- Americans might not be able to believe that it’s not butter, but Norwegians can’t believe how difficult it is to actually find butter or anything remotely resembling it. While Americans deep-fry the dairy product, slather nearly every food they eat in it and would probably eat it as its own side dish if it were socially acceptable (outside of the International Federation of Competitive Eating, of course), Norwegians are finding butter extremely scarce these days. Because of the soaring popularity of a fat-rich fad diet in which butter is a perfect fit, Norway’s butter stockpiles are extremely depleted and with the holiday season looming the crisis is that much more pressing. While devoting themselves to the fat-rich, low-carb diet, Norwegians have eaten up the country’s entire stockpile of butter. Norwegian culture in general is much more accepting of a higher intake of fats anyhow, but the widespread popularity of this particular diet has exacerbated the problem. “Sales all of a sudden just soared, 20 per cent in October then 30 per cent in November,” said Lars Galtung, the head of communications at TINE, the country’s biggest farmer-owned cooperative. Other issues, including an exceptionally wet summer which reduced the quality of animal feed and cut milk output by 25 million liters, have also played a role in the shortage. Wise-cracking critics have even suggested that the world’s eighth-largest oil exporter offer some of its plentiful fuel supply in exchange for butter. Gatlung didn’t exactly dismiss the idea in praising Norwegians’ affection for butter. “Norwegians are not afraid of natural fats, they love their butter and cream,” he explained. How high is the demand? The price of butter on Norway’s top auction website starts at the equivalent of $13 for a 250-gram piece, roughly four times its normal price. In this time of crisis, many Norwegians will pay these exorbitant rates so they can enjoy plenty of buttery traditional biscuits and other homemade Christmas treats laden with loads of butter. One potential solution, imports from top dairy producer and Scandinavian neighbor, Denmark is being foiled by Norway’s high tariffs on imports. As of now, there simply isn't any relief in sight………..
- Coldplay are not doing themselves any favors the past few months. Other that releasing a kick-ass new album and preparing to tour in support of it, Chris Martin and the fellas are giving music fans even more reasons to openly despise them. After offering praise for stupendously terrible reality karaoke show The X-Factor for consistently churning out “great” music, Martin moved on with the asininely indefensible statement that he thinks Lady Gaga is a better songwriter than him. The woman who wears meat dresses, shows up for awards shows in oversized eggs and whose music is overproduced, far too digital and lacking in anything remotely resembling good music is a better songwriter than the talented-yet-pompous Martin? Umm…..not really. But the polarizing frontman insisted Lady Gaga e pens "better choruses" than him. "She's very sweet. I think what undercuts it all, though, is that she's talented and writes everything," Martin said. He went on to point out that he could never launch his own solo career because he'd be "terrible" without his bandmates. "I don't think I could even get a gig in Butlins — and I've been to Butlins. I think me and my keyboard would be outside Woolworths most days, getting shouted at," Martin opined. That his comments came after Coldplay performed at the X Factor finale on Monday may go a long way toward explaining his far-out ideas. After all, being around the hacks of a reality karaoke show is enough to warp anyone’s mind at least temporarily. Martin also channeled his inner metrosexual in marveling at Gaga’s oft-bizarre appearance. “I just admire all of the hats and the dresses and the madness and everything because I know that underneath it all she can beat me at writing choruses,” he said. As for the band he writes supposedly inferior songs for, Coldplay will play a massive UK tour next summer, with seven shows scheduled at major soccer stadiums, including three nights at Arsenal FC's Emirates Stadium. In between now and then, Martin may want to stop talking for a while and sit the next few plays out…………
- It’s about freaking time someone found a good use for helicopters. Sure, military units use them to drop supplies and transport troops and hospitals use them to move patients and organs needed for emergency transplants, but the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has found something much more awesome than any of those things. The SCDNR needs to stock the lower Saluda River in Lexington County with thousands of rainbow and brown trout and rather than go boring or traditional by using a boat or other means, department officials plan to stock the river using a helicopter and specialized lift bucket. The idea will be part of its annual fish stocking and should help because stocking by helicopter allows SCDNR employees o distribute trout up and down the river system in order to prevent fish concentrations in one particular area. The air-dropped trout came from an Oconee County hatchery and these fortunate fish will be among the 400,000 trout stocked annually into the state's public waters, including in more than 50 cold-water rivers and streams in Greenville, Pickens and Oconee counties, in Lake Jocassee, and the cool tail-waters below the Lake Hartwell and Lake Murray dams. Lest anyone think the department is merely looking to use its cool helicopter toy to go out for a day of fun, the state earns about $9 million annually from trout fishing retail sales according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The total estimated economic output weighs in at more than $14 million, meaning the fish are a quality investment. Fishing tourism benefits the Upstate and Midlands regions and their hotels, restaurants, local sporting goods stores and other businesses. Stocking the Saluda River directly is necessary because the trout are not native to the area and can only survive because of the cold-water releases from the bottom of the Lake Murray dam. To supply the river fully, the SCDNR stocks the river with approximately 30,000 trout each year between December and April. However, officials are urging anglers to practice catch-and-release fishing during the winter and early spring in order to give the young trout enough time to grow…………
- New Dallas Mavericks forward Lamar Odom is what one might call an overly sensitive star player. Odom, a versatile 6’11 tool for any team and a guy who can play down low or on the perimeter and be effective, is also known as a guy who takes situations very personally. Thus, when he was included in the potential three-team deal that would have sent him to the New Orleans Hornets, Lakers center Pau Gasol to Houston and All-Star point guard Chris Paul to the Lakers as the main cogs of the trade and that trade fell apart because commission David Stern inexplicably blocked it, Odom didn’t handle the situation well. He pouted on Twitter, should up 90 minutes late for the Lakers’ first team workout and asked for a trade. The three-team deal appeared to receive some life after the involved teams resubmitted it to the league over the weekend, but the Lakers pulled out and when they did, Odom let them know he wanted out. The Lakers obliged by sending him to the team that swept them out of the playoffs last year and went on to win the NBA title. They received next to nothing (a trade exception, cash and a draft pick) in return and in the process infuriated star guard Kobe Bryant. Odom admitted that the Lakers' decision to package him in a deal to the Hornets and not being informed that the trade was in place soured his relationship with the team to the point he asked to be moved. While appearing at Tuesday's media day wearing the Mavericks' home white uniform for the first time, Odom was emotional about the move. "It's surreal, it's definitely surreal," Odom said. "It happened, you know, like that." Asked about almost being traded to a New Orleans team currently owned (and poorly run) by the league, Odom conceded that he had no interest in playing for the Hornets. "Yeah, um, I can't cuss. That's not where I wanted to be," Odom said of New Orleans. "No disrespect to anybody on that team or the city or the ownership. But it's not a place that I wanted to be after playing for the Lakers, a team that contends for a championship. That's what you expect to be around. It was hard for me to picture myself there starting over." He blasted Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak for his handling of the trade. “It wasn't about going to New Orleans. It was just about how they did it," Odom said. "I felt a little disrespected. After being here for so long and going through so many things, I felt like they could have just told me and I probably would have accepted it. If someone is telling you that you can't be here or there's no more room for you, you got to understand that. I think because it's just how they did it is the reason why I took it so personal." And that, everyone, is how a team and a league bungling a major trade can ruin relationships and rosters………….
- NASA is no longer shooting humans into space and rides with the Russians are far too expensive to hitch regularly, so it’s up to private companies to take over the space race for America. The match couldn’t be a better fit because rich people are always looking for new novelties to waste their boatloads of cash on and there are few things more rare than being able to brag about going to space. Sir Richard Branson is hard at work on space vacations and he now has competition from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan, who are teaming up to build the world's biggest plane to help launch cargo and astronauts into space. The pair unveiled plans Tuesday for a twin-fuselage aircraft with wings longer than a football field to carry a rocket high into the atmosphere and drop it. This approach would eliminate the need for a launch pad and the expense of additional rocket fuel. Allen and Rutan partnered in 2004 to send the first privately financed, manned spacecraft into space and the Portland Trailblazers owner said his new project would "keep America at the forefront of space exploration" and give a new generation of children something to dream about.” Acknowledging the growing group of tycoons and billionaires working on space travel, Allen admitted the task is a daunting one. "We have plenty and many challenges ahead of us," he said at a news conference. Several companies are already competing to develop spacecraft to deliver cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station, which was previously serviced by NASA missions. Allen took a moment from promoting his own project to blast the government for reducing funding for spaceflight. "When I was growing up, America's space program was the symbol of aspiration," he said. "For me, the fascination with space never ended. I never stopped dreaming what might be possible." The initial flight for Allen and Rutan’s craft is planned for 2016 and it will be unmanned. Beyond that, manned flights could be an additional five years off. Meanwhile, Branson licensed the technology Allen and Rutan used on the experimental SpaceShipOne in 2004 and he is developing SpaceShipTwo to carry tourists to space. Rutan will build the new craft, which will have a wingspan of 380 feet — the world's largest - and use six 747 engines. Nothing quite like watching rich people duke it out for the honor of being the first to do something crazy………….
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