Inspired by the recent and effective Egyptian protests, more and more Middle Eastern countries are being consumed by rallies. Bahrain, Libya and Yemen were most prominent in the news this week, though protests are happening in numerous countries including Jordan, Tunisia, Iran, just to name a few. In many of these countries, the governments are responding to the peaceful protesters with extreme violence. In Libya, for example, the six days of political unrest has resulted in over 200 deaths, many caused by pro-government security forces. The anti-government fury has even begun to spread beyond the Mid-East. In China, plans for the “Jasmine Revolution” were unsuccessful on Saturday when less than a hundred showed up to protest, though organizers say there is more to come. There are a lot of different, complicated stories to keep track of here, and by far the easiest resource I’ve found to help keep up-to-date on this is an interactive map from CNN.

In a man versus machine Jeopardy! showdown, a computer named Watson took down two past champions. Watson, which (or who?) was created by IBM scientists over four years, ended the game with $77,147, while well-known champ Ken Jennings came in second with $24,000. Scientists at IBM say not to worry- computers aren’t quite able to take over the world yet. The win, though, is an indication of the ever-improving technology that will lead to faster and better access to information in the future. I’m imagining little mini-Watsons we can all carry in our pockets one (exam) day, although the original did cost somewhere above $30 million to create. Read More »

Congratulations to Stump, winner of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show! What a cutie.

At 10-years-old, he’s the oldest dog to ever win the contest and the first of his breed. Way to go, buddy! Stump proves that anything is possible… and that old dogs have shinier hair than I do…

Seems like these days everything in the news is depressing: Chris Brown’s arrest, the crappy economy, thousands of layoffs (GM just cut 10,000 jobs), the Octuplets mom lying about her financial situation, the A-Rod/Steroid scandal, just to name a few. It’s like all you want to do is down an antire Duncan Heinz cake and cry into your pillow.

But it’s not all bad.  The Westminster Kennel Club 2009 Dog Show (AKA: happiness on a leash) is happening right now. OMFG! Puppies! Yay!!

And if puppies don’t brighten your Tuesday (monster!), I don’t know what will. Get your dose of sunshine, rainbows, and doggy faces right here. Read More »