Yes, the Hall and Oates song, but as lip-synched by high schoolers who weren’t even eye-twinkles when the song debuted. And filmed BACKWARDS. And therefore, lip-synched BACKWARDS. My high school was not this awesome.

 [via Towleroad]

People in sunny, outdoorsy states — Louisiana, Hawaii, Florida — say they’re the happiest Americans, and researchers think they know why. 

A new study comparing self-described pleasant feelings with objective measures of good living found these folks generally have reason to feel fine. 

The places where people are most likely to report happiness also tend to rate high on studies comparing things like climate, crime rates, air quality and schools. 

The happiness ratings were based on a survey of 1.3 million people across the country by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It used data collected over four years that included a question asking people how satisfied they are with their lives….

Ranking No. 1 in happiness was Louisiana, home of Dixieland music and Cajun/Creole cooking.

[Economist Andrew J. Oswald] urged a bit of caution in that ranking, however, noting that part of the happiness survey occurred before Hurricane Katrina struck the state, and part of it took place later. Nevertheless, he said, “We have no explicit reason to think there is a problem” with the ranking.

Rounding out the happy five were Hawaii, Florida, Tennessee and Arizona.

At the other end of the scale, last in happiness — is New York state.

[full story at NOLA.com]

Anyone who’s ever mimicked the French or the Germans or the Italians or any other foreign-speaking folk knows there are certain sounds that characterize other languages. So, for example, you may not be able to understand Italian, but you certainly have a feel for its cadence and the clusters of consonants and vowels that typify it. (And, if you’re Peter Griffin, you can try your hand at faking it.)

I’ve often wondered how English — specifically American English — sounds to others around the world. Over the years, I’ve asked some of my foreign friends, but none have been able to explain it to me. Adriano Celentano, however, manages pretty well, in this song of utter gibberish:

PIERRE, S.D. — A former South Dakota lawmaker convicted of raping his two foster daughters has sent news organizations what he claims is a copyright notice that seeks to prevent the use of his name without his consent.

A letter and an accompanying document labeled “Common Law Copyright Notice” said former state Rep. Ted Alvin Klaudt is reserving a common-law copyright of a trade name or trademark for his name. It said no one can use his name without his consent, and anyone who does would owe him $500,000.

Klaudt was convicted in 2007 on four counts of second-degree rape for touching his teenage foster daughters’ breasts and genitals in phony examinations he saidcould help them sell their eggs to infertile couples. He was sentenced to 44 years in prison for rape and 10 more years after pleading guilty to two counts of witness tampering.

The notice, received by The Associated Press and several other news organizations Monday, carried a return address that matched that of the state prison in Springfield, where Klaudt is being held.

[full story via the AP]

It is hilarious and disconcerting when lawmakers — former and otherwise — ignore pesky details of the law. For example: the wee tidbit that prevents people from copyrighting a name.

And so, because I have always been a smartass: Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt,  Ted Alvin Klaudt, infinity.

Bring it, Teddy boy.

Graphic design doesn’t make up a huge part of my daily activities, but when I have a project on my to-do list, it’s all-consuming. The biggest problem? Explaining to colleagues that, no, I can’t use that headshot posted to your Facebook profile because (a) it’s terrible and (b) it’s about 37 sizes too small. I’m waiting patiently for the day when the general population understands the difference between 72 dpi and 300 dpi — or, alternately, the day that graphic design goes the way of the stereopticon. (Guess which’ll come first!)

On occasion, I’m forced to dig for high-res images on services like iStockPhoto, which is interesting (because there’s a lot to choose from), but also frustrating (because so much of it is terrible). Thankfully, someone with nothing better to do has begun a small but important blog to document the worst of the lot: iStockHell. May it grow and prosper in 2010.

AT&T’s corporate communications team is just terrible. Seriously: tar-and-feathers terrible. I mean, I’m sure the Joe Schmoes and Jane Roes who do most of the heavy lifting are fine, but the company bobbleheads AT&T puts on national television to speak to the public? Train wrecks, all of ’em.

For example, many users blame AT&T for the terrible performance of the Apple iPhone. AT&T spokesmodels, however, lays the blame at the feet of Apple and says that users don’t know how to use the phone. And while there’s got to be some truth in that — especially the part about the hardware being imperfect — to say that the AT&T network is hunky-dorey when I’m sitting in the front room of my house in downtown New Orleans, and I’m getting two whole bars of reception…well, that’s idiotic.

So, someone has crafted a plan to show AT&T how craptacular their network really is. I have no idea how many people will actually do this, but I may give it a shot. I mean, what else have I got to do at 2pm CST (12pm PT) this Friday?

Subject: Operation Chokehold On Friday, December 18, at noon Pacific time, we will attempt to overwhelm the AT&T data network and bring it to its knees. The goal is to have every iPhone user (or as many as we can) turn on a data intensive app and run that app for one solid hour. Send the message to AT&T that we are sick of their substandard network and sick of their abusive comments. The idea is we’ll create a digital flash mob. We’re calling it in Operation Chokehold. Join us and speak truth to power! [more at FakeSteve.net]

Power to the iPeople, y’all.

Prostitution has long been legal in some parts of Nevada. But, until recently, that freedom only applied to sex workers who had the right parts themselves: Language in health codes required all prostitutes to have regular cervical exams, effectively making male prostitution illegal. Last Friday, that changed. Nevada brothels can now employ both men and women. [Salon via BoingBoing]