A Britney Spears concert is presumably a mass of gyrating, fireworks and lip-syncing. But the Victorian government wants concert goers to be made aware when music isn’t technically ‘live’. Do we really need to be protected?
Life
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Guy Rundle: The long, plodding March of Patriots
Guy Rundle reviews Paul Kelly’s new book, The March of Patriots: the literary equivalent of cleaning out the garage on a grey Saturday afternoon.
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Film review: This Is It
The documentary of Michael Jackson’s concert-that-never-was, This Is It might be smashing box office records around the world, but the film’s lack of commentary, insight and context will make it a struggle for most to sit through, says Luke Buckmaster. One for the fans.
Crap you don’t need: the most stupid products ever invented
PHOTO GALLERY: The drunks, the bogans and the freaks of the Melbourne Cup
Nam Le: Stuff Facebook, read a real book-
Study: What kids nickname Lego pieces
Every household has its own set of words for describing particular Lego pieces, says Giles Turnbull: one kid’s “round flat one-er” is another kid’s “bronze jewel”. And so he set out to document the Lego dialects that are unique to different families.
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The great atheist debate
Is there an atheist schism? Ophelia Benson explores the different disagreements amongst atheists, from those who just want to not believe and shut up and those who wish to preach the atheist movement. Is there an ironic war brewing?
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Curiously, sci-fi/horror Author Stephen King has turned his hand to writing poetry. Even more curiously, his literary medium of choice to share his rhyme doggerel with the world? Playboy magazine. Read his effort, The Bone Church, here.
Dowd: Rush Limbaugh is immature and narcissistic-
The world’s first Twitter-only gadget. Er, why?
Tech company Peek has created a hand-held gadget that only does one thing: tweet. For US$199, you can’t make phone calls, send SMS or check your email, but you can tweet on-the-go. Perfect for friendless geeks with no need for a real phone, we guess.
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One world, one phone charger
Why does every single mobile phone have a different charger? Not only is it annoying, making and delivering replacement chargers has a huge carbon footprint. The UN’s Telecommunication Union is finally creating a universal charger — and it could cut C02 emissions by 24m tons a year.
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Why a high IQ doesn’t mean you’re smart
Why do “smart” people do stupid things? IQ tests are good at measuring things like logic, abstract reasoning, learning ability and working-memory capacity — but they can’t tell if you’re a dumb-ass.
Dinosaurs wiped out. Again.
Why does every country have a different plug?
Toyota invents its own climate-cooling flower
VIDEO: Reinventing the mouse-
Why Karadzic is not getting a fair trial
Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic’s plea to be allowed more time to prepare his defence against serious of charges, including two counts of genocide, is in fact an entirely legitimate one.
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No sex education in China = 13 million abortions
A new found sexual liberalism is occurring behind closed doors and under the sheets of students in China. Unfortunately, sex education hasn’t developed as quickly, resulting in a whopping 13 million registered abortions every year.
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Drugs vs. booze
Half of all American kids receive food stamps
Why do we keep all the disabled kids out?-
Is this Crikey’s funniest ever press release? Join Concerned Tasmanians for Jason Krejza (CT4JK), a lobby group aimed at getting Tassie spin bowler Jason Krejza selected for the Aussie side.
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Video of the Day: The 1896 Melbourne Cup
Footage from the 1896 Melbourne Cup: slightly fewer drunken women throwing up champagne all over their frocks, but pretty much the same as it is over 100 years later.
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The powerful myth of the Melbourne Cup
Yep, get all the clichés out, today is the race that stops a nation, the sport of kings. But the Melbourne Cup is also a strong example of the distinct Australian social classes, from the supermodels in the birdcage to the country horse lovers.
Alexander McCall Smith on his love and addiction to bridge
