer. So far, they are off to a pretty bad start.
  
  
• Search dollars. The little search box in the upper right corner of the Firefox web browser is a major revenue generator. Every time you use that little search box, the browser manufacturer makes money off the search ads you are exposed to when you are taken to the results page. I've seen reports that Firefox (an open source project) made around over $50 million dollars from that little search box in 2006 alone.
  

You can download Safari 3 (beta) from Apple.com.

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Labels: tech news

On Tuesday, the American soap opera, Days of Our Lives, debuted on iTunes (US). Full episodes of the soap will be offered at the standard $1.99, but consumers will be able to shave that cost down to 50¢ per episode by ordering a 20-episode multipass for $9.99.

iTunes Link: Days of Our Lives

The producers of the show have had several conversations about including bonus scenes from Days of Our Lives in the iTunes version, though nothing has been decided yet.

Days of Our Lives will now be the most widely distributed daytime soap in the U.S., with episodes available on broadcast (NBC), cable (SoapNet) and online (iTunes).



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Labels: itunes

Every once in awhile I'll find something really random or weird on Amazon.com (can you say Mongolian Goat Hide Pillow?). But I think that a personal land cruiser/tank named after a giant 'ass' takes the cake.

The JL421 Badonkadonk Land Cruiser is a custom made tank modeled after Jabba's Sail Barge from Star Wars. The exterior is a steel shell with a rust patina. Remember this is a "tank" so there's lots of protective armor like fixed slats protecting the windows, and a unique industrial-strength rubberized flexible skirt that shields and protects the wheels to within an inch of the ground, while still allowing for enough flex to give clearance over bumpy and uneven terrain.



And if you wouldn't be noticed enough just by driving around in a mini tank, the Donk features lots of exterior lighting. We're talking head and tail lights, turn signal lights, trim lighting, and underbody lighting (did they have ground effects on Tatooine).

Don't forget to bring your iPod while you're cruising around in the Donk. Inside there's a 400 watt premium sound system with PA system that you can use to blast sound outside the vehicle.

Continue Reading >>

Labels: geek

Marine scientists in Canada and abroad are puzzled by bizarre photographs that appear to show the skeleton of a large mammal jutting out of an iceberg that recently drifted past Newfoundland's east coast.

The six pictures show what looks like a brown rib cage and spinal column, slightly bent, sticking out of a crust of ice.

But researchers throughout Canada, Greenland and Norway are unable to determine the origin of the skeleton, said Garry Stenson, a marine mammal scientist with the federal Fisheries Department.

"It's definitely unusual," Stenson said Monday. "It's not something that I've encountered before."

His colleagues have been debating whether the carcass belongs to a bearded seal, a walrus or a beluga whale. But without the actual specimen in his hands, Stenson said he can't resolve the mystery.

"It would be really nice to get a copy, a sample, a hold of it, but at this point we're not quite sure what it is," he said.

The photos were taken near Newtown, in Bonavista Bay, by Eli and Donna Norris on the weekend of May 26, said Ruth Knee, a friend who forwarded them to the Fisheries Department in hopes of identifying the bones.

The Norris family couldn't be reached for comment Monday.

Knee said the retired couple didn't want to be interviewed, but said she could vouch for the authenticity of the photos.

"Not everybody wants their 15 minutes of fame," Knee said.

Stenson said he is fairly certain the pictures aren't a hoax.

"If it was Photoshopped, it's a damn good job," he said. "The way that it's laying there, with what looks to be part of it underwater, looks authentic."


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Labels: bizarre

A team of Canadian surgeons got a shock when the patient they were operating on began shedding dark greenish-black blood, the Lancet reports.
The man emulated Star Trek's Mr Spock - the Enterprise's science officer who supposedly had green Vulcan blood.

In this case, the unusual colour of the 42-year-old's blood was down to the migraine medication he was taking.

The man's leg surgery went ahead successfully and his blood returned to normal once he eased off the drug.
The patient had been taking large doses of sumatriptan - 200 milligrams a day.

This had caused a rare condition called sulfhaemoglobinaemia, where sulphur is incorporated into the oxygen-carrying compound haemoglobin in red blood cells.

Describing the case in The Lancet, the doctors led by Dr Alana Flexman from St Paul's Hospital in Vancouver wrote: "The patient recovered uneventfully, and stopped taking sumatriptan after discharge.

"When seen five weeks after his last dose, he was found to have no sulfhaemoglobin in his blood."

The man had needed urgent surgery because he had developed a dangerous condition in his legs after falling asleep in a sitting position.

[Via BBC]

Labels: bizarre

Danny Ocean & Co. are back at it, this time taking Las Vegas by storm once again. In 2001's Ocean's 11, we saw the crew take out not one but three Las Vegas casinos at one time -- the MGM, the Bellagio, and the Mirage. In Ocean's 12, the team heads across the pond to pull off another heist. This time, to dismal reviews, they were after the world's oldest stock certificate, issued by Dutch East India Company in 1602. This Friday, June 8th, they're back in Vegas.

To celebrate the release of Ocean's 13, we decided to cast the special effects and clever screenwriting aside to find the less-than-glamorous inspiration for Hollywood heists. From actual casino jobs in Vegas to East Coast bull semen robberies, here are 13 heists that really happened -- one for each of Ocean's crew.

Plus this is a really cool article so definitely check it out.





[Via Gadling]

Labels: scandal

The Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) is a national organization, headquartered in New York, of makers of commercials in various media. This sixteenth edition of the AICP's annual program of award-winning commercials celebrates the collaborative craft involved in the making of small films of persuasion. It honors twenty-four categories, including direction, writing, performance, and cinematography, in the best in advertising of the previous year, as judged by industry peer panels. The AICP Show demonstrates that informing, influencing, and selling may also be moving, surprising, and entertaining. Each year, The AICP Show is donated to MoMA's archives.

Plus the website is really fun to play around on. Check out the Smirnoff Tea Partay and the Combos videogame.








[Via Art & Technique of the American Commerical]

Labels: commercial

If you walked through Times Square this past Tuesday, then you probably noticed American magician Criss Angel suspended in midair. Angel was enclosed for 24 hours in a clear box that was encased in cement as fans and reporters watched. The box was then hoisted 40 feet above the ground in a parking lot just off Times Square.

Hundreds gathered to watch his escape, and a big screen showed Angel inside the box, kicking at the walls and dejectedly holding his head in his hands. When a countdown clock hit zero, the box was sent plunging to the ground.

As organizers called for paramedics and fans went quiet, Angel appeared atop the screen's nearby scaffolding, waving to the crowd and with his hand across his heart.

While much of the crowd cheered, several people were heard asking: "Was he actually in the box?"

"Well, I was in it when I fell -- that's the truth," Angel told Reuters, adding that people should be asking how he got from the fallen box to the scaffolding.

The stunt was meant to draw attention to the third season of his show "Mindfreak," which started airing on A&E this week. Angel said the first episode would reveal how he escaped.

[Source: Hollywood Reporter]

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Labels: tv

Ready to get some digital gear for summer? Nothing would fit that ticket better then a USB 2.0 SurfDrive. With its innovative surfboard design and colorful graphics, you can transfer your files in true nerdy surf style.



The USB SurfDrive is Windows and Mac OS compatible and does not require any drivers (except for Windows 98. Why are you still using Windows 98 anyway?). USB SurfDrives are available in several sizes ranging from 256MB to 2GB with free shipping on Amazon.com.

Who says USB novelty items are worthless?

[Via GetUSB.info]

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Labels: gadgets

Pop Quiz: What killed more Americans last year? Spinach or marijuana? I'll give you a hint, Popeye is more at risk than Snoop.

According to an article in the Miami Herald, not only is marijuana statistically less likely to kill you (remember all those E. coli lettuce outbreaks last year?), but it's becoming more mainstream - especially in traditional "white-collar" settings.



For example, the author of the Miami Herald article recently attended a backyard barbecue in Miami's Upper Eastside where a group of middle-age, middle-class folks tamely sipped berry cocktails and beers. Among them: a couple of lawyers, a couple of city administrators and an arts administrator. Somewhere between the skirt steak and the apple pie, somebody lit a joint and passed it around.

Nobody blinked. Even in mainstream, white-collar settings, smoking marijuana can be commonplace and unremarkable, like having a little wine with dinner.

Once a stamp of the arty, the marginal and the counterculture, today marijuana's popularity cuts across social boundaries. Yet several high-profile marijuana arrests have recently made headlines, highlighting the hazy double standard that exists around an illegal, potentially harmful drug that continues to encroach into the mainstream:

• In March, Lawrence Korda, 59, a Broward Circuit Court judge, was charged with openly smoking marijuana in a park in Hollywood. Korda completed a drug and alcohol program to erase the misdemeanor charge, and must take monthly random drug tests for six months and perform 25 hours of community service.

• Last month, Utpal Dighe, 31, a prosecutor in the Miami-Dade state attorney's office, was fired after police charged him with buying marijuana from a street dealer in Coconut Grove.

• Also last month, Ricky Williams, 30, erstwhile superstar running back for the Dolphins, probably ended his Miami career by testing positive for marijuana for the fifth time.

For good or ill, people from all walks of life smoke weed. In fact, 40.1 percent of all Americans 12 years old and up admit having tried marijuana at least once -- and 6 percent acknowledge having used it in the past month, federal drug surveys show. The FBI says 786,500 people were arrested for it in 2005, the latest figures available.

One group at least modestly turning away from marijuana is middle- and high-schoolers, ages 12 to 17. The percentage who have used pot at least once dropped from more than 20 percent in 2000 to about 17 percent in 2005, federal researchers say.

''I don't know if more people are smoking or more people are admitting it,'' said Betsy Wise, a Miami stand-up comic. Wise recently started to freelance for a New York ad agency. She confided in a co-worker that a friend was delivering pot brownies to the office -- and told him to help himself.

[Via miamiherald.com]

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Labels: medical

Criss Angel appeared to escape Tuesday from a cement box suspended above Times Square in New York after it crashed to the ground without anyone seeing him emerge.

Angel was enclosed for 24 hours in a clear box that was encased in cement as fans and reporters watched. The box was hoisted 40 feet above the ground in a parking lot just off Times Square.

Hundreds gathered to watch his escape, and a big screen showed Angel inside the box, kicking at the walls and dejectedly holding his head in his hands. When a countdown clock hit zero, the box was sent plunging to the ground.

As organizers called for paramedics and fans went quiet, Angel appeared atop the screen's nearby scaffolding, waving to the crowd and with his hand across his heart.

While much of the crowd cheered, several people were heard asking: "Was he actually in the box?"

"Well, I was in it when I fell -- that's the truth," Angel told Reuters, adding that people should be asking how he got from the fallen box to the scaffolding.

The stunt was meant to draw attention to the third season of his show "Mindfreak," which starts airing on A&E on Tuesday night. Angel said the first episode would reveal how he escaped.






[Via Hollywood Reporter]

Labels: crazy magician

Hours after strolling the red carpet in a strapless black dress, Paris Hilton traded her designer duds for a jail-issued jumpsuit.
The 26-year-old heiress checked into the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood just after 11:30 p.m. Sunday. She's expected to serve three-weeks for violating her probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case.

Hilton surrendered to sheriff's deputies after making a surprise visit to the MTV Movie Awards in the afternoon.

"I am trying to be strong right now," she told reporters on the red carpet. "I'm ready to face my sentence. Even though this is a really hard time, I have my family, my friends and my fans to support me, and that's really helpful."







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Really weird.


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American broadcast network, NBC, has removed the shroud of secrecy around their new controversial reality dating series called Age of Love.

The series centers on Melbourne tennis champion Mark Philippoussis (age 31) as he's wooed by a group of 13 special ladies. What Philippoussis doesn't know is that these women range in age from 21 to 48. Will he go for one of the younger gals (Kittens), or will he become smitten by someone more mature (Cougars)?

Age of Love's "Kittens" will feature six young, enthusiastic women in their 20's who could probably better keep-up with Philippoussis' fast-paced lifestyle, while the "Cougars" will consist of seven women in their 40's who are more sophisticated and thus probably better equipped to deal with his fame as a tennis pro.

Watch This Channel | Channels by NBC
View more Partners channels | More VMIX videos | Embed this channel

Similar to the manner in which the "geek versus hunks" twists on NBC's Average Joe reality dating shows played out, Philippoussis will initially be introduced to his older "Cougars" suitors. Later, he will learn that the younger "Kittens" -- who will also initially be unaware of the "Cougars" and vice versa -- will also be attempting to vie for his affection.

Once the "Cougars" meet the "Kittens," the claws come out and all the bachelorettes will try to win him over. From there, the field of suitors will be narrowed until Philippoussis picks his final bachelorette.

I guess "Age of Love" just sounds better than "Primetime Catfight," though I would argue the latter is a more fitting title.

Age of Love premieres on Monday, June 18 at 10PM ET. You can see a preview clip of Age of Love on Vmix.com or get more info about the show at nbc.com.

[Via TV Squad]


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Labels: tv

As its fans have feared, Sci Fi's Battlestar Galactica will end its run after this, its 4th season. Executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eik (Bionic Woman) said they will wrap up the show's storyline with these 22 episodes. The fourth season is in production in Vancouver and will premiere in November. The official announcement, planned for Friday, ends months of speculation from the show's core group of dedicated fans.


"We respect the producers’ decision to end the series and are proud to have been the home of this groundbreaking show," said Sci Fi Executive Vice President of Original Programming, Mark Stern in a statement.

"This show was always meant to have a beginning, a middle and finally, an end," said Eick and Moore in a joint statement. "Over the course of the last year, the story and the characters have been moving strongly toward that end and we've decided to listen to those internal voices and conclude the show on our own terms."

[Via broadcastingcable.com]

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Between the psychedelic animation, goofy photo-flipbook effect, saccharine-sweet music, and the all-around goofy news team, this local news promo is everything the movie "Anchorman" should have been.



I guess in the 1970s, even the local news teams were on drugs.

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Labels: geek