Now THAT’S Secure

I love that the large hadron collider can be shut down by a freaking crumb…
Apparently, a bird dropped some of a baguette into a “hole” where it caused the huge machine, capable of killing us all, to overfreakingheat. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE??? Holes?? This place is obviously super impregnable. And then we advertise it to the world. Aren’t some of the greatest minds on Earth behind this place? I see a Dan Brown book coming out of this, or he is behind it.
Article here – http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2009-11/bread-loving-bird-shuts-down-lhc
TAH
Drag Me to Hell – Worst Movie EVER.
Yes, I realize that Halloween is past, but I am behind on my Netflix queue, and the shitshow that is “Drag Me to Hell” was, therefore in my DVD player last night.
Gabs and I had a fantastic dinner and then curled up in bed for what we thought was to be a nice little creepout before we turned in on this Tuesday night. Annnnd - NO. Creepfest was NOT what we got. This movie somehow blurred the lines between an intriguing and disturbing story of a Gypsy curse and a damn parody written by the Wayans folk.
Here is a clip:
Terrible.
Caro and I even discussed on gchat:
caroline.calvillo: hey
so
drag me to hell
what the dealio
me: horrid
just sooo bad
caroline.calvillo: i saw the footage of the corpse vomiting into the girls face/mouth and it was awful
me: EXACTLY
it was almost like a parady at points
*parody
caroline.calvillo: interesting
I thought about watching it
because
you know, corpses don’t do that
me: LMAO
no, they don’t.
caroline.calvillo: so I was intrigued
lol
me: it was terrible.
So, bottom line, stay away from it. Not even cutie Mac Guy, Justin Long could save this trash.
XOXO,
Teri Ann Hagen, Part-Time Movie Critic
Boris Johnson Saves Filmmaker From Attack

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson intervened and successfully stopped a high profile climate change activist from being attacked by a pack of young girls. Johnson, who is known for riding his bike in London, rode past the attack as it was happening and chased them away on his bike. Truly a case of policy in action because, Johnson has made tackling youth crime a key mayoral priority because it is such a problem in London. The attack was completely unprovoked according, Franny Armstrong ( the woman that was attacked):
“I was texting on my phone so didn’t notice the girls until they pushed me against the car, quite hard,” she said. I noticed that one had an iron bar in her hand. It was very frightening. At that moment a man cycled past and I called out for help. He said to the girls: ‘What do you think you are doing?’ He picked up the iron bar, called after the girls and cycled after them. He returned a few minutes later and walked me home. He was my knight on a shining bicycle.”
Johnson’s office confirmed the story but declined to comment on the mayor’s actions. Good on you, Boris!
Franny Armstrong is well known in climate change and documentary film making. It’s amazing that two high-profile people were involved in such a bizarre incident.
Caroline
First Female Beefeater Bullied

Moira Cameron, the first female Beefeater has been subject to a ”hate campaign” at the hands of several male Beefeaters. For those who don’t know, Beefeaters are the guards at the Tower of London. Beefeaters have been exclusively male for 522 years and Moira Cameron’s presence has made several Beefeaters angry. They apparently defaced her uniform and left threatening notes in her locker. Two Beefeaters at the Tower of London have been suspended and a third is under investigation. A spokeswoman for Historic Royal Palaces, the body which manages the Tower, said on Monday Cameron would continue her duties while the internal investigation was carried out. An entry about her on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia was tampered with, but Moira is staying strong and will not let the bullying get to her.
Good for you, Moira..the Tower has a long history of keeping women down, that with the whole Henry VIII thing with you know, beheading his wives there. With its rich history..I enjoy going to the Tower of London and even though going there is overpriced and it’s teaming with tourists..I am thinking of going there and giving Moira some support.
Caroline
Speaking of Werewolves…

Gabby and Teri after having watched one too many MonsterQuests on the History Channel…
American Werewolf in London
I watched this movie this week for the first time and really enjoyed it. The scene at Tottenham Court Rd. station was the most frightening part for me. I will never look at the station the same way again. The clip is below.
Caroline
Spooky Londontown
There is no getting around it..London is an old place full of history. I take the underground to work everyday and sometimes I do think to myself that if any place was meant to harbor spooky inhabitants, the London underground would be one place. So, in the spirit (pun intended) of Halloween, I am posting a documentary about ghostly activity on the underground. Since I watched this video I have a kept a look out for the ghost that haunts my line, but he/she must be shy with all the new publicity.
The documentary is in five parts on youtube.
Caroline
John O’Quinn Dies, Houston Chronicle is Tacky.

So, as those of us in Houston, and most parts of Texas know, billionaire Houston trial attorney John O’Quinn was killed in a single vehicle accident on Allen Parkway yesterday morning. Very sad, and very tragic for his family and friends, despite how his money was procured or the ethics behind his legal practices.
On my way to make my morning tea at the office (yes, friends… new manager took away my free Fridays!! I am now officed on Fridays again. Tear.) I see the morning’s Chronicle on the sideboard by the kitchen and I immediately yell out “Seriously??” before I think. There, on the front page of O’Quinn’s hometown paper, is a picture of his demolished Suburban. Completely bisected by a tree. ON THE FRONT PAGE. I mean, come on, Chronicle… Is nothing sacred? Was it necessary to mark the passing of a very influential Houstonian by posting a huge color photo of the wreckage in which he was killed?? Tacky, and wrong.
Shame on you Houston Chronicle.

Here is the link, if you are interested in reading up on Mr. O’Quinn and his life, death, and work – http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6693964.html
-Teri Ann
London Protest

London is a politically active city in terms of protests. I see protests occurring all over the place. Today was no exception. I happened upon a protest outside of The Body Shop. From what I could gather, the protestors, were against the use of palm oil being used in the Body Shop’s products. The Body Shop is a company that claims to be at the forefront of ethical business. According to the protesters palm oil is used in cosmetics, cooking, food production and is used as a biofuel. In recent years cultivation of palm oil has worked to the detriment of people living in areas where palm oil tree’s grow. The protestors claim that the people of Las Pavas, Colombia were forcefully ejected off of their land by para military violence funded by the need for the oil. The main company that fuels this need supplies 90 percent of the Body Shop’s palm oil.
-Caroline
Las Politicas, back after popular demand
After a break…we are back and better than ever. Things have changed a bit, Caroline is in London working in policy research and Teri is in Houston working in HR. Either way, we missed the blogosphere and we miss each other, so we are joining together again to write about our daily life and politics in our respective cities. We will also have guest bloggers. Yeah, Las Politicas, forever!

