Skimm for January 30th Quote of the day: “…using one’s position as a former governor and current executive committee member to personally promote one’s own Oscar submission creates the appearance of an unfair advantage” — The president of the Academy on revoking an Oscar nom for original song “Alone Yet Not Alone.” The Academy concluded that the song’s writer, a former Academy governor and exec committee member, was directly campaigning for the award. A big no-no that will now leave the writer very alone. Highway to Hell THE STORY: The South and winter do not mix. And it doesn’t appear that Atlanta and its neighbors are interested in experiencing more of it. SERIOUSLY, WHAT IS GOING ON? A rare ice storm hit the South on Tuesday. Atlanta got about 2.5 inches of snow, so many people left work and school early. All at the same time. Birmingham and other nearby cities were also hit very badly. Thus, interstates became parking garages. Thousands of commuters ended up being trapped, including kids on school buses; many ran out of gas (and warmth) and others abandoned their vehicles altogether and walked to shelter. Or as one commuter said “What took me 30 minutes yesterday morning took me 26 hours to get back.” UH, DIDN’T THEY JUST GET A FEW INCHES OF SNOW? But they also got ice — not an everyday occurrence for that part of the country. Meanwhile, state leaders and Atlanta’s mayor are dealing with major criticism over the state’s lack of preparation. BOO HOO, WE GET 2.5″ PRETTY MUCH EVERY OTHER DAY. This is no joke. Authorities performed helicopter searches for people still stuck on the roads. Fortunately, it’s supposed to get a little warmer down South — bringing the universe back to normal and making Northerners resent them again. REPEAT AFTER ME… What to say when someone mentions Justin Bieber’s latest legal problem… I’m not sure if I’d rather be a Belieber or a Snowdenista. The US is likely on Team Belieber now that NSA leaker Edward Snowden has been nominated by Norwegian lawmakers for the Nobel Peace Prize. Yes, that Nobel, whose past winners include President Obama and Nelson Mandela. Snowden is still in Russia, where he was granted a temporary home. Meanwhile in the US, where Snowden faces espionage charges, James Clapper, the nation’s spy chief, told Snowden and his ‘accomplices’ to give back the treasure trove of government surveillance info. No word on if Snowden headed to FedEx. What to say while cleaning out your closet… I think I’ve outgrown that purchase. Google is over its move into smartphone hardware, so the big G is selling Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for almost $3 billion. Google will keep a lot of the patents it got when it first bought Mobility, while Lenovo, the PC King, will get a way into a new market. Google couldn’t make it work with Motorola, even after putting in a lot of money, but wishes Lenovo good luck! What to say after a falling out… It’s time to move on. After years of fighting over farm and nutrition policy, the House finally approved one big mama of a farm bill. Although there was bipartisan support, Dems don’t like that the bill cuts federal food stamps, while Republicans are mad that the bill is still so expensive. The bill nixes a system of direct federal payments to farmers that were hard for politicians to defend, and instead, expands the federally subsidized crop-insurance program. The five-year bill now heads to the Senate. Wake up now. What to say when you think you’re getting sick… Stay home. A Royal Caribbean cruise ship has made it back to land after life on board resulted in a lot of bathroom time. Nearly 700 people on board got a nasty stomach bug. Royal Caribbean, which has to scrub down the ship again, will comp passengers — 50% off this cruise, 50% off the next one. Yes, the next one.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 18:28:05 +0000
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