posted December 30, 2010 06:21 PM            

political car-in-a-ditch metaphors aside, describing 2010 as a year of starts, stops, and stalls reflects the fitful failures and progress in a tumultuous year. Diving into the Search stream, the Yahoo! Year in Review took 143 articles (this one makes 144) to look back -- and still many more things could've been covered, from religious scandals to gay and lesbian issues.

Then again, if we did that, you'd never be able to move on to 2011. Thank you for sharing the year with us -- as well as sharing your questions and your desire to know. In addition to 11 top-10 slideshows to the right, blogs throughout the month of December shared more. Below, some shortcuts will help you get to the topics you like. Oh, and best wishes for a smooth start to 2011.

Events & issues highlighted:

Madness Behind the Method (and credits)
• Video: Top News Stories of 2010
• Most Expensive Votes
• Video: Inspiring Moments of 2010
• iPad Love and Most-Searched Gadgets
• 'Glee'-ful Tidings and Most-Searched TV Shows
• Most-Searched Politicians
• Who's Top Dog? Top 10 Breeds
• Midterm Moodiness
• Talking to the Year's Hottest Pitchman
• Video: Extreme Moments of 2010
• Misheard, Mistaken, Misspelled: The Year's Finest
• Femme Fatale: A Year in Lady Spies
• Surprising Truths About Immigration
• Breakout Stars: Tough Girls Under 25
• Cyberspace: Bullying's New Turf
• SuperManny: Most Searched Athletes of 2010
• The Bonus Round: Outrageous Numbers of 2010
• Video: Head-Turning Moments of 2010
• Top News Stories of 2010: Month by Month
• Strange Undersea Creatures We Have Loved: 2010
• Slips-Ups and Leaks: The 2010 Cleanup
http://yearinreview.yahoo.com/2010/blog/13485/shortcuts-to-2010/

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted December 31, 2010 09:50 AM            

Animals~

"super chimps" were put on guard duty at the Commonwealth Games->

To keep the local simian population from going bananas at the sporting extravaganza, which began Sept. 29, Delhi authorities are deploying a contingent of langurs -- a large breed of monkey -- to keep the primate peace.

According to Fox News, the 10 law-enforcing langurs will be on duty outside several Games venues in the Indian capital -- especially the swimming complex, which is a big target for monkey misbehavior.

Using monkeys to minimize "orangu-tangles" isn't new in Delhi -- the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has a regular team of 28 langurs which uses gorilla warfare on their smaller cousins in the more upscale parts of the city.

The primate police is being increased to 38 and the elite force of langurs will take care of the Games venues and other important areas.

Monkeys are as common in Delhi as pigeons are in New York and routinely scamper through government offices, courts, police stations and hospitals.

However, their antics are more deadly: In 2007, the deputy mayor of New Delhi died from a fall after being attacked by a group of monkeys on the terrace of his home.




• Guard Parrots?

  Birds Attack Burglars, Serve as Lookouts for Drug Runners
  Sep 20, 2010 – 6:46 AM

  Police in England believe a parrot not only attacked thieves who broke into a pet store, but also collected evidence that could help solve the case.

  When burglars busted into Hobday's Pet Shop in Conventry late Tuesday or early Wednesday, a sun conure parrot named Jack got flapping mad, UPI reports.

  "When we got into work there was blood all over and Jack was perched on his cage squawking like mad," pet store owner Caroline Hobday told the press. "All the evidence looks like he scared the thieves away and spent the rest of the night patrolling the other animals."

  The thieves got away with one parrot and three snakes, and they tore the tail off of a lizard and killed some tropical fish. But thanks to Jack, they left behind a blood trail from which investigators might be able to obtain DNA evidence.

  Police also recovered scraps of fabric from Jack's beak that could help pinpoint the perps.

  Unfortunately, not all parrots are as willing to cooperate with police.

  According to the AP, when officers raided a narcotics cartel in Barranquilla, Colombia, on Wednesday, they recovered a parrot named Lorenzo that had been trained to say "Run, run, you're going to get caught."

  Authorities say Lorenzo is just one of 1,700 birds they have seized from Colombian drug runners, who use the parrots as lookouts.

• 2010: A Big Year for UFOs
  in fact Astronomers Worldwide Forged New Rules for ET Engagement.
  in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, the International Academy of Astronautics' SETI Permanent Study group created new guidelines for how earthlings should best handle official contact with extraterrestrials.

  Famed British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, the pope's astronomer, a high-ranking Italian politician and even the late Winston Churchill (according to recently unearthed documents) helped keep UFOs in the news.

  
  

• Bearded Mother and Child Reunion

  

  Sideshow superstar Vivian Wheeler -- who holds the Guinness World Record for longest female beard (11 inches) -- had believed she could never have children, and her life in circuses would've made it difficult to be a mother. But she gave birth to Richard in 1977, and his father ran off with him shortly after.

  
  

• And how's this for a statement on American health care: a New York City OBGYN is now selling sex toys to supplement his income, and apparently that's not against AMA rules.

  
  "For many years, women have been coming to my office with all sorts of sexual complaints, concerns about sexual health, decreased desire and problems with arousal," Scheinfeld said. "I listened but could never really relate to it.

  "I've sent patients to psychologists and sex therapists, and when I followed up, [I found that] they don't go. It costs too much. I have a lot of hard-working women as patients, and they can't pay $200 a week to talk [to a therapist] for half an hour."

  Researching ways to add zing to his own marriage, Scheinfeld, 54, said he was embarrassed shopping for sex toys in stores.

  "I was very paranoid, thinking everyone was looking at me saying, 'Look at the old guy with the sex toy in a briefcase,'" he said. "Here I am, an OB/GYN. If I felt that way, how a woman might feel going into a shop like that would be very difficult."
  

posted December 31, 2010 09:52 AM            

• 'Star Trek' Cremation Urns Take Trekkies on a Heavenly Journey

  quote:

  ---

  On the Eternal Image website page, where the urns are displayed, is the following Capt. James T. Kirk quote from the movie "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan": "How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life, wouldn't you say?"

  ---

  If you're interested in purchasing a "Star Trek" urn -- retail price is $799 -- you can do so only through a local funeral home.
  

  
  

• 
  
  70 MPH wheelchair

• CockSoccer??

  Chinese CockSoccer Has PETA Crying Fowl

  

posted December 31, 2010 10:50 AM            

Julian Assange was voted the most "intriguing man" of 2010 by cnn...

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted December 31, 2010 03:32 PM            

posting my fave political cartoonist's take on 2010

That should cheer us up

Heywood Jablowme

god I love this stuff....

posted January 01, 2011 05:26 PM            

14 Overused Words Are Banished

By Ros Krasny Ros Krasny – Fri Dec 31, 12:38 pm ET

BOSTON (Reuters) – This story might be epic, and could even go viral, but not if Lake Superior State University has anything to do with it. Just sayin.'

The small college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, released on Friday its annual list of "banished words" -- terms so overused, misused and hackneyed they deserve to be sent to a permanent linguistic trash can in the year ahead.

"Viral," often used to describe the rapid spreading of videos or other content over the Internet, leads the list for 2011.

"This linguistic disease of a term must be quarantined," Kuahmel Allah of Los Angeles said in making a nomination.

Runners-up included "epic" and "fail," often twinned to describe a blunder of monumental proportions.

A total of 14 words were on the list.

Cliched terms such as "wow factor," "a-ha moment," "back story" and "BFF" (Best Friends Forever) rated highly. The very au courant use of "Facebook" and "Google" as verbs got a thumbs down as well.

As usual, election-cycle zingers and catchwords quickly look as worn out as last year's campaign posters.

In that vein, voters suggested the banning of "Mama Grizzlies," used to describe right-wing female politicians in the mold of Sarah Palin, and "man up," famously used by Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sharon Angle in a testy debate with Democrat Harry Reid and a favorite Palin expression as well.

"A stupid phrase when directed at men. Even more stupid when directed at a woman, as in 'Alexis, you need to man up and join that Pilates class!'" said Sherry Edwards of Clarkston, Michigan.

LSSU began its popular list in 1976, when it named "at this point in time," as substituted for the concise and elegant "now," as a linguistic dud. The college now receives well over 1,000 nominations each year through its website, lssu.edu/banished.

Previous winners and nominees include the terms "shovel ready" for 2010, "battleground states" for 2005, "24/7" for 2000 and "family values" for 1995.

(Reporting by Ros Krasny; Editing by Jerry Norton)

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~

posted January 03, 2011 05:09 PM            

till a better one comes along I will likely continue to use it... .

Tops on my personal list are:

• Obfuscate
• Repudiate- refudiate
• Socialist
• Mainstream
• Moving foreword
• Drama Queen
• Ergonomic
• Natural
• Heart Healthy
• Gynormous
• O'bamacare
• Lockstep

posted January 05, 2011 10:37 PM            

To the dump!

Never heard "lockstep" before tho.

Honest, a person with the loveliest Southern drawl sounds like they are saying refudiate too.

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What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world is immortal"~