3 posts tagged “wtf”

I was getting ready to shut everything down on my computer and I happened to scroll down to the bottom of my Vox and came across an ad for Cliff Notes.  Except, it wasn't any ordinary ad for Cliff Notes.  It was an ad for Shakespeare: The Manga Edition.

So far they have "Hamlet", "Romeo & Juliet", "Macbeth", and "Julius Caesar" available.  I mean, I'm all for getting kids to read but manga?  Wow.  Wasn't really expecting Shakespeare to show up in that form.  Although it kind of makes sense.  They're plays that are meant to be watched not read so putting them in comic book/manga form seems like a logical step.  And who knows?  Maybe they really will get kids more interested in Shakespeare.

A man has been diagnosed with lung disease after microwaving popcorn several times a day for years.

Apparently diacetyl, used to help make the butter flavor in popcorn, can be harmful to your health if inhaled too often.  They warn the people who work in popcorn factories about it but I guess this is the first case of someone outside of a popcorn factory getting sick from it.  It just goes to show that maybe you shouldn't eat multiple bags of microwave popcorn every day.

Restaurants, bars, & nightclubs in 17 states are being sued for playing music without permission.  According to the senior VP of licensing for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, "As long as it's [played] outside a direct circle of friends and family, it is considered a public performance."  Apparently this "includes playing songs as background music, by a DJ and even music-on-hold over phone lines."

See, I can understand getting in trouble when a DJ plays a song without having permission because you're paying the DJ but getting in trouble for playing a CD as background music?  That seems a little harsh to me.