Clipmarks | hitchhiker08's 'usa' clips

United States of Obesity 2008

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:30:27 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Mirror mirror on the ...

Mississippi is the fattest state for 3rd straight year, Colorado still leanest, D.C. loses weight

Most Obese States

West Virginia passed Alabama to become the second fattest state in 2008. The four states of Mississippi, West Virginia, Alabama, and Louisiana have obese populations

Thinnest States

Colorado repeats as the slimmest state, despite a slight increase in obesity of 0.8 percent over three years.

Regional Obesity Trends

In general, states in the West and New England rank lowest in the fattest states rankings, while states in the South and the Rust Belt tend to rank highest.

The CalorieLab United States of Obesity Fattest States Ranking 2008

Rankings were computed by CalorieLab based on a three-year average of state-by-state statistics for adult obesity percentages from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System database.

Tags: obesity, bmi, calories, weight, usa, eating disorder, junk food, fat

The Balloon Festival - Maine, USA

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:52:14 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08

Clip Source: www.wackyarchives.com

The Balloon Festival

One of the most colorful and most exciting festivals is the Great Falls Balloon Festival, taking place August 15, 16 & 17 at Simard & Payne Memorial Park in Lewiston, Maine and Festival Plaza in Auburn, Maine.

There are over 30 different balloons floating annually in the ski above Lewinston. Along with these, visitors get the chance to experience amazing fireworks displays, taste what over 30 food booths have to offer or take part in the parade.

Tags: balloon, inflatable, helium, festival, entertainment, hobby, maine, usa

Washington - High court strikes down gun ban

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:02:01 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

High court strikes down gun ban

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a sweeping ban on handguns in the nation's capital violated the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

Ariel Sarousi, left, and Steve Bierfeld of Arlington, Virginia, celebrate the court's ruling Thursday.

The justices struck down the ban in a 5-4 decision, with Justice Antonin Scalia writing the opinion for the majority.

Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty said he was disappointed in the ruling but will give the district's police department 21 days to implement a process for registering handguns.

There were 143 gun-related murders in Washington last year, compared with 135 in 1976, when the handgun ban was enacted.

In a statement, President Bush also praised the decision, saying he agreed with the court's interpretation of the Constitution.

Political momentum for the bill increased after the Virginia Tech shootings last year, when a student shot and killed 32 people and then himself.

Tags: guns, handguns, rifles, ammunition, usa, washington, george bush, virginia tech, law and order

Upside down Amusement Park

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 05:19:49 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Far as I see, its the only 'upright' structure in this upside-down world!

Clip Source: www.wonderworksonline.com

Welcome to WonderWorks!

Central Florida’s only upside down attraction. An amusement park for the mind, featuring over 100 interactive exhibits for the entire family to experience.

Unlimited Pizza, Salad, Popcorn, Beer, Wine and Soda

Clip Source: www.wackyarchives.com

It might seem unsafe, unstable or hit by an earthquake, but this house looks exactly as it was meant to look. Among the activities, you can enjoy some unique trembling of a 5.3 earthquakeface a 65mph hurricane force winds, explore an astronaut space suit, feel the sensation of 3,500 nails elevate you, fly a fighter jet, design and ride your own rollecoaster or even make a 3-D impression of your entire body. There’s plenty to do there, but here is what struck us as the oddest thing of all.

Tags: amusement park, bizarre, earthquake, richter scale, florida, usa

Souvenirs - Michael Hughes' Offbeat Travel Photos

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:43:57 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Suggest you look at the entire set of 95 photos... might want to click your travel photos differently from hereon?!

Clip Source: humor.about.com

Souvenirs - Michael Hughes' Offbeat Travel Photos

Flickr photoset featuring landscapes and historic locations from around the globe

The nutty touch here is the pictures also incorporate related objects into the scenes, such as previous images taken on the same spots, refrigerator magnets, pencil sharpeners, CDs, coffee mugs, toy vehicles, assorted figurines, inflatable props, and some weird stuff.

Clip Source: www.flickr.com

berlin, brandenburger tor

05_trabi_mauer004de

berlin, germany

london the strand

london

houses of parliament, london-combined pencil sharpener and bell

abbeyroad_8268

Clip Source: www.flickr.com

pisa italy

florenz, italy

37_lubbock002us

Buddy Holly memorial with "air guitar"

amarillo usa

cadillac ranch, amarillo, texas

new york

Hunting Island, Beaufort, South Carolina

Clip Source: www.flickr.com

paris fr

paris france

21_paris_disney001fr

19_carnac_obelix002fr

Clip Source: www.flickr.com

atomium brussels

salzburg austria

helsinki

bombay/Mumbai india

gateway of india

Clip Source: www.flickr.com

73_sphinx_4349

72_pyramids_4361

mermaid-4428

62_karnak_4060

64_luxor_4089

62_souvenirs010belgian

74_camel_4331

zadar_3239cro

Tags: michael hughes, photographer, travel, tourism, landmarks, soevenirs, memoirs

World's largest casino

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:28:03 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: I'm suddenly reminded of 'Gambler' sung by Kenny Rogers (if my memory serves me right!).

Clip Source: www.odditycentral.com

World’s largest casino

the Venetian Macao in China, the world’s largest casino and the third largest building in the world. It has more than 1000 slot machines and over 600 gaming tables open 24/7. So it’s safe to say you’ll find a table to lose your money at.

The Venetian is a huge complex with the central building standing over 40 stories high and costing $1,8 billion to build. It also has a smaller replica of the famous, romantic city of Venice which proves once again that Asians love to copy western culture.

Tags: casino, gambling, slot machines, macao, china, las vegas, usa

Evolution Goes Wild in Once-Polluted Washington Lake

Fri, 16 May 2008 07:48:14 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

Evolution Goes Wild in Once-Polluted Lake

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

Getty Images |

Treespined Stickleback
A threespined stickleback floats under cover of grass. The cleanup of a polluted Washington lake appears to have driven evolution backwards for the threespined stickleback fish living there.

« back to article

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

May 15, 2008 -- The cleanup of a polluted Washington lake appears to have driven evolution backwards for the threespined stickleback fish living there.

Marine-dwelling versions of these fish are covered in bony plates, but as sticklebacks migrated into freshwater, a strong selection pressure caused them to lose their armor.

But comparing genetic patterns in fish from the sound with those in the lake showed migration of plated marine fish into the lake was not enough to account for the shift.

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

"We would love to have fish from the 1900s before the ship canal was built," Peichel said.

Tags: fish, lake, genetics, pollution, washington, usa

Seattle Pigeons Attacked With Darts

Fri, 09 May 2008 21:01:58 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Why blame Satan when humans emulate ...?

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

PHOTO IN THE NEWS: Seattle Pigeons Attacked With Darts

April 29, 2008—Pigeons in Seattle, Washington, are under attack by an unknown assailant with a dart gun, officials say.

At least three birds, including the one pictured here, have been found alive with the needlelike projectiles lodged behind their eyes.

The animal-rights group is offering a U.S. $2,000 reward for information about the attacks.

Meanwhile, local animal-control officials are puzzling over how, if at all, to capture and treat the birds.

"They are quite athletic, good fliers," said Don Baxter, enforcement supervisor for the Seattle Animal Shelter. "They're not hanging around waiting for an officer to get close."

Tags: pigeon, animal cruelty, seattle, washington, usa

Armed America - Why do you own a gun?

Thu, 08 May 2008 06:59:42 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Interesting, hard-hitting & debatable...

Clip Source: www.armedamerica.org

Armed America:
Portraits of Gun Owners in Their Homes
PHOTOGRAPHS BY KYLE CASSIDY
208 pages, hardback. In bookstores everywhere & at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de

Clip Source: www.armedamerica.org

Jerry and Colin and their Browning Citori's.

Jerry: We are our own last line of defense. I haven't seen a compelling argument from the anti's as to why law abiding citizens shouldn't have guns

Clip Source: www.armedamerica.org

Jessica with her Kahr P9 and Samantha

Jessica: I'm just one little girl in the world.

Clip Source: www.armedamerica.org

Jean and Fleming and his Winchester .410 model 42

Fleming: I was born and raised 12 miles down the road from where Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were ambushed and killed -- this was in 1935.

Clip Source: www.armedamerica.org

Beth, Paul, Gavin and Emma
AK-47, Bersa .380, Ruger P345

Paul: My family had guns the whole time I was a kid. then i went off and joined the army and went away and come back. I

Tags: arms, ammunition, guns, gun laws, usa

Who will tell the people - will Americans wake up?

Mon, 05 May 2008 12:59:15 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Hard-hitting! Trust it will open some eyes blinded by the glare and realize that the light at the end of the tunnel is indeed India's Rajdhani Express?!

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Who Will Tell the People?

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Published: May 4, 2008

Traveling the country these past five months while writing a book, I’ve had my own opportunity to take the pulse, far from the campaign crowds.

They are not only tired of nation-building in Iraq and in Afghanistan, with so little to show for it. They sense something deeper — that we’re just not that strong anymore. We’re borrowing money to shore up our banks from city-states called Dubai and Singapore.

Our president’s latest energy initiative was to go to Saudi Arabia and beg King Abdullah to give us a little relief on gasoline prices. I guess there was some justice in that. When you, the president, after 9/11, tell the country to go shopping instead of buckling down to break our addiction to oil, it ends with you, the president, shopping the world for discount gasoline.

Who will tell the people? We are not who we think we are. We are living on borrowed time and borrowed dimes.

Tags: political, thomas friedman, recession, usa, dubai, singapore, india, china

Iconic America - the book by Tommy Hilfiger

Mon, 05 May 2008 07:15:17 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Read a review of it recently and look forward to reading it soon...

Clip Source: search.barnesandnoble.com

Iconic America: Tommy Hilfiger Celebrates American Culture by Tommy Hilfiger, George Lois (With), Michael Arts

What is America? It’s Monopoly and Mickey Mouse, but also Sinatra and Fred Astaire. It’s the Declaration of Independence, but it’s also Barbie and Playboy, Winslow Homer and Rudi Gernreich’s topless bathing suit. This juxtaposition of images reflects America’s unique eclecticism, and the unprecedented influence that the images of America’s pop culture have had on the world. This book works as a great treasury of Americana, and as a mischievously enjoyable observation on all things truly American. Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger and famous adman George Lois have crafted an enlightening book, searching American history to find over 350 people, symbols, and things of import.

Tags: usa, barbie, playboy, mickey mouse, monopoly, frankfurter, tommy hilfiger

Sony floods Miami with foam

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:47:26 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08

Clip Source: commercial-archive.com

Nothing But Bubble with Sony, Part Two: "Foam City"

Turns out, DIME stands for Sony Digital Imaging Europe. Also, Sony was having a new commercial being conjured up for them in Miami, they brought me down here to experience and record what was going on, and I did in fact remember to pack my underwear.

In 2005, they dropped 250,000 super balls on San Francisco.
In 2006, they blew up 70,000 liters of paint in Glascow.
And in 2007, they released 2.5 tons of Play-Doh bunnies in New York City

How does one get enough foam to make a foam city? Oh, you just go and build the biggest foam machine in the world, that’s how. Check out these stats on their marvelous machine:

Tags: commercial, advertisement, promotion, miami, usa, foam, bubbles, fun

7 US presidents nobody remembers

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:43:10 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Tyler had a nickname, 'His Accidency' - they were pretty cruel back then, as well?!

Clip Source: edition.cnn.com

Seven presidents nobody remembers

Former presidents Chester Arthur, Millard Fillmore, Rutherford B. Hayes

Herbert Hoover (President #31, 1929--1933)

Martin Van Buren (President #8, 1837--1841)

Warren Harding (President #29, 1921--1923)

Chester Arthur (President #21, 1881--1885)

Millard Fillmore (President #13, 1850--1853)

Rutherford B. Hayes (President #19, 1877--1881)

John Tyler (President #10, 1841--1845)

Let's put it this way: When your nicknames include "His Accidency," you're not destined to make a splash.

Tags: white house, us presidency, usa

Innovative 'recycling' of a used plane?

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:36:34 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Yikes - takes 'raising the bar' to a new level?!

Clip Source: www.odditycentral.com

Great use of a used plane

This is El Avion, a famous plane now turned into a bar.

El Avion is a model C-123 Fairchild and it can be found in Costa Rica and it has quite an unusual story. I for one really didn’t get much of it, but the bottom line is that it was abandoned by the USA at the San Jose airport, in 1986, after its identical sister plane was shot down over Nicaragua, leading to the capture of a one Eugene Hasenfus by the Sandinista army. Apparently there was a huge scandal regarding this incident at the time, but right now El Avion remains just a place where you can come and get a really expensive drink.

Tags: el avion, fairchild, aircraft, san jose, costa rica, fighter aircraft, bar, pub, drinking, recycle

More censored projects ...

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:18:53 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: So many ruffled feathers would cause a major catastrophe ...operation cover up!

Clip Source: www.projectcensored.org

Project Censored

Nominations for March 2008

#155 Disaster Response for VIPs Only

#137 US Restarting Dirty Wars in Latin America

#048 Water Privatization in El Salvador and the Global War on Terror

#011 Presidential Directive For Dictatorial Power in Continuity of Government

#171 NATO’s Nuclear Option

#032 Iraq Whistle Blowers Pay

#025 The Raytheon 9

#061 Wal-Mart Evades 2.3 Billion in Taxes

#086 Soil Erosion Crisis

#082 Starbucks in Ethiopia

Tags: censorship, politics of denial, usa, latin america, el salvador, nato, iraq, starbucks, ethiopia