A freedom of information request has given some unique insight into the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The list of words used by the department to monitor online activity for signs of terrorism or threats against the U.S. has been made publicly available. There are plenty of words on the list that you would expect to see there, like "Al Qaida" and "dirty bomb," but it's the inclusion of seemingly mundane terms like "bacteria" and "Mexico" that has piqued the interest of some.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Don’t say ‘flu’ or ‘subway’ online if you want to avoid Homeland Security
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Unflattering photos serve as diet motivation for women
Seeing unflattering photos of yourself can motivate you to lose weight, says an informal study. (Thinkstock)Ever launch into diet mode after seeing an unflattering vacation pic of yourself? You're not alone. An informal U.K. study has found that "fat" photos are the number-one reason for starting a new diet.
Eatwater.co.uk surveyed 1,000 women and found that half of them had been shocked into slimming down by an unsightly photograph of themselves, the Daily Mail reports.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Massive multi-family compounds
This compound in The Woodlands, Texas, measures over 30,000 square feet.
Photo: woodlandshomelisting.comSometimes, one house just isn’t enough. After all, who knows when Cary Grant might show up for an extended stay? That’s what prompted the former owners of Villa Paradiso, a 4-acre estate in Palm Springs, Calif., to build a poolside guest house. Mr. Grant’s private one-bedroom abode with its fireplace and dressing room is actually only one of the four dwellings here. Talk about major visitor’s perks.
Monday, May 28, 2012
The Biggest Kitchen Design Mistakes
Barn Kitchen1. Being Boring
"The best kitchens have a soul or a spirit that's warm, inviting, and personal," designer Mick De Giulio says. "Every project is a chance to do something new and creative. It's not just about the cabinets and countertops - the whole room has to sing." Adhering to that principle, he updated an Illinois kitchen in a former barn by keeping the architecture of the horse stalls, adding a tongue-in-cheek stovepipe to the range, and installing a pot rack that resemble a wagon wheel.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Women want more gay male romance novels
Heterosexual women are the largest consumers of man-on-man romance novels.(Thinkstock)As hot rain falls on the barn's weathered roof, our fair heroine is nowhere to be seen. Instead, Fabio and Lance tear at each other's drenched clothing, wet hair whipping bare shoulders as their bodies mash together …
Friday, May 25, 2012
Suspect held in case of New York boy missing since '79
New York Police Department spokesman Paul Brown holds an original missing poster …
A "Still Missing" poster of Etan Patz is seen in this undated handout file photo …
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New Jersey man was in custody on Thursday in the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz from his New York City neighborhood, a case that drew national attention to the plight of missing children, authorities said.
A law enforcement source told Reuters the suspect is Pedro Hernandez of New Jersey. Police in Camden, New Jersey, say he was picked up there on Wednesday night while visiting relatives.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Ashley Olsen shows off body in tiny bikini
Olsen is all smiles. (Derek Shook / Splash News)
There really is a first time for everything. The usually stone-faced Ashley Olsen was photographed not only smiling — but she was also in a bikini! Clad in a cute red-and-yellow striped top and solid black bottom, the billionaire fashion mogul splashed around in the waves in Maui, Hawaii, last week during a getaway with friends, including her twin sister Mary-Kate … who remained bundled up on the sand in a polka-dot dress, light blue cardigan, hat, and sunglasses.
via ca.omg.yahoo.com
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Erin Andrews reportedly dating ‘Gossip Girl’ actor Chace Crawford, who also happens to be Tony Romo’s brother-in-law
(Getty Images)ESPN sideline reporter and "Dancing With the Stars" alum Erin Andrews is dating "Gossip Girl" actor and Tony Romo's brother-in-law Chace Crawford, according to US Weekly.
Andrews, 34, and Crawford, 26, have been "spotted out" on "a couple" dates and are "getting to know each other." All these loose quotation marks make their relationship sound like a "Zagat review."
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Man survives 50-metre plunge over Niagara Falls
REFILE - REMOVING THIRD PARTY DISCLAIMER Niagara Falls firefighter Matt Rozon and …
NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. - A man survived a 50-metre plunged over Niagara Falls on Monday, becoming only the third person known to have gone over without a safety device and lived.
Police and fire crews arrived at the scene around 10:20 a.m. after witnesses reported seeing a man climb over the retaining wall and deliberately jump into the river waters.
The man, believed to be in his 40s, went over the Horseshoe Falls and surfaced in the lower Niagara River basin adjacent the Journey Behind the Falls observation platform, Niagara Parks Commission Police said in a release.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Bee Gees star Robin Gibb dies aged 62: family
Robin Gibb, singer with the legendary British band the Bee Gees, died on Sunday aged 62 after a lengthy battle against cancer, his family said.
"The family of Robin Gibb, of the Bee Gees, announce with great sadness that Robin passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery," said a family statement.
Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb scaled the heights of the pop world in the 1970s with disco hits including "How Deep Is Your Love", "Stayin' Alive", and "Night Fever".
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Bono becomes the richest musician in the world today thanks to Facebook
Bono replaces Paul McCartney as the world's richest musician. (Photo by D Dipasupil/WireImage)
It's a "Beautiful Day" today if your name is Bono!
U2 has always been one of the top grossing bands in the world making millions on tour and through album sales. However, today the Irish band's frontman is set to become the richest musician in the whole world.
via ca.omg.yahoo.com
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Privacy is lacking in this Tokyo glass home
A three-story glass home in Tokyo - including split-level balconies without safety rails
- intentionally offers little privacy to its occupants.
Photo: Iwan BaaIn a connected world where privacy is a valued, but diminishing part of daily life, home remains a reliable refuge. But here’s one home that intentionally strips away even that illusion for its inhabitants. In this nearly transparent Tokyo home, known as House NA, outsiders can see everything and everyone inside.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Shaving a picture of Matt Bonner in his head could net a young Spurs fan an in-school suspension
A young San Antonio Spurs fan faces an in-school suspension on Thursday if he doesn't somehow find a way to alter the image of Matt Bonner that was shaved into the back of his head. You read the previous sentence correctly. The Spurs forward, who is averaging just 14.6 minutes per game in the postseason, has apparently made such an impact on Woodlake Hills Middle School student Patrick Gonzalez that the youngster decided to have a hairstylist shave an image of the Spurs sharpshooter into the back of his haircut. Via Tas Melas, here's the image that has the principals at Woodlake Hills Middle School in righteous fear of the apparently inevitable anarchy and lawlessness in the school halls that will result if Gonzalez comes to school on Thursday without changing the haircut:
The offending haircut (Courtesy twitter.com/Grace__White)
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Donna Summer, Queen of Disco, dead at 63
Singer Donna Summer performs on NBC's Today Show Summer Concert Series in New York …
Donna Summer, the woman affectionately known as the Queen of Disco, died in Florida this morning after a battle with cancer. She was 63.
According to a TMZ report, sources close to Summer have stated the singer was trying to keep a tight lip on the extent of her illness.
"We spoke to someone who was with Summer a couple of weeks ago ... who says she didn't seem too bad," shares TMZ. "In fact, we're told she was focused on trying to finish up an album she had been working on."
More shirtless, tattooed Tom Cruise photos in W Magazine
Cruise rocks out for W. (Mario Sorrenti/W)
For those who were left salivating after seeing Tom Cruise shirtless and tattooed on the June cover of W last week, there's more! The magazine has released three new photos, which show the actor — sporting long hair and fake ink — putting on his best rock star poses to promote his upcoming movie musical, "Rock of Ages." In the film, which is based on the mega-hit Broadway play, he plays Stacee Jaxx, a sleazy '80s-era rock star that's part Axel Rose, part Bret Michaels — but with Cruise's own special spin. After learning how to play guitar and training with the Guns N' Roses singer's vocal coach for weeks, "I was thinking about the character, and I said, 'You know what? I need a monkey,'" Cruise, 49, tells the magazine in its June issue.
via ca.omg.yahoo.com
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Canadian soldier rolls up the rim, wins a car
The Canadian PressEric Wilson, a member of the Canadian Forces, didn't believe what he was reading when he "rolled up the rim" last month at the CFB Kingston Tim Hortons location. The rim read: "Win/Gagnez - Camry."
"I had to roll up the rim three times just to make sure I wasn't going completely out of my mind," Wilson told QMI Agency.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Tina Fey vs. Chelsea Clinton — Fashion Faceoff
Funny lady Tina Fey and former first daughter Chelsea Clinton aren't exactly fashion icons. Tina, of course, is known for her Sarah Palin impression on "Saturday Night Live" and "30 Rock," the show which she produces, writes, and stars in, but her off-screen wardrobe choices are usually more about comfort than style and even, well, a little frumpy. "I almost don't have time during the year to wear clothes," the mom of two recently revealed to People magazine. "I sort of roll out of bed into some pair of jeans and the top of my pajamas, come [to work] and then put on clothes. Then at the end of the day I put the pajama top back on and go home." Chelsea, on the other hand, who has traditionally shied away from the spotlight no matter what she was wearing, surprised us all when it was announced last fall that she would be an on-air correspondent for NBC News, which she does in addition to her work with her family's charitable Clinton Foundation. So what happened when the two were spotted out in the same red lacy dress from designer Oscar de la Renta just 16 months apart? It gives us the chance to play another round of our favorite game by asking ... Who wore it better?
Monday, May 14, 2012
What moose? Woman can't recall dramatic collision
A central Newfoundland woman, who drove about 40 kilometres with her windshield smashed out and her car's roof peeled back like an opened can, says she didn't know she'd hit a moose until she arrived at work in Gander on Monday.
"I can remember pulling into the driveway and my co-workers came out and asked me if I was okay and I said 'Why?' and they said 'Well Michelle you're bleeding and look at your car. I looked at my car and I was devastated," Michelle Higgins told CBC Friday.
"The roof was like a sardine can. I thought, 'this is impossible'."
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Signed Picasso print found by Ohio man at thrift store
Zachary Bodish recently sold the print he bought for $14. It went for $7,000
Thrift stores may normally be known for carrying rags, but one man has found a lot of riches from an item he purchased there.
Zachary Bodish of Ohio paid $14.14 for a poster that ended up being an original signed Pablo Picasso print and recently sold it for $7,000, according to the Associated Press. The person who acquired the art is a private buyer who wishes to remain anonymous.
"A pretty good return," said the 46-year-old Bodish to the Associated Press. "Can't get that at a bank."
Bodish said to The Columbus Dispatch the only thing he is allowed to say about the buyer is, "He raises thoroughbreds and he's sort of a big deal."
Saturday, May 12, 2012
‘Sylvester Stallone’ spotted in 16th century painting
(Photo: Everett Collection)There's always something new to discover in Vatican City. Anthony Zonfrell, 20, a visitor to the holy city did a double take when he saw Sylvester Stallone in one of Raphael's masterpieces.
OK, so it wasn't really Stallone. But the man who brought to life "Rocky," "Rambo" -- and is reprising his role in "The Expendables 2" this summer -- does bear more than a passing resemblance to an unnamed onlooker in a 1511 painting of Pope Gregory IX approving the Vatical Decretals.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Hiccupops: 13-year-old girl invents lollipop to cure hiccups
Mallory Kievman, 13, had the hiccups. So the innovative Connecticut teen set about researching a cure, eventually creating a successful one in her family's kitchen: hiccup-ending lollipops she's named Hiccupops.
Made from apple cider vinegar and sugar, the lollipops are designed to overstimulate throat nerves responsible for the hiccup contractions, cancelling out "the message to hiccup," she told the New York Times.
She admits she's still "tweaking the taste."
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Tyrannosaurus Rex name claimed by man for ‘name recognition’ purposes
Nebraska man Tyler Gold said he changed it because it sounds 'cooler'
Gold, a 23-year-old from York, Nebraska, is now going by Tyrannosaurus Rex after legally changing his name in court Monday.
The York News-Times reports Gold appeared before a judge and while on the witness stand explained his reasoning, which he also wrote in an official filing with the court. He said he wanted to change it "because the (T-Rex designation) is cooler. Also, as an entrepreneur, name recognition is important and the new name is more recognizable."
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
S. Korea cracks down on flesh capsules from China
South Korea has intensified a crackdown on the smuggling of capsules from China containing the powdered flesh of dead babies, taken by some as a cure for disease or a way to boost sexual performance, a customs official said Tuesday.
The gruesome practice came to light Sunday when Korea Customs said it had uncovered 35 attempts to import a total of 17,451 such capsules since last August.
The pills -- filled with the dried and powdered flesh of foetuses or dead infants -- were intercepted in the mail or in customs searches at airports.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Lindsay Lohan’s Odd Dinner Date: Woody Allen
Lohan and Allen out to dinner in NYC (PKI-nyc /Splash News)File this one under "strange celebrity friendship." Lindsay Lohan spent her Saturday night having dinner with Woody Allen.
Instead of her typical night out — last month she reportedly got into two different fights while out clubbing with pals in Los Angeles — the troubled star and the much older director, who's had his own share of controversy, met up for a meal at the high-level restaurant Philippe in New York City. After dining together on Chinese cuisine, Lohan, in a spring-like floral coat, followed Allen out of the restaurant, talking to his wife Soon-Yi Previn, before the actress hopped into a waiting car and the dining companions went their separate ways.
Monday, May 7, 2012
The Polka Dot House Next Door: Awesome or Eyesore?
Jim Deitz puts the final touches on his polka dot house. (AP Photo/Grand Forks Herald, Eric Hylden)Polka dots aren't just for bikinis, according to the Grand Forks painter behind the now-famous polka dot house.
Jim Deitz, a retired house painter, is in the process of converting a two-story house into an apartment rental complex, by covering the exterior in brightly-colored dots. "Pizza delivery drivers won't have any trouble finding this place," Deitz joked to the Associated Press on Wednesday. "You can't miss it."
Sunday, May 6, 2012
13-year-old finds mistake in Metropolitan Museum of Art map
An exhibition in The Met's Byzantine gallery (AP/Gregory Bull)New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) is one of the world's premier destinations for artistic and historical exhibitions. But this epicenter of worldly culture is not above admitting the occasional mistake. Even when the correction comes from one curious 13-year-old boy.
Friday, May 4, 2012
DEA agents apologize for forgetting college student in cell for four days
The Drug Enforcement Administration extended an apology to a University of California engineering student who was locked in a holding cell for more than four days and forgotten about. The student drank his own urine in desperation and attempted to kill himself, before agents returned four days later and found him, he said in a news conference covered by NBC and other outlets.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Jessica Simpson's Baby Name Choice Stirs the Web
For months, fans have followed Jessica Simpson’s baby bump, baby shower, baby shopping. Is it any wonder then -- now that the star has welcomed her daughter -- that attention has turned to the newborn’s name? Simpson announced the arrival of one Maxwell Drew Johnson, and a storm of comments hit the Web.
via ca.omg.yahoo.com
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Patrick Schwarzenegger attends senior prom with daughter of famous music producer
Photo courtsey of Patrick Schwarzenegger/InstagramOver the weekend Patrick Schwarzenegger experienced a typical teen rite of passage—attending his senior prom—but it wasn't your average affair. That's because the 18-year-old son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver attended the event with another celebrity offspring—legendary music producer Jimmy Iovine's daughter Jade.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Rihanna Pals Around With Paparazzi in Hawaii
Rihanna grabs a photographer's camera in Hawaii. (Rihanna/Twitter)
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. That seemed to be Rihanna's motto over the weekend while vacationing in Hawaii, where she found herself (surprise, surprise) trailed by a gaggle of paparazzi on the beach.Determined to get their shots, the pesky paps followed the "Disturbia" songstress — who was donning a cowboy hat and itsy bitsy bikini — into the Pacific, where Rihanna approached one of the photographers and grabbed his camera. After a friend snapped a pic of the in-water incident, Rihanna tweeted it out to her more than 18 million Twitter followers with the note, "Me high jackin the PaPz."
via ca.omg.yahoo.com
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