Scientific Journal Gets Hoodwinked

The journal Materials Today in its July/August issue is running an opinion piece about "evidence" that Thomas Edison was involved in the murder of a rival. But a closer read shows that the victim was more likely Materials Today. This is a post I did a couple of days ago on my photography blog (as the topic was movie technology), but I thought that people here might find it interesting.

Reality of Reality TV

To get a sense of what the business of reality television is like, check this link to a MediaChannel.org post by media prankster and "socio-political satarist." (I was about to use the same phrase, and realized that it was on his web site - certainly one of the more interesting approaches to web site navigation I've seen.) Apparently, at least for this reality show about being a prankster, the producers want to own outright anything you send them as an example of your work, and they don't want to pay you a penny. That seems like the biggest hoax there could be.

Put Down That T-Shirt

In proof that admission to M.I.T. doesn't keep someone from being stupid, an undergraduate nearly got herself shot for looking like a walking bomb:

Star Simpson, 19, was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and approached an airport employee in Terminal C at 8 a.m. to inquire about an incoming flight from Oakland, according to Major Scott Pare of the State Police. She was holding a lump of what looked like putty in her hands. The employee asked about the plastic circuit board on her chest, and Simpson walked away without responding, Pare said.

It was Playdough in her hand and "art" on her sweatshirt. Maybe being surrounded by machine gun-toting police had a beneficial effect on her education.