Irony

Professor Longhair's one major national hit was, according to Wikipedia, "Bald Head". Would an alternative version of Professor Longhair, a Dr Bald/Mr Clean/Clearscalp/Smooth Man, have a hit called "Long. Long, Long Hair", an erotic retelling of the Rapunzel story?

Howard the Duck Defiled Again

In the latest South Park George Lucas and Steven Spielberg are depicted raping Indiana Jones in recreations of famous movie rape scenes. In the scene based on The Accused, the pinball machine which Lucas rapes Indy is from Howard the Duck the Film. I was a big Howard the Duck fan. I love the cleverness and wit of the original comic by Steve Gerber. Unfortunately as he lost control of Howard the Duck, Marvel claimed he was merely performed work for hire, Howard the Duck was in a death spiral. George Lucas' abuse was enough destroy Howard. Marvel has recently brought back Howard as some halfhearted zombie version of the original comic.

Hang the Snobs

I know most of your magazines inside out, I try to devour much as I can.

Ugly Betty

Clearly.

Literary and fashion Snob at Meade Publications

Ugly Betty S01E01

The Business of Love

You know what love is, Belle, a marketing ploy.

Unnamed Madam in Secret Diary of a Call Girk S02E06l

Jazz Musicians, Beret Wearing Heroin Addicts - Colbert

Don't give money to Jazz Musicians they will just spend the money on heroin and berets.

Stephen Colbert

Over and Entering 6th Year

With the Iraq war over and headed into its sixth year.

John Oliver to hapless Iraqi official,
Daily Show 2005/10/09

Lowest Form of Comedy/Entertainmet/Showbiz - Clowns

Where can we find these clowns.

Ned

Drunk in a ditch somewhere.

Ringmaster

Clown focused exchange in Pushing Daisies S02E02


In Homer the Clown there was a similar depressing view of the life of clowns by apprentice Krusty Homer J Simpson

Aw, being a clown sucks. You get kicked by kids, bit by dogs, and admired by the elderly. Who am I clowning? I have no business being a clown! I've leaving the clowning business to all the other clowns in the clowning business.

Zombie Prejudice

People who are dead but not dead traditionally come up against angry mobs with pitchforks.

Ned, Pushing Daisies S02E02

The Rewards of Pushiness

It is in my nature to reward pushiness with inattention.

Emerson Cod Pushing Daisies S0202

Robert Gallo Snubbed by the Nobel Committee

The 2008 Nobel in Medicine, actually half a Nobel, has been awarded to the French researchers who discovered the AIDS virus. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier isolated the AIDS virus and then gave a sample to Robert Gallo's lab which then anounced that he had "discovered" it. From the American perspective the prize of discovery goes to who ever files the legal forms first. Public domain material has been copyrighted and therefore capture in the US. National anthems that have been in the public domain have been successfully copyrighted in the US. Folk songs have been copyrighted and then captured by unscrupplous music promoters, are there any other kind, this happened to the song St James Infirmary. In the case of AIDS the fight wasn't over the psychic benefit scientific discovery but the materials rewards of a patent on a medical test to detect AIDS/HIV.

Robert Gallo's loss of the Nobel makes me happy.

Rae on Harris

Rae Days are better than Harris years.

former NDP Premier of Ontario Bob Rae
on former PC Premier of Ontario Mike Harris
At CBC Toronto all candidates meeting,
2007/10/07 20:29.

Somali Pirates

There is currently a standoff between Somali pirates holding a cargo ship and the US Navy and soon the Russian Navy.

There are some, Somali and others, who defend the motives and interests of the pirates. On a radio discussion of this current crisis, On Point: Pirates and Power at Sea, there are many Somalis who called complaining and excusing the motives of the Somali thugs. Hussean Fiin of Ceegaag.com, a Somali-American forum, defends piracy by quoting an American terrorist.

The world neglected Somalia for eighteen long years, Injustice, killings, Raping, diseases, Hunger, is what is known about Somalia, The civilized world allow this thing to go on in Somalia so I will say about what is happening(pirates) ‘Chickens Coming Home to Roost’ Malcolm X.

Somalia has not an easy time of it for some decades. The breakdown of state order has meant an undefended coastline. Illegal dumping of toxic waste and illegal fishing have flourished. Somali is also a land of desperate poverty. At first Somali fishermen were merely defending their fish stocks. Later on better financed operations pirated ships further from shore for more than fish.

That Somali is a hell hole is the nobody's fault but themselves. About 15 years there was a major international effort to save Somali from anarchy and civil war. It collapsed after the Somalis demonstrated they would rather have anarchy than order, their own tyranny than another's freedom. If Somali is hell it is because it is filled with Somalis not just other people.

Defensively shipping companies need to revive the practice of convoys. Even if this would lead to more shipping delays and port congestion. Major naval powers need to degrade offensive Somali maritime capacity by destroying ports and coastal communities. Ultimately land needs to be taken for foreign bases to deal with the pirates. A generation or so ago there was foriegn military bases in the Horn of Africa. This stoppped the locals from being too stupid. Aden is needed again.

Martial Happiness - Roger Sterling

You want to be right or do you want to be married?

Roger Sterling, Mad Men S02E08

i(half)Life

Palin for Prez

Here is Michael Palin debating Bambi.

Gordon Freeman spotted at the LHC

(from the Earth is Square)

UPDATE

For those readers of this blog who don't play computer games let me explain Gordon Freeman. Gordon Freeman is a character that you play in the game Half Life. He is a physicist who goes Black Mesa Research Facility, a very large physics laboratory, kinda of like the LHC, and very bad things happen. If want to see what Black Mesa looks like check out this video.

Judgement not Prejudgement

Martin Luther King once dreamed of a day when people would be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. Sadly for Barack Obama, that day has arrived.

IDB Editorial

I often put this same philosophy in a similar but negative manner.

Don't hate people because of their skin color. Hate people for their own individual qualities.For who they are.

Atheists and Libertarians

Just like there are no atheists in foxholes there are no libertarians in financial crises.

Paul Krugman on Real Time with Bill Maher

The Indian Army Reborn

During the long period of the British Raj, both before and after the Sepoy Rebellion, officers developed a very intimate knowledge and relationship to the subcontinent. They learned obscure languages, they conducted historical researches, they learned the ground. That was the Indian Army that Kipling knew, where many officers had as deep a textural relationship with the Bhagavad Gita as they did with the Aeneid.

That was then, in the new Kiplingesque wars of central Asia officers and noncoms need the same relationship with the ground, locals, anthropology that Kipling's officers would recognize and admire. Here is an article in Harper's that could have been published a century ago about some expedition to Kabul except for the references to computers. satellites and AFVs.

Recent Reading: Something New Under the Sun

I have played many different games over the years that involve resource management. In regard to the nature these games usually treat resources one of two ways. In the Civilization games the resource productively continues from the beginning to the end of game. There might be hiccups like barbarian invasion and like. In other games resource deposits have finite limits. Quarries get played out, fish get caught and forests deforest. At end of these games you don't see all you have built as in Civilization but mainly what destruction you have wrought for the transitory pleasures of success.

In Something New Under the Sun, JR McNeil catalogs the destruction of our planet, the diminishing of mines, wells, farmlands, fishing grounds. This is a deeply depressing book in that it focuses on what we have done and what we left undone. This is an almost encyclopedic cataloging of the degradation of earth, air, water, oil, ore, and other natural rescources done even to our precious bodily fluids. I have read books about nuclear war that had slightly more upbeat. Read this book and be depressed.

New Definition for Short Selling

President Bambi's First Day in Office

Ballsy Encouraging Words

Trust me, you will come back better and stronger than ever. Like Lance Armstrong but with 2 balls.

Ari Gold, Entourage S0502

Lipstick on a Pig

Recently there has been a flap in the US with Barak equating lipstick on a pig with Gov Palin self description of a hockey mom. This is a cartoon by Michael Ramirez of the Investors Business Daily.

Current US Politics Explained in Terms of OZ

A poster named Dandy commenting on an article, Palin is Hillary's Gift to Obama, was able to the current US election in terms of the story Oz. That is OZ of the Frank Baum series not the OZ of the Oswald Maximum Security Prison series. When I hear OZ I only think of the prison drama now.

Hillary Clinton did not bring us Sarah Palin , Michelle Obama did , and here's how I got there .

Hillary had the largest negative numbers we have ever had with a candidate before the primaries started . (We all seem to have forgot that part) but this put the nation in a O-Sh*t mood to begin with.

With 70 % of the nation not being happy with the direction of the country , it didn't look like it mattered what the republicans did , it was all Hillary Hillary .

In comes a breath of fresh air Barack Obama , with this came an option that was not Bush or Clinton , couple that with the Hillary negatives & the Chicago Style politics (Busing in people from another state) to vote in the Iowa primary & all of a sudden the nation goes holy sh*t , we can kill 2 birds with one stone . Not Bush or Clinton & Break the racial divide all with one vote .

Everything was wonderful in the Land Of Oz . Ding dong the wicked witch is dead . In comes the new Good Witch of the North Michelle Obama , problem was when she spoke it sounded like she was from the Southside and not a very nice witch .

Now all the little Munchkins starting getting a little nervous and by the time they figured out they were not in Kansas anymore they found themselves in New Hampshire . Ah haw, The wicked witch was wounded but not dead .

Now this didn't sit well with the New Wicked Witch from the Southside and behind the curtain she explained to the new Prince (Obama) that it was no longer about becoming King it was all about killing that wicked bi*tch uh, witch .

The poor little Prince had been raised by his mother only , and did not realize the Father is generally the one to take the leadership role in a family so whatever Mama said was just the way it was . Now being connected to the Wicked Witch from the Southside it just seemed normal that she knew best .

With a brush off the shoulder & a finger in the air the little Prince was walking on cloud nine . Following the lead from the Wicked Witch from the Southside it seemed he could do no wrong .

Many Munchkins still wanted the wicked witch from the west to take back over but would be satisfied if they could just be part of the family . But no The Wicked Witch from the Southside was not to have any of that & told the Prince to finish her off . And so he did & picked a warlock from the east .

Munchkinland was in disarry as many were not wanting to be ruled by the Wicked Witch from the Southside . In the distance they saw an old warrior rising out of the ashes to become The Phoenix Firebird , A little hope had returned but was still not enough to knock out The Wicked Witch from the Southside .

As the Prince was speaking to all the munchkins in front of his Greek stage the Wicked Witch from the Southside was waiting behind the curtain to make her entrance . While leaving the stage that evening the Wicked Witch from the Southside was snug as a bug in a rug .

While trying to calm the Munchkins the old Wise Phoenix Firebird listened & learned their hearts had been broken and only a mother could mend it again . As he looked to the north for an answer he realized The Real Good Witch From The North was what the Munchkins yearned for .

Without hesitiation he summoned her to heal the wounds caused by the Wicked Witch from the Southside . Being a Good Witch , Good radiated from her very being .

The Wicked Witch from the Southside power has been diminished to a point of irrelvance and the Prince now finds himself on his own , something he has never had to do & it shows .

While he continues to try a find his way , the Good Witch Of The North keeps telling the munchkins all they have to do is click their heels & say . There's No Place Like Home .

Happiness has returned to The Land Of Oz . Ding Dong the wicked "WITCH'S" are dead .

The Pointlessness of "Liberation"

In a NY Times story about the the continuing legal problems of professional sleazeball Jacob Zuma, next El Presidente of the Republic of South Africa and unconvicted rapist there is this quote on "liberation" movements.

“In the African context, liberation movements have been very successful at bringing an end to colonialism, but their record in instituting a democratic political order and protecting and consolidating democracy has been abysmal,” said Achille Mbembe, a political scientist at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. “South Africa has found itself in a state of uncertainty — radical uncertainty and extreme volatility.

I would point out that their [liberation movements] record in instituting any order is also dismal. Forget about making the trains run on time it is too difficult to make the trains run at all. Things rapidly go down hill fast as maintenance declines and trained engineers and specialists leave. Let us remember that liberation movements are primarily about taking power and dividing the spoils. Many things get broken in a revolution, glass, eggs, skulls, machinery, people. In the African context there is also crippling racism on the part of the new governments that mean human resources are dismissed if it is the wrong skin tone/religion/tribe. At the end of the spasm of liberation there is oftentimes less spoils to divide.

In time South Africa will decline. Natural resources and natural resource income is not enough to keep Nigeria and the Congo from being hell holes.

Head Hunting

The graveyards are full of indispensable men (De Gaulle)
Great! Lets recycle them! (Dr. Frankestein)

William Blake, the AH.com poster not the poet.

Lego Simpsons

(from BoingBoing)

Photos of China's Destruction

Here are some images of the environmental degradation of China. While not as as powerful as Edward Burtynsky's work it is still very interesting. In the above photo a bootless man is mining coal using very primitive methods

Manson and Harper Agree - "Family is Everything"

Television and Distraction

We didn't make you head of television to shorten your attention span.

Bertram Cooper, Mad Men S02E07

Star Trek / Love Boat Mashup

Obama Victory Riots or Obama Election Loss Riots

The Ungrateful Younger Generation

I fought the war for your sort.

Commuter in a Hard Day's Night

I bet you're sorry you won.

Ringo Starr

Train compartment exchange in A Hard Day's Night.

Forrests as Lungs

More Living Cars

Here is an Honda Ad from Australia that is set not in Australia but in London. It shows a city filled with anthropomorphizing cars. See an earlier post that also includes speculations into these car cyborgs. Also here is a casting video for the ad.

Guide Dog Assisted Squash

POW Camp Made McCain

Gitmo isn't a prison, it is leadership academy,

Jon Stewart 20080903

Democracy versus Feudalism

In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it's your Count that votes.

Calgacus, AH.com

The German Games

The Economist has an article on the cottage industry of the German board games, An affinity for rules?. The article in a little bit of pop psychology of how Germans are oppressed with rules which is why there are so many complicated rules.

From my perspective there is a major genre of games that is not done by the jerries, war games. Kriegsspiel was originally a creation of some Prussian staff officers, Von Reisswitz father and some, who created was is essentially table top miniatures, see here for photos of rare surviving copy. That was the 19th century after the great loss of WWII Germany was under new management that banned the use of nearly all WWII symbols, no swastikas. I have a sub game wherea red diamond is used instead of that symbol. Also WWII put militarism out of fashion so economic games are produced instead. Avalon Hill was an American game company that could be seen as a counterpart to German board game industry except nearly all their games military and most of these were set in WWII. Sadly Avalon Hill is now owned by Hasbro and most of their back catalog is out of print.

Chart Your Last Name

From AH.com comes an a link to web applet that allows you chart the relative popularity of last names. Publicprofiler/Worldnames has the census data for only for most of Western Europe, North America, Argentina, India, Japan and ANZAC. So it has some limitations but it is still gives some interesting answers. The statistical model seem to fall apart when it deals with subregions smaller than 100k it returns weird numbers. In the AH.com thread many people were discussing the frequency of their "real" names not their user names.

• "Mulroney", as a last name not as swear word, is more common in Quebec than in Ireland as a whole.
• "Ruggles", are densest in the NWT. However the numbers might be deceptive since at a frequency of 275 per million only about a dozen in the NWT must be named Ruggles for that rate.
  
• "Campbell" is densest in PEI with 1% of the island with that surname.
  

Ronald MacDonald - Raver

Looking for a Quiet Life

Errol Flynn is gone and so is my taste for swordplay.

Roger Sterling. Mad Men S02E06

Ruins From Old Detroit

While reading the comments in another blog, The Death of Johannesburg, I came across another blog of urban decay. Forgotten Detroit is about the great marooned and abandoned builgings of downtown Detroit. I have only visited Detroit once but it is hard not to impressed by these empty buildings surrounded by empty sidewalks, with non stopping/slowing cars speeding by. The site also includes before and after photos and floor plans.

Angry South Africa Expats and Wrecked Buildings

Following a link in some comments I came across a blog The Death of Johannesburg, that chronicles the deterioration of that city since the ANC took power. South Africa, in the bad old days, was pointed as an example of racial oppression. It was also one of the richest cities in Africa if not the world. Now "Free" South Africa has a sky high murder and rape rate and many downtown Jo'burg buildings have been abandoned for security concerns and occupied by squatters.

What the US VP Does - According to Colbert

1. Break ties in the US senate
2. Shoot old men in the face.

Hype we can believe in

Bambi

Generation Kill

Is any one else watching this fictionalized documentary, Generation Kill. What sells it for me is the presence of the actor who did Tobias Beecher in OZ as a journalist..

War vs Appeasement

You can have more war, or more appeasement.

LBJ

MS Fascism

Mass versus Custom Manufacturing

In a AH.com discussion, AH Challenge: British Leyland Still Going Strong, Nick Sumner has an analysis of the decline of the British auto industry.

Was British dominance of Formula One racing in the 70s, 80s and 90s a symptom of the decline of the British volume car industry or part of the cause? In the 80s and 90s the manufacture of Formula One cars was by and large a British cottage industry.

I think it might be seen as a symptom because F1 would attract the best engineering talent - if that talent saw no future in the volume side of the industry then getting into F1 would be even more attractive than would generally be the case. This would of course cause a decline in the engineering talent pool available to the volume manufacturers.

On the other hand it might be seen as part of the cause - did so much design and engineering talent accrue to F1 that there was too little left over for the volume industry?

I'm not saying for a moment that F1 might be the principal cause of the decline of the British car industry - that would be bad management - but did it have an effect?

In the 1950s, Italian manufacturers won the annual Formula One constructor’s championship eight times. British and German manufacturers managed one win each. The British volume car industry was both strong and profitable.

In the 1960s British manufacturers won seven times, the Italians won twice and the French once. The British volume car industry began to falter finding foreign competition increasingly difficult to beat.

In the 1970s British manufacturers again won seven times, Ferrari taking the other three championships. The competitiveness and quality of British volume cars declined steeply, markets were lost abroad and foreign penetration of the home market increased.

In the 80s all 10 championships were won by British manufacturers. The British volume car industry continued its precipitous decline.

In the 90s British manufacturers won eight of the constructors championships, the remaining two, were one by Benetton formula which at that time was a British registered company. The Benetton cars were also manufactured in Britain so you could argue that once again it was a clean sweep across the decade for British manufacturers. The British volume car industry died.

Is there a link here?

The Anatomy of Living Cars

Jake Parker, an artist, has theorized about the cars in Cars. They are part animal and part machine, in sci fi terms they would be cyborgs, or daleks. Jake has suggested a possible version, however the nervous system is a little out sized. There was a NFB cartoon from 1966, What On Earth, that purported to be a report from Earth by Martians explorers. This film also saw cars as alive and we human as the parasites. For even more cartoon anatomy studies check here.

My United States of Whatever

Sorry, the Youtube seems to have died awhile ago. The above is replacement, but with credits front and back.

A Step Beyond Tree Hugging

Literacy Ad Targeted at People Who Read all the Credits at the Movies

Taliban Charity

In reaction to story of Taliban terrorists killing aid workers on Jihadwatch a pulsar182 offers this sick joke about Taliban compassion.

• So..
• How does the Taliban help disabled children....
• by providing more disabled children so they won't be lonely..

In Africa and elsewhere some moslem "leaders" have considered the polio vaccine as part of some Zionist plot, so more crippled children there too.

The Lords of the Economy

Corporations in the East adopted a feudal approach to organization, without even being aware of it. There were kings and lords, and there were vassals, soldiers, yeomen, and serfs, with layers of protocol and perquisites, such as the car and driver, to symbolize superiority and establish the boundary lines. Back East the CEOs had offices with carved paneling, fake fireplaces, escritoires, bergres, leather-bound books, and dressing rooms, like a suite in a baronial manor house.

Tom Wolf explaining how the egalitarian Silicon Valley
culture was a created by Midwesterners
and not but hard driving MBA leaders.

This was from a link in slashdot story about how US corporations don't want hire Americans anymore

Mark Twain in Turkish Occupied Constantinople

Mosques are plenty, graveyards are plenty, but morals and whiskey are scarce. The Koran does not permit Mohammedans to drink. Their natural instincts do not permit them to be moral.

Mark Twain in Innocents Aboard

Changing Demographics in US Music Sales

You can see why the US music industry is in trouble. In 1990 more than 70% of music sales were to those under 30 years of age. now with iTunes the biggest segment isn't teenagers but people over 45. Boy bands don't sell well to people who already have developed musical tastes and collections.

The Rise and Fall of US Music Sales

The RIAA doesn't have a lot to complain about since CD sales are still higher than the peaks of LP and cassette sales. Considering the manufacturing cost for CDs is small compared to earlier media, what's the problem.

Evil Pastry

(from T Shirt Hell)

Funny Bunny Suicide

In a thread on Comic Curmudgeon a Naked Bunny with a Whip has a link to odd and funny bunny suicide cartoons. The panels that follow these ones show the consequence of assaulting aliens.

Penguin Inspecting his Troops

It is Nils Olav, a Mascot of the Norwegian King's Guard, or Hans Majestet Kongens Garde. He and his predecessors live at the Edinburgh Zoo and every time the Norwegians take part in the Royal Edinburgh Tattoo they come by and promote him.

Propaganda Posters

This compilation of political posters was put together a right wing blogger. It is making a an association between postering styles and ideologies. You could also make a comparison between political ads and tolilet paper commercials. (See a previous post about ChiCom posters for more commie agitprop)

Offensiveness

The right to offend is far more important than the right not to be offended.

- Rowan Atkinson

How Cats Get Tropical Fish

More of scuba diving cat here.

Help the Astronomers

You too can help sort the galaxies of the universe. Galaxy Zoo enlists people to to map the universe. Very little training is needed to make almost everyone as good as professional astronomers. One of the volunteers was even able to discover something new, check here for story.

Politics and the White Man

It is so refreshing that a white man has a voice in political process.

Stephen Colbert discussing SwingVote.

Children as Bartenders

Good times! I've said it before, but it always bears repeating: children make excellent bartenders.


Yes. They can be counted on not to get drunk (since children almost never like the taste of liquor) and start messing up the recipes, and they love playing with bottles and glasses and the like. Alas, my parents did not have me tending bar at their parties. I think my mother would have thought it was unseemly (not dangerous or immoral).

Discussion of Mad Men S02E02
on Television Without Pity.

Children's natural gift for bar tending has been noticed before. In the Simpson episode, Bart the Murderer, where Bart gets a job bar tending at the Legitimate Businessman's club and is soon famed for his Manhattans.

How The Internet is Destroying Literacy

Here is a report about how the internet is changing reading habits and reading skills.

Statler and Waldorf on Youtube

Crazy Quebeckers

There seems to be something in the Quebec gene pool a psychotic bent that gives rise to a disproportionate number of cold blooded killers.

Yves Lavigne in
Hell's Angel's: Taking Care of Business

Passive Aggressive Batman

I'm not going to kill you but I don't have save you.

Batman to frenemy Henri Ducard in Batman Begins

Star Tek Nerdity

People often make fun of nerds. Today on one of my favorite nerd site, AH.com, I have come across an amazingly nerdy thread, though admittedly in the nonpolitical chat section. On sports bulletin boards there are arguments about the greatest left handed pitcher in the pre-expansion American League. This argument, "who's the greatest Klingon warrior ever?", encapsulates all of the nerdiness of trekers.

Prophetic words

"[The Germans] will never know what fighting [is] until they meet in a popular war, American or British troops."

Phil Sheridan

An Apt Description of the Undead

They're dead. They're all messed up.

Policeman describing the zombie hordes
in Night of The Living Dead.

Comments About Paul Bernardo by his Lawyer

He is polite, he is respectful, he is appreciative of my time - thats three more attributes then most clients.

Paul Bernardo defense lawyer Tony Byrant
on his client, in Macleans June 30, 2008

Montaigne said no man is hero to his valet. But in this it is possible for a monster to be human to be human to his lawyer.

Space Hipsters - Whatever

How to Play with Yourself in Public and Not Get Arrested - Chess

It Must be Hard Working the Desk at Heaven's Gate

Alien Wrestling

Here is amusing little video about Alien Wrestling, the IWE. Thankful it doesn't use the stereotypical Star Trek fight music that Futurama also employed on a number of occasions.

(from Cold Hard Flash)

The Alpha Bravo NATO Standard Phonetic Alphabet

When ever I use this phonetic alphabet I often get strange signs looks and questions. I don't know why since it has been an international standard of most of the "free world" for more than half a century, it was adopted in 1951. Remember I am not the weird one for using it and if you don't know it yet you are the weird ones, or do need another 50 years to learn it.

Living With Clockwork

I have no idea what this is about. But it looks interesting. Here is some more information about this and the movie it is an except for from The Cabinet of Wonders.

More Creepy Union Busting Ads

This series of ads uses that actor who played Johnny Sack on the Sopranos. But the ads are lying. Right now under US labor law there can be a vote for union representation after 30% of a bargaining unit has signed union cards. All the proposed law does is make union recognition automatic after 50% +1 have signed union cards. What the ad implies is that the identity of people who sign union cards now are secret.

Unfortunate Ad Placement

The Problem with Buffering

Toilet Paper as Civilization

Magic Thinking and Politics

Assuming some one like is someone just like you because you like them is a little silly. In the discussion of this editorial cartoon on Ted Rall's site there is this observation by Thomas Daulton.

Geez, this is sooo sooo true, (plus a Trek reference to boot! Thanks ! !)

However, it wasn't just 1992 when that happened. Even as late as 2000, when I posted stuff on my website about how Al Gore was proposing a larger military budget and more Star Wars than George Bush, people would write me and say (and I quote) "He'll drop all those things once he gets into office, he's only saying that to fool the hicks in the South, you have to read between the lines."

Sorry, Aggie Dude, I think it might actually be more intelligent to vote for [or against] a candidate because "you know where he stands" rather than voting for him because you fantasize that he agrees with you. At least it's realistic. I think, I hope, I pray, that the last eight years of unresponsiveness on the part of the Democrats has really taught people a lesson: when a candidate expresses support for something, {like, say, telecom immunity or bombing Iran}, -- even conditional support -- then what it means is that they support it. So if you do not support that idea, and the idea is important enough to you, then you might consider voting for someone else, or else the policy you disfavor is likely to pass with the help of your vote.

Corollary: if you think your favorite candidate is lying or exaggerating or otherwise misleading voters with his statements, and that you know his "true" stance, well the odds are better than even that you are the one being deceived, not the other voters.

How to Stop Commies

Here is ad for a short film festival, in Toronto but I never saw it on TV there, of a man facing down a column of Chinese Communist tanks.

You Are What You Shoot - Sony

Here is an ad from Sony Cybershot that promotes the idea that using a camera should be a daily event or you will be seen a little simple. Here is a collection of short ads from the same campaign.

Stuff as Food

Here is the latest video from PES.

The Natural History of Animation

This is an interesting but quite disneycentric view of the natural history of animation. Tony White, the creator of this film, seen here and here talking about this project and book, is concerned about the viability of future populations of animators with out education and apprenticeship. However the discussion at Cartoon Brew while generally agreeing with the need for animation education take issue with idea of Walt Disney as some noble leader of the only true animators.

(found on Cartoon Brew)

Zombie Claymation

Here is some truly horrifying animation of zombie attack and the destruction of the zombies by a chainsaw wielding Maid.

Interview with The Walrus

Much like The Interview With Dali this is taped interview with john Lennon that has been animated and expanded on. Instead of character animated the images are tangents spun off from John's words.

Afghan National Army Abuses

There have been a number of reports of Afghan National Army, Toronto Star June 16 2008, raping Taliban "suspects. This is not the case of these troops being "western supported" but because they are Muslim troops. Muslim armies have had 2 great and well earned reputations over the years as cowards and rapists. Much of the objection to "Crusaders" or western troops being stationed in Muslim counties is that there are like the undisciplined rabble just like local "armies.

St James Infirmary Blues by Cab Calloway as Zombie

The producers of Popeye didn't have the big success of Walt Disney. However they did some cartoons with Cab Calloway providing both music, voice and his own rotoscoped dance steps. In this piece Cab sings the song of a dead cartoon character.

Racial Differences in Punishment

Speaking as a Virginian I don't hold to flogging white men

Capitan Leroy, Sharpe S01E02

Georgian Military Life Cycle

I was born in a brothel. I grew up in a orphanage. I hope to die in the army.

Sharpe

Capitalist Supporters of a Communist Dictatorship

Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie - Burning Down the White House

"And the Americans ran like a bunch of babies that they are. Wah, Wah, Wah."