Dr. Dre, purveyor of sick beats, has lost a trademark battle against Dr. Drai, OB/GYN.
Praise the FSM for TMZ:
Dr. Dre is STILL Dre, but same goes for the OB/GYN with a very similar name who was locked in a legal battle for years with the music mogul.
Dr. Drai, a Pennsylvania-based gynecologist filed in 2015 to trademark his name and “Doctor Drai OBGYN & Media Personality." Dr. Dre tried to pump the brakes on that application, claiming it would cause confusion in the marketplace ... since their names sound alike.
The gyno was born Draion M. Burch, but according to his application he's been going by Dr. Drai for years. He's authored books and makes public appearances using it.
The trademark office agreed with the medical doc, saying although the gangsta doc was well known ... there wasn't enough evidence people would be confused. Let's be honest ... no one's downloading "The Chronic" from a gyno. Although, sounds like there should be a shot for that.
Point being ... the case was dismissed.
Image via Wikipedia Read the rest
For some reason I remembered Vehicle Force Voltron this morning and just wondered why?
There was something cool about 5 robot lions that an army of little cars didn't have. It was like someone hopped up the Thunderbirds and now 1 thru 5 could merge. I didn't like Vehicle Force Voltron very much.
Lion Force Voltron was pretty corny but worked for me. Read the rest
Author and historian Studs Terkel's long-running radio show The Studs Terkel Program will now be available in a public archive online. Read the rest
Magic is barely understood science in Tom Miller's The Philosopher's Flight. A United States engaged in the early days of World War II both eagerly adopts Philosophy as everyday technology, while rejecting the few able to use this magic in as the United States always does. Read the rest
I use my Amazon Fire HD 10 every day. At $120 it is the bargain tablet I wanted.
My bright red Amazon Fire HD 10" tablet is amazingly darn useful. Compared to the Apple equivalent I've saved $100s of dollars on features I didn't want to use. I bought this tablet as soon as it was announced, and it has become a pretty constant companion. Read the rest
An off-duty Buena Park, California Police officer decided that a $1 pack of candy was worth risking human life. Mistakenly believing Jose Arreola was shoplifting a package of Mentos he had just purchased, the cop went into thug mode. After repeatedly being told Arreola had paid for the candies, by both the victim and the store's cashier, the officer offers an apology.
What are the guidelines for when an officer is supposed to draw a firearm? Was anyone in any danger here? Did he need a gun to stop a suspected candy thief? I would hope officer education programs explain that considering consequences like "One of us dies, or that candy gets stole" might be part of the rubric?
Buena Park PD Chief of Police Corey S. Sianez offered this statement via Facebook: "I want you to know that after I watched the video I found it to be disturbing, as I’m sure it was to you. However, because there is an ongoing personnel investigation and potential litigation pending against the city, I am unable to discuss the details of our investigation."
Video via the Orange County Register Read the rest
Fortnite Battle Royale, a 100 player last-person-standing video game, has become all the rage in my home. It is easy, and free, to hop in and play but takes a lot of strategy, and tactics to play well. These videos have been helping my daughter and I.
I love Ben "Dr. Lupo" Lupo. Ben is a streamer whose giant heart made the Destiny community proud a few years ago. Lupo is smart, eager, friendly and completely aware that his audience is of all ages and sorts. You can watch Lupo without fear of misogyny or racism, which is a lot to say for white male streamer. You can also learn from him. Domeshot University is a series of videos Lupo has been creating that explain exactly what he is thinking, and why he is doing what he does he as plays Fortnite. He has helped my gameplay immensely.
I've learned to make finding a shotgun my early focus, how to prioritize healing items, and a lot of 'how Dr. Lupo looks at the map.' This all really helps. Please keep making them, Ben!
Look at how I've improved:
I still have not won a solo match, but I came really damn close. The above video is me trying SO hard. I thought you'd enjoy my painful fail at the end. I think the other player got a lucky headshot.
My daughter loves Ali-A. This guy has more energy than the energizer bunny, gets that young kids are in the audience and speaks to the 11 year-olds of Fortnite. Read the rest
After listening to tons of racist and ignorant horseshit from NRA conference attendees, the owner of Dallas-area eatery Ellen's decided to donate a portion of this weeks proceeds to groups pursuing reasonable gun legislation. The NRA asked its members to eat elsewhere.
Everyone wins except the people dead of gun violence.
Via Share Blue:
Ellen’s, a restaurant in downtown Dallas where the NRA is holding its annual convention, had a message printed on its customer receipts: “Thanks for visiting Ellen’s! A portion of this week’s proceeds will be donated to organizations dedicated to implementing reasonable and effective gun regulation.”
Most Americans consider that a sensible message — especially following the mass shootings at Columbine, Sandy Hook, Aurora, Parkland and the daily murders all around the country. But it angered the NRA.
The group tweeted an image of an Ellen’s receipt. “Attn @AnnualMeetings attendees. Steer clear of Ellen’s in downtown Dallas! Why go there when there are so many other great choices.”
Joe Groves, the owner of Ellen’s, said he added the message because of what he heard from NRA convention attendees. “I’m making a list of the vile, racist, moronic conversations overheard from NRA attendees eating at the restaurant,” he wrote on Facebook. “They don’t even speak softly.”
He told the website Eater that the attendees have insulted his wait staff with racial epithets. One person reportedly asked a Latino staff member, “Your illegals are kept in the kitchen, right?”
Another NRA fan reportedly told black employees they “don’t sound black” and asked if they were from India.
Read the rest
Every time a conservative jackass accuses a high school kid of being "a crisis actor" remember this: someone hired actors to support an energy company's proposal. The actors were required to sign non-disclosure agreements. Some of the actors talked anyhow.
Via The Lens NOLA:
At least four of the people in orange shirts were professional actors. One actor said he recognized 10 to 15 others who work in the local film industry.
They were paid $60 each time they wore the orange shirts to meetings in October and February. Some got $200 for a “speaking role,” which required them to deliver a prewritten speech, according to interviews with the actors and screenshots of Facebook messages provided to The Lens.
“They paid us to sit through the meeting and clap every time someone said something against wind and solar power,” said Keith Keough, who heard about the opportunity through a friend.
He said he thought he was going to shoot a commercial. “I’m not political,” he said. “I needed the money for a hotel room at that point.”
They were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements and were instructed not to speak to the media or tell anyone they were being paid.
But three of them agreed to talk about their experience and provided evidence that they were paid to endorse the power plant. Two spoke on the condition that they not be identified, saying they didn’t want to jeopardize other work or get in trouble for violating the non-disclosure agreement.
Another attendee, an actor and musician who played a small role on HBO’s “Treme,” told WWL-TV he was paid to wear one of the orange shirts at a meeting of the council’s utility committee.
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I guess outgoing Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has given up on weakly trying to hide things from people and has just gone ahead and said it. If the GOP loses control of the House or Senate they won't be able to cover for Trump anymore.
Please lose control of the House and Senate.
Via Bloomberg:
Should Republicans lose control of either the House or Senate, “you’ll have gridlock, you’ll have subpoenas,” with the whole legislative system “shutting down,” Ryan said Wednesday in Beverly Hills, California, at the annual Milken Institute Global Conference.
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Fortnite Battle Royale, the video game that has taken over gaming by storm, announced "Revenge" by Enzait as the winner of the #ReplayRoyale fan film contest. Players can use an incredible in-game cinematic Replay feature to re-watch, cut and clip their play from almost any angle.
Fortnite's makers at Epic Games do not always do the best job of picking contest winners, but the community corrects them when they go astray! Epic recently released a fan-favorite entry in their dance contest as an in-game emote, Orange Justice. Even tho Epic selected another winner, fan clamor convinced them to add the wildly flailing dance.
Orange Justice is the dance for me, and it is great exercise! Read the rest
Hobby Lobby's President Steve Green was part of a conspiracy to steal a lot of irreplaceable antiquities. The stolen artifacts have now been returned to the Iraqi Government. Mr. Green is suffering as a devout Christian does, before his God and no one else.
Via CBS:
Thousands of ancient clay tablets, seals and other Iraqi archaeological objects that were smuggled into the U.S. and shipped to the head of arts and crafts chain Hobby Lobby were returned to the Iraqi government on Wednesday.
The Oklahoma City-based private company, whose devout Christian owners won a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court ruling exempting them from providing certain contraceptive coverage for employees, agreed to pay a $3 million fine last year to settle a lawsuit over the company's role in the smuggling of the artifacts, which authorities say were looted from the war-torn country.
Prosecutors say Steve Green, the president of the $4 billion company, agreed to buy more than 5,500 artifacts in 2010 for $1.6 million in a scheme that involved a number of middlemen and the use of phony or misleading invoices, shipping labels and other paperwork to slip the artifacts past U.S. customs agents.
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In another career, I used my set of Rock'em Sock'em Robots to settle meaningless employee disputes. They worked successfully at several startups, until I met some online media sales people. They didn't know to stop when their block was knocked off.
Mattel's Rock'em Sock'em Robots via Amazon Read the rest
In the 80s everyone wanted their money for nothing and their chicks for free, even the students at ITT Technical Institute..
There was the Dootson School of Trucking. I always wanted to meet Debbie.
Lets not forget ICS, and Sally.
I was uninspired by the tech school scene tho. I knew who I wanted to be like. None of these guys had anything on Ron Popiel. Read the rest
PBS asked experts a question intended to inflame the masses: Which is smarter, a dog or a cat? Read the rest
The Boy Scouts of America are set to drop the "Boy" from "Boy Scouts" come February 2019 and open scouting to all. Now girls can slave their teens away to become Eagle Scouts too!
I was a Scout. Every day I use things I learned from Scouting; from knots to time management I am better off for my time, and adventures, in the Scouts. Troop 2 Santa Monica was led by a folks dedicated to the scouts, didn't matter what we looked like, who we worshiped or wanted to date. That was not always the case in Scouting. There were still no girls.
The last few years appear to be bringing change pretty quickly to the National organization.
I never made Eagle.
Via NPR:
The Boy Scouts program is becoming Scouts BSA in February 2019 to reflect the decision to include young women, the Boy Scouts of America announced on Wednesday.
The organization's name will remain the same; only the program for older youth will change its name.
The Cub Scouts program for younger children was the first to open up to girls. Thousands of girls have already joined under an early adopter program.
Other Boy Scouts programs for older youth — such as an outdoor adventure program called Venturing — were already open to girls. But those programs didn't offer girls the chance to attain the highest rank of Eagle Scout.
Read the rest
