"The sender of the first junk e-mail message was Gary Thuerk and it was sent to advertise new additions to DEC's family of System-20 minicomputers. It invited the recipients, all of whom were on Arpanet and lived on the west coast of the US, to go to one of two presentations showing off the capabilities of the System-20.
"Reaction to the message was swift, with complaints reportedly coming from the US Defense Communications Agency, which oversaw Arpanet, and took Mr Thuerk's boss to task about it.
"Despite Mr Thuerk's pioneering spam it took many years for unsolicited commercial e-mail to become a nuisance. It took until 1993 before it won the name of spam - a name bestowed on it by Joel Furr - an administrator on the Usenet chat system. Mr Furr reputedly got his inspiration for the name from a Monty Python sketch set in a restaurant whose menu heavily featured the processed meat." [BBC via Slog]
Now we celebrate!
"'Seinfeld' became the '90s version of bowling night: the place you kicked back once a week and shared life's little triumphs and humiliations with folks who knew just what you were going through." [Really? You're going with "bowling night"?] "They made you feel like part of the gang, right down to the inside jokes. The problem is, we've changed, and the 'Seinfeld' gang hasn't. There's a reason that the great sitcoms—'The Mary Tyler Moore Show,' 'M*A*S*H' and 'Taxi,' to name a few—still work. They're not just about being funny; they're about people who grow enough in a week, and over time, to keep them interesting. They have depth. Jerry and George have issues. That can be amusing, even occasionally hilarious. But after a while, it all has started to sound like a whole lotta yadda yadda yadda."
Feel better now? Gonna put on your big boy pants now? [Newsweek]
"Well, I simply adore this writeup, but let me make a tiny clarification: While I am indeed crazy, if I'm drunk, it's only from the caffeine in Diet Coke!
"Also, 'At least they have a hobby'? Honey, it's my job!!!
"And as for a full update: We actually hit 12 bars and clubs that night! We graced Mansion, the Eagle, Hudson Bar & Books, Chi-Chiz, Gym Bar, G Lounge, XES, Barracuda, Splash, Pieces, Marie's Crisis, and Pop Rocks. If I was on anything other than soda, would I be able to remember all that? Now on to lucky 13!"
[La Daily Musto]
"The Dude Abides 'will be a chronological examination of the Coen brothers' oeuvre—every film they have directed together, as well as the films for which they have written original screenplays and those they have adapted from
existing material,' the copy says. 'Falsani will investigate the theological, mythological, moral, ethical, religious and philosophical content and what their overarching message—their Gospel—might be.'" [Hollywood-Elsewhere]
[via Hollywood-Elsewhere]
"I know I shouldn't dignify this with a comment, but the reviewer threw a jab at all the artists. I just wanna know when was the last time you enjoyed yourself. If you can't have fun and lose yourself at this tour it's a good chance you're a very miserable person. I actually feel sorry for you guys. Your job forces you to not have fun anymore. Grab a drink, holla at some nice girls, and party bitch!! You don't know shit about passion and art. You'll never gain credibility at this rate. You're fucking trash! I make art. You can't rate this. I'm a real person. I'm not a pop star. I don't care about anything but making great art. Never come 2 one of my shows ever again, you're not invited and if you see me...BOW!! This is not pop, it's pop art!" [KanyeUniversity]
"Jezebel’s readers—they often call themselves 'Jezzies' or 'Jezebelles'—are permitted to post to the site after a first prospective comment is approved by a Gawker Media staffer, and must adhere to some basic rules: be witty and relevant, no whining and don’t attack people." But you know how those crazy commenters are!
Still, such attacks—on one another, and on the editors—happen regularly. When Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton won the New Hampshire primary after getting teary-eyed at a campaign event, Ms. Tkacik fired off a furious rant, accusing women of voting with their emotions. One commenter, a 28-year-old Brooklyn medical biller who uses the screen name SinisterRouge, wrote back: "Seriously, Moe, I know you love Obama. But to say women just up and voted for her because she cries is retarded."
As part of a popular feature called Snap Judgment, readers offered biting comments on everything from Ms. Jolie’s eye-popping neckline to her possible state of mind.
Then a commenter with the screen name Calraigh wrote that, despite being pregnant, Ms. Jolie looked like “an Ethiopian famine victim.” Within minutes, a half-dozen angry readers had made their own snap judgments of Calraigh:
“You’re gross.”
“Are you serious?”
“That comment is inappropriate. I don’t know what website you think you are on, but that is not how we roll.” [NYT]
[EW]
New DNA tests prove that the Godfather of Soul lives on in a 6-year-old boy.
Results confirm that James Brown was the biological father of James Brown II, according to Peter Shahid, the...| World : News Archives | Business | Entertainment | Sports | Technology | Science | Marketplace Audio |
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