ComPost: March 6, 2011 - March 12, 2011

I blame the SuperMoon

(NASA via AP) Yes! The SuperMoon was absolutely responsible for the disaster that just took place in Japan. What's a SuperMoon? It's the closest the Moon has been to Earth in 18 years, a point in the orbit otherwise called...

By Alexandra Petri  | March 11, 2011; 6:30 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (26)
Categories:  Petri, Seems Suspect  | Tags:  moon, space  
Save & Share:                   

Evan Emory's YouTube debacle: real vs. online community

This is not how the YouTube story usually goes. The steps are usually simple: Boy makes inappropriate video, video goes viral, boy becomes able to sell merchandise with his face on it without people thinking he's some sort of weirdo....

By Alexandra Petri  | March 11, 2011; 3:27 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (1)
Categories:  Only on the Internet, Petri, Worst Things Ever  | Tags:  YouTube, kids these days, oops  
Save & Share:                   

Lightbulbs, toilets, and Rand Paul's potty mouth

Rand Paul's toilets don't work, and he knows who's to blame. Not Aqua Buddha. The Government! "I've been waiting for 20 years to talk about how bad these toilets are," Rand Paul (R-Ky.) exclaimed during a hearing on energy Thursday...

By Alexandra Petri  | March 10, 2011; 4:53 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (56)
Categories:  Congress, Petri, That's awkward  | Tags:  Rand Paul, light bulbs, toilets  
Save & Share:                   

Newt Gingrich's patriotic urges

Newt Gingrich, in an interview, said that "There's no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not...

By Alexandra Petri  | March 10, 2011; 10:45 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (5)
Categories:  Congress, Epic Failures, Petri  | Tags:  America, Newt  
Save & Share:                   

No, Sarah Palin, my caption contest didn't end the Post

"WaPo, you're through. Have you no shame?" My first thought on hearing that Sarah Palin had tweeted this in response to something I'd written was: "Oh no, she's read the Justin Bieber coverage." After all, I frequently wake up in...

By Alexandra Petri  | March 9, 2011; 3:47 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (11)
Categories:  Petri  | Tags:  Sarah Palin, caption contest  
Save & Share:                   

Vivian Schiller resigns from NPR. So prank journalism is okay now?

NPR chief executive Vivian Schiller turned in her resignation Wednesday, in view of a video by conservative prankster James O'Keefe in which an NPR senior official slammed the Tea Party and said, among other things, that NPR might fare better...

By Alexandra Petri  | March 9, 2011; 2:45 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (8)
Categories:  Bad Advice, Petri, Reality? Television, That's awkward  | Tags:  James O'Keefe, NPR, journalism, pranks  
Save & Share:                   

Happy Fat Tuesday! What I'm giving up for Lent

Today's Fat Tuesday. That means tomorrow is the start of Lent, the season of self-denial immortalized in the Josh Hartnett film 40 Days and 40 Nights, and possibly also in the Bible somewhere. Time to think about making improving changes!...

By Alexandra Petri  | March 8, 2011; 4:06 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (2)
Categories:  Bad Advice, Only on the Internet, Petri  | Tags:  Google, Lent  
Save & Share:                   

Why are there dead fish in Redondo Beach?

Remember the birds plummeting from the sky in Arkansas? Now there are literally millions of dead fish filling King Harbor Marina in Redondo Beach, California. Officials are blaming oxygen depletion. But here are some better explanations: Charlie Sheen did this....

By Alexandra Petri  | March 8, 2011; 3:47 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (6)
Categories:  Petri, Top Lists  | Tags:  dead fish, lists, oops  
Save & Share:                   

Before limiting college students' voting rights, stop old people!

They're monolithic! They come flooding into the polls with an overwhelming sense that their way is right and a total lack of mooring in what's actually happening on the ground. They listen to strange music. They dress in funky sweaters...

By Alexandra Petri  | March 7, 2011; 6:10 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (5)
Categories:  Bad Advice, Epic Failures, Petri, Worst Things Ever  | Tags:  America, age, college, kids these days, oops, voting  
Save & Share:                   

Scholarships for white men? I knew I was feeling oppressed!

I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. It wasn't outright discrimination -- just little things that started to pile up. Yesterday, I got almost 18 taxis that I didn't want. As I was walking down the street minding...

By Alexandra Petri  | March 7, 2011; 3:07 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (7)
Categories:  Petri, Seems Suspect, That's awkward  | Tags:  America, rally  
Save & Share: