Failure Thy Name is Detroit

Everything's falling apart. And it all starts right here in Detroit. The headwaters of a river of failure.

Ray Drecker in Hung S01E01

Uranium By Mail Order

It is good to see that the Amazon is now competitive with Acme in the mad genius/starving coyote market segment. Amazon is selling uranium ore, not yellow cake or refined uranium. The people who bought this radioactive specimen also bought also bought Forbidden LEGO which has instructions on making weapons out of LEGO.

(link from An Engineer's Options & Futures)

Less Money for Space can Mean More Money for Space Science

An article in cnet suggests some bad news at NASA and its manned space missions, Reduced budget threatens manned space options. However I see the story in a slightly difference light. Without all the constraints on spacecraft design on the care and feeding of monkeys, sorry the life support for astronauts, a lot more science can be done. Space probes and mars lander and rover have provided so much more in real science than all the monkey make work projects.

A Supervillian's Datacenter

In a slashdot story, Will Silicon Valley Run Out of Data Center Space? Anonymous Coward linked to this article of a data center in Stockholm in a surplus nuclear bunker, The World's most super-designed data center - Fit for a James Bond Villain. This what CEO that paid for this site, sounding in no way a little nerdy, wanted.

“I’m personally a big fan of old science fiction movies. Especially ones from the 70s like Logan’s Run, Silent Running, Star Wars (especially The Empire Strikes Back) so these were an influence,“ said Karlung. “James Bond movies have also had an impact on the design. I was actually looking for the same outfit as the villain ‘Blofeld’ in Bond and even considered getting a white cat, but that might have been going a bit far!”

The Mona Lisa Must be Protected or We Will ALL DIE

A madwomen threw a mug at the Mona Lisa today. This news was re-reported on AH.com which prompted Pkmatrix to repeat a Nostradamus prediction.

The people in Paris weep,
Death claims La Joconde.
The dead rise again,
And the Seine runs with blood.

- Nostradamus, VII Century, 30th Quatrain

I responded with

Do Super Villains know about this prediction? I can this imagine a thrill in which a Super Villain how the world by threatening to nuke the

How ever black angel remembered this has already happened in a movie.

any one ever seen the Movie "Equilibrium"? for those who haven't one of the opening parts is where they find The Mona Lisa under the floor and burn it with flamethrowers must of seen the movie 100 times, but every time i scream "NOOOOOO"

Classic Florida Post Cards

If I was someone like Lileks I would grab all these scans of classic Florida postcards and then make funny/snide /sad comments about each one. Anyways here are are a collection of 50 some classic Florida postcards. Suffering through a heat wave however gives me yet another reason not to visit Florida besides its swampy ambience.

Why Does G-D Want David over Silas/Saul

I don't know why?
Because you're good. I've been good.
Because you're young. I was young too. Oh I gave him that, everything he ever asked for. Now he turns away. Loves you.

Silas in Kings S01E013

Peace, What is it Good For?

Nothing gets made in peace but art.

William Cross Schemer, Kings S01E11

Enough. We have suffered enough peacock speeches under him. If there is to be change let us start there. I don't speak the backwards language of kings. So I will be plain.

(in short let slip the dogs of war)

William Cross Schemer, Kings S01E11

Why Politicans Go To the Dark Side and Regret It

Maybe you once brought your country into a new day. But that day is done. Now you rule by night.

Dethroned King Vesper Abedon advice to
still enthroned King Silas in Kings S01E12

update
This character can blow hot and cold

It is always better to loved than feared. Some of us made the mistake the other way. And it does not go well.

Dethroned King Vesper Abedon advice to
the prisoner David Shepherd

The Space Pope or Pope as Star Wars Emperor

On AH.com there is a thread about a piece of Star Wars technology ending up in our universe, His Holiness's Super Star Destroyer. In which Polish Eagle wonders:

WI, tomorrow, the Super Star Destroyer Executor is ISOT'd into geosynchronous orbit around Earth, and the crew is completely convinced that Pope Benedict XVI is actually Emperor Palpatine?

Inspired by some pictures that emphasize the similarity between the Emperor and the Pope.

This would make Benedict XVI AKA "Ratzinger the Enforcer" AKA “Panzerkardinal” AKA "God's Rottweiler", ttthhhheeee Space Pope.

Steam Whistle Makes Steam Locomotive Sounds From Opening Bottles

Jihadi Scum Can Be Such Idiots

Half Life With Real Guns

Waterloo Labs is a group from a laboratory near Austin Texas. They have figured out a (cheap) way to play Half Life with real guns. They are also able to kill zombies with shovels using the same setup. Check out the discussion of this technological break through at slashdot, Playing a First-Person Shooter Using Real Guns.

Intoxication: A Comparison

In a slashdot thread about a roadside drug detector, Philips Develops Roadside Drug-Testing Device, Shakrai gives this joke about the relative dangers of drunk or doped up drivers.

What's the difference between a drunk driver and a stoned driver? The drunk driver runs right through the stop sign without even looking. The stoned driver stops at the stop sign and waits for it to turn green.

Nazi Noodle Pack

This is only one of the reasons that I only eat Ichiban brand ramen noodles.

(from Gates of Vienna)

Odd Blog: Item Not As Described

Item Not As Described is a blog that lists horrible and malformed junk that is listed on EBay on Free.

More Ruins of Old Detroit

Last September I came across a site devoted to photography of the Hell that is Detroit, Ruins From Old Detroit. Here is another photographer, James Griffioen, who also has been wandering around the living museum of Detroit. Instead of focusing on decayed landmarks he looks for absence, the empty blocks, the caved in houses, the feral dogs. The archeology record of grand buildings, palaces, shrines is glamorous, but the analysis of humbler buildings is also very useful.

(from a link from Boingboing)

Toddlers Will Kick You When You're Down.

Of course they will that is the easiest way TO kick someone.

Crazy Temperance Types Upset with Harry Potter

Okay one columnist for the NY Times is shrieking; "Won't somebody please think of the children?" In recent article, Harry Potter and the Pint of Liquid Courage, Tara Parker-Pope lists with concern incidents of underage drinking in the latest Harry Potter movie. The writer is concerned because her country has the same drinking age tolerant and child centered Pakistan.

In the reader response to this article many posters point out that it is American drinking laws are so completely out of whack and not literary description of booze in Harry Potter.

Someone pseudonymously as Hermione has this response to the "life lessons" in literature.

Right.

and Quidditch encourages kids to jump off buildings.

and eating chocolate to ward off Dementors encourages emotional binge eating.

Does Hogwarts have a drinking problem? No. The people who came up with this idea need to swallow a few potent shots of Chill The **** Out.

Nancy Goodman seems to to agree the writer with Colbert enthusiasm.

Whoever heard of 16 year olds drinking “butterbeer” and “mead” and getting “tipsy”? Shame! When I was that age such behavior was unheard of. I spent my free time using Bible verses to derive my family’s direct lineage from Adam and Eve. I for one refuse to watch such filth lest the good Lord see fit to burn my eyes from their sockets with a finger of fire. Harry Potter is the Devil and anyone who would subject innocent children to such a debauchery deserves to burn in Hell.

Michael gets in such a good shot the author of this oped cries ouch.

Did Dolores Umbridge write this article?

What Happened to Following the Rules of Fight Club

Father In Mass. Ran Fight Club For Son James Dexter Says He Supervised Fights, Intervened When Someone Was Clearly Losing

NEWBURY, Mass. (CBS) ―

A father who helped his son set up an ultimate fighting club in his home may face serious charges.

James Dexter of Newbury admits 15 to 20 high schoolers gathered to fight in his living room, but he says it was just a sport.

"We had moved all the furniture to one side, and put a cushion on the wall. I set rules that they couldn't be using their elbows, their knees, and they couldn't lift them up off the ground and slam them to the floor," said Dexter.

He said his 16-year-old son had been planning to hold the fights in a nearby field, when Dexter intervened and said they had to do it under his supervision.

"I was standing there and if one kid was losing obviously, I broke it up right away rather than letting them get extra hits on him."

The kids wore fingerless boxing gloves and mouth guards, and fought in the style of the popular Ultimate Fighting Club.

"It's a hobby of mine," said Dexter. "We enjoy it. It's a sport."

Dexter faces four counts of reckless endangerment of a child, but a judge is giving him a chance to clear his record.

He's on probation for two years, during which he can not have anyone under 18 in his home.

As long as he obeys the conditions, the charges will be dropped.

(screen scrape from CBS Denver)

This terrible story has a moral, don't let teenagers join fight club because can't follow rules 1 & 2, Don't talk About Fight Club. Lousy punks.

Here are the rules of Fight Club.

In the Land Of the Wolves - Chernobyl and area

Elena, a Ukrainian photographer and motorcyclist has put together a site of photographs of her travels into the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Here for the photographer's site. Here for information on the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Above is the actual nuclear plant. The record of her journeys are filled with rusted out equipment, abandoned disintegrating building and healthy and unconcerned wildlife. A higher background radiation that wildlife pays for a larger habitat and reduced human caused predation.

Has anyone else read the book the World Without Us. What has been happening here and what is discussed in the book gives hope for the future, with or without us.

(link from Goranga!)

Annals of Parental Cruelty (Naming Division)

Anybody who bought a dog, created a role-playing character or spawned knows the problems and complications of naming. Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing is a categorized site and bulletin board about terrible names.

Homeless Robots Need Booze

Read Our Magazine/Newspaper and Risk Your Life

Alien versus Predator in a Pool Room

Veteran's Ad From New Zealand

Listen to Your Mother or You will Die

Parody University Ad

Mourning The Alaskan Way

Committing a murder in the lower 48th and fleeing to the Yukon.

Mourning The Alaskan Way according
Stephen Colbert on July 27, 2009.

Ancient Computer Ad

Here is an ancient computer ad from 1990. This ad also gives many clues how the PC clones were able to win beta/vhs like computer format wars. The system being advertised are probably a 286 PC clone system that Amstrad had out at the the time. It was no great shakes even then. But as it was sold as a "business machine" it was being sold as turnkey manner. The peripherals, the software and training are included in one round and expensive price.

Trainspotting Recruitment Ad Mashup

I came across a bunch recruiting ads tonight on Youtube. This one is a mashup between a Royal Marines ad and the opening words of Trainspotting. Trainspotting is a movie about heroin and nihilism of choosing drugs over life is actually a good fit with the standard recruiting ad of danger and honor.

Other recruiting ads, official and otherwise that I came across tonight.
A NSFW US Navy ad put together by some sailors that emphasizes the congenial "cruise ship" lifestyle in the Navy.

A comparison between Japanese and American Navy recruitment ads. The Japanese ad, official ad, has bright colors and uptempo. If anything it is like that old song, In the Navy, only with more dancing.

There were also a number of vile anti-militaristic ads out there. Often it is claimed that activists who have the objections to the various wars going on in the middle east are in favour of peace. Many of the same groups and individuals also support the activities of the many and varied moslem terrorist groups in the same area. Not the work of peaceniks but traitors who will always side with our enemies.

Finally check out this low key Russian recruiting ad. It is not a recruiting ad per se, the Russian army relies on conscription not just to fill its ranks but also the NCO slots. However since the collapse of Soviet order there has draft evasion on a large scale with parental approval and help. In this ad a young man packs some clothes, hugs his mother, leaves his apartment building and gets the quiet approval of old men playing chess outdoors.

Sylar's Personal Ad

Sylar, everybody's favorite brain scooping psycho from Heroes is looking for love. Or rather a fan with the Trenchcoat Mafia has cut together a charming little ad for Sylar. If the name of the editor rings a bell the gang that couldn't shoot straight at Columbine High School also called themselves the the Trenchcoat Mafia.

Most of Doctor Who's "Travelling Companions"

(click to enlarge)

I forget where I found this illustration except that it was on a nerdy bulletin board. See how many of the Doctor's companions you can name and/or recognize.

Where to Hire a "Gun Wrangler"

While idly Googling around I came across a Canadian company that is set up to provide rentals and services to film and TV production companies. A&A Airsoft is willing rent weapons, equipment and the trained soldiers to operate it all along of with the services of a gun wrangler. From this company's name it probably started off selling Airsoft guns and then branched out into equipment and services and military surplus. The one book they sell, Once Upon a Wartime: A Canadian Who Survived the Devil's Brigade, is a memoir from a member of the Devil's brigade with a custom inscription from the author.

The Problem with Short Sellers AND Long Buyers

(click on image to enlarge)

Many people have an instinctive horror of short sellers. When markets are down the short sellers are ofter blamed. When a posted a jokey defense of short sellers from the Daily Show back in March, A Defense of Short Sellers, one of my faithful readers objected. Timbo motalized, "But if you short a stock, that can be a knife in its back. That can be the tipping point." It is a problem when anybody manipulates markets in any direction. This is why there are often special rules and disclosures for financial journalists and advisers. The problem is neither short selling and long buying, you can get regular reports on both activities through curiously the shorts report that the Globe and Mail's Report on Business publishes in hard copy is not available online. The problem is at the extremes. Pump and dump schemes can temporarily inflate stocks. And persuasive bears can talk down individual stocks for the bear's benefit. That is a manipulation however under normal conditions many companies like the attention of bulls who talk up hem up. Short sellers perform a reality service for many a company as it wanders nonchalantly off a cliff. Sometimes big dumb companies can exhibit the Wile E Coyote effect until short sellers point out the gaping chasm beneath their feet. At which point the stock falls to earth not through the "evil" designs of the short sellers but through the incompetence and bad luck of it own management.

Cool Names for ROK Military Units

I was reading the manga Cat Shit One, also called Apocalypse Meow. In one of the historical sidebars listed some of the ROK divisions that participated in the Vietnam War. The Yellow Tiger, Blue Dragon and White Horse or Stallion divisions were South Korea's contribution to the Vietnam War. Some of the other names for ROK units are Iron Wall, Golden Bat, Angry Wave, Pegasus and Eagle. In the case of the White Horse division the name cane be traced to a battle in the Korean War where the 9th div was able to beat back an assault by chi-com troops. You can read the history of the Battle of White Horse Mountain here. Below is a photo of White Horse Mountain.

Man on the Moon - As It Would Be Reported Today

Cry Havoc and Release the Fluffy Bunnies of War

For more information on this anime and the manga that it is based on check out Cat Shit One at wiki.

Bruce Lee versus Iron Man

This cool stop motion animation was produced by Patrick Boivin, check his page at his agent's.

Even More Chainsaw Bayonets/Swords

Some days internet produces the same stuff everywhere you look. Yesterday I had a post about working chainsaw bayonet, today it is also on AH.com. In a thread, Things that look like alternate history, but aren't, the above image was posted. Below are the best comments on AH about this invention.

Emperor Norton I

And that's why you don't let rednecks in the army.

Petike

As I already said : Every period of history apparently has it's own Warhammer 40K fanboys...

LordMoogi

That is so completely stupid, that it loops around the other direction and becomes awesome. I feel conflicted.

All Hail the Green Giant

Working Chainsword

Warhammer 40K has a weapon called the chainsaw sword. Above you can see a Space Marine holding chainsaw sword. This crazy weapon has inspired lots of nerds.

The guy who made the chainsaw bayonet, pfcthiel, has other test videos of his working chainsaw bayonet at his youtube page. He is also willing to build these small rifle mounted chainsaws for $300. Here is a picture of another working chainsaw bayonet.

Star Wars Whisky Ad

Canadian Club's current campaign is aimed aimed at young non-whisky drinkers. Many of advertising campaigns use young pretty people. The twist with this campaign is using retro images of young people in the past. The faded color photos give the impression of old amateur snapshots. At CC's website you can make your own mock ad. Here, Fun With Canadian Club Ads, is a collection of more "user created content" at Something Awful.

Here is another one that could be a motivation poster.

Zombie Cat

In a forum on Something Awful, Dress up Your Cat. This is not a retouched photo. It is a cat named Chase or Chase no Face. The cat had a horrible accident and lived.

How To Get Ahead in Politics and Publishing

In an AH.com there was an argument over SM Sterling, My opinion of Stirling's ISOT and Emberverse Series. Sterling is contentious figure who has been banned from AH.com after getting into an discussion about containing moslem terrorism. On the other hand he is very influential on the entire genre of alternate history. Many topics discussed on AH.com are derived from concepts and scenarios that Sterling first developed. When the the entwined concerns of literary and commercial merit came up, with the usual slagging anything that is popular,the conversation deadened until Tom Kalbfus brought up too subtle slagging of a successful politico/author.

I think time and only time is the true test of a classic work. If someone writes a book and many copies are sold and 50 years later people are still buying many copies of that book, that may be a classic.

There are of course other reasons people might buy many copies of a book, for instance the writer happens to be a politician, maybe a Senator for instance. The Senator does one of his constituents a favor, but he doesn't want to be seen accepting kickbacks, so what does he do? He writes a book, not a particularly well written book, but somehow it still sells lots of copies, imagine that, in fact the author makes $6,000,000 from the sales of his book, and then just as mysteriously the book sales plumment, but the Senator is still happy, he deposits his money in his bank account, and then asks other wealthy and influential constituents if there is anything he can do for them, and then he mentions the book he has written.

I have no one in particular in mind, its just a hypothetical example of how someone may well many books without being a good writer.

The Civil Service - a definition

The civil service, the cockroaches of government.

One civil sevice lifer to another civil sevice lifer in Torchwood S03E01

The Indignity of Performing in "Bear Face"

Don't Let This Happen to Your Brain

Would You Like To Buy A Monkey - Explanation of a Joke

Today I confused some people with the reference to a 15 year old comedy bit. I saw a sock monkey and repeated the immortal, if misremembered phrase, "do you wanna buy a monkey?" Here below is the clip of David Letterman in the Chris Elliot movie Cabin Boy. Below is a clip supposedly of other people auditioning for the same cameo part.

China - Canada Uranium Deal

China seeking supply deal with Cameco


And Japan was buying scrap metal from the US until they attacked Pearl Harbor.

Band of Brothers (Pacific)

In the wikipedia entry for With The Old Breed there is a reference that the same crew/production team that created the miniseries Band Of Brothers has been filming a new series, The Pacific, partially based on this book. I haven't finished reading it, With the Old Breed, beyond knowing the author survived WWII, thank you Atom Bomb, I don't how it turns out.

Free DNA

Today at Mininova one of the featured torrents is human DNA, Homo.sapiens.DNA.NCBI36.53.Fasta.Gzip-Ensembl-OpenSci. Download and be the first on your block with human DNA. It is quite amusing that what is now available for free right now a generation ago or so was out of reach of evil geniuses, James Bond villians and the KGB. It was only possible for ET, Dr Who and the Federation to mess around with genetics.

Those Devilish Canadian Sheet Music Pirates

slashdot has a story, originally from BestActEver, originally from a New York Times report from 1897, about Canadian sheet music pirates. The current concern that Americans have about IP is ironic since for much of the 19th it was place that observed no foreign, no non-American, copyright. The slashdot commentators outdo themselves in making comments as if this was contemporary news report.

mangu points out the damage that Canadian pirates have already done to the music industry.

• The more things change, the more they stay the same. Did these "evil pirates" kill the music industry, as was proclaimed they would?

They sure did! In the 1890s there was a great market for piano rolls [wikipedia.org]. Where can you buy piano rolls today? Conclusion: pirates killed the music industry.

sakdoctor complains about the marketing tactics of printer makers.

I hate the way they sell those Gutenberg presses as a loss leader, then gouge you on printing plates and ink refills.

Finally HungryHobo gets to problem that improved communication technologies pose to existing media companies.

I think these PaperSharing M2M(Mailbox2Mailbox) systems which allow just anyone to swap files, folders and even whole books should be banned immediately before they destroy all that is good and pure with our country!

Mediocre But Arrogant - The MBA

ABC, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, has a new documentary about the uselessness of the MBA, MBA: Mostly Bloody Awful.

Madness from the Fans of the ChiComs and other Commie Bastards

What is with Adrienne Clarkson? In the Globe and Mail on Friday she pens praise to the crazy madman commie Norman Bethune; Remember Bethune? Apparently not. In the Sunday Toronto Star, Let's elect our head of state; she is positively referred to in an op-ed by a committed Canadian republican, in other words in the writings of a traitor. Let us leave the case of the madness of republicanism, if the fact that "el presidente" is a the title that most despots of the last 50 years have held cannot convince such ideologues.

Norman Bethune was a great man. He pioneered the technology of mobile blood banks. He was in the Spanish civil war on the side of legitimate government. I myself attended school in the same building that he was educated. Yes, he was a great man. But to turn to communism in the age of Stalin shows a distinct lack of sanity. Because of WWII many remember Stalin somewhat positively. He helped the west defeat Hitler and Nazis and the then occupied most of Hitler's Eastern European conquests. Except we, in the west allied with a regime that had killed 20 million defeat another regime that was going to kill 10 million. In China there was another dilemma. Norman Bethune and other commies helped to replace a corrupt and incompetent regime with an incorruptible and competent tyranny. Mao eventually, after the death of Bethune, went on to kill 20 million plus people. Like Stalin. Like Stalin his name is not a curse of the world's lips. Instead, like Stalin, Mao corpse squats in the centre of his conquered capital.

Evil Paleontologist Robber Baron

The Times of India business section has a slide show of the worst American CEOs. Unfortunately they confused Stephen Jay Gould with Jay Gould.

Some Things are More Precious Than Life

You shot my car You BASTARD!

Gene Hunt, Ashes to Ashes S01E01
after renegade police constable
shot out driver side door window.

Gun Criticism from a Mob Boss

An Uzi! I'm not from South Central fuckin' Angeles. I didn't come here to shoot 20 black ten year olds in a fuckin' drive by. I want a normal gun for a normal person.

Harry the Mob Boss in In Bruges to
Uzi the gun dealer of Bruges

Test Your Nerd Level

On AH.com someone posted a link to a questionnaire on Asperger's Syndrome. Most of people on the thread at AH.com scored around nerd, or 22. A few outliers scored either very high or very low. I scored a little over borderline into Aspereger territory.

Weird New Ways to Make Music

Gizmodo has found ten ways using as instruments things varied as scanners, phones and buildings. The music above is made with water filled beer bottles and a R/C car.

Somalia - The Self Failed State

(Brian Gable of the Globe and Mail, April 14, 2009)

Many sensitive well meaning people wonder that if we could just address the grievances of criminals crime would disappear. Well no actual. Very little crime is the hungry stealing bread. Some theives might start that way but mostly crininals is the well fed stealingf luxaries. The Somali pirates style themselves as a coastguard of a failed state. The rewards of piracy is seen as proper repayment for depleted fish stocks. Fishing can provide a hard dangerous living, piracy on the other hand is hard and dangerous but could provide fortunes. The other point about the sheen of legitimacy when Somali pirates style themselves as a "coast guard". Yes Somalia is a Failed state. Failure wasn't thrust apon Somali, Somalis in all walks of life worked hard to fail as a country.

The MBA / Preppie Indictment

Andrew Lahde is a retired hedge fund manager who in last year earned 1000%. For his success he thanked:

"The low-hanging fruit, ie idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking," he wrote. "These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government," he said.

"All of this behaviour supporting the aristocracy only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America."

This list also describes the credentials of the last 4 US presidents. At this point one should be leery of any "leader" from Harvard or Yale.

There is a Reason Why They are Called REDS

(from Jeff Danziger 03/03/2009)

Wile E. Coyote and Death Metal

Get a Car So You Don't Have to Discover Fire

The Evil of Vacuum Cleaners

(from Overboard 11/04/2009)

A Very Silly Blog on Bathroom Humour

The Poop Report is a blog that is dedicated to "intellectual appreciation of poop humor".

How to make money

Sometime you think we could just hit em over the the head, rob em and throw throw their bodies in the creek.

Al Swearigan, Deadwood S01E05,
talking about proper customer relations.

I am watching Deadwood new for the first time.

Extreme Sheep Herding

Migrating Penguins

Frank Miller's Peanuts

Traced back to Cinematical

Site Devoted to Abandoned Places

Artificial Owl is a site "dedicated to provide on a daily basis a selection of the most fascinating abandoned man-made creations". They also provide exact locations of these sites. The above is a US antiballistic missile site that was built but never used.

Newgrounds and School Violence

The big story yesterday in the Globe and Mail about how a Montreal student foiled an arson plot in the UK, Overseas arson plot foiled by Canadian who logged on - and 'did the right thing'. The Montreal student was on a forum at Newgrounds when a disgruntled 16 year-old expressed an interest in firebombing his school. The irony is that the mascot of Newgrounds is Pico. Pico is in an early flashgame called Pico's School where he, Pico, has to fight his way through a school after a shooting.

The Live Stereo System

Star Trek and The Holy Grail

WWAZD - What Would A Zombie Do

This chart at graphjam, Things a Zombie Would Do, suggests that zombies would be very likely to dance with Michael Jackson. Zombies maybe soulless killing machines with a hunger for human brains however recent surveys indicate that zombies no longer want to hang out with Michael Jackson. There are also the issue of appropriation since Jackson took a traditional zombie folkdance and made it his own.

Working for The Rat

In a thread at Failblog.org NeenerNeenerNeener has some wonderful unsubstantiated stories about working for Disney.

I did some work for Disney, in the offices at the fabled Disneyland (behind the scenes, so to speak). I think the company motto is “The beatings shall continue until moral improves.” Ah, Disneyland. 1 security guy for every 5 tourists.

And DisneyWorld! My sister goes there a lot. They have 4 kids and one time she was there a security type told her to keep a close eye on her kids because at any one time there would be 3 child abduction rings working the park. If your kid comes up missing they usher you into a room with like 50 security monitors so you can try to spot your kid being whisked away.

I went to the Disney store in W. L.A. one time, and asked the girl behind the counter, “What’s it like working for the rat?” She looked around furtively and asked, “Which one?” True.

What If No Newspapers

This editorial cartoon by Gary Varvel supposes that the lack of newspapers in history would leave the guilty go unpunished. However the guilty have also used newspapers for their own ends. Lenin, Mao and Hitler all had newspapers to promote their twisted ideologies. One of the worst US president, Harding, rose to fame while running a small town newspaper. Press lords like Hearst, Black, Beaverbrooke and Murdoch have all been aggressive little shits intent on their own power. The rise of mass literacy and national newspapers in the late nineteenth century made the outbreak of The Great War an outbreak of mass patriotism and mass hysteria.

Yes, I read newspapers in the original finger blackening form. However technological systems, like the daily newspaper, are value neutral and can be a force for good or evil or profit. Good newspapers uncover lies but bad newspapers spread them.

Project Grizzly Guy Now Designing Military Armor

Great Canadian Troy Hurtubise has now designed a military version of his famous anti-bear suit. Where can I buy this suit?

A Defense of Short Sellers

Just because you robbed the grave doesn't mean you killed the guy.

Samatha Bee, of The Daily Show
Talking to a short seller,
March 20, 2008

Personally, I have no particular problem with short sellers.

The True Anarchists - Shipowners

In a story about Somali pirates, William Langewiesche, points out that ship owners and the Somali pirates are similar in that both live beyond the nation state.

Moderate Scumbags

Canada's Science Minister is an Idiot (Creationist)

Canada current Science Minister, Minister clarifies stand on evolution, for the current and temporary Deformed government is revealed be a creationist, . In the last 8 years Canada was able to recruit brilliant researchers fleeing America and their, at the time, creepy anti-science attitude. Now Canada is saddled with a chiropractor who thinks science is a religious issue.

Abandoned Buildings - The Ohio Edition

Illicit Ohio is a site devoted to photo explorations of abandoned buildings in Ohio. I came to my attention after Boingboing linked to images of a derelict mansion supposing owned by noted criminal Mike Tyson. However the site has images have some other logo than the original phototographer pasted over Illicit Ohio watermark. A very sleazy practice.

Number Magic from Abbot and Costello

Here is a prospective banker demonstrating his mathematical prowess.

From a post by Guzzo the Contrarian attempting to show that Wall Street can always find incompetents willing to work for $100K rather than $1M.

Jon Stewart Makes Jim Crammer Drown in His Own Flop Sweat

Here (pt 1, pt 2 and pt 3) is the slap down of Jim Cramer and by extension the vacuity of TV business journalism. I don't have a problem with business journalism. Much of its content can be best parts of the newspaper with long and detailed articles by knowledgeable beat reporters. But that is written journalism. Much of live TV "news" shows are merely a display of stream of conciousness. When not giving updates the hours are filled with rambling mumblings of touts, cheats and hacks.

As way of explanation to the problem of filling time in the exchange on thursday night between Cramer and Stewart.
Jim Cramer: ...we[meaning CNBC] have 17 hours of live TV a day to do.
Jon Stewart: maybe you could cut down on it

All Hail Our New Animal Overlords.

Our President, by Tyson Hesse.

How To Kill the T-62

If you have wondered how to destroy a T-62 and its crew of 4 "commie pinko swine" here is the coloring book for you. This booklet is a pleasant relic of the cold war.

(Link from Timbo)

Vending Machine as an Alternative Reality Portal

Something called The SCP Foundation is dedicated to chart objects that don't belong on our universe. Above is the listed as SCP-261. For further reports check out this discussion, The Crosstime Vending Machine.

The Alien as a Counter-Strike:Source Skin

From FPSBanana in a skin for Counter-Strike:Source of the Alien.

The Watchmen as a Saturday Morning Cartoon

Saturday Morning Watchmen by Happy Harry on Newgrounds.

Mercenaries as Additional Horseman of the Apocalypse

...private armies, the hired defenders of property, the sure precursors of anarchy.

W S Churchill on problems
in England after the Black Death in
The History of English Speaking People

Mashup of The Watchmen and 1984

General Mung Beans on AH.com has a new thread that is a mashup of The Watchmen and 1984. If you are a fan of both or either classics check it out.

Update
For more reworkings of The Watchmen, Slate has a slide show of The Watchmen by different directors.

US as Zimbabwe

At worst if the States really had problems they would descend to level of Brazil, a country that should be rich. But to be compared to the basket case Zimbabwe, or as I like to call Rhodesia stupidified, is a terrible fate.

Peace in Our Time - Photo Mashup of Obama and Chamberlan

Russian Business Associates

In yesterday's Globe there was a story on the slaying of Glen Davis, Loans that 'went south' shed light on Davis killing. Apparently his nephew who is implicated in the murder has "Russian business associates". I would trust someone with "Russian business associates" about as much as someone with a "Colombian import/export business". In many countries when businesses and indivioduals have disputes they get what is called a "hired gun", a slang term for a lawyer. However when "Russian business associates" have business disputes they engage "hired guns" who really are hired guns.

So You Wanna Whack Hitler - Exciting Offer Enclosed

Here is short story, Missives from Possible Futures #1: Alternate History Search Results by John Scalzi, in the form of an advertising circular from an time travel company. Since Hitler is such a popular target the company offers a number of prearranged assassination methods.

Speaking on the unpopularity of Nazism coupled with odd popularity of communism (see past post Cheney Less Popular than a Pedophile, Murderer or Tyrant). Neo Nazis in this day and age are vanishingly rare, thank god, but people who can argue with a straight face that you can't blame the buckets of blood that Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot shed on communism because theoretically none of these psychos practiced communism. Their definition is that "communism" is a state of bliss that has been worked towards but never achieved. Today I talked to guy carrying his cat home from vet who argued with a straight face about the need for revolution. Commies, especially those you gloss over the 20th century, should be treated with the same contempt and derision as Neo Nazis, merely the fanboys of murderers.

TV and Other Fiction Tropes

TV Tropes.com are compendium of a different wats and techniques of telling stories. In the words of TVTropes.com:

Tropes are devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members' minds and expectations. On the whole, tropes are not clichés. The word clichéd means "stereotyped and trite". In other words, dull and uninteresting. We are not looking for dull and uninteresting entries. We are here to recognize tropes and play with them, not to make fun of them.

Wander around in this site and recognize all the parts of your favorite stories you have loved and enjoyed.

How To Be On Jeopardy

Josh Fruhlinger, the curator of Comics Curmudgeon blog recently was on Jeopardy. Read his thrilling account of the nerve wracking spectacle that is Jeopardy.