Friday, Oct 11, 2013

1.      The science fiction movie “Gravity” was tops at the box office last weekend, although it has been criticized for having several technical inaccuracies.  ***  For example, George Clooney was not followed into space by the paparazzi.

2.      A German bishop was forced to resign after it was found that his new residence was costing $42 million to build, six times the original estimate.   ***  He’s now hoping to relocate to the United States and get a job as a defense contractor.

3.      Eight members of Congress were arrested during a rally near the Capitol Building.   ***   OK, that’s 8 down, 527 to go.

4.      Eight members of Congress were arrested during a rally near the Capitol Building.   ***  They were charged with “crowding, obstructing and incommoding.”   ***   “Incommoding”?   I think that’s when you try to put the whole country in the toilet.

5.      They’ve just announced the winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  ***   It has been awarded posthumously to Walter White.

6.      In a TV interview rapper Fifty Cent revealed that his best friend is his grandmother.   ***  And Fifty Cent’s biggest enemy?  Inflation.  (It makes him feel worthless.)

7.      Congratulations to Professors James Rothman (at Yale), Randy Schekman (at the University of California) and Thomas Suedhof (at Sanford), who just won the Nobel Prize in Medicine. ***  They received the award for being the first people to figure out how to register for Obamacare.

8.      The Pentagon says it is recalling more than 300,000 civilian employees who were furloughed as part of the government shutdown. *** It also promised to pay for their therapy to deal with depression after having been called “non-essential.”

9.      Last Monday marked 100 years since Henry Ford set up the world’s first assembly line, which reduced assembly time from 12 1/2 hours to just 93 minutes.  ***   And Tuesday marked 100 years since the first automobile recall.

10.    NBC is coming out with a new reality show called “Space Race,” in which the winner will get a ride into outer space next year on Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic.  An NBC representative said, “This will be a remarkable experience for anyone who has...dared to dream of space flight.”  ***  Or anyone who’s just sick and tired of what’s happening on earth.