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Tag: st patricks day

  • Los Angeles Earthquake: 4.4-Magnitude Trembles the City

    A sudden tremble struck the Los Angeles area Monday morning at 6:25 a.m.

    The quake’s epicenter occurred in the Santa Monica Mountains 6 miles north-northwest of Westwood, Calif., and 15 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

    The quake was initially measured at a 4.7-magnitude, but then was recorded as 4.4 at a depth of 5.3 miles.

    Approximately six aftershocks followed the rumbles. Magnitudes ranging from 2.5 to 2.6 were felt between the hours of 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

    The quake was felt in Beverly Hills, Universal City, Santa Monica, and Sacramento, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

    One of the largest earthquakes to ever strike Los Angeles occurred nearly 20 years ago and claimed the lives of dozens of people. It was reportedly a M6.7.

    The most recent earthquake the area experienced happened near Inglewood in 2009 at a 4.7-magnitude.

    Experts say that although Monday’s earthquake wasn’t exceptionally damaging, it is still very significant.

    “It’s not that large by California terms. It’s the size of earthquake we have across the state once every couple of months,” said Lucy Jones, a USGS seismologist. “But we haven’t had one like this in LA for quite a while.”

    No injuries or damages were reported. Yet, the tremors were strong enough to knock down a few household items according to local witnesses.

    Geophysicist Paul Caruso told CNN, “damage or casualties generally wouldn’t be expected with earthquakes weaker than a 5.5 magnitude, though results vary by region, often depending on construction codes and types of rock that exist underground.”

    However, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told KABC-TV in a statement that this was a wake up call for the city:

    Today’s earthquake is a reminder that every L.A. family must be prepared with food, water and other essentials, as well as a plan. While it appears the greatest impact of this temblor was a rude awakening, we are executing our post-earthquake protocols to survey our neighborhoods and critical infrastructure.

    Check out the clips below showing KTLA news anchors responding to the earthquake on live TV: 

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Danica Patrick Talks About Her Luck After Crash

    Danica Patrick says that the “luck of the Irish” must have been with her during the NASCAR Sprint Cup practice on Sunday, when she crashed and was forced to use a backup car for the duration of the race. The accident caused her to lose valuable practice time, but things could have been much worse, she acknowledged.

    “I only had fourth gear, so that’s why I hit Clint (Bowyer) in the pits,” Patrick said. “I hit Clint in the pits. It wouldn’t go. I dipped the clutch and it got sideways, and when it caught it went straight and it wouldn’t stop.”

    The 31-year old tipped her hat to her Irish ancestors on Twitter, saying she had some luck on her side.

    Patrick has had her share of detractors, namely Richard Petty, who has not minced words when it comes to his feelings about her talent on the course. Just because she can go fast, he sayd, doesn’t mean she’s a good driver.

    “That’s where I have a problem,” he said on SPEED’s “Race Hub” last year. “Where fans have bought into the hype of the marketing, to think she’s a race car driver. She can go fast, and I’ve seen her go fast. She drives the wheels off it when she goes fast…she’s not a race car driver. There’s a difference. The King always had that stupid saying, but it’s true, ‘Lots of drivers can drive fast, but very few drivers can race.’ Danica has been the perfect example of somebody who can qualify better than what she runs. She can go fast, but she can’t race.”

    It hasn’t affected Patrick’s ability to garner fans, however; she recently became the first NASCAR driver to surpass 1 million followers on Twitter, a feat even Dale Earnhardt Jr. hasn’t accomplished.

    “It just shows what incredible and loyal fans I have,” she said. “It’s pretty humbling that 1 million people are curious about what I have to say and what I’m doing. I really can’t thank everyone enough for their passion and interest.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Leprechaun Burrito Created For LA Food Trucks Using Google Glass

    Google recently shared a video of Roy Choi, co-founder of Kogi BBQ (a Los Angeles food truck), whipping up some of his “new spin on Irish cooking” for St. Patrick’s Day. Why? Because he’s a Google Glass explorer, and uses Glass to search for recipes.

    While wearing the device, and dodging a call from his mom, he makes the “East Los Leprechaun Burrito”.

    “What’s great about Glass is I can record it,” Choi says of using the device while creating his recipes. “I can share it immediately. Maybe that will influence someone else to find their own angle.”

    He wanted to make something special to serve on the trucks for St. Patrick’s Day. He used Glass to find components in an Irish dish (stew, in this case), and take said components to put his own LA food truck spin on them. What he came up with was the leprechaun burrito.

    According to Google, the Kogi truck will be serving the “limited edition” leprechaun burritos in LA this week.

    Image via Google

  • St. Patrick’s Day Gets Its Annual Google Doodle (And Here’s A Look Back At The Others)

    As usual, Google is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a Doodle. Google has been doing this just about every year since 2000.

    Here’s a look at Google’s past St. Patrick’s Day doodles:

    2013

    St. Patrick's Day

    2012

    2011

    2010

    2009

    null

    2008

    2007

    2006

    2005

    2004

    2002

    2001

    2000

    Google users are definitely celebrating the day too. “leprechaun,” “Saint Patrick’s Day,” “corned beef,” and “corned beef and cabbage” have all been appearing in Google’s top 20 “hot trends”.

    Images via Google

  • Sam Adams Pulls Out Of St. Patrick’s Day Parade Over LGBT Concerns

    Sam Adams beer, which is made by Boston Beer Company, will not participate in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in South Boston this year due to concerns over how LGBT Irish-Americans are being treated.

    The company announced the news this morning after a restaurant posted an open letter on Facebook saying it would no longer carry the beer because of the company’s association with the event. The restaurant’s owners posted the letter on Thursday, saying they would only reinstate Sam Adams in their place of business if the brewer changed their mind about the parade.

    “Club Cafe is very disappointed that Sam Adams does not understand that the organizers of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade continue to demonstrate that they do not respect LGBT Irish Americans by excluding LGBT members of this community from openly marching in the St.Patrick’s Day Parade. It is hard to understand how a community like Boston, where Gay members of the Police force, military and others have, and continue to, put there lives on the line for ALL BOSTONIAN’s, that organizers of The St.Patrick’s Day Parade feel it is just to discriminate against us as a community, and that Sam Adams does not take seriously the impact that their support of bigotry will have on their relationship to the LGBT community and their business. Therefore Club Cafe will no longer sell Sam Adams until such time as either the Parade organizers or change their position, or Sam Adams removes its support of the St. Patrick Day Parade.–Frank Ribaudo, Jim Morgrage, and Club Cafe”

    After the announcement was made that the beer will not be associated with the parade, the restaurant updated their Facebook page, saying, “Club Café wants to extend a heartfelt thank you to Boston Beer Company and Sam Adams for its decision to pull back its support of this years South Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade and standing against any organization that practices discrimination. As a result of this we are again proud to serve Sam Adams and Boston Beer Company Products. Bravo to all of you all for taking the time to share your thoughts clearly it did made a difference.”

    From the press release:

    “We have been participating in the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade for nearly a decade and have also supported the St. Patrick’s Day breakfast year after year. We’ve done so because of the rich history of the event and to support veterans who have done so much for this country. We were hopeful that both sides of this issue would be able to come to an agreement that would allow everyone, regardless of orientation, to participate in the parade. But given the current status of the negotiations, we realize this may not be possible. We share these sentiments with Mayor Walsh, Congressman Lynch and others and therefore we will not participate in this year’s parade. We will continue to support Senator Linda Dorcena Forry and her St. Patrick’s Day breakfast. We wish her all the best in her historic stewardship of this tradition.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • ‘Blarney Blowout’ Party: 73 Arrested at UMass Amherst

    A massive college party over the weekend near the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus ended with several injured police officers and jail time for some students.

    The ‘Blarney Blowout,’ which is a pre-St. Patrick’s Day celebration held the Saturday before Spring Break, “gets worst every year”, according to one of Amherst’s police chiefs.

    “This can’t be in any way, shape or form be characterized as a party,” Amherst Capt. Christopher Pronovost said. “This is destruction of property (and) assaultive behavior.”

    The chaos started around 10 a.m. Saturday morning. But by 11 a.m., the crowd consisted of 4,000 drunk college students carrying out violent behavior.

    There were reportedly numerous vehicles damaged, including those that belonged to police officers.

    Twenty Amherst police officers along with state and campus law enforcement responded to the revelry.

    At one scene in particular, officers were attacked with glass bottles and snow balls at the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity House. It eventually resulted in pepper spraying the uncontrollable crowd.

    The local fire department reported that several partygoers were treated on scene for injuries to the head and limbs while a few were taken to the local hospital.

    Four police officers were also treated for minor injuries that didn’t require hospitalization.

    “The size and scope of these gatherings has led to many safety and quality of life issues, including violence and fights, injuries, severe alcohol intoxication, sexual assaults, excessive noise, property damage, and violence towards the police and community members,” the police department stated on its blog.

    UMass Amherst issued a statement beforehand warning students of the disciplinary action that would be taken if the celebration spiraled out of control.

    According to the Los Angeles Times, the letters were sent “…to students who had been disciplined for alcohol-related misconduct in the past year and to students who live in off-campus housing cited for noise or nuisance complaints reminding them of the possible consequences of bad behavior.”

    Obviously, they didn’t heed the warning. (image)

    Around 7:30 p.m., 43 people were arrested in connection to the mayhem. By Sunday, 73 were arrested on charges related to alcohol violations and assault.

    Additional charges range from 18 counts of inciting a riot, three counts of possessing a dangerous weapon, and one count of breaking and entering.

    Spokesman Ed Blaguszewski confirmed in a statement that the student dean would assess all arrests, and suspension or removal from the school would be enforced accordingly.

    Image via YouTube

  • Here’s What St. Paddy’s Day Will Look Like Through Google Glass

    This time next year, millions of people will be drinking themselves stupid by 10:00 am on St. Patrick’s Day. The only difference between this year and next year is that next year, thousands could be living the experience through Google Glass.

    Here’s what that might look like (NSFW language):

    [stuntbear]

  • Pinterest Falls Victim to Spam Attacks

    You cannot deny Pinterest‘s inclusion as a major social media player these days. The company cracked the top 30 in pageviews last week and now has over 100 million Monthly Active Users (MAU) in the U.S. alone.

    Unfortunately, the features that make this site so popular with users also make it very susceptible to spam. On Facebook, you must friend someone in order for them to spam your newsfeed, and even then you know who it is coming from and you can decide to “defriend.” Pinterest, on the other hand, shows pin of people you are not following yet. While this may help you broaden your horizons, so to speak, it makes it difficult to tell where spam is coming from.

    Especially when a spammers post items while pretending to be you, which is exactly what happened this past St. Patrick’s Day. It seems spammers are trying to take advantage of Pintest’s high customer referral rate to draw attention to their products.

    GigaOm is reporting the appearance of “some kind of spam-exploit injected javascript code that started replacing many Pinterest photos with ads for Best Buy.” The spam also included ads for Target, Starbucks, and Apple.

    Some ads even had their “Edit” buttons disappear, making it impossible to delete.

    Pinterest Spam” width=”606″ height=”250″ />

    Pinterest has since discovered the problem and implemented a fix, but I don’t think this is the last we have heard from Pinterest spam. Spammers always find a way…

    @RobBlatt
    Rob Blatt    Twitter spam has begun using Pinterest links. This why we can’t have nice things. 2 hours ago via Buffer ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @getyoufound
    Get You Found    Bound to a happen eventually. Pinterest hacked on St.Patrick’s Day. Check your boards 4 spam links. via @joshD http://t.co/1D3Fuudk 11 minutes ago via HootSuite ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @MissouriQuiltCo
    MissouriStarQuiltCo    to all our pinterest followers. I recently found out that there’s been a few “spam” pins posted on our boards. I… http://t.co/TmunKW4L 3 hours ago via Facebook ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    Spammers may have already found another loop-hole. This was posted only an hour ago, long after Pinterest supposedly corrected the problem. It involves a weight-loss pill, not one of the known culprits during the St. Patty’s Day hack.

    @jennysimpson
    Jenny Simpson    So SPAM on Pinterest“>#Pinterest is already happening. Some weight loss garbage was apparently re-pinned by me (it wasn’t) http://t.co/uehhUMxC 1 hour ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

  • Corned Beef And Cabbage: The Internet’s Meal Choice For St. Patrick’s Day

    Corned beef and cabbage has been trending on Google all day, and having spent the better part of the day on the web, it’s clear that this is what many are eating today in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.

    Here’s what Twitter has to say about it:

    (image)@JohnHarveyy
    john harvey    Being a vegetarian when your mom is making corned beef and cabbage <<< 🙁 so sad(image) 37 seconds ago via Twitter for iPhone ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@DM_Becky
    Becky    Corned beef and cabbage is a Boston Brahman dish, NOT Irish. Source: Nana, who grew up in Ireland & cooked for Brahmans.(image) 2 minutes ago via Twitter for Android ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@Garlicfries_bb
    Ronni Redmond    Okey doke! 1st televised Giants game this season noon today! Corned beef & cabbage cooking in the crockpot. I’m stoked!(image) 1 minute ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@MeganMCannon
    Megan Cannon    Corned beef and cabbage isn’t even Irish, it’s just disgusting. God people, know your culture already.(image) 2 minutes ago via Echofon ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@Noel107
    Noel Slaughter    If you are Irish, and do not have Corned Beef and Cabbage at some point today, you are dead to me. @IrishGirlProbz(image) 3 minutes ago via Twitter for Android ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@KristiAnnCordes
    Kristi Ann    My entire house smells like corned beef and cabbage. Gag me now. I hate corned beef(image) 3 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@cloudskipper
    Chris Cloudskipper    I’m thinking today is a corned beef and cabbage kind of day. And maybe some Bushmills.(image) 6 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@DestTampaBay
    DestinationTampaBay    Green nachos and corned beef ‘n cabbage wrap at #Dunedin Brewery. Sounds pretty darn good!(image) 7 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    And on and on. It’s not technically a trending topic at the moment, but it might as well be, as the tweets for corned beef and cabbage are pouring in quite rapidly.

    Of course talk (and photos and videos) about corned beef and cabbage are all over Facebook, Google+, Reddit, and others as well.

    There are about 632 corned beef and cabbage videos on YouTube. If you’re in the mood to make some, here are some videos that might help you out:

  • St. Patrick’s Day Google Doodle And The Google St. Patty’s Day Vibe

    Today, Saturday, March 17, 2012, is St. Patrick’s Day, and Google has a doodle, of course (pictured above). As they often do, Google’s doodle appeared in other parts of the world (like Australia) before making its way here to the U.S.

    As a colleague pointed out, the doodle focuses more on art than on drinking, which has become the true meaning of the holiday to some, despite its cultural and religious origins.

    If you want to compare the doodle to last year’s (which wasn’t so much about drinking either), you can see it in this Google Doodle compilation:

    By the way, in light of Google’s increased push on semantic search and direct answers, it’s worth noting that a Google search for “St. Patty’s Day” returns a direct answer for St. Patrick’s Day:

    Google St. Patty's Day

    Of course, talk and the sharing of imagery and videos related to the holiday are all over the social networks, including Google’s own Google+. In fact, it becomes pretty clear that Google+ is no ghost town if you do a search for St. Patrick’s Day, as you can watch the new posts roll in pretty quickly.

    Here are some videos that are popping up:

    Of course, Google’s Doodle is more about the web search part of Google, and clicking it will simply take you to the query for “St. Patrick’s Day”. Google thinks this Wikipedia entry for St. Patrick’s Day is the best result for that. Do you agree?

  • Guinness Perfection: It’s All In The Pour

    Guinness Perfection: It’s All In The Pour

    Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, there’s a viral video going around showing the unwashed masses how to “Pour the Perfect Guinness from a Can.” The video, which leads this post, is perhaps the most concise, useful tip going into this weekend’s green theme, so much so, in fact, that since the video’s posting–March 13, 2012–the 30-plus second clip has garnered over 100,000 views.

    The process of pouring the perfect Guinness looks pretty simple. It has nothing to do with the angle of the can or the glass it’s being poured into. Simply put the can directly into the glass and let the liquid fill up the glass. Once it reaches the can and “the avalanche of bubbles settles,” pull the can out and let it finish filling the glass. The result? A gorgeous glass of beer with the perfect head on it. Considering the weekend’s festivities, I wonder how many people will be trying this at home? I just hope they post videos of their attempts.

    Speaking of St. Patrick’s Day, Twitter is in the mood for beer-drinking fun:

    (image)@Foodimentary
    Foodimentary    Happy St Patrick’s Day Celebrate the old fashioned way, ‘the little green fairy’ Absinthe http://t.co/rG04h6ZP http://t.co/2vbkVueE(image) 32 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@dailysimpsons
    Simpsons Quotes    To alcohol: The cause of – and solution to – all of life’s problems! (Happy St. Patrick’s Day) #simpsons(image) 2 hours ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@unodosprada
    uno dos !PRADA!    Happy St. Patrick’s Day people! don’t drink too much Guinness!(image) 5 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    Actually, considering the video, forget about that. Drink all the perfectly-poured Guinness your heart desires. Just don’t drive.

    (image)@TJFINLEYS
    TJ FINLEY’S    GREEN BEER by GREAT SOUTH BAY now on tap. HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!! http://t.co/A3Ztm46G @beermenus(image) 6 days ago via Beer Menus  ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    Now that’s how you endorse a holiday that encourages abject inebriation. Granted, the history of the holiday is a little more than wearing green clothes, drinking green beer and eating cabbage, but these are the reasons it’s so popular, especially in the United States.

    Just remember, designated drivers are your friend.

  • St. Patrick’s Day Google Doodle Focuses More On Art, Less On Drinking

    It won’t be St. Patrick’s Day in the Western world until tomorrow, but our friends in Australia are already getting to celebrate the only holiday that actually encourages people to drink until they’re sick.

    The Google Doodle celebrating the holiday uses a traditional Irish design that’s more celebratory of their culture instead of the usual symbols we associate with the holiday like drinking and leprechauns.

    The holiday originally came to be in Ireland as a celebration of the life of St. Patrick. It’s passed down that he came to Ireland to spread Christianity and used traditional holiday symbolism like the shamrock to explain Christian doctrine.

    In the modern day, the holiday is still a highly religious one in Ireland. It’s celebrated by the Catholic church with services, wearing green and the lifting of restrictions on certain foods and drinking alcohol, which is where we get the rest of the world’s version of the holiday.

    In other parts of the world, the holiday is used to spread awareness of Irish culture and celebrate the contributions that the Irish have made around the world.

    Australia is no different and celebrates the holiday with the usual festivities. They even go one step further by illuminating the Sydney Opera House in green.

    St. Patrick's Day Google Doodle

    While our friends in Australia are already celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, you can bet your pot of gold that the rest of us are going to be out celebrating it tomorrow.

  • Yahoo Tracks St. Patrick’s Day Search Trends

    Yahoo Tracks St. Patrick’s Day Search Trends

    Today, people all over the world have donned green clothing, cued up Celtic music, and resolved to drink Guinness in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.  They’ve also conducted lots of searches related to the holiday, and Yahoo provided some interesting stats on the matter earlier this morning.

    One quick note first: of the three major search engines, Bing is the only one featuring an Irish theme or logo today.  Which makes Google and Yahoo seem guilty of a rather large oversight.

    Anyway, a post on the Yahoo Search Blog stated, “Searches for ‘st patrick’s day shirts’ are up 182% this week on Yahoo! and 67% of searches are by females. . . .  Searches are up 118% this week on Yahoo! for ‘celtic women.’  Searches for ‘celtic symbols,’ ‘celtic tattoos’ and ‘celtic crosses’ are all spiking this week on Yahoo!. . . .  Searches for ‘shamrock’ are up 20% this week . . .”

    Then the post delved into some food-specific info, continuing, “Searches this week on Yahoo! are up 380%  for ‘corned beef recipes,’ and up 120% for ‘cabbage recipes.’  Also spiking: ‘stuffed cabbage’ and ‘how to cook corned beef.’”

    As for the subject of beer, Budweiser and Bud Light unfortunately continue to be the top two brands Yahoo users have searched for, but Guinness at least came in third.

    Of course, there are region-specific differences in the popularity of St. Patrick’s Day, and Yahoo noted that folks in Boston, Chicago, and New York are particularly excited about it.  Festivals in Texas are getting a lot of attention, too.

    Finally, to recap some other recent, Ireland-related news, we’ll note that Google’s becoming more active in the country, acquiring Green Parrot Pictures and buying an office building in the last month.