BlogPost - Hot Topics, Trends and Conversation from The Washington Post - October 17, 2010

Halloween costumes for pets, Juan Williams and the First Amendment: This week's top news tweets

The week's top news tweets.

By Katie Rogers | October 22, 2010; 6:42 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Blog surfaces to counter Juan Williams's notions of 'Muslim garb'

A Tumblr blog surfaced today with a short and simple message: "I will post pictures of Muslims wearing all sorts of things in an attempt to refute that there is such a thing as 'Muslim garb' or a Muslim look."

By Melissa Bell | October 22, 2010; 6:10 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
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WikiLeaks release reports detailing abuse, civilian deaths, Iranian aid

New war logs have been released by the Web site Wikileaks, which claim 15,000 Iraqi deaths not previously reported. Nearly 400,000 classified documents detail prisoner abuse, civilian deaths and Iran aid to Iraqi militias.

By Melissa Bell | October 22, 2010; 5:41 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (28)
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Defund NPR radio? Who's funding it anyway?

What would "defunding" mean for NPR?

By Melissa Bell | October 22, 2010; 2:55 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (20)
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Gordon Pinsent reads Justin Bieber, and other old men who mock youth

Gordon Pinsent, a Canadian comedian, took on Justin Bieber's memoir during his television show "This House Has 22 Minutes."

By Melissa Bell | October 22, 2010; 2:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Obama's 'It Gets Better' video: Your take on the viral campaign

President Obama makes a video for the 'It Gets Better Project' started by Dan Savage. What does the 'It Gets Better' project mean to you?

By Katie Rogers | October 22, 2010; 12:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
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HAPPY INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY!

Today marks INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY. CELEBRATE.

By Melissa Bell | October 22, 2010; 11:05 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Haitians suffer cholera outbreak amid squalid conditions

A cholera outbreak has been reported in Haiti.

By Melissa Bell | October 22, 2010; 10:41 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Is Chinese remix ad the new Hitler meme?

The latest stand-out ad making the campaign circles is "Chinese Professor," set in "Beijing, China 2030 AD." It's reminiscent of the Hitler remix meme.

By Melissa Bell | October 22, 2010; 8:42 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
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♪♫ All India Radio paints lights in the sky

YouTube Play has paired YouTube with the Guggenheim Museum for an interactive festival.

By Melissa Bell | October 22, 2010; 7:24 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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City councilman Joel Burns' 'It Gets Better' video captivates online world

A Fort Worth city council member giving a live "It Gets Better" speech in the middle of a council meeting. Joel Burns speaks about an abusive experience in high school, a fraught relationship with his southern father, and then how rich his life became once he got through the difficult times.

By Melissa Bell | October 21, 2010; 5:09 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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From Xanga to Facebook to Tumblr: How have you grown up through social networks?

Participate in this experiment (a very unscientific study in digital breadcrumbs, if you will) and we'll round up some of the most creative responses, Post Secret style. Use #digitalbreadcrumbs to send us your short thoughts about social media overload on Twitter.

By Katie Rogers | October 21, 2010; 4:45 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Juan Williams and the year of unairing your opinion

Why are journalists like Juan Williams losing their jobs for airing their opinions?

By Melissa Bell | October 21, 2010; 2:33 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (54)
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Bob Guccione's life in photos

Guccione was a seminary school dropout who revolutionized the adult entertainment industry in the late 1960s as the publisher of Penthouse magazine.

By Melissa Bell | October 21, 2010; 12:21 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Fox 4 News Alert: When anchors try comedy

In a send up of social media taking over journalism, a Dallas-based Fox News affiliate decided to create a funny, little parody of journalists who try to balance reportage with Twitter, Facebook, Skype, and all the other social media accouterments.

By Melissa Bell | October 21, 2010; 12:15 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Halloween is nigh: What's the scariest movie?

What's your favorite scary movie?

By Katie Rogers | October 21, 2010; 11:57 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (86)
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Facebook targeting gays with advertising?

A Microsoft researcher found the same glitch responsible for the privacy breaches in the apps leak could let advertisers know a users sexual orientation.

By Melissa Bell | October 21, 2010; 11:55 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Press Freedom Index 2010: U.S. ranks No. 20, Eritrea worst

Reporters Without Borders, the Journalism watchdog group, released its Press Freedom Index for 2010, tracking media freedom across 178 different countries.

By Melissa Bell | October 21, 2010; 10:10 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Sex.com sells: $13 million bought the Internet domain name; no price on its scintillating history

Sex.com The domain name just sold for $13 million, the BBC reports. The sale will be finalized Oct. 27, pending approval by a bankruptcy court.

By Melissa Bell | October 21, 2010; 8:16 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
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♪♫ Dizzy Gillespie gets Googled

Dizzy Gillespie would have been 93 today. Google honored his birthday with a doodle.

By Melissa Bell | October 21, 2010; 7:50 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
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The 'Tweet It' song: iPads vs. iPhones (Video)

Social media mockery + a Michael Jackson beat + Jheri curls = Viral magic

By Melissa Bell | October 20, 2010; 3:45 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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How the leopard got his spots -- really

(Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters). Rudyard Kipling was right all along, it seems. In one of his "Just So Stories," Kipling suggested the leopard got its spots because the animal moved to an environment " 'sclusively full of trees and bushes...

By Melissa Bell | October 20, 2010; 1:22 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Purple banner day: Dan Choi reenlists, Google releases 'It Gets Better' video, people don purple

The "It Gets Better" campaign and the campaign against the "don't ask, don't tell" policy have coalesced on a nationwide "Spirit Day," where people wear purple and change their Twitter and Facebook avatars "in honor of the 6 gay boys who committed suicide in recent weeks/months due to homophobic abuse in their homes at at their schools."

By Melissa Bell | October 20, 2010; 12:19 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
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TED 2011 winner: JR is a street artist papering the world with his photographs

The 2011 TED prize goes to international street artist JR.

By Melissa Bell | October 20, 2010; 12:00 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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'The Rent Is ... UP': Mash-up magic (VIDEO)

Jimmy McMillan and Andrew Cuomo take on starring roles in the animated film "Up," thanks to the advertising agency Get Whirled.

By Melissa Bell | October 20, 2010; 9:51 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Va. textbook based on questionable Web research

A Virginia history book has a passage many historians find slightly untenable: Thousands of African Americans fought for the South during the Civil War -- a claim often made by groups seeking to play down slavery's role as a cause of the conflict.

By Melissa Bell | October 20, 2010; 8:46 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Maine coon: Longest cat ever (VIDEO)

Robin Henderson is the proud owner of the world's longest domestic cat. The Maine coon cat named "Stewie" is 48 1/2 inches long from tip to tail.

By Melissa Bell | October 20, 2010; 8:18 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Morning music: Pixies offer up a free musical snack

The Pixies offer their fans a free music download.

By Melissa Bell | October 20, 2010; 7:45 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Hillary Clinton: 'It will get better' (VIDEO)

The campaign to tell teenagers "It Gets Better," received a huge political backing today. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took to YouTube to address teen bullying and tells them: "Hang in there."

By Melissa Bell | October 19, 2010; 6:47 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
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The 'rent is too damn high' guy, Manhattan Madam, the Real Kramer: Our favorite fringe candidates

With Jim McMillian and Kristin Davis entertaining the New York governor's race, BlogPost takes a look back on the best fringe candidates.

By Melissa Bell | October 19, 2010; 6:15 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Chelsea Hotel up for sale; who wants to go in on it?

The Chelsea Hotel is up for sale. Let's buy it.

By Melissa Bell | October 19, 2010; 1:40 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Foreclosure rap: Angry mom makes anthem for a broke nation

A middle-aged mom raps about her angst with foreclosure.

By Melissa Bell | October 19, 2010; 1:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (14)
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Gene Weingarten and the Great Mustache-Off

Gene Weingarten has been nominated for the Robert Goulet Memorial Mustached American of the Year.

By Melissa Bell | October 19, 2010; 12:18 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Unicorn video a hoax? Nice science, Ontario Science Center.

The Ontario Science Center released a video of a unicorn, saying the footage was thought to be real. Then they admitted the whole thing was made up.

By Melissa Bell | October 19, 2010; 10:55 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Congress looks into Facebook privacy breach

After a Wall Street Journal exposed privacy breaches in Facebook, Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas), co-chairmans of the House Bipartisan Privacy Caucus, sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

By Melissa Bell | October 19, 2010; 9:36 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
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'Whip My Hair' and 'Sesame Street': A power ballad* for black hair

Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair" video debuted yesterday and a mash-up with "Sesame Street" shows it for what it is: a proud tribute to a black girl's hair.

By Melissa Bell and Sam Sanders | October 19, 2010; 7:59 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Jimmy McMillian aka The "Rent Is Too Damn High" Guy takes center stage in N.Y. governor's race

In what may be the only debate in the New York gubernatorial race, issues and politics took backseat to a black-gloved, mustached man running on a simple platform: the rent in New York is too damn high.

By Melissa Bell | October 19, 2010; 7:56 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Music morning: A-ha takes us on

Ah, the 80s and that decade's crazy love affair with humans becoming cartoons. No one does it better, though than the Norwegian pop band, A-Ha, who took the No.1 on the US singles chart on this day, 25 years ago. Doesn't every girl want a man to reach out of the comic book for a finger-snapping, synthesizer-powered dance? No? Just me?

By Melissa Bell | October 19, 2010; 7:46 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Donuts and Coffee good for the brain? 'Doh

Gary L.Wenk, author of "Your Brain on Food" writes in Psychology Today that the brain needs a constant supply of sugar to produce energy and caffeine to stay alert.

By Melissa Bell | October 18, 2010; 5:03 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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C-SPAN2 brings sexy back with a lovers' quarrel

The Daily Caller brought my attention to the heartbreak of a C-SPAN2 contributor who decided to bring his cheating ex's ways into the debate over young conservatives, while his ex said placidly beside him. It starts to get very awkward around minute 1:45. There's nothing quite like two incredibly cerebral academics battling it out in the name of love, libertarianism and ideological differences. Enjoy....

By Melissa Bell | October 18, 2010; 2:50 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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2030: The date we need to double our Earth

The Living Planet Report says human demands on natural resources have doubled in under 50 years and are now outstripping what the Earth can provide by more than half. If humanity carries on as it is in the use of resources, globally it will need the capacity of two Earths by 2030.

By Melissa Bell | October 18, 2010; 2:27 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Super Typhoon Megi hits Philippines (Photos and Video)

The strongest typhoon in years to buffet the Philippines knocked out communications and power as residents took shelter Monday, while flooding in Vietnam swept away a bus and 20 of its passengers, including a boy taken from his mother's grasp by the raging waters.

By Melissa Bell | October 18, 2010; 12:55 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
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BlogPost: October 17, 2010 - October 23, 2010