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Archive for June 9th, 2008

the war on idiocy

Hockey Night in Canada theme saved…by CTV

Poor, poor CBC. Sometimes you appear so very far out of your depth.

The Globe and Mail is reporting that the beloved Hockey Night in Canada theme has been licensed by CTV for us in their TSN hockey broadcasts. In other words, CBC basically gave CTV a nice little gift-wrapped gold brick under the pretense of taking a ‘hard line’ with its talent. They gambled, and they failed. Which makes it an appropriate moment for this:

First they lose the Olympics to CTV, and now the HNIC theme. Soon, there might not be any reason left to watch CBC.

I’m a bit torn about this. On the one hand, it’s great that the theme has been saved, and will continue to be associated with hockey. On the other hand, HNIC was a package deal. The theme was a integral part, but it was really the sum total that was so magical. A pyrrhic victory, at any rate. The theme lives on, but a Canadian institution has been damaged. And I still can’t believe how boneheaded CBC has been about this whole debacle.

Thanks to CN for the link.

June 9th, 2008 by graeme | | 5 comments »

strange days

Monkey god now head of Indian business school

Monkey god Hanuman, whose CV includes leading an monkey army against demon king Ravana and rescuing a princess, has decided to settle into the quiet life of a university administrator.

The recently opened Sardar Bhagat Singh College of Technology and Management chose Hanuman as their new Chairman this week. This position comes with a fancy office and all the bananas he can handle. Said a school official:

“It is our belief that any job that has the blessings of Lord Hanuman is bound to be a success.”

Sounds good to me. I’ve always wanted a monkey army, so I’ll be interested to see if they school launches a MSc in Managing Simian Combatants degree. So much biting!

Thanks to MN for the link.

June 9th, 2008 by graeme | | 2 comments »

the war on idiocy

Man gets hit by car, nobody helps. In other news, humanity is just terrible

Totally shocking video out of Hartford, Connecticut. A 78 year old man, Angel Arce Torres, was hit by two street racers as he was crossing the road. Watch what happens next:

Yes, exactly nothing. There’s a man clearly lying on the road, in bad need of help. People gawk, a few call 911. But that behaviour of the motorists is appalling. Backing away, pulling U-Turns, generally pretending nothing has happened.

I guess it’s true that nobody wants to get involved. There was an interesting Brainiac: Science Abuse episode that showed people are far more likely to ask someone if they are on an empty street. On a busy road, people just assume someone else will deal with it. But you know how that one ends- if everybody thinks that, then nobody helps. The Hartford video is a horrifying example of the “It’s Somebody Else’s Problem” principle in action.

So, if you see someone lying on the road, just stop. Seriously.

June 9th, 2008 by graeme | | 4 comments »