Some of us legitimately need this: DigiBless
Holy Water for your files
At our site you can have all of your electronic documents blessed with a blessing of your own choice, using our Holy Server.
Here at DigiBless we have decided that it is time to bring God into the virtual world, and so we provide this service free to believers all around the world. All we ask, is a small donation to enable us to continue to spread the word and blessings of Jesus Christ, Our Lord.
Yeah, I actually had a file blessed - [
see my certificate of blessing]
That's funny. Hm, maybe I should have my contract Blessed... I wonder if it works negatively if you don't believe?
Lord Vader is with you Jon
Let us know how it went...
And more stressfull news: Healthcare Overhaul Is Quietly Underway
WASHINGTON — Emboldened by their success at the polls, the Bush administration and Republican leaders in Congress believe they have a new opportunity to move the nation away from the system of employer-provided health insurance that has covered most working Americans for the last half-century.
In its place, they want to erect a system in which workers — instead of looking to employers for health insurance — would take personal responsibility for protecting themselves and their families: They would buy high-deductible "catastrophic" insurance policies to cover major medical needs, then pay routine costs with money set aside in tax-sheltered health savings accounts. [
more]
Wow. This is bad.
U.S. students say press freedoms go too far
One in three U.S. high school students say the press ought to be more restricted, and even more say the government should approve newspaper stories before readers see them, according to a survey being released today.
The survey of 112,003 students finds that
36% believe newspapers should get "government approval" of stories before publishing; 51% say they should be able to publish freely; 13% have no opinion. [
more]
(My emphasis added)
You guys aren't going to like this: New Dead To Raise Unknowns
Rob Tapert, producer of the upcoming horror remake Evil Dead, told SCI FI Wire that he and fellow producer Sam Raimi are aiming for a largely unknown cast to star in the update of the supernatural movie that made Raimi a star director. Also, this time around, Raimi will hand over helming duties to another director. [
more]
German prostitute sees sex trade hope for jobless
BERLIN (Reuters) - A celebrated Berlin prostitute has said that German job centre advisers shouldn't shy away from offering jobs in the sex industry to the long-term unemployed. [
more]
I guess she has a point...
Coachella
Well,
Coachella looks good. The Chemical Brothers, Bauhaus, and Cold Play seem like a good start, but Sunday looks exzcellent with NIN, the Prodigy, New Order and Jem.
Good thing I already have a hotel as they appear to be almost totally sold out. :-)
And because I need something Happy after the last post, I give you Neil
How's this for fucked up? American Nazi Party adopts Salem road
Marion County has allowed a Portland-area skinhead group to adopt a rural Salem road as part of a volunteer litter clean-up program.
The signs proclaiming that Sunnyview Road NE between Cordon Road and 82nd Avenue is sponsored by the American Nazi Party NSM were installed Monday.
County officials say they were legally advised that excluding the organization would violate a constitutional right to free speech. Their choices, they said, were: allow the group to join the program, remove all of the signs from the program or refuse the group and risk a lawsuit. [
more]
(there's a pic on their site, but they won't let me link to it)
I'm torn on this one. Free speech vs. hate. I guess since I hate the patriot act so much, it would be hypocritical of me to say that hey should take it down. On the other hand, if I were sheriff, I might choose to overlook other people who defaced this government property while exercising their right to free speech...
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I want to be here right now
Hey! I figured out that I needed to change the music!
Go me. Been busy.
Oh ya, Wendy, this is the song I told you I was singing to.
Mirrormask Site
There's finally a
proper site up, with trailer, photos, etc. The trailer looks really cool and the revies coming in from Sundance say it's amazing.
Waiting.....
Re: Jesus Quoted on Comedy Central
Yeah, he was on Fresh Air flogging his book too. He's one of those rare Christians who seem to follow the teachings of Christ. :-)
HOLY CRAP!!!
PHUKET, Thailand -- A devotee to the Chinese Shrine of Jui Tui in Phuket, Thailand, has his face pierced by a bicycle and helped by others as he takes part in the annual Vegetarian Festival. Ritual Vegetarianism in Phuket traces it roots back to the early 1800's. The festival begins on the first evening of the ninth lunar month and lasts for nine days. Participants in the festival perform acts of body piercing as a means of shifting evil spirits from individuals onto themselves. (10/20/04 AP photo)
Jesus Quoted on Comedy Central
Taxing Face-Lifts -- a New Wrinkle
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Preserving one's looks may become even more taxing in Washington state if lawmakers there approve a bill proposing a levy on face-lifts, hair plugs, liposuction and other cosmetic procedures. [
more]
Elementary School, My Dear Watson
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian children as young as six are to get lessons in detective work and criminal law at a school run by the police, local media reported Friday.
Russia's police force has adopted school No. 1862 in Moscow for children aged six to 17 and created a "detectives' section" as part of a campaign to clean up its reputation for incompetence and corruption.
"Future Sherlock Holmes's will be able to learn the basics of the detective's trade," Itar-Tass news agency quoted First Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Chekalin as saying. "We are investing in youth."
Happy Friday!
And have I mentioned that my iPod is the coolest toy ever?
I was stranded here at work with a bunch of files I want to take home, no FTP space and no CD burner to speak of. Kevin came up with the genius idea of transporting in my iPod. All 'I have to say is RAD, This toy RULES!!!
My rating: *****
Quit Smoking or Quit Your Job, Company Says
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The owner of a Michigan company who forced his employees to either quit smoking or quit their jobs said on Wednesday he also wants to tell fat workers to lose weight or else. [
more]
What gets me is: "So far no legal challenges have been made to Weyco's policies."
Obviously this isn't in California...
Court Backs No-Contact Rule for Strippers
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California city's regulation requiring some distance between exotic dancers and their audience during a performance is constitutional, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday. [
more]
Gives New Meaning to 'Phone Sex'
NEW YORK (Reuters) - This is one cellphone you might not want to set to "High & Vibrate."
Porn star Jenna Jameson is now hawking her "moan tones."
For $2.50 fans of the ubiquitous porno queen can choose from a variety of moans, grunts and lurid sexual noises all recorded by the blond bombshell.
If that's not enough, Jameson will talk dirty to you when you phones rings, in English or Spanish. [
more]
Dark matter clouds may float through Earth
Small clouds of dark matter pass through Earth on a regular basis, suggest new calculations. The clouds may be remnants of the first structures to form after the big bang and could be detected by future space missions. [
more]
Hominid inbreeding left humans vulnerable to disease
A lack of mates among human ancestors that lived million years ago has left modern humans more vulnerable to genetic disease, a new study suggests. [
more]
Ultra-Orthodox Jews more likely to jaywalk
It is rarely said that religious types live dangerously, but it seems they do when it comes to crossing roads. A new study in Israel suggests devout Orthodox Jews are three times as likely to be risk-taking pedestrians as their neighbours in secular communities. [
more]
OK, not only did someone figure this out, but somebody had the mind-boggling idea that they *wanted* to figure this out.
re: Happy Birthday to the NBG!
What's funny about that is that right after I read that, I got a meeting invite that says:
Online FGIM and PPRFs in the OOS
To which 3 people replied:
WTF?
And one replied:
I'll bring my stapler.
Happy Birthday to the NBG!
(With apologies to Mitch Markowitz...)
Go celebrate at CBGB's, but avoid PCP.
If a PITA hassles you with a BFG, resist the tempation to say "WTF?" or you might end up DOA.
IIRC, you'd better follow SOP with TPTB PDQ or you'll be SOL.
BTW, this comedy's unlikely to leave you ROTFL 'cause I need to RTFM.
I'm seeing a pattern here...
Asteroid Named for Adams
Douglas Adams, the late author of the classic SF Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy BBC series and subsequent novels, was honored by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center with an asteroid bearing his name, MSNBC.com reported. Asteroid Douglasadams was among the 71 newly named celestial objects announced on Jan. 25 in Cambridge, Mass., the Web site reported. [
more]
Missile Deleted from EBay But Launcher Remains
LONDON (Reuters) - A British man trying to sell a deactivated Soviet-era missile on eBay was forced to delete it after Web site staff contacted him for breaching company rules.
But eBay told Richard Moore, from Cambridgeshire, to remove the missile because he broke eBay regulations by listing it alongside its vehicle launcher, which should have appeared as a separate item -- and not because it was a weapon.
The online auctioneer bans the sale of any ammunition, replica guns or firearms on its sites.
Selling demilitarized missiles however is acceptable, an eBay spokesman said. [
more]
Gambler Sues MGM Mirage, Says Preyed on Addiction
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Southern California man has sued MGM Mirage for preying on his gambling addiction and inducing him to borrow and lose millions of dollars at its Las Vegas casinos. [
more]
Random Joy, found at the Soul Cookie
So I was looking for the blog's Birthday (January 23, in case I forget and have to look it up here next year), and I did a search for "
Noelle" on Kevin's blog, which I found very amusing, especially towards the bottom. Anyway, I found this:
And thought to myself "Self, thank *GOD* you don't have to spin the wheel and come up with that anymore!"
Just a little random joy found at the
Soul Cookie.
Police Gather Bare Facts in Brothel Stings
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Sometimes going undercover in Texas means no cover at all.
Houston police, long thwarted in their campaign against prostitution by an internal policy that barred officers from removing their clothes, have reaped results by shedding that unwritten rule.
The change in tactics that allows vice squad officers to undress in pursuit of evidence is part of a crackdown on suspected brothels that advertise themselves as day spas, lingerie modeling studios, massage parlors and "stress relief clinics." [
more]
Study Suggests Whales May Be Related to Hippos
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A second look at some 40-million-year-old fossils provides a "missing link" to suggest that the closest living relative of whales is the hippo, a group of scientists said on Monday. [
more]
This is one of those things taht I post simply because when I mention stuff like this, people tell me that I am full of shit and that I made it up.
So I heard that Page Davis got replaced as the host of Trading Spaces
Apparently, it wasn't her decision either - the producers said taht she was "too cute".
Gaiman Talks Beowulf
Fantasy and SF writer Neil Gaiman talked more about the proposed Beowulf film he is developing with Roger Avary and Robert Zemeckis in a post on his blog on Jan. 21. Zemeckis will direct the film version of the medieval epic poem, making use of the "facial-capture" computer animation techniques the helmer developed for his last film, The Polar Express. [
more]
Asian Quake Made Water Levels Jump in Florida Wells
Nevada Judge Throws Out Lap-Dance Law
LAS VEGAS - A Las Vegas law prohibiting strippers from fondling customers during lap dances is unconstitutionally vague, a judge ruled. District Court Judge Sally Loehrer affirmed a lower court ruling that as many as five misdemeanor criminal cases filed against Las Vegas strippers should be dismissed. [
more]
San Francisco May Charge for Grocery Bags
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco may become the first city in the nation to charge shoppers for grocery bags.
The city's Commission on the Environment is expected to ask the mayor and board of supervisors Tuesday to consider a 17-cent per bag charge on paper and plastic grocery bags. While the goal is reducing plastic bag pollution, paper was added so as not to discriminate. [
more]
Do NOT Give This Man Batteries...
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Police were on the search on Friday for a thief who made off with three "male appendages" from a Vancouver-area sex-toy store and may now be looking for batteries.
A clerk discovered the man stuffing the fake body parts into his clothes and asked "if he was going to need batteries for these three objects," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a news release.
"The male calmly stated 'no' and then panicked and fled, running out of the store with the three objects, minus batteries," the police statement said.
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Productive Weekend
So my weekend was very productive. I managed to finally get a tape adapter that works in my car. The monster one clicked horribly, and then started to switch sides, the sony one outputted no sound whatever, but the RCA one appears to work fine. I was getting tired of going to Best buy, and they were starting to think my stack of receipts was getting out of hand.
I also exchanged a horrible pink sweater that my stepmother (who obviously has never met me) thought I would like from Eddie Bouer (which, BTW, only carries clothes taht my grandmother would wear) for this awesome bag taht I saw on some guy many months ago and wanted. It was like a little ray of hope shining down from the heavens when I found it as 1) it was coveted and 2) absolutley *nothing* else in that store was appealing.
I also managed to clean out the spare closet without even thinking about it and we reformatted both of my computers for a fresh start and to combat a trojan taht I appear to have had for some time. It feels nice to have everything be fresh and clean, but I forgot how much software I use and have to re-install...
Anyway, I hope you all had good weekends too!
Late-Night King Johnny Carson Dies at 79
LOS ANGELES - Johnny Carson, the quick-witted "Tonight Show" host who became a national institution putting his viewers to bed for 30 years with a smooth nightcap of celebrity banter and heartland charm, died Sunday. He was 79. [
more]
Husband Commits Suicide, Then Wife Wakes from Coma
ROME (Reuters) - An Italian pensioner committed suicide after his wife fell into a coma, but just hours after he killed himself the woman woke up, Italian media reported on Saturday.
Recalling the end of "Romeo and Juliet," the 70-year-old man, Ettore, who had sat by his wife's bedside for four months after she slipped into a coma following a heart attack, finally gave up hope and gassed himself in the garage of his family home.
Less than a day later, his wife, Rossana, woke up in her hospital bed in Padua and immediately asked for him. [
more]
I LOVE MY DVD PLAYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE MY iPod!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ex-Lover Deletes Lineage Character; Arrested
Was That a Burglar Alarm? Nah....
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Police in a prosperous Californian city near San Francisco will begin ignoring most burglar alarms, prompted by too many false alarms and too little money.
Fremont police said the overwhelming majority of warning signals they receive are false alarms that cost the city $600,000 a year. Because of budget cuts, starting next month they will only respond if they have additional verification, such as a video feed of a crime occurring or a witness report. [
more]
This Has to Be Homer Simpson...
PRAGUE (Reuters) - A Czech man is being taken to court after he hid in a restaurant washroom until the employees had left and then hooked up beer kegs directly to his mouth.
Cleaning staff found him drunk and lying on the floor of the bar at the restaurant in the city of Brno, about 200km (120 miles) east of Prague, the CTK news agency reported on Thursday. [
more]
Reno man taken to hospital after self-castration procedure
A 50-year-old Reno man told authorities he castrated himself to lower his libido and learned of the procedure on the Internet, police said. [
more]
Why? Why? Why?
Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie:
"BEWARE OF COMMERCIAL AFDBS: Since you should trust no one, always construct your AFDB yourself to avoid the risk of subversion and mental enslavement. Sometimes, AFDBs will be sold on places like eBay. Do not purchase these pre-made AFDBs, even if the seller seems trustworthy. They may contain backdoors, pinholes, integrated psychotronic circuitry or other methods that actually promote mind control." [
check it]
Judge Favors Lee In Spidey Suit
A federal judge has ordered Marvel Enterprises Inc. to pay Stan Lee, the creator of Spider-Man, 10 percent of Marvel's profits from the Spider-Man movies [
more]
Kelly Preps SF Southland Tales
Director Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko) told SCI FI Wire that he's set to make his sophomore film effort, Southland Tales, which should go into production this spring with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Seann William Scott in the leads. [
more]
Bush Takes Oath of Office for Second Term
WASHINGTON - George W. Bush swore the presidential oath for a second term in turbulent times Thursday and issued a sweeping pledge to spread liberty and freedom "to the darkest corners of the world." [
more]
Sigh. I wish I was rich so I could leave.
Drug Dealer Leaves Loot at Shopping Mall
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - A crack cocaine dealer who forgot a backpack containing C$91,000 ($74,000) in a Winnipeg mall was arrested after he tried to reclaim the bag at the mall's lost-and-found desk. [
more]
idiot.
Man Holds Up Sex Shop, Steals Inflatable Doll
MILAN (Reuters) - He shouldn't be hard to spot. [
more]
I love that I get emails from Adobe
telling me that I matched new job:
Senior V.P. Finance
I wnder what it is, exactly, that made me match to that.
Oh, I have the word "bank" on my resume.
Heh. Can one of you genius programmers without a job go pitch creating better matching software for them, please?
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!
President Palmer returns to 24
Dennis Haysbert to star in final six episodes of this year's 24
Dennis Haysbert will be returning as ex-President David Palmer in the final six episodes of 24 this season. While Haysbert was an important part of the cast for the show's first three seasons, his character decided to not pursue another term at the Presidency last year, paving the way for the exit of the character. It's presently unknown how Haysbert's Palmer will re-enter the picture.
Awesome - I miss him.
'Survivor' Winner Hatch No Match for U.S. Tax Man
BOSTON (Reuters) - Richard Hatch evaded getting kicked off the island to win $1 million on the reality-television show "Survivor," only to be accused of dodging the tax man on his earnings.
Hatch will plead guilty to tax evasion after federal prosecutors charged him with failing to report the $1 million winnings in 2000 and more than $300,000 he earned the following year from radio appearances. [
more]
AH HA HA HA HA!!!!
Eeeeeeeewwwwwwww!
LONDON (Reuters) - The makers of the handy spray lubricant WD-40 proudly list 2,000 uses for their product, from unsticking rusty screws or squeaky bicycle chains to polishing frying pans.
But British police have found another -- keeping the public from snorting cocaine off toilet lids in bars. [
more]
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Micromachine grows its own muscles
A micromachine that walks using muscles that it grew for itself has been developed in a US laboratory.
The remarkable device could eventually lead to muscle-based nerve stimulators that let paralysed patients breathe without a ventilator, or to nanobots that clear away plaque from inside the walls of a human coronary artery.
Scientists at the University of California in Los Angeles grew a length of muscle about 100 microns long on the underside of a silicon frame measuring 200 microns. The cells were taken from a rat's heart and grown in a culture that mimics natural biological conditions. The muscle contracts and relaxes by feeding on glucose in a solution, the contractions causing the tiny structure to shuffle along. [
more]
Nice.
Babylonian treasures damaged by coalition troops
The ancient city of Babylon has suffered extensive archaeological damage during the US-led occupation of Iraq, warns a report issued by the British Museum on Saturday.
The report states that prehistoric brickwork has been crushed beneath military vehicles, precious stonework used to fill sandbags and important historical sites damaged by newly dug trenches. [
more]
Episode III Fan Already In Line
Seattle Star Wars fan Jeff Tweiten has already set up camp in line for the upcoming Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith at the Cinerama theater in this Northwest city, even though the movie doesn't open until May 19. And he's chronicling his wait on a blog, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported. [
more]
Dude. Get a life.
Playskool Unveils "Darth Tater"
Playskool will introduce a Star Wars-themed version of its popular Mr. Potato toy, a Dark-Side incarnation of the walking spud called "Darth Tater," the official Star Wars Web site reported. Darth Tater comes with a lightsaber, cape, helmet, shoes, eyes, nose and teeth.
Darth Tater will be available in the spring, around the time Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith opens in theaters on May 19.
Man Threw Mother to Pit Bulls?
SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) - A Brazilian man arguing with his 88-year-old mother threw her into a neighbors' yard where two pit bulls mauled her to death, police said on Friday. [
more]
NFL Game Broadcasts Coming to iPods
NEW YORK - Starting next week, football fans will have a new way to listen to games: on their iPods. [
more]
And just in case you haven;t goten enough of LOTR:
Jackson's 'Rings' saga could go on and on
But once the great ape tale is unveiled Dec. 14, he has some unfinished Lord of the Rings business to tend to — such as an ultimate DVD collection of the extended versions of the Oscar-winning trilogy, not likely to arrive in stores for another two or three years.
New Year's Photos are up
WOW. There's a great one of Morgan in there...
Cheralyn's Caroling Party Pics
Are also now up!
I'm gonna catch up - I swear!
Christmas Dinner pics are also up
Re: Appleseed
Dave, I liked Appleseed and I'd recommend you see it in the theater. There is definitely different animation techniques on different layers (cel shaded characters on very realistic backgrounds for example) but I didn't mind that. The environments are really fantastic. The story is typical anime but a decent one in my opinion.
Go see it.
New Photos of the babes added
Under "Kittens", and including new photos of my original babe, Johnathan, my cat at my mom's house.
Carl's Birthday Dinner pictures
Re: Appleseed
No-no what the mech pilot comment meant as a post hooked-on-Roobotech-teen I could forgive it's cliche's and just sit back enjoy the movie as an old school 80's-ish walking robots / big explosions anime (as well as refering to a "what generic anime character are you?" test I took). Anime has strayed away from good ol' mech battles in favor of horror or sci-fi drama as of recent.
As for the compositing I thought you meant different film elements. Like a matt painting composited into a photograph, or, what I assumed in this case, hand drawn cell animation composited into a CGI scene. I didn't realise you could refer to compositing CGI within CGI, but I guess cut and paste doesn't sound as technical.
re: Appleseed
Heh, The mechs were actually very cool and one of the only styles of amination in it that I liked.
The reason I mention compositing is because in the credits, they ahve a whole section for their composit team, which actually composited the diffferent styles together. It's really clear when you see it that they went to one studio and said "you do the people", one studio and said "you do the mechs", One for backgrounds, and so on and that they were all then composited together. The bad part is that they don't seem to have actually called one another at any point, because they all look like they were from different movies.
It's kinda like that show "Drawn Together".
Anyway, it just wasn't my type of Anime - As a UI designer, incoherancy in visuals is the kiss of death...
Appleseed
About the different styles of animation, it's actualy all 100% CGI no compositing. Anything that looked flat used a rendering technique called cell shading that makes the outputed pixels for that character model, explosion or whatever look like it's 2-D handdrawn art, but it's still all part of the 3-D computer imagery. :) They do the same thing on the characters in the X-Box Simpson's games.
IMDB has it at 6.9 so I'm still all about seeing it, probably only appeals to us mech pilots though :)
From Neil's Blog
You know, all those years I spent as a kid watching Scooby Doo, I never once thought "This is probably how adults really behave". I was, of course, wrong. This CNN story about the haunting of a castle estate in Austria...
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/01/16/austria.ghost.ap/index.html
tells us that
The 42-year-old woman, whose name was not released, was convicted on nuisance charges after she allegedly spent weeks masquerading as a ghost and making mysterious noises, Austrian television reported.
Police captured the woman on videotape after the jittery owner, who employed the suspect's husband, begged authorities in the alpine province of South Tyrol to solve the mystery.
Traditionally, of course, the authorities are meant simply to laugh at the castle's owner, who is then supposed to offer the job to a gang of pesky kids.
And now, believe it or not, I am going to church
Don't worry, I am just going to see Jon sing.
Movie reviews
Elektra: Actually, surprisingly, not bad. It met all of my comic book movie needs. Jennifer Garner was hot. Story was acceptable. Cinematography and fights were well done. Way better that I expected!
Appleseed: Mediocre at best. They had no coherent animation style (I counted 7 different styles of animation in a single frame at one point, and I mean this is everything from composite to Yu-Gi-Oh to Akira here), which actually gave me a headache. The story is generic, and the dialog was horrible. Wait for DVD if you are really interested.
The winner of yesterday was actually Elektra, by a lot!
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I have now seen all of X files
And you know what? They are actually really good. The key is to watch every single one, in order, in a time frame that is substantially less than 9 years. The last episode was totally a wrap up, but it was good at explaining the coherency of the plot that sporadically ran through the show.
All in all I give it 4 out of 5 stars, which is an upgrade from when I saw some of them, all spread out, while it was running.
Judge Rejects School Board Evolution Stand
ATLANTA (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday ordered a Georgia school district to remove stickers challenging the theory of evolution from its textbooks on the grounds that they violated the U.S. Constitution. [
more]
Man Convicted of Selling Animal-Cruelty Videos
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A pit bull enthusiast who sold videos of dogfights and dogs attacking a pig became the first person on Thursday to be convicted under a federal law banning depictions of cruelty to animals, prosecutors said. [
more]
Immigration Minister Quits in Pizza Scandal
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Immigration Minister Judy Sgro, already embroiled in a scandal over favors given to a Romanian stripper, resigned on Friday after a pizza shop owner said she had reneged on a promise to help him avoid deportation in exchange for free pizza. [
more]
European Space Probe Makes Safe Titan Landing
PASADENA, Calif. (Reuters) - Europe's Huygens space probe landed on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, on Friday, sending back signals that it made a safe descent and its scientific experiments in the mysterious atmosphere had gone as planned. [
more]
ABC Reveals Grand Jury Testimony in Jackson Case
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The teen-age boy who has accused Michael Jackson of molesting him gave a grand jury graphic accounts of being masturbated by the singer, ABC News said on Thursday after reviewing the secret testimony. [
more]
Canadian Researcher Invents New Solar Cell
TORONTO (Reuters) - It may only be a matter of time before we will be using our shirts to charge our cellphones.
Researchers at the University of Toronto have invented a flexible plastic solar cell that is said to be five times more efficient than current methods in converting energy from the sun into electrical energy. [
more]
LOL!!!! Who Actors In Short Supply
Producers of the BBC's new Doctor Who TV series are scrambling to find enough little people to perform in the show as tiny blue aliens, because most have already found work in the currently shooting movies
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire... [
more]
OMG, that's funny....
Prisoners Donate to Tsunami Aid Efforts
TORONTO (Reuters) - The tsunami disaster in South Asia has sparked widespread generosity in Canada, even among the nation's most hardened criminals, federal prison officials said on Wednesday.
Fourteen prisons across the country have raised money from their inmate populations to support relief efforts by the Red Cross and other aid organizations. [
more]
Wow. that's sayin' something...
Clinic Asks Politicians to Donate Sperm
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Politicians in one Australian state have been asked to lend a hand and become sperm donors to help arrest dwindling supplies at an in-vitro fertilization clinic.
The Monash IVF clinic has written to 25 parliamentarians aged under 45 in Victoria state asking them to set an example for the rest of the male population by becoming sperm donors. [
more]
Sweet! Bounty hunters are on tehir way to becoming mainstream!
BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - Colombia on Wednesday invited the world's bounty hunters to scour its jungles and mountains and drag back rebel chiefs in return for cash rewards. [
more]
Yahoo! It's a Boy!
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - A Romanian couple named their son Yahoo as a sign of gratitude for meeting over the Internet, a Bucharest newspaper said Thursday. [
more]
New Faomy - Happy Thursday!
"
AMPLIFIED BIBLE"
Amplified does not mean louder, dumbass.
And just in case you wanted to know what it means: The Amplified Bible uses a unique system of punctuation, italics, references, and synonyms to unlock subtle shades of meaning as found in the original languages
YAY! Weiss is back on the team!!!
Mirrormask Stills Up
Ther's some stills from Mirrormask up
here if you are interested.
White House: Iraq Weapons Search Has Ended
WASHINGTON - The White House acknowledged Wednesday that its hunt for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction — a two-year search costing millions of dollars — has closed down without finding the stockpiles that President Bush cited as a justification for overthrowing Saddam Hussein. [
more]
THE NORMALIZATION OF HORROR
... As Congress prepared to rubberstamp the nomination of torture aficionado Alberto Gonzales as the nation's chief prosecutor, the Washington Post broke news that would have torn a saner nation apart. The Bush Administration, the paper reported January 2, is no longer planning to keep hundreds of Muslim prisoners currently rotting away in U.S. concentration camps at Guantánamo, Abu Ghraib and Bagram merely "indefinitely." The Defense Department and CIA are now planning "a more permanent approach for potentially lifetime detentions" for these innocents.
We're locking them up forever. Without due process.
Before gangsters like Alberto Gonzales seduced us into abandoning our values, a person was considered innocent before being proven guilty. Now we're locking people away because "the government does not have enough evidence to charge [them] in courts." And everyone, including Democrats, is OK with this. [
more]
So, does anyone else think this is not ok?
Duchovny: X-Files 2 On Track
David Duchovny told reporters at the 10th annual Critics' Choice Awards on Jan. 10 that he and The X-Files creator Chris Carter expect to shoot a second movie this year or early next, according to a report in USA Today.
"It'll be a stand-alone horror movie," Duchovny told journalists. "Mulder and Scully investigate one particular case that has nothing to do with alien life. It has to do with supernatural stuff."
The original X-Files movie came out in 1998. The show, which ran on Fox, ended its 10-season run in 2002.
YAY!!!!!!!
May Spies Sue the CIA?
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An attorney for two former Cold War-era spies told the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) on Tuesday that the husband and wife should be allowed to seek lifetime pay from the CIA (news - web sites), but the government contended that spies had no such legal rights.
The couple are former citizens of a Soviet-bloc nation, identified by the pseudonyms John and Jane Doe. Their lawyer, David Burman, argued that they have a right to make their claim for pay in the courts, a view held by two lower-court rulings that their lawsuit against the CIA could proceed.
A government lawyer replied that their case must be dismissed, based on an 1875 Supreme Court ruling that he said bars any lawsuits over the failure to pay money promised for spying. [
more]
'Radiation-Proof' RVs to Launch Soon in U.S.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Two private U.S. companies have designs on building the first luxury recreational vehicle that could withstand nuclear radiation.
Parliament Coach Corp., a privately held company in Clearwater, Florida, which converts Prevost buses into high-end RVs, has partnered with Homeland Defense Vehicles to offer consumers a luxury motor coach that can protect occupants against nuclear radiation from dirty bombs as well as biological and chemical attacks. [
more]
.... 'cuz... that's... necessary...
Ad Regulators Warn FCUK Again for Double Entendre
LONDON (Reuters) - UK advertising regulators signaled a weariness of the double entendre used by French Connection to sell its FCUK brand and warned the clothing chain again, this time over a promotion for its line of fragrances.
In an ad placed for French Connection by Zirh International in the Boots pharmacy chain's magazine, a picture of a young couple sitting on a bed in their underwear included fold-out samples of perfume with the phrases "open here to try fcuk her" and "open here to try fcuk him." [
more]
HA!!!!
Brothel Donates Money for Tsunami Relief
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German brothel owner has been so moved by the plight of survivors from Asia's tsunami disaster that she is donating part of her takings from clients.
"It's not every day you can make a charitable gesture by going to a brothel," said Mercedes Mueller, who is giving five euros ($6.60) of the 39-euro ($51) entrance charge clients pay. [
more]
OMG! Bush actually pulled one out!
Bush Outlines High School Student Plans
FALLS CHURCH, Va. - President Bush on Wednesday began his push to require high school students to take the math and reading tests now required of younger students under the No Child Left Behind law, the most ambitious item on the president's slate of second-term education proposals. [
more]
It's not perfect but it's a start and it's a lot better than I expected of him.
What breed of cat are you?
You are a Maine Coon! You are larger than life, agentle giant. You are independent, but very affectionate with your friends and family.
What breed of cat are you? brought to you by Quizilla
Which Artist Would Paint You?
You have the Goya girl look. A Goya girl had an air
of extreme elegance and sophistication. They
liked richness of every kind. The artists
excelled in painting brocades and tapestry,
cloth of gold and silver, gauzy fabrics and
black lace. You could have modeled for the
great Spanish painters, such as Valasquez and
Goya. Both were painters to the royal court of
Spain.
Which Artist Would Paint You? brought to you by Quizilla
Wierd Time Shift
So, for some reason, I keep saying, "last year, on this day, I..." or "two years ago today I..." I wonder why I am having a moment of nestalgia and remeberance all the time latley. My wierdest one was that I remembered exactly what I was doing on January 10th, 1997. That's just odd... It's not even an emotional response, or regret or fond memory, it just kind of is a quick memorial. For a moment, I shift into that time and can re-live it. Then I get back, and sigh, and say "oh well" and don't give it a second thought. I wonder what that is about.
"Let go." - Tyler
Before and After Tsunami Aerial Photos
The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1)
Done. Finally.
Rating:
Beginning: Booooooooooooooring (steinbeckesque ramblings about dust don't do me.)
Ending: Excellent
Thoughts:
"God damn it. It was all for a sit down and a set up. Now I *have* to read the rest of them..."
Re: Wow. Apple had indeed come out with some cool stuff
What I love about the iPod Shuffle page is, in the fine print, it says:
• Do not eat iPod shuffle.
Re: Wow. Apple had indeed come out with some cool stuff
The Mac mini is really cool, too bad you have to run Mac OS on it.
Earth Ready to Strike Back at Cosmos
Around Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Deep Impact comet mission is known as "Revenge of the Dinosaurs."
NASA (news - web sites)'s plan to blow a Rose Bowl-sized crater in a comet comes 65 million years too late to give the dinos payback for the asteroid that may have wiped out much of life on Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period. But the mocking term captures the spirit of a mission — set to launch Wednesday from Cape Canaveral in Florida — that is far different from NASA's usual tiptoe-through-the-cosmos approach.
Instead of gently approaching alien worlds with retro-rockets or parachutes, NASA has adopted the attitude of a 12-year-old with a new slingshot.
"For millennia, comets and asteroids have been hitting the Earth," said Donald Yeomans, a comet historian and member of the Deep Impact science team. "This is our chance to hit back." [
more]
Tasha is calling this "republican science because they are blowing up a comet on the 4th of July... "USA! USA! USA!"
Apple & Leading Car Companies Team Up to Deliver iPod Integration in 2005
Sweet. Someday they will be in cars I can afford...
Check it out.
At some point, I would like my iPod just surgically implanted in my head...
Wow. Apple had indeed come out with some cool stuff
A mini iPod - iPod shuffle (different than the iPod mini) - that is $99, holds either 512 or 1 gig that plays all songs on random.
Also, a $500 mac (
mac Mini) to be used as a PC replacement. Just a box, no monitor or anything, but you can plug in all of your peripherals from your PC to it.
Pretty cool.
Scientists Spy Cosmic Waves Around Black Hole
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Black holes may actually drag the fabric of space and time around them as they spin, creating waves for cosmic material to surf on, astronomers said on Monday.
This is new evidence that some black holes spin, even as they pull in everything around them, including light. Additional research shows that black holes can twirl material at tremendous speed, as fast as 20,000 miles per second. [
more]
Hard-Core Porn Takes Over Political Site
LONDON (Reuters) - A Conservative party association in the small Welsh town of Delyn is trying to buy back its Web site domain name after it was taken over by pornographers.
The site once promoted the activities of the local Conservative association, offering news about area councilors and useful contact numbers.
Now users are confronted with offers to buy hardcore movies featuring group, lesbian and anal sex, as well a raft of explicit images of naked women. [
more]
Stay Thin by Sleeping More?
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A study published Monday found that people who sleep less tend to be fat, and experts said it's time find if more sleep will fight obesity. [
more]
FTC Moves to Stop X-Rated Spamming
WASHINGTON - The Federal Trade Commission has shut down six companies it accused of sending X-rated e-mails in disguise and fraudulently charging recipients who joined sexually explict Web sites in its first legal case involving pornographic Internet spam.
A federal judge on Jan. 5 granted the agency's request for a restraining order against the companies and their executives for allegedly violating federal laws governing commercial electronic mail — commonly known as spam. [
more]
FOXBlocker - Keep The Radical Right Out Your Home By Filtering Out FOX News!
This is too great. It actually filters the FOX news network off of your TV and when you order it, it sends an e-mail to Fox saying that yet another member of the viewing public won't put up with their crap.
OMG! This rocks!!!
HITCHHIKER`S Marvin finds his voice
The Planet Magrathea website reported on a half-dozen previously unannounced casting decisions for supporting roles in THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY movie, including the revelation that Alan Rickman will provide the voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android. Rickman, who has appeared in the three HARRY POTTER films as Professor Snape, was also memorable in GALAXY QUEST and as German terrorist Hans Gruber in the first DIE HARD movie. [
more]
Astronomers Identify Trio of Supergiant Stars
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - A trio of supergiants -- red, cool, bright stars at the end of their lives -- may be the biggest stars ever identified, astronomers reported on Monday.
All three have diameters of more than 1 billion miles, or 1,500 times the sun's girth. If they were in the same location as the sun, they would completely engulf Earth and their outer layers would extend to a point between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn. [
more]
Postal Geography Mix-Up Hits Island
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Ascension Island has been without mail since October because the Royal Mail has been sending its mail to South America.
"The trouble is virtually nothing has made it here since October," IT consultant Paul Knowles told the Daily Mirror. [
more]
To my peeps
To the 23 of you that came to my enormous birthday dinner and gave me awesome presents that I love, and was not at all expecting:
THANK YOU!!!
I had a really great time, enjoyed all of your company and really appreciate that you came out to play!
To Wendy, a great big thanks for the organizing of the event.
Love you all and thanks for everything - that was really cool!
Explore Star Clusters (and Catch a Comet)
With the Moon reaching New phase on Jan. 10 and thus leaving the sky darker, now is an ideal time to get out your binoculars and explore the profusion of open or galactic star clusters now evident in our evening sky.
Such clusters represent aggregations of young, recently born stars. They are in our galaxy's local spiral arm, into whose interior we are looking at this time of year. These stars condensed out of the interstellar gas in this part of our Milky Way system.
Two of the very best are high in our evening sky and toward the south at around 9 p.m. local time. You can easily locate them by using the famous three-star belt of Orion, the Mighty Hunter. [
more]
Rats Can Tell Human Languages Apart, Study Shows
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rats can use the rhythm of human language to tell the difference between Dutch and Japanese, researchers in Spain reported Sunday.
Their study suggests that animals, especially mammals, evolved some of the skills underlying the use and development of language long before language itself ever evolved, the researchers said.
It is the first time an animal other than a human or monkey has been shown to have this skill. [
more]
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Striking 12
Yesterday I was supposed to have diner and watch some old Alias with Steph, but she IM'd to say that Cheralyn had seen a very cool musical and that she thought I would like it and could they please take me to see it last night. Of course, I said sure.
What we saw was amazing. the first 1/2 of the show is a holiday story, told in musical form by
GroveLily, an awesome band from New York. They have a drummer, a keyboardist and, a woman who playsa 6-string, electric, fretted violin, called a viper. (The woman who played that was, at one time, the concert mistress for the The story was a take on "the Matchstick Girl" by Hans Christian Anderson. It was so very cool, it's hard to describe.
The second 1/2 was the DVD extras of the story, as told by the band, in musical format. They told the story of the band, how they cam to play this show, and about the violin, with songs throught that told part of the story. It was crazy to see something like that live...
Anyway, that show is only around through tomorrow, but it comes every year as far as I can tell and is definetly worth seeing. I would also recommend checking out the GroveLily CDs, as they all look very cool.
Spacey Is Superman's Luthor
As rumored, Kevin Spacey has been cast as the villainous Lex Luthor in director Bryan Singer's upcoming Superman movie, Variety reported. The film, also called Superman Returns, is set to begin production at Fox Studios in Sydney on March 3. [
more]
City to Pay Lap Dance Parlor Owner $19,500
KEY WEST, Fla. (Reuters) - An exotic dancer will get nearly $20,000 from city officials who moved to shut down her lap dance parlor in this historically easygoing Florida town known for its drag clubs and clothing-optional bars. [
more]
New York Times Before and After
LOL!
Once again, The Washington Post ran its yearly contest in which readers are asked to supply alternate word meanings. Here are the results:
1. Coffee (n.), a person who is coughed upon.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.), an olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulence (n.) the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified demeanor assumed by a proctologist immediately before he examines you.
13. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish expressions.
14. Pokemon (n), A Jamaican proctologist.
15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), The belief that, when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent (n.), the opening in the front of boxer shorts.
Toilet Brush Warning Wins Consumer Award
DETROIT (AP) -- The sign on the toilet brush says it best: "Do not use for personal hygiene."
That admonition was the winner of an anti-lawsuit group's contest for the wackiest consumer warning label of the year.
The sponsor, Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch, says the goal is "to reveal how lawsuits, and concern about lawsuits, have created a need for common sense warnings on products."
The $500 first prize went to Ed Gyetvai, of Oldcastle, Ontario, who submitted the toilet-brush label. A $250 second prize went to Matt Johnson, of Naperville, Ill., for a label on a children's scooter that said, "This product moves when used."
A $100 third prize went to Ann Marie Taylor, of Camden, S.C., who submitted a warning from a digital thermometer that said, "Once used rectally, the thermometer should not be used orally."
This year's contest coincides with a drive by President Bush and congressional Republicans to put caps and other limits on jury awards in liability cases.
"Warning labels are a sign of our lawsuit-plagued times," said group President Robert Dorigo Jones. "From the moment we raise our head in the morning off pillows that bear those famous Do Not Remove warnings, to when we drop back in bed at night, we are overwhelmed with warnings."
The leader of a group that opposes the campaign to limit lawsuits admits that while some warning labels may seem stupid, even dumb warnings can do good.
"There are many cases of warning labels saving lives," said Joanne Doroshow, executive director of the Center for Justice and Democracy in New York. "It's much better to be very cautious ... than to be afraid of being made fun of by a tort reform group."
The Wacky Warning Label Contest is in its eighth year.
It's a Boy as China Marks 1.3 Billionth Person
BEIJING (Reuters) - China named the first baby born at a Beijing hospital Thursday as the 1.3 billionth person of the world's most populous nation, more than two decades after a one-child policy was introduced to keep its numbers in check. [
more]
Tortoise Adopts Stray Hippo at Sanctuary
NAIROBI (Reuters) - A 120-year-old giant tortoise living in a Kenyan sanctuary has become inseparable from a baby hippo rescued by game wardens, officials said on Thursday. [
more]
Today's Word of the day ( ---> ) Rocks!!!
lubricious \loo-BRISH-us\, adjective:
1. Lustful; lewd.
2. Stimulating or appealing to sexual desire or imagination.
3. Having a slippery or smooth quality.
I could only hope that it meant what it sounded like, and it did!
Thanks everyone!
Thanks everyone for the warm birthday wishes - I don't think I have ever answered my ell phone that many times in one day! Hope to see you all at my bash this weekend!
Whizzers
So my co-worker was telling me about his little brother who got this game like 20 years ago called whizzers. They are bulls eyes for the tiolet bowl basically. I was like "man, I should get that for my friends in college!"
I looked it up, and not only can you get them, but the Yahoo description is "great gift for college students!" [
check 'em out]
Smugglers Hid Heroin in Puppies' Bellies
BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - Colombian drug traffickers surgically hid heroin in puppies' bellies in a plan to evade international customs controls, police said on Tuesday.
Acting on a tip-off, police found six puppies with scars on their abdomens at a rural property near the city of Medellin in northern Colombia, the Colombian Police said in a news release. [
more]
Happy Birthday Noelle!!!
First Post! Happy Birthday! You're 27 now!
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Last thoughts of my 26th year
My last thoughts of my 26th year are that I am greatful.
I am greatful for friends that send me internet birthday cards that make me smile.
I am greatful for friends that call me up, sing me songs, realize that they are a day early, and promise to call back the next day to sing them again.
I am greatful for family members that are not insane.
I am greatful for awesome people who come over in the middle of the night to fix my computer when I want to throw it out this third story window.
I am greatful for all of my friends who offerend to loan me money rather than see me have to go home when I was unemployed.
I am greatful for friends that I don't see very often, but that send over CD's and movies for me to enjoy (and let me keep them for way too long).
I am greatful for friends in other states and countries that call and write when they think of it, and ask me to come stay with them - and mean it.
I am greatful for friends who will come over and sit with me when I am sad, or when I want to do something that they don't, just because they love me.
I am greatful to friends who made me presents, especially those who did so because they couldn't afford to buy them, even though all I need is for them to be close.
I am greatful to all of my friends who lunched with me when I was out of work, mostly to keep my mind off of it.
I am greatful for friends who call me when I am in the O.C., just to make sure that I am keeping a grip on reality, and to counter the negative effects of my mom.
I am greatful for friends who go to movies with me and argue with me about them afterwards.
I am greatful for everyone who I have freaked out at, for a really stupid reason, who love me anyway.
I am greatful for friends who give me new things to watch, listen to, read, and taste - you make my life fuller.
To all of my friends, I am greatful for you, and I love you. You are the last thing I think about at night, and the first thing I think about in the morning - and you will be the last thing I think about as I leave my 26th year, and the first thing I think about as I enter my 27th.
Love you guys.
Missed this one the first time around
Hawking cracks black hole paradox
After nearly 30 years of arguing that a black hole destroys everything that falls into it, Stephen Hawking is saying he was wrong. It seems that black holes may after all allow information within them to escape. Hawking will present his latest finding at a conference in Ireland next week.
The about-turn might cost Hawking, a physicist at the University of Cambridge, an encyclopaedia because of a bet he made in 1997. More importantly, it might solve one of the long-standing puzzles in modern physics, known as the black hole information paradox. [
more]
Novel calendar system creates regular dates
A US physicist is lobbying for people to adopt his novel calendar in which every date falls on the same day of the week each year. [
more]
So the dude doesn't like leap year, but is willing to insert "Newton Week" (a free standing week that is not part of any month) in every 5-6 years. huh. Whatever.
Ancient DNA helps solve the legend of giant eagles
Gigantic eagles swooping from the skies to rescue Frodo and Sam in the Lord of the Rings may not be just the stuff of legends and fairytales, according to research published in the journal PloS Biology. McMaster University anthropologist Michael Bunce has shed new light on the evolution of the extinct Haast's eagle, the giant bird that once ruled the skies over New Zealand. Weighing between 20 and 30 pounds, the enormous Haast's Eagle dominated its environment. It was 30 to 40 per cent heavier than the largest living bird of prey around today, the Harpy Eagle of Central and South America. [
more]
Geckos could hold key to ouchless bandages
PORTLAND, ORE. - The adhesive hairs that geckos use to stick to surfaces are self-cleaning. Scientists say the finding could lead to ouchless bandages or longer-lasting duct tape.
In 2003, researchers in the U.S. found geckos, or tropical lizards, used tiny forces between atoms that are close together to cling to ceilings and walls. [
more]
OMG!
Google was down! I don't think I have ever seen that site be fully down. Took my blog and everything. I bet there will be a report on that.
Whoa
Will Eisner died.
He did good things for comics...
He helped define and push the boundaries for comics. If there were Gods of comics, he would be one of them.
I heard him speak once. It's kind of like Ray Bradbury.... You know that that wrinkled, crazy olf Jew in front of you is the definition of greatness - and a really nice guy.
Thanks Will, you rock.
Total Population of the World by Decade
The Speeding Outhouse
Dept.: You Built What?!
Tech: Homemade jet power
Cost: $10,000
Time: 10 days
Practical | | | | | Popcorn
[
check it]
Strange Is Time's No. 1
Time magazine named Susanna Clarke's supernatural novel Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell its number-one pick for the best fiction of 2004. "Prose is a marvel: dry and witty and wise like Jane Austen, with lovely, limber, lyrical flights reminiscent of Fitzgerald," the magazine wrote.
The best-seller tells the story of two wizards who feud and duel their way through Napoleonic Europe, the magazine reported. "In her hands a fantasy novel is far, far more than escapism: It's a literary triumph, the real world reflected in a magic mirror in all its rich, strange, melancholy glory," Time opined.
German Team Finds New Way to Block HIV Replication
BERLIN (Reuters) - German scientists have found a new way to prevent the HIV virus from replicating, offering hope in the face of the virus's increasing resistance to existing drugs. [
more]
Stem Cells Reverse Parkinson's in Monkeys
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Stem cells taken from tiny monkey embryos and implanted in the brain reversed some of the Parkinson's symptoms in monkeys used to study the disease, Japanese researchers reported on Monday. [
more]
Cleric Suspect Misses Hearing Due to Long Toe Nails
LONDON (Reuters) - Radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri failed to appear before a British court Tuesday, complaining his toe nails were too long and he could not walk. [
more]
Italy May Dust Off Tourists to Protect David
MILAN, Italy (Reuters) - Custodians of Michelangelo's David are thinking of blasting air at dusty, sweaty tourists to stop them sullying the Renaissance sex symbol. [
more]
So far, this year is looking better than the last...
I hope I am not speaking too soon here, but it just feels better...
Stem Cells Reverse Parkinson's in Monkeys
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Stem cells taken from tiny monkey embryos and implanted in the brain reversed some of the Parkinson's symptoms in monkeys used to study the disease, Japanese researchers reported on Monday. [
more]
Santa Santa Santa
A little late, but I only just got this link in an email from my best friend growing up:
Santa Santa Santa Badger Style.
The birds in an elevator/van question.
The return of BUCKAROO BANZAI
New comic book mini-series to be written by creator of cult character
Comic book publisher Moonstone has announced that it has acquired the rights to publish a comic book about the further adventures of BUCKAROO BANZAI, the beloved cult character that was introduced in the 1984 science fiction film THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE EIGHTH DIMENSION. Moonstone will publish a full-color mini-series that will feature a new Banzai tale written by the movie's screenwriter, Earl Mac Rauch. As well, BANZAI director W.D. Richter will also give input on the creation of the mini-series. Artwork will be provided by Stephen Thompson (STAR WARS: REPUBLIC).
For those unaware of the legendary Buckaroo Banzai, he's a brilliant physicist, renouned neurosurgeon, leader of the Hong Kong Cavaliers and plays a mean rock and roll guitar. Peter Weller played the character in the 1984 film which also co-starred John Lithgow, Jeff Goldblum, Clancy Brown, Ellen Barkin and Christopher Lloyd.
A publication date for the comic book wasn't announced in the Moonstone press release.
re: Fun Fact of the Day
Actually, I did know that because I told someone once that I was going to see TCM and they got all excited. I couldn't figure out why until later, when I realized the coincidence...
Fun Fact of the Day
The Crystal Method and Texas Chainsaw Massacre have the same initals. Thank you.
Happy New Year
New Year's was fun went to Santa Cruz for dinner, then had like 10 people over to enjoy the celebration. Stayed up way too late, but enjoyed every minute of it. New Year's Day, we went for a walk, ate a lot, went to 3 malls, and saw House of Flying Daggers, which was beautiful, but really, I'm gonna need a happy ending out of one of these someday as this operatic ending crap is getting to me. Ate some more with good friends and stayed up way too late again watching Donnie Darko and finally wrapping my head entirely around it (I usually fall asleep at some point, so I haveonly ever seen it in peices).
Anyway, all in all a good New Year's. Hope you all had a good one too! Tonight, apparently we have D&D and I don't have to go to work tomorrow so I can do my New Year's cleaning in peace.
