523. Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day is a day celebrated on February 2. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, then spring will come early; if it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will continue for six more weeks.

522. Bad Frosty

(tags: Frosty, Frosty the Snowman, Winter, solstice, snow, Generic Series, bird, cardinal, vibrator, mask, magic)

521. Toy Soldier R&R

(tags: war, soldier, toy, rest, turtle, gwot, Generic Series, military. army, beach)

520. Doomsday 2012

With Dec. 21, 2012, quickly approaching, people around the world are grappling with doomsday phobia and fears of an impending apocalypse.
Friday, Dec. 21 marks the end of the Mayan long-count calendar. On this day, doomsayers believe the world will end. Some fear a wayward planet called "Nibiru," supposedly discovered by the Sumerians, will collide with the Earth. Others point to a 2012 doomsday in Biblical prophecy, a cataclysm complete with fiery explosions, earthquakes and floods.
(tags: Generic Series, Doomsday, Mayan, Calendar, end of the world, prophesy, religion, culture, history)

519. The Fiscal Cliff Hanger

“Fiscal cliff” is the popular shorthand term used to describe the conundrum that the U.S. government will face at the end of 2012, when the terms of the Budget Control Act of 2011 are scheduled to go into effect.
Among the laws set to change at midnight on December 31, 2012, are the end of last year’s temporary payroll tax cuts (resulting in a 2% tax increase for workers), the end of certain tax breaks for businesses, shifts in the alternative minimum tax that would take a larger bite, the end of the tax cuts from 2001-2003, and the beginning of taxes related to President Obama’s health care law. At the same time, the spending cuts agreed upon as part of the debt ceiling deal of 2011 will begin to go into effect. According to Barron's, over 1,000 government programs - including the defense budget and Medicare are in line for "deep, automatic cuts."
(tags: Political Series, economy, president, congress, Barack Obama, Economics, money, taxes, laws, Health Care, House of Representatives, Senate, America, United States)

518. Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings

(tags: holiday, christmas, Political Series, Generic Series, Obama, president, Santa Claus, Hope, Barack Obama)

517. Miss Butter Face

(tags: beauty, contest, butter, Miss, sexy, porn, nude, bra, entertainment series, generic series)

516. Black (Joe) Friday

Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early and offer promotional sales to kick off the holiday shopping season, similar to Boxing Day sales in many Commonwealth Nations. Black Friday is not an official holiday, but many non-retail employers also observe this day as a holiday along with Thanksgiving, giving their employees the day off, thereby increasing the number of potential shoppers.

515. Elmo Loses His Voice

NEW YORK — Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash has resigned from "Sesame Street" in the wake of an allegation that he had sex with an under-aged youth.
In its statement Tuesday, Sesame Workshop said "the controversy surrounding Kevin's personal life has become a distraction that none of us want," leading Clash to conclude "that he can no longer be effective in his job."
"This is a sad day for Sesame Street," the statement said.
(tags: Entertainment Series, Sesame Street, Elmo, Kevin Clash, Sex)

514/354. Thanksgiving Turkeys

(tags: Holiday, Thanksgiving, Turkey, Animal rights, Animals, Slaughter, humanity, Vegetarian, food)

513. Hostess Folds Operations

Twinkies may last forever, but the same can't be said for Hostess Brands Inc., the company that makes the popular cream-filled spongecake.

Hostess has asked a bankruptcy judge for permission to go out of business and lay off 18,500 workers, blaming a strike by members of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union.

"We deeply regret the necessity of today's decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike," Hostess Chief Executive Gregory F. Rayburn said in a statement Friday.

Hostess Twinkies’ CEO tripled his salary to $2.55 million while the company was preparing to go into bankruptcy. And nine top executives saw massive pay raises, some nearly doubling their salary. Ah, another greedy CEO who courageously blamed the union for his failure, while omitting the part about tripling his own pay while preparing to go under.
(tags: hostess brands, twinkie, suicide, Business, Greed, Unions, Political Series)

512. General Petraeus Begins to Fade Away

During their affair, retired Army Gen. David Petraeus and his alleged former mistress Paula Broadwell used a cyber trick known to teenagers and terrorists in an effort to hide their communications. Sources say they often composed draft emails which they both could read on a shared private email account -- without having to transmit the messages.

511. Romney Loses Election

Beating GOP candidate Mitt Romney, President Barack Obama won re-election exactly the way his campaign had predicted: by running up big margins with women and minorities, mobilizing a sophisticated registration and get-out-the-vote operation, and focusing narrowly on the battleground states that would determine the election.
(tags: election, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, DNC, GOP, 2012, President)

510. 2012 Likely Voters

(tags: election, 2012, vote, Republican, Democrat, Independent, President, Vice President, Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, Statistics)

509. Halloween Booty

Sorting through the halloween goodies, 2012

(tags: Holiday, Halloween, pumpkin, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Election, Candy)