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Michelle Obama/Ellen Push-up Challenge

T.F.P. — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:50:59 +0000

So Ellen Degeneres challenged Michelle Obama to a push-up contest when interviewing the First Lady the other day. This created quite a stir because Michelle proceeded to do about 25 before Ellen dropped out. But if you check out the video, Michelle is doing them wrong!! She barely goes halfway down, which wouldn’t count with any personal trainer, gym teacher, or Army drill sergeant that I know. Yeah, it’s still hard do 25 that way, but the feat isn’t as “amazing” as it might appear if you just read the story without checking the video. See for yourself:

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17-year-old lives on Chicken McNuggets

T.F.P. — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:51:33 +0000

Wow, I thought I had a bad junk food addiction, but it pales in comparison to Stacey Irvine’s! The 17-year-old British factory worker claims to have eaten nothing but Chicken McNuggets since she was 2 years old. No fruit, no vegetables, no steaks … nothing but Chicken McNuggets.

Why is this news? Because Stacey is now apparently sick. After collapsing and having trouble breathing, she was taken to the hospital where her strange eating habits came to light.

Predictably, people are going crazy about this and are using the story as another excuse to attack McDonald’s and other fast food chains.

But give me a break. honestly, who in their right mind would eat McNuggets 3x/day for 15 years and think that could possibly lead to anything good??? Honestly, she would probably be sick if she ONLY ate apples for every meal, ya know? Balance is the key, and I think most sane folks understand that.

Wikipedia blackout

T.F.P. — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:29:18 +0000

I wanted to look up something about motorhome repair on Wikipedia today, but was met with a black screen instead. I guess Wikipedia is participating in this blackout to protest against SOPA, which is legislation aimed at stopping online piracy. While the legislation sounds good in theory, it apparently would put a major burden on smaller websites and somehow constrict the free flow of information on the Internet. I can’t really pretend to know more about SOPA than that.

Anyway, this is kind of a hassle. Wikipedia, I’m convinced that your stance is right. Now please get back online!!

Obit Picture

T.F.P. — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:57:45 +0000

I was looking through the obits of one of the local online papers and found this terrific photo that a man’s family included with his write-up. The man passed at the age of 86, but his obituary noted that he was a high school athlete so they decided to show him in his old baseball uniform. I was very intrigued by this photo, and found myself looking at it for a lot longer than I would have if the family had included a shot of the man at 86.

This high school pic of an athlete poised and ready to play, squinting against the sun with a hint of a smile tugging at his lips shows all the self-assuredness of youth. I like looking at this photo of a teenager and thinking that he will have a long life that will span seven more decades.

The fact that the man kept this photo at all shows how much it meant to him, so I just really LOVE thinking that this is the lasting image he had of himself — and the ONLY image that I have of him.

Top 5 Selling NFL Jerseys

T.F.P. — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:02:56 +0000

The NFL releases merchandising data once a year, which gives us a chance to find out which are the best-selling player jerseys. Here is the Top 5 from the period April 1 to December 31, 20011, as published by CNBC.

Aaron Rodgers
Tim Tebow
Troy Polamalu
Drew Brees
Tom Brady

No surprises there, right? I would post a picture too, but I refuse to put Rodgers’ eternally smug mug on my blog.

Woman survives bungee jump fall

T.F.P. — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:46:34 +0000

Wow, check out this video of a bungee jump gone wrong. Erin Langworthy, a 22-year-old tourist from Australia, took a New Year’s Eve plunge off the Victoria Falls Bridge in Africa. The Bungee cord snapped at the end of her jump, sending her into the crocodile-infested river below. Somehow, she managed to survive with just a few cuts and bruises.

I’m scared of heights as it is, so a story like this just reinforces what I already know: I’ll never bungee jump in my life!! Not even if someone went over the whole operation with welding equipment beforehand to make sure that everything was secured nice and tight.

Can you imagine what that woman must have felt on her way down??? I probably would have passed out from panic and then drowned in the water. Kudos to Erin for keeping her wits about her, extricating herself from the cord and swimming to safety.

Highest Unemployment Rates for College Majors

T.F.P. — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:49:08 +0000

We know that not all college majors are created equal. Some are more practical and useful in the real world than others, and lead to gainful employment almost immediately. Others will have you flipping burgers as you send out resume after resume trying to find a job in your field.

If you don’t feel like sojourning at McDonald’s after you graduate, stay away from these majors:

Architecture, 13.9% unemployment
Fine and Performing Arts, 11.1%
Humanities, 9.4%
Liberal Arts, 9.4%

The lowest unemployment rates belong to majors like health care and business, so stick to those if you want to find a decent job after school ends!