The Virtual Union

Sofia, Bulgaria – The dream of life beyond our own is something that has informed the human condition since we made our first steps towards self-awareness. Whether those dreams existed to help explain the existence of the world, to bring about fear in sinners and young children, or to act as a proxy to help explore our own experiences, life beyond our world has been a constant source of fascination. In recent years such dreams have moved away from the ethereal realm and into the pragmatic but the drive that helps to create such fantasies has never waned. Scrape TV

Tegucigalpa, Honduras – It has been a very testing few years for the people of Honduras. In 2008 massive floods devastated the country, washing out roads and homes. Earlier this year a coup attempt led to the expulsion of the President and made the country the centre of the world’s attention for a brief moment. That attention has brought new light to life in the country where most people live on less than two dollars a day and where women’s rights are significantly behind those of many of their neighbouring countries. Suffice it to say many people in the country are looking forward to a better 2010. Scrape TV

Tampa Bay, FL – There are many storied franchises in the history of the NFL. The Chicago Bears, The Green Bay Packers, The New York Giants, The Dallas Cowboys, The Pittsburgh Steelers are just a handful of the most respected and beloved franchises in the league, winning almost half of all Super Bowls ever played between them. Those teams too, with the exception of the Cowboys, are founding franchises in the league, which only adds to their level of respect and affection by fans of the game. Scrape TV

Bentonville, AR – Last year’s Black Friday was one to remember for Wal-Mart officials, though not in terms on killer sales. It was that day that a worker at a Long Island location was trampled to death by shoppers seeking deep discounts. That tragedy prompted many changes in the company’s Black Friday policies including starting sales earlier in the week and extending beyond the single Friday. Those actions apparently had a great effect on Friday with no deaths reported from around the chain, though there were a few close calls. Scrape TV

Washington, D.C. – Common wisdom has always stated that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Medical science has largely back up that claim and those two factors have combined to make the breakfast industry a multi-billion dollar industry. Cereals, bacon, fruit, and toast are some of the most common ingredients in any healthy breakfast but in recent years one product has come to be the cornerstone of any healthy diet, and that products very existence may now be at risk and with it the health of millions of Americans. Scrape TV

Washington, D.C. – Much has been made of Barack Obama’s attempts to reach out to all corners of the political spectrum. In many ways he has made a lot of headway in opening up the dialogue between the United States and countries that once felt on the outs. That has helped to further Obama’s personal celebrity – even earning him a Nobel Peace Prize – and started to alter the world’s view of the United States which had been so tarnished after years of war and stern obstinacy from the previous administration. Scrape TV

Washington, D.C. – Much has been made of the serious security breach that allowed two Virginia socialites to crash the first official state dinner on Wednesday. Apart from the serious concerns about the safety and security of the President, Vice-President, Secretary of State, and other high-ranking administration officials as well as the vetting by the secret service. While inevitably much of the focus will be on that security of the White House and the safety of the most powerful people on the planet, the party crashers themselves are only concerned about their next gig. Scrape TV

Berkley, CA – Professional sports have long been a profession of fame. Some athletes become huge names in the town they play in, some only in the town they came from, but a few, a very rare few, become much bigger than that. Names such as Joe Montana, Wayne Gretzky, Joe DiMaggio, and Michael Jordan are just a few of those that have not only reached all corners of the globe, but also in many ways come to define the sport that made them famous. There is one name in professional sports that stands above all others though, Tiger Woods. Scrape TV

Lima, Peru – The quest for beauty is something that has driven people to more and more extreme lengths in recent years. Advances in medical science have allowed new levels of recreation of the human face and body, allowing people to almost indefinitely avoid the ravages of age and retain a youthful look even into old age. Of course no system is perfect and science and drug companies continue to push forward the notion of perpetual youth, driving technology and profits ever forward and securing long and happy lives for everyone involved. Scrape TV

Fort Worth, TX – Medicine and science have struggled to find the reasons behind insanity for centuries and for the most part both have come up empty. Religion believed it had the answer at one point in the form of malicious entities possessing the victim but such theories have largely gone by the wayside in recent years. Neurological damage and traumatic incidents have often been cited as a primary reason for such aberrant behaviour but those only allow for part of the answer, melting in the face of people who suffer such issues and retain their sanity, further pushing that aspect of the human mind into mystery. Scrape TV