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Weekend Update

A couple weekends ago Ayo was good enough to send an extra ticket to the New York International Auto Show my way. After some confusion, we finally found each other at the convention center and started roaming around. I didn't take too many pictures, but here are a few.

Fell in love with this Audi.

Aggressive engine placement. And I like that.

Transformers action. It has horrible gas mileage though.

Thanks Ayo!

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Popeyes Runs Out of Chicken

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pyW6w5B7Aw&fmt=18] A Popeyes in Rochester, New York ran out of chicken and local channel 13 WHAM is there to cover the consumer outrage. Their coverage also had the unintended consequences of creating an internal newsroom debate within WHAM about whether the manner in which this story was covered perpetuated a racial stereotype. I'd argue that it does, which is why I was hesitant to post it here. That said, I couldn't ignore the outrageousness of the story. A POPEYES RAN OUT OF CHICKEN.

The story in of itself is funny to me because one, I love me some Popeyes (and this is not a joke as Tony or Jessica can attest to) and I'd be genuinely mad if a Popeyes I went to ran out of chicken.

Two, supply and demand is funny, especially when there isn't any supply and there's a ton of demand so long as a life or death item isn't involved, because Katrina wasn't funny. At all.

All this said, I'm glad that this newsroom is at least having this discussion. I hope it's remembered and a lesson is learned. As WHAM anchor Norma Holland wrote:

The story was what it was: customers, who happened to be Black, expressing anger about a heavily advertised special that ran out. Our job as journalists is not to “whitewash (sorry, no pun intended)” the news. We aren’t here to manufacture, make up, or tamper with what exists so we ran the story. In hindsight, I’m glad we did. Race aside, it is a perfect consumer story…and consumers have a right to be angry.

However, the report sparked a discussion in our newsroom about the way we portray people of color. I have to admit, we tend to overlook the importance of being inclusive in some of our reporting. Gay, Lesbian, Hispanic, Senior, and Physically Disabled people have opinions on any number of topics, yet we tend to only interview them in relation to stories that affect their specific groups. What’s the sense in that?

There is no sense in that.

The moral of this story here is two-fold: One, DON'T EVER RUN OUT OF CHICKEN. EVER. EVER. EVER. Why? Because it's not just that black people like fried chicken, it's that EVERYONE likes fried chicken. If you haven't been looped in, let me drop some knowledge on you: Koreans LOVE FRIED CHICKEN. Fried chicken is the closest thing to universal love we have. In my head, I always like to add a "n" between the "e" and "d" in "fried" because fried = friend. Fried chicken is your friend.

What about vegetarians and vegans? They love chickens too. Just not cooked, but that's simply two sides of the same coin and that coin is the fact that we all love chicken!

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Amazing Scrabble Commercials

Creative commercials (each illustrated by different artists) for Scrabble from Ogilvy & Mather Paris. The "Sumo" one below is my favorite. View more here. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kr0QEwfZBk&fmt=18]

Some further explanation behind the seemingly disassociative commercials:

The principle of the campaign: Different words accidentally encounter during a Scrabble game, giving by chance birth to a world as unexpected as enchanting. Picture a board of Scrabble at the end of a game: words that have nothing to do with each other are crossing and overlapping, to the point that they sometimes tell a crazy story ! Our creative idea is to turn this fabulous potential into images.

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Jacoby Ellsbury Steals Home Against Yankees

Sunday night's Red Sox victory against the Yankees, a three game sweep by Boston, included a successful steal home by Red Sox Jacoby Ellsbury in the fifth inning against lefty Andy Pettitte. You don't see that play too often. Exciting stuff. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LyIU9LaXEc&fmt=18]

Longer version of the play. Man, the crowd understandably went nuts!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q_dI4BSe_E&fmt=18]

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Twitter Magnets

Twitter Magnets: Create a poem using online fridge magnets and then dedicate that poem to your Twitter crush while listening to the easy new-age background music. Release your inner poet (in 140 characters or less!).

[Via]

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Quote

I like to shoot fish in a barrel. But I like to do it after the water has run out.

- Warren Buffet

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The 5 Minute Morning Routine

On this Japanese game show, some guy demonstrates how to wake up, eat breakfast, dress in a suit and tie and walk out the front door...in under five minutes. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qin4UptOEsI&fmt=18]

[Thanks Kaizar!]

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Jen Stark, Paper Sculptures

Miami artist Jen Stark creates these mesmerizing intricate paper sculptures that uses the same sort of construction paper and colors that remind me of elementary school art classes. She's having a solo exhibition here in New York City starting on May 16. I may be a bit tipsy from an engagement party I am attending beforehand, but I'll be at this opening. "Hidden Entity. "

"How to become a millionaire in 100 days." 1,000,000 pieces of hand cut paper.

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Extreme Al Fresco Dining

Lake District celebrity chef Peter Sidwell braves the rain as he poses whilst serving up one of his culinary delights to diners Dawn Titley and Dan Hartley on the summitt of Latrigg on April 23, 2009 in Keswick, England. Peter was taking part in a dry run in preparation for when he will cook for 60 diners on the top of Latrigg, one of the lakes' most loved fells as part of the Keswick Mountain Festival on May 13. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

[Via]

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Philip Larkin, This Be The Verse

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn By fools in old-style hats and coats, Who half the time were soppy-stern And half at one another's throats.

Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf. Get out as early as you can, And don't have any kids yourself.

- Philip Larkin

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