Want to Buy a Haunted House?

According to ABC News, people generally don’t want to live in a house someone died in, especially if somewhere in the property's history are the words "mass murder."

Well, duh.

A “stigmatized” property - what those in the real eastate biz call homes with bad karma - can lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in value. The other problem with "stigmatized" homes is that the reason it's stigmatized is more easily hidden from buyers than a leaky roof or creaky floors.

"Murder would seem to be horrific and would garner a 50 percent reduction, whereas a landslide on the property might be more toward 30 percent."

Considering the condition the real estate market’s already in, this sounds like it might be a pretty serious problem; either too many haunted houses are on the market or too many agents are tricking people into buying them.

But what’s with the picture they put with it?

Scary!

Way to make fun of people who don't want to live in the Amityville Horror house. They must be crazy.

Leprechauns. They're Magically Ridiculous

It’s 2 pm on St. Patrick’s Day, and you know what that means!

You’re probably not reading this because you’re out drinking somewhere.

But just in case you’re not, here’s a little poem to bring you some Irish cheer.

Near a misty stream in Ireland in the hollow of a tree
Live mystical, magical leprechauns
who are clever as can be
With their pointed ears, and turned up toes and little coats of green
The leprechauns busily make their shoes and try hard not to be seen.
Only those who really believe have seen these little elves
And if we are all believers
We can surely see for ourselves.
(Irish Blessing)

Also, if you like to laugh (and who doesn't?) check out this actual news report on a leprechaun sighting. (Hilarious!)

Normally I’m pretty open-minded, but this I just don’t buy.

I did enjoy that super-lifelike sketch though.

What is Facebook up to?

They’ve got your name, location, phone number, email address, interests, beliefs, daily activities, pictures, conversations, dreams, and the names and related information of your family and friends. Basically, all the happenings of your life.

So who are they exactly? And what are they doing with all that valuable information?

Here's one answer:



I actually read through those painfully long and boring Facebook Terms of Use just to see if the video was was telling the truth, at least about the Terms of Use part. And what did I discover?

It was all there. (Then I realized that was the first time I ever actually read the Facebook Terms of Use.)





Another Term I found interesting was:

“We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify, add, or delete portions of these Terms of Use at any time without further notice...It is your responsibility to regularly check the Site to determine if there have been changes to these Terms of Use and to review such changes.”

I don’t typically read any terms of use (Does anyone?), but this seems odd.

They could basically say,

“If the Company so hereto desires, the Company can irreversibly, conclusively, indisputably, irrefutably, sell all of your information to the fat cats of billion-dollar companies. The Company is not responsible for how this affects you, as you, the User, acknowledged, accepted, and understood, these unnecessarily complicated Terms of Use. And you can't do anything about it.”

Wait - isn't that what they're saying?

Gotta love that tricky language.

Big Surprise: Police Brutality Protest ends in Violence

What’s wrong with this sentence?

“Seventeen people arrested during an anti-police brutality demonstration that turned into a riot are facing charges including mischief, theft, assault and possession of weapons...”

So, they were protesting police brutality by engaging in violence...that sounds about right.

According to the Toronto Star:

“Police were pelted with bricks, bottles and food during the annual protest, organized by the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality, a Montreal group.”

There was also vandalism done to police cars, other cars, and store windows, with a grand total of $200,000 in damages.

But unfortunately, the Toronto Star article doesn’t mention the event leading up to the protest.


About a week before, in the same park where the protest was held, 18-year-old Fredy Villanueva was killed and two other men were shot and wounded when police attempted to make an arrest.

A CBC article states:

“The park [where the first shooting occurred] is in a predominantly Haitian neighbourhood where tensions between police and young people run high, according to residents. ‘The police are always creeping around here, hassling people,’ one unidentified youth told CBC News as he stood in front of a looted butcher shop.”

I don’t know what’s more ironic: being arrested for assault while participating in an anti-police brutality protest, that police brutality seems to occur more in places where people are already suspicious of (and under suspicion by) police, or, that people who are supposed to uphold the law don't appear to be subject to it themselves.


Just recently, surveillance footage was released of two police officers using excessive force on a 15-year-old girl.

Deputy Paul Schene defended himself by claiming the girl kicked her shoes off at him, causing "bruising, bleeding, and pain" as well as a "blood filled pocket." You tell me if his reaction was understandable (although I seriously doubt you will).





Obviously, not all police officers like to use their power to beat people up for no reason, but how the hell can they be police officers if they do!?


And if they're the police, who will police the police?
(Question care of The Simpsons.)

Equilibrium

What a wonderful surprise, on a Sunday night when nothing else is on, to find Equilibrium (2002) on TV. Hooray for the Space channel!

If you haven’t seen this movie yet, I seriously recommend it.

Based on Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932), and starring Christian Bale – which should tell you right there that it’s good – Equilibrium is about a futuristic “ideal” society where it’s illegal for people to feel, or even own anything that could incite human emotion, such as art and music.

The whole idea is that human emotion is the cause of all war, so by eliminating emotion, they can end war forever...only hunting down and killing people who feel is just a new kind of war.

Kind of reminds me of that famous but very wrong phrase all the way from WWI. You know, how it was supposed to be “The war to end all wars”?

Maybe that was Huxley’s inspiration...

Realize, Resist, Revolt (website for MIT-ers)

I Stumble(d)Upon this neat site for MIT-ers, or I guess anyone who questions what they’re told...and then analyzes the heck out of it.








Just click on an intriguing button, and there you have it: a summary of pretty much everything you already knew from being in this program.

And it has fun pictures!

Why, Infomercials? Why?!

Do you ever see those infomercials that highlight herbal remedies that no one knows about but "totally work"? There’s always the same Letterman-style set-up with a fake night-time city in the background, and some person no one’s ever heard of being interviewed by someone else no one's never heard of. The whole thing = cheesiness (especially when it's on during the day).

Here are some of the more ridiculous quotes from an infomercial for Veggie Cal D. From what I could gather, it’s some sort of combination of seaweed, calcium, and vitamin D.

Said product:

• “is a natural medical insurance”
• “is a super-supplement”
• “is an insurance policy to better health”
• “can reduce risk of cancer by up to 50%”
• "is made from God-given nutrients”

From the interview:

• “They (pharmaceutical companies) don’t want you to know about it.”
• “I’m just reporting on what the scientific community is reporting on.”

In small print:

• “Results not typical”
• “Not tested by the Food and Drug Administration”
• “Not intended to prevent diagnose, treat, or cure any disease”

I’m sold!

Or, maybe I could just drink some milk, eat some cereal (with more milk), and chill out in the sun instead of inside with these ridonculous twisting-of-the-truth-o-mercials.