Say you have to taste somebody's water from his water bottle. Quickly: What is the best way to do it?

Right, right.

A friend of mine, Pailu (not his real name) was just on a ten-day vacation which means that he was on his way home after the alleged (yes, I read big newspapers, and watch Matlock) terrorist plot was foiled in the UK, and after the airlines tightened their security measures.

As you know, all kinds of gels and liquids are now a no-no, so the security person in Lisbon wanted to take a closer look at my friend's, Sailu's, (this isn't his real name, either. Same guy, though) water bottle.

His method?

Sticking his finger into the bottle, and licking it. Stick and lick.

Maybe it's just me, but I think that's weird.

Dear blogger,

You seem to have answers to everything. Can it be true?

Best,
Just Jack

» Continued

circa 1985



Yes, I file this under "humor." Spede, the star of the video, was a comic genius, but in English, this is funny on yet another level.

It's been 11 minutes and 20 seconds now. That's how long I've been holding to get the customer service of "3", the Swedish 3G mobile operator. I've heard all about their campaigns, how to create a photo album on their site, how to change the ring tones, and tones for outgoing calls.

» Continued

Remember the power of photographer? Yeah, well, that spell doesn't work on everybody.

Today, I had three interviews lined up. The first two were Finnish CEOs, pretty heavy weight executives of Kemira and Outokumpu.

» Continued

This just in:

Donald L. Barlett [aged 70] and James B. Steele [63], the longtime, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporters who lost their jobs at Time Inc. a few months ago, have taken the leap from mass to class and are joining Vanity Fair.

The two have accepted an offer from Graydon Carter, the editor, to sign a multiyear contract, agreeing to write two articles a year.

I'd file both stories by the end of March and just hang out for nine months.

I'm in Finland today. I'm working on this newspaper, or actually it's an advertorial, about the most popular employers in Finland. I've set up five interviews for the two days I'll be here, so what I do is drive around Helsinki, drink a lot of coffee and listen to people tell their life stories.

» Continued

A couple of days ago, I was sitting in the backyard, reading David Remnick's "Reporting", when a man walked by me. Well, he didn't just walk by me, I don't think I would have noticed him had that been the case.

I noticed him because his dog stopped, and decided to take a dump on our lawn.

No, seriously. The dog retreated into a kangaroo position, pulled his ears back, and just ... let ... it ... rip.

Meanwhile,

» Continued

Dear Country of Origin,

First of all, let me start by saying that I really, really care for you and you’ll always have a special place in my heart. I just feel that we’ve grown apart. Also, it’s not you, it’s me. I want to, no, I have to end this relationship because I love you too much. I don’t think you should be spending any more time with me, I am only holding you back.

Although, you were holding me back a little when you said I couldn’t see any other countries. Come on, what’s up with that? Just because you never want to go out anymore, doesn’t mean that I have to stay at home as well. I thought we had some trust between us. This is not what I had in mind when we agreed to have an open relationship. So what if I thought Italian food was the best in the world? Yeah, right, coffee, too. Oh, and ice cream. I just can’t lie to you anymore. I hate your meatballs.

» Continued