Public Service: Free passport photos!

Boing Boing: Free passport photos!

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Advent Angel: 18 Days 'til Christmas!

"WHILE SHEPHERDS WASHED THEIR SOCKS AT NIGHT...

A 'mondegreen' is a mishearing of a statement or song lyric. Christmas carols and other holiday songs, rife as they are with seldom-heard words and phrasings and clever wordplay, are fertile fields for the sowing of mondegreens, especially when children, with their limited vocabularies, are involved.

Snopes, the Urban Legends Reference Page, has collected a variety of Christmas mondegreens from books, Internet postings, and reader e-mail."

(I could never figure out myself why "Round John Virgin" wasn't in the nativity scene like "Silent Night" said! Next to the socks above, though, my favorite's probably "Joy to the World! The Lord has gum!!")
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Weird Science: "Bees Recognize Human Faces"

Bees Recognize Human Faces -- ScienceNOW

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Newsflash: "Casino' di Venezia Sold to an Internet Gambling Company"

"I just read that Sportalnet, an online 'betting' company has purchased Venice's casino and its trademark, 'Casino' di Venezia."

(more from "Weird Venice")

"Note that this article says 'Venice is one of the most clicked words on the internet'"!

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One Sentence Film Reviews!

Welcome to a new feature!

Want to know in a jiffy whether a film is worth seeing? Try MMC's "One Sentence Film Reviews"!!

Today, we review "The Fantastic Four"... FYI!!

"The Fantastic Four" isn't.

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Live to Be 100 Calculator

How long will you live? According to the "Live to be 100 Calculator,"

"Your calculated health span is 85.3 years. Below, please find the reasoning behind the questions, which you answered that made your score less than it should be..."

How much better could it be? Try the RealAge Quiz to find out!

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"Google Maps mashups for Italy"

Google Maps mashups for Italy!


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Italian "Engrish" on Gas Pump

Italian Engrish on gas pump


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Advent Angel: 19 Days 'til Christmas

"How Christmas Works - guide to Christmas traditions and customs, including the secret behind the red-nosed reindeer, hanging mistletoe, and plastic tinsel."
(from Yahoo!)
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Newsflash: Italy loves mobile phones!

Hmmm... not exactly unexpected!

"The UAE tied with Italy as highest in a Motorola survey of eight countries of mobile phone use: 87% of the 500 respondents wanted their mobile phone with them at all times, which compared to just 27% of people in the UK with most of the population keeping their phone switched off." (from Europe Sun)

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Newsflash: "New mammal found in Borneo jungles!"

New mammal found in Borneo jungles: WWF - Yahoo! News

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Newsflash: "Untouched Roman sarcophagi found!"

ANSA.it - Untouched Roman sarcophagi found

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Quote of the day...

"The most willing slaves are those who think they are free."


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Newsflash: Venice under Water!

"Acqua alta" or floods during high tide are not uncommon in Venice.

What is uncommon is their height this time! The water innundated the city at about 50 cm higher than usual, putting about 70% of Venice underwater anywhere from just a couple of centimenters, to about six inches in the alleyway where our flat is, to over 20 centimenters in the lowest part of town, Saint Mark's Square!


For more, read "Sea swamps Venice"...

Want to know if more acqua alta is coming? Check out the city's official flood forecast (or else here in English!)

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The International Fear of Drafts...

Not conscription, that is, but deadly breezes!


Seems that they are not alone in the world...
"'Fan Death' is an urban legend that was originally primarily confined to South Korea, but has spread to other countries in the Far East. The legend states that an electric fan, if left running overnight in a closed room, can result in the death (by suffocation, poisoning, or hypothermia) of those inside. This belief also extends to air conditioners and the fans in cars. When the air conditioner or fan is on in a car, Koreans are apt to leave their car windows open a crack to avoid 'fan death.'"

On the other hand, thanks to recent research, the last laugh may actually be on those who don't believe that drafts cause colds...

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