Tuesday Tirades

Report: X-rays don't detect explosives
(OK...doesn't that statement just scream for a smart-ass punchline? I'm going to throw one in..."X-rays don't detect explosives - explosives detect explosives!" Yeah, I know it's weak. Deal with it.)












Happy Tuesday!

Still enjoying the cool(er) weather, and life is OK. Not good, not bad, just OK.

I really don't have much to contribute re: my own life, so here are some gems I found this morning.

From the "Why do hot dogs get all the blame? Oh yeah, because they're made from animal lips and tails..." files:

The headline reads: Hot Dogs May Cause Genetic Mutations.

We all know hot dogs are nasty. That's a given...like Jean Claude Van Damme taking his shirt off at some point in his films, or Lindsay Lohan not eating yet snorting her weight in coke.

But genetic mutation? Apparently that's a danger...at least in lab mice.

To quote the article:

Mirvish and his colleagues examined hot dogs because past research had linked them with colon cancer. Hot dogs are preserved with sodium nitrite, which can help form chemicals known as N-nitroso compounds, most of which cause cancer in lab animals.

Extracts from hot dogs bought from the supermarket, when mixed with nitrites, resulted in what appeared to be these DNA-mutating compounds. When added to Salmonella bacteria, hot dog extracts treated with nitrites doubled to quadrupled their normal DNA mutation levels. Triggering DNA mutations in the gut might boost the risk for colon cancer, the researchers explained.

"I won't say you shouldn't eat hot dogs," Mirvish said. Future research will feed hot dog meat to mice to see if they develop colon cancer or precancerous conditions, he explained.

First of all, hot dogs get blamed for everything. That's an established fact in this day and age.
But I do have a few legitimate questions.

The first question is one I'm sure a lot of people think about. If PETA (and apologies in advance to friends of mine out there that believe in their causes) doesn't want animals to be used for testing like this, should humans do it instead?

Second: If you note in the 2nd paragraph...the phrase "Salmonella bacteria" is uttered.

Uh - isn't that a type of food poisoning? Last I heard it was. Therfore, doesn't that mean that this genetic mutation thing only occurs when a certain set of conditions are brought together in one mighty food cataclysm?

In other words, somebody has to eat a hot dog infested with the salmonella virus for their genes to actually mutate? That's how I read it, and if anyone wants to correct my sorry ass, please do so.

I love Sidney Mirvish's final quote..."I won't say you shouldn't eat hot dogs." Well, that's pretty damned refreshing, wouldn't you say? That's kind of like an AA sponsor telling their sponsee (correct term?) "I won't say you shouldn't have that beer." So if they won't say "You shouldn't eat that hot dog", what WILL they say? Don't leave me hanging, dammit!

Oh well...it's not isolated to hot dogs, but considering that the majority of the article refers to hot dogs, it's safe to say they have the highest level of danger.

One question - does this mean that if you want to be like the X-Men, you SHOULD eat hot dogs? Just a thought.

Interesting caption for THIS PHOTO, from AFP:

Customer tucks into hot dogs in New York. A man's taste in women depends on how hungry he is, according to research cited in British newspapers

So judging by this picture, if a man were looking at these hot dogs, he'd want a woman that farts a lot and has no curves or cleavage whatsoever. However, if the hot dogs have salmonella, he'll become a mutant, just like Wolverine!

(Shut up...it's my crackpot theory and I'm stickin' to it.)

Now, from the "Unlikely, yet Interesting" files and ABC News comes this li'l gem.

Apparently, a new marketing strategy for movie promos is having the star of that movie call you on your cell phone and TELL you to go.

In this case, Samuel L. Jackson is giving the orders. I've seen "Pulp Fiction" and I know what happens if you don't do what Mr. Jackson says...your brains get splattered all over an ugly couch.

This scares me. Apparently, the marketing group putting this together is thinkin' outside that there box, and it could be used for political campaigns and other nefarious plots. As a matter of fact, this scares me more than the whole hot dog thing from above. If you don't know what I'm talking about go to the top of the entry and READ IT AGAIN!

Granted, it's not a complete weird coincidence. No, sir. In order for someone to get the call from Mr. Jackson, you have to go to the official "Snakes On A Plane" website and enter their cell phone number as well as pieces of information about the owner of said cell phone.
OK - that's the part I don't like.

I mean, if I would be tempted to go there, enter the cell phone number of someone I hate, and put some personal information about them on a website, and they get a call from Mr. Jackson mentioning this personal information, I would be beaten to a pulp.

Wait a minute...anybody got Paris Hilton's cell number? *smirk*

That's all for now until I am inspired once again...

Sudiegirl