277 - with Links!

1. Chatroom User: Dead The death of his father, the dissolution of his marriage, and a recent debilitating car accident all conspired to send Kevin Whitrick into a deep depression. Mr Whitrick decided to take his own life. However, he wasn't content to keep his death anonymous. Whitrick logged onto a popular internet chat room, plugged in his webcam and proceeded to hang himself live via streaming video. This is the fist incidence of "cyber-suicide" in the UK, although a young American performed a similar act in 2003. I'm not going to look for the video of Kevin Whitrick's suicide, but I'd imagine it is out there if you really want to see it.

2. Chicken McButane I once read that the Chicken McNugget contains absolutely no food value. I think that was an exaggeration. Obviously, there is at least some chicken in them, so that's food, right? However, this guy claims that the nugget is 56% corn. I think he is playing with the fact a bit because he includes "ingredients...that can be derived from corn" such as corn-fed chickenas well as the chicken broth that comes from the afore mentioned corn-fed chicken. He also reports one very interesting ingredient that I doubt you'd really want to be eating; butylhydroquinone, supposedly a form of butane. That's right, lighter fluid. Considering his assertation that chicken is derived from corn, it seems the author has a pre-existing bias against McDonalds. Maybe the butane issue shouldn't go unchallenged.

3. 11 Spring The building at Eleven Spring Street has been a sort of Mecca for street artists for decades. Although their work wasn't really sanctioned, no one ever bothered to remove the layers of graffiti that continued to appear on the building's walls. When the building was purchased by a property developer, the story could have come to an end. However, the developer, Caroline Cummings, recognized the significance of the building and decided to allow a huge street art display in the building prior to remodeling.. Dozens of artists from around the world traveled to New York to be a part of the exhibition.

4. Stormy Kromer After retiring from baseball, Stormy Kromer became a railroad engineer. The high winds whipping through the locomotive engine were constantly flinging the hats off of Stormy's head and then freezing his ears. On one particularly cold day, Stormy asked his wife to modify one of his old baseball caps to protect his ears and stay firmly in place. The modification was a huge success. In fact, it was so successful that Stormy began manufacturing hats for other engineers and for anyone else that need to stay warm though the long, cold winter. Over 100 years later the Stormy Kromer hat is still made according to the original design.

5. Watchmen I've wondered for a while now if it really necessary to make a movie out of Alan Moore's classic comic Watchmen. The project has jumped around from one filmmaker to another for years. Terry Gilliam (once attached as director) notably claimed that the comic was totally unfilmable. Others have suggested it would be best suited for a 12 part miniseries on HBO. After all these starts and stops it looks like Zack Snyder is actually going to get the movie made. After seeing Dawn of the Dead, which I loved, I still was doubtful. 300, on the other hand, made me feel a little more hopeful. It really seems like Snyder understands what makes the original comic great. Keep your fingers crossed.