Friday Music

I'd forgotten the New Pornographers covered this "classic" by Toronto. I think I'll accompany it with an Amsterdam Nut Brown Ale.

Things Found

Notes from a dinner party, "... his thirst for knowledge is surpassed only by his thirst for alcohol."

5 songs in heavy rotation on my iPod

Crystalised - The XX

Young Forever - Jay-Z

Fall Silent - Groove Armada 

Pop Art Blue - Zero 7

Empire Ants - Gorillaz

Light the Way - Athlete

Bad Romance - Lady Gaga

Put de lime in de coconut, and drink 'em all up

From Fast Company:

Bolivia Slips Coke Back Into "Coca-Colla" 

Any self-respecting Coke addict knows that the sugary soft drink once contained trace amounts of cocaine. Now Bolivia is putting coca leaves in a suspiciously similar-sounding fizzy drink: Coca-Colla. That's not a typo, the drink is named after the Colla people of Bolivia's highlands. A batch of half-liter 12,000 bottles was recently sold for $1.50 a pop in La Paz, Santa Cruz, and Cochabamba, according to the UK Guardian.

In the past, Bolivia has tried to banish the coca leaf--a mild stimulant--from production. But now that coca grower Evo Morales is president, the government has changed its stance. Morales' administration backs the coca leaf for legitimate uses, including teas, liqueurs, toothpaste, and now Coca-Colla. At the same time, the government has booted drug enforcement officials out of the country.

Regardless of whether or not it's fair to crack down on Bolivian coca use, Coca-Cola probably isn't too happy about the potential copyright infringement here.

They advertise differently in Asia

Here’s a Taiwanese Yahoo! ad. It sort of speaks for itself.

Today's something or other #61

Great stuff from The Borowitz Report. Hat tip to JK for the find.

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA (The Borowitz Report) – Eleven indicted Somali pirates dropped a bombshell in a U.S. court today, revealing that their entire piracy operation is a subsidiary of banking giant Goldman Sachs.

There was an audible gasp in the courtroom when the leader of the pirates announced, “We are doing God’s work.  We work for Lloyd Blankfein.”

The pirate, who said he earned a bonus of $48 million in dubloons last year, elaborated on the nature of the Somalis’ work for Goldman, explaining that the pirates forcibly attacked ships that Goldman had already shorted.

“We were functioning as investment bankers, only every day was casual Friday,” the pirate said.

The pirate acknowledged that they merged their operations with Goldman in late 2008 to take advantage of the more relaxed regulations governing bankers as opposed to pirates, “plus to get our share of the bailout money.”

In the aftermath of the shocking revelations, government prosecutors were scrambling to see if they still had a case against the Somali pirates, who would now be treated as bankers in the eyes of the law.

“There are lots of laws that could bring these guys down if they were, in fact, pirates,” one government source said.  “But if they’re bankers, our hands are tied.”  More here.

The Los Angeles Times says Andy Borowitz has “one of the funniest Twitter feeds around.”  Follow Andy on Twitter.

Friday Music

Feels like a Guinness night... or perhaps Olde English 800....

Today's something or other #60

How come we don't have Calippo's in Canada? Calippo's, a fond part of all my European vacations over the years.

Well, there's 30 seconds you're not getting back. Make it better with a Calippo. 

Your Monday Quote

Smell that Ralph? That's the smell of justice. It smells like hot dogs.

- Chief Wiggum, The Simpsons

Friday Music

After work, on the streetcar southbound, headphones on, iPod set to shuffle, listening to 'Mykonos' by the Fleet Foxes with the sun setting across the valley. Today's moment of zen.