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Want A Happy Marriage? Here's the Solution

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:26:00 GMT

MSNBC has a story this morning on a study of the happiest and unhappiest marriages in the United States. What's the secret? Great sex at 52? Living the high life in Brentwood, with gaggles of friends, cocktail parties, and sleek new cars?

Well, MSNBC isn't entirely sure. However, it reports on an eight-year-long study (you know, an actual study, not a telephone survey that will be disproven next week) of 218 married couples and charted their level of happiness over time. The results will come as no surprise to those pessimistic about the perks of bringing children into the world...

The main point uncovered by the study: 90% of couples reported a huge decline in marital satisfaction due to the presence of a child. This we already knew-- but that suspicion was mainly due to sex and the possible lack thereof after children enter into the picture. This study, however, notes an overall dissatisfaction with the marriage itself after the birth of a baby.

The professor of psychology at the University of Denver where the study originated added that other couples experience a decrease in satisfaction over time, but not nearly as rapidly as couples with children. And yes, we probably suspected as much already.

However:

An unrelated study in 2006 of 13,000 people found parents are more depressed than non-parents. Scientists speculate that the problem is partly a modern one, because parents don't get as much help at home as they did in previous generations.
There are key variables to note in the new study.
Couples who lived together before marriage experienced more problems after the birth of a child than those who lived separately before marriage, as did those whose parents fought or divorced.

The most interesting result we came across noted that those who said kids made their marriage stronger were making more money and had been married longer.

Via MSNBC.

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Surviving a Plane Crash, via Twitter

Brian Fairbanks — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:10:00 GMT

Yesterday's incident at Denver International Airport could have been a major disaster, had quick-thinking passengers not bailed out the Emergency Exit rows before the plane became, well, what you see in the above photo: a crippled, burnt-out and collapsed hunk of metal and melted plastic...

While we would kill for a Tweet from inside a plane going down-- the internet's version of the black box-- with the Twitterer (and all other passengers) having survived, of course, the next best record of the events would be Mike Wilson's record of escaping the burning Boeing 737. His flight to Texas didn't make it off the runway, as you will see:

to all who’ve asked, it’s hard to know exactly what went wrong — we were in the middle of a normal takeoff when we suddely veered off 16 minutes ago
a 1st class passenger I talked to indicated he saw the left engine come off at the time, but it’s unclear if this was a cause or an effect 16 minutes ago
shortly after we veered off, the plane quite obviously left the runway at high speed (maybe 100 kts) and proceeded to go 4 wheel driving 14 minutes ago
i think we might have gone into a ravine and dropped some distance as there was a sudden bottom-dropped-out feeling and then a jolt 13 minutes ago
i believe it was after the jolt that the right engine, which was near my row, caught fire 13 minutes ago
by the time the plane stopped we were burning pretty well and I think I could feel the heat even through the bulkhead and window 12 minutes ago
whoever was on the left side exit row, god bless him, was johnny on the spot and instantly had the door open - people crowded out in a mass 11 minutes ago
I made for the exit door as quickly as I could, fearing the right wing might explode from the fire. once out, i scrambled down the wing 10 minutes ago
there was a fire station nearby and that’s where we all ended up right after the crash 9 minutes ago
fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any life-threatening injuries 8 minutes ago
@mjcarrasquillo this was on takeoff. I'm not sure, but I would speculate some type of mechanical failure. about 15 hours ago from web in reply to mjcarrasquillo
I'm very grateful to still be here. Thanks again to all the well wishers. I'm amazed and humbled by it all. about 15 hours ago from web
Heading to the airport for another try at flying to Houston. about 7 hours ago from twitterrific
Waiting in the continental club for the "replacement" flight. Noticing I'm a little sore. about 6 hours ago from twitterrific
Media circus ensues. Sitting on the plane waiting to take off about 5 hours ago from twitterrific
I'm sitting as close to the exit as possible this time http://twitpic.com/uyqb about 5 hours ago from twitterrific
Crash #1 was a "water landing" in a small plane. about 5 hours ago from twitterrific
@showtunes no-won't get our luggage for a while I think and sounded like my mac is likely melted to the floor about 5 hours ago from twitterrific in reply to showtunes
Touchdown! The crowd goes wild! about 3 hours ago from twitterrific
Found out chairman of Continental was on our flight. That's putting your money where your mouth is. about 2 hours ago from twitterrific

We particularly enjoyed his tweets about making sure to sit as close to the exit row as possible this time and the chairman of Continental taking the return flight to make sure all went well. Why aren't we reading about this guy in the media? He deserves a mention for sure.

You can keep tabs on Mike, a.k.a. "2drinksbehind" at his Twitter page.

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Which City Has The Most Beautiful People, According To This Very Scientific Survey?

Brian Fairbanks — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:05:00 GMT

It's not LA... it's not New York... and it's certainly not Philadelphia, which always comes in 25th in these surveys...

Which American city has the most of what Americans consider "beautiful people?"

According to an online poll by Travel + Leisure, it's

If you live in Miami, consider yourself among the most attractive people in the United States.
The Sunshine State's metropolis has the most beautiful people, according to an online survey of "America's Favorite Cities" by Travel + Leisure magazine, while Philadelphia came in last at No. 25.

"I'm not surprised at all, but I'm not in that group" joked Bill Talbert, president of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, about the city's attractive people rating. [Yahoo!]

We think Bill's being unnecessarily hard on himself. After all, from what we remember of Miami, it was lots of laughable thug types and bimbos who looked like they'd recently been ejected from a Black Eyed Peas audition, plus way, way too many fake tans and bodies overexposed to the sun. But hey, maybe that's your thing... we'll stick to the runners up cities...

1 4.45 Miami

2 4.42 San Diego

3 4.38 Austin

4 4.28 Charleston

5
4.26 Honolulu

6 4.20 Los Angeles

7 4.20 San Francisco

8 4.16 Minneapolis/St. Paul

9 4.15 New York

10 4.14 Denver

What do you think? And by the way, we were only busting your chops, Miami... judging by the above photo, the gene pool is improving...

Via Travel & Leisure.

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Politics Is Makin' Everybody S' Crazy!

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:31:00 GMT

Perhaps set off by Sarah Palin's explosive speech last night, the country is bursting at the seems with political intrigue, scandal, violence, and leaked reports of a Republican party implosion...

Noonan and Murphy on Palin

In this leaked clip from a commercial break following yesterday's Chuck Todd report on MSNBC, Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy appear to say the choice of Palin was "bullshit" and that "it's over" for McCain. However, both Noonan and Todd argue they were discussing the Republican Party's era of dominance, in a way, is finished. As Noonan put it in today's Wall Street Journal:

"I made the case that this is no longer true, that party leaders seem to me stuck in the assumptions of 1988 and 1994, the assumptions that reigned when they were young and coming up. 'The first lesson they learned is the one they remember,' I said to Todd -- and I'm pretty certain that is a direct quote. But, I argued, that's over, those assumptions are yesterday, the party can no longer assume that its base is utterly in line with the thinking of the American people. And when I said, 'It's over!' -- and I said it more than once -- that is what I was referring to. I am pretty certain that is exactly what Todd and Murphy understood I was referring to."

(If you can't understand what they're saying, you'll need this transcript.)

McCain Campaign Knocks Down Enquirer's Palin Rumor

The latest buzz about Sarah Palin's personal life has centered around a loudly-trumpeted National Enquirer story that supposedly claims the Governor cheated with her husband's business partner. Of course, right-wing bloggers, among the only factions picking up on the story, blame it on Obama:

Turns out upon examination that the story is based on an anonymous source which the paper itself describes as an “incredible charge” by a well-connected insider. The story apparently comes down to someone in the Obama campaign feeding the Enquirer a line. That sheepish disclaimer did not pacify Sarah Palin’s team who are going to make a political issue out of media bias and dirty tricks from the Obama campaign. [Right Celebrity]

It should be noted that in no mainstream news report on this story does anyone mention this alleged "disclaimer."

Sarandon Hits Out At "Whiner" Clinton

In a recent interview, Susan Sarandon told an unknown media outlet that she would never play Clinton in a movie:

"At this point, to say after what's happened to her campaign and how they squandered all that money and all the different reasons her campaign fell apart, to blame it on sexism, I find so destructive to every young girl who dreams about making a difference through government.
"Instead of saying, 'Look how far I've gotten and you can do it too,' and all the positive things she could have done, she's turned into such a blamer and whiner, as if that was the reason, when clearly she wouldn't have been in the position she was in if she hadn't been a woman." {emphasis added} Um, kinda like Sarah Palin, no?

FBI Wanted To Charge Obama Plotters, But Rove Appointee Said "No"

Easily the most outrageous story we've heard this week, it turns out the supposed assassins busted in Colorado last week were much more serious than a local prosecutor suggested. Check out the charges:

Adolf said "it would not matter if he killed Senator Obama because police would simply add a murder charge to his pending charges," according to the records. There were seven outstanding warrants for Adolf's arrest.

The underage woman told law enforcement that Adolf also talked about using "a high-powered rifle 22-250 from a high vantage point" to shoot Senator Obama during his acceptance speech at INVESCO Field at Mile High during the DNC.
When police searched the hotel rooms and cars the men were using, they confiscated meth, needles, laptops, cell phones, a black mask, books indicating check fraud and forgery, bags of new clothes, tactical pants and bar coupons.

Based on the evidence, FBI special agent Robert Sawyer believed there was probable cause to charge the men with conspiracy to kill Senator Obama. However, US Attorney Troy Eid last week said there is insufficient evidence to indicate a true threat, plot or conspiracy against the senator.

For God's sake, the man's name was Adolf!

Meanwhile, it turns out this is the same prosecutor who called a press conference and blasted an inmate who sent fake anthrax powder to McCain's office just two weeks ago. Hmmm...

Read more at Firedoglake.

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Sloppy Seconds: Demi Moore And Her Boob Squirt

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:04:00 GMT

Strip clubs in Denver are reporting a decline in business... just since the DNC began.

Why is anyone surprised Axl Rose doesn't bother with pickup lines? If we were him, we wouldn't either... although, um, we probably still wouldn't put it quite like he did.

Scariest headline of the day, via CNN: Airline removes life vests to lighten load

Sheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder and "i.am" John Legend join obvious choice will.i.am to close out tonight's convention.

We barely even remember hearing about this movie, and now it's getting a sequel?

Your boyhood idols: where are they now?

Just in case, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has canceled his weekend interviews.

Kimora Lee Simmons denies she's pregnant. Meaning someone reportedly cared enough to print that she may have been.

Do you believe this story:

Madonna's brother Christopher Ciccone has accused Demi Moore of deliberately squirting breast milk at his gay friends.

We don't.

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Classy Hillary Clinton Nominates Obama To The Tearful Strains Of Her Supporters' Hand Claps

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:18:00 GMT

Madame Secretary... I move that the Convention suspend the rules...

With these words, a collective chill went up through the nation, especially those one or two million of us who care enough about the country to have seen it live. Meanwhile, the yakking heads at NBC couldn't shut up for two seconds to allow us to hear all of Nancy Pelosi's speech-- thankfully, some of us knew to watch PBS, where Walter Mondale weighed in immediately afterward and reminded us why 1984 was so much like "1984." Or something.

Anyway, the Democrats, with the possible exception of Joe Biden, who lost us about halfway through and then jarred us awake again with his clumsy wrapup, gave us something to remember last night with Beau (Joe, Jr.) Biden's introductory speech, Obama's surprise appearance on stage (it will be his only time inside the convention hall), and even John Kerry's where-was-this-guy-four-year's-ago fiery attack.

We'd like to know what you thought about last night and what you expect to see tonight, based on the following schedule:

7:00PM EDT
Rep. John Lewis, GA introduces Martin Luther King Tribute Video and Martin Luther King III

8:00PM EDT
Musical Performance [is this when will.i.am goes on? - Ed.}

9:55PM EDT
Sen. Dick Durbin, IL introduces Obama’s Video

10:00PM EDT
Obama Video
Obama Acceptance Speech (35 -40 minutes)
Fireworks
Barack, Michelle, VP, Mrs. VP all at podium

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DNC Kicks Off Tonight With Ghosts Of Party Past

Brian Fairbanks — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Headlining tonight? Michelle Obama...

Really lined up to steal the show? The Re-Animated Figure And Imitated Voice Of Ted Kennedy...

According to CNBC, this is tonight's lineup:

5:00PM EDT

Rules, Credentials and Platform to be finished by 7PM EDT

7:00PM EDT
Biographical Messages on Senator Barack Obama

8:00PM EDT
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Journey for Change)
President Jimmy Carter
Senator Claire McCaskill
Mayor John Hickenlooper, Denver
Maya Soetoro-Ng Mya (Obama’s sister)

9:00 PM EDT
Senator Ted Kennedy Tribute - Video
Caroline Kennedy

10:00PM EDT
Republican for Obama
Craig Robinson introduces his sister Michelle Obama
Obama remote live into Convention

What do you think? Will all this help Obama at all? Emphasizing Nancy Pelosi and the Ultra-Liberal Stalwart Kennedy's?

More here.

Add Denver To The List Of "Places That Scare Us"

Ina Maier — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:45:00 GMT

In random news today was the terrifying tale of a mountain lion that crept into a couple's bedroom...

The Denver Post reports:

A mountain lion slunk into the master bedroom of an Idledale home early Monday, snatched a yellow Labrador retriever and vanished.

Churchill said the residents had left open the French doors to their bedroom, apparently to cool the house, and didn't have screens.

The dog's body was found near the property.

Uh, yeah...so if you live in Denver, don't leave your dogs in your bedroom. Or, uh, don't leave your mountain lion in the... Erm, try not to leave the doors open... Um, actually, just don't sleep at all.

And in other morbidly-related news: In light of, um, recent activities (read: beheading and cannibalism), Greyhound has scrapped their upcoming ad-campaign which tagline read: "There's a reason you've never heard of 'bus rage.'"

That's probably a good idea.

Update To Creepy Canadian Decapitation: Suspect Identified!

Nude Bicyclists Protest... Global Warming?

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:10:00 GMT

The streets of Denver were thrown into chaos after a group of crazed hippies dared to ride after dark without their clothes on. While no arrests have been reported, readers of a local television station's website reacted as if the Taliban had thrown an orgy with Nazi teachers at a local elementary school.

A group of nude cyclists rode through the streets of the Mile High City on Saturday night in protest of high oil prices and global warming.

Get it? It's hot, so they had to ride the gas-free bikes naked.

Comments on the local NBC affiliate's website ranged from amused to angry to disappointed that there wasn't enough T&A:

Really? Really!? This is the best these people can do?
I really hope that people kept their kids inside, not appropriate!! They had one of these up in Boulder as well. I am all for free speech but come on!!!!!!!
I am all for global warming AND high gas prices!!! That being said, if there are any 20something hot women that want to protest, feel free to ride your bikes naked around my house. Camp out if you want! SEE IF I CARE!!!
Events like this are rarely ever pretty, unfortunately...
Urinate in public and become a sex offender. Ride a bike nude and send a message?
This creates a very unsafe situation, imagine the lawsuits for massive road rash should one of these idiots slip off their gunk soaked seats. Therefore, I propose, in the future, all seats be removed, leaving only the seat post. This will ensure they are all safely secured to their bikes. For an added level of safety, 15 inch speed bumps should be erected every 3 ft along the route. Remember; if it saves only one set of buttock skins, it's all worth it.....
looks like freaky-pervs.. we need to lock these weirdo's up.
both urinating in public and protesting naked are pretty stupid anyways, but if you can do one legally, why not the other

More photos and reactions via 9News. (Additional photos, including the above, here.)

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Fox Claims Child Prostitution Will Increase During Democratic Convention

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:21:00 GMT

The village idiots running My Fox Colorado have taken the cake this time.

Seth Donovan, director of the Praxus project, said she "isn't sure," but she is concerned the upcoming convention is leading to an increase in pimps and escort services trying to turn kids into prostitutes."

There used to be three calls a month of kids being approached. "In the last two months it's jumped to ten to fifteen youth a month," Donovan says.

Los Angeles police say prostitution jumped there in 2000 when it held the DNC.

Of course, there is almost no mention of a little counter-event called the Republican National Convention: the only line about the RNC is at the very end of the article, and tries its damndest to disguise the fact that this is a partisan attack job on the Democrats in a big swing state. Nope, Fox News isn't interested in fair and balanced news, which would've meant more emphasis on the fact that all major American conventions boost the slave trade.

If Fox can get away with that kind of crap, then so maybe can we. Folks, you heard it here first: Gay Bathroom Sex Will Rise During The Republican National Convention. Hell, that's probably not even a rumor anymore...

Via MyFox.

1	4.45	Miami
2	4.42	San Diego
3	4.38	Austin
4	4.28	Charleston
5	4.26	Honolulu
6	4.20	Los Angeles
7	4.20	San Francisco
8	4.16	Minneapolis/St. Paul
9	4.15	New York
10	4.14	Denver