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Slightly informative news brief

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* President Obama squashed all the Gates-Crowley beef on Thursday in one of the coolest Presidential moves in our nation’s history– They got a load on!

According to the Associated Press, “with mugs of beer and calming words” Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., Cambridge, Mass. police Sgt. James Crowley, and President Obama hashed out their little incident and moved on with their lives. Hopefully the country will, too. But what I want to know is: What kind of beer were they drinking?

* July’s employment report is projected to show a decrease in job losses for the month, with a total of 340,000 jobs lost. Seems like a lot, but it’s actually 127,000 jobs less than in June.

Think positive!

Definitely unstifled.

“Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry” certainly isn’t new, but that doesn’t mean it’s not awesome.

The show premiered in 2002 on HBO and features a wide range of poets, actors, rappers, singers and comedians. Simmons’ series also had a 6-month run on Broadway, and won a 2003 Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event.

Buntology was recently alerted to some of these great spoken-word poems, and below are two of our favorites.

The whamp killed the Vibes [by Neil Benjamin]

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Another year, another Vibes.

For the sixth consecutive year, I (sort of) enjoyed the fun people, (kind of) great music and (mildly) silly antics at the festival that celebrates the life of the great Jerry Garcia.

Except this year was different. Maybe it should be renamed “Gathering of the Shady and Sketchy Vibes.”

I mean, what am I supposed to say? Early Saturday morning, a DEAD BODY was found in the camping area. Seriously? I spoke with a few people who had vast knowledge of the fatal situation. The news is reporting that the 29-year-old male probably died due to a medical condition. I don’t buy it. One source who saw the body said it looked swollen and bruised. I have no doubt I know what happened to this person, and who did it for that matter. However, I am not going to share my speculation.

Hmmm…

Better than your average weblog

Buntology readers– you MUST check out This Is A Weblog. Created by Westfield State College alum Mr. Bill George (you know how much Buntology loves WSC alums), this blog is truly entertaining. With a staff of five writers, This Is A Weblog explores topics like video games, music, movies and technology.

Here’s a highlight from a recent post, “Clint Eastwood Ruined My Life” :

There was a time in my life when I had never cried at a movie or TV show or documentary or anything. No form of media had made me cry. And I prided myself on that fact. It made me feel more together and I actually bragged about it. “Nothing has ever made me cry,” I’d say. But I’ve changed dramatically since then. So I thought to myself: when did this happen? How?

Answer: Clint Eastwood’s Academy Award Winning drama, Million Dollar Baby…

I sat in that theater, literally sobbing, trying to hold the tears back as much as possible to save face in front of my sister and father. They may have been crying as well, I don’t know. I didn’t have the courage to turn and look for fear they’d see me in my horrific state.

Check it out!

5 studio albums that could be Greatest Hits albums [by Will]

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It seems these days buying CDs is becoming as archaic as buying movies on VHS. And why spend money on something you can get for free (unless your morals forbid you to pirate music)? But even then, why buy a disk when you can use the iTunes store since the music is going straight to your iPod anyway?

For whatever reason, I have a hard time thinking this way. Admittedly, few things hurt more than watching my money disappear into a stranger’s cash register, but there’s just something special about owning an album you really enjoy. But that’s the thing. How often does an album come about that you love beginning to end?

The Dead Weather gives Boston a lesson in rock [by Angela]

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The Dead Weather are 100 percent rock n’ roll.

This was made evident after a performance at Boston’s House of Blues on Saturday, when alt rock’s newest supergroup ripped through their debut album, Horehound, in an hour, leaving the diverse crowd with ringing ears and sweaty backs.

The band, comprised of Alison Mosshart, Jack Lawrence, Dean Fertita and Jack White, were formed in Nashville, Tennessee, and pull influence from The Kills, Discount, The Raconteurs, Queens of the Stone Age, The Greenhornes and The White Stripes.

Sunday funday

What better way to relax on a Sunday than to enjoy a video from the Buntology archives? Here’s one from Winter 2008!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEAsinwkNZI&hl=en&fs=1]
The funniest thing about this video is that Jackie’s the one holding the camera and laughing. She seems pretty satisfied with herself.

Full-blood sisters review the Half-Blood Prince [by Annie and Lauren]

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ANNIE: First I would like to say that I am a huge Harry Potter fan (I mean, I did take a college credit English class called “The Literary Traditions of Harry Potter”). Secondly, I’ve never written a movie review before so I might be
way off track, but Lauren told me not to be stifled so I won’t be.

LAUREN: Annie and I attended the midnight showing of “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” at Regal Cinema late Tuesday night. We arrived around 10:15 p.m. and the theater was already packed.

ANNIE: The evening was enjoyable, and Lauren with her cape and wand was quite the entertainment-– “you’re a wizard Harry!” I was wearing my Hufflepuff colors (yellow and black) because honestly, I would so be in Hufflepuff.