“Popcorn lung” - sounds yummy!

The CDC became aware several years ago of an emerging hazard to workers in microwave popcorn factories - the butter additives (diacetyl) cause severe lung damage to the workers. Until now, this problem has been confined to those who work in the factories. Those of us who shovel mouthfuls of the delicious snack while watching DVDs were perfectly safe, because we aren’t exposed to enough of it to cause the illness (bronchiolitis obliterans).

Or so we thought. Now a guy from Denver with a two-bag-a-day habit is sueing a popcorn manufacturer because he has acquired this rare illness, presumably from the popcorn.

While lawsuits similar to this generally make me think “it’s your own fault, fatty,” this one tends to make think that the manufacturers might bear some burden of responsibility since it is known that the chemical they put in there can cause this disease when exposure is high.

Tuesday music - Hail to the King.

In honor of the birthday of The King I bring you one of my favorite diddies of yesteryear.

It’s time to play…BoingBoingBingo!

We have heaped abuse on Boing Boing before, and apparently we are not the only ones who have these complaints about how they’ve gone downhill. Someone has created a site called BoingBoingBingo - just hit refresh to get a new bingo card full of the 30 or so topics that Boing Boing keeps repeating over and over.

Writer’s strike

Since I can’t think of anything worthwhile to write for Billy Ocean, Student Council Treasurer today, I am just going to say I’m not writing because I’m in solidarity with the Writer’s Guild of America, who are on strike. Enjoy the following video, courtesy a couple of WGA strikers.

Bruce Dickinson was my history teacher

Cleaning up my messy Hotmail inbox today, I stumbled across an old favorite bit of internet humor - Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from Iron Maiden. If you aren’t familiar with Iron Maiden’s catalog of songs - often based on mythology, history, and literature - you may find yourself scratching your head and wondering why it is funny. If you were an 80’s metalhead like me, you’ll laugh your ass off.

And, incidentally, I think I may have actually gone to school with “Poodlehead” here:

Well, we’ll just take our casinos and go home

Apparently, the Lakota nation have decided to withdraw from their 150 year old treaties with the United States and become an independent nation, issuing their own passports and such. They say that anyone can come and join them and live in their nation tax free as long as they renounce their U.S. citizenship.

I find this interesting, but I worry for the Lakota. It’s not very clear how serious they are, but there are huge issues for them doing this economically and otherwise - especially with President Bombsalot running the show. But hey, I wish them luck. And if Mitt Romney gets elected President, I may take the Lakota up on their invitation.

Tuesday Music Part II

Shortly after his appearance on The Muppet Show, John Denver indulged his more experimental side and recorded a 4-song EP with death metal band Deicide. Unhappy with the results, John declined to support the release, refusing to appear in any promotional materials or going on tour. He’s credited on the album as “Don Jenver”.

Listen to some of his guitar work below. The song is titled “Homage to Satan”.

John and and his wife of 14 years divorced shortly after the release of this single.

Tuesday music.

The two things I think of immediatley after hearing the name John Denver is Grape Nuts and the Muppets.

How six seconds from 1969 changed music

The video below is boring to watch, but it’s the audio that is interesting. This is a discussion of the “Amen Break“, possibly the most-used sample in contemporary music - somewhat like the “Wilhelm Scream“, but with possibly broader ramifications.

A little long for a Youtube video (about 19 minutes), it starts with a history of the sample itself, examples of its use in more recent music, and goes into a brief discussion of its implication in regards to copyright laws and the very nature of sampling.

Sure it’s useless…

…but it looks cool.

This Skull Helmet from Santiago Choppers is not DOT or SNELL approved (and therefore would not meet the criteria for most states’ helmet laws), would offer zero eye protection, and would block visibility…but damn, it looks cool.