December 18, 2008
For Guys Who Don't Mind Chlamydia
Online Dating Commercials. Like the girl who says, "Of course I didn't put chlamydia on the profile, I put smoker." Or this gem, "I used to have to wait for days for my friends to tell me he wasn't interested. Now I get an automated email right away." [more inside]
Ah, web 2.0, is there nothing you can't make better, or at least more entertaining?
York University is no stranger to strikes (even breaking its own length record), and the latest is shaping up much like the previous - TA & Lecturers' union on the picket line, admin in the ugly concrete buildings, and undergrads looking cold and confused all around (YT).
But since the last strike in 2001, a few things have changed. No, not the issues (same as always - living wages for TAs, job security for lecturers) or the effect (disruption of undergrad education) - but last time there were few discussion forums, no facebook groups or videos by the local newspaper, and definitely no (somewhat obvious, but still mildly entertaining) Apple ad parodies. [more inside]
A gay penguin couple, after trying to steal eggs from other penguins, have become the best parents in the zoo to their newly adopted babies.
Beyond Capacity
The art of Theo Ellsworth. "He has a miniature city inside of his head that is overrun with funny monsters, yet he still manages to come across as a semi-normal guy. "
Diary of a Non-Prospect
So you're a minor-league pitcher in the Blue Jays system, not an exceptionally good one - a non prospect. So what do you do? You blog about a great prank you played on a teammate.
The True Price of Torture
Tortured Reasoning. "George W. Bush defended harsh interrogations by pointing to intelligence breakthroughs, but a surprising number of counterterrorist officials say that, apart from being wrong, torture just doesn’t work. Delving into two high-profile cases, the author exposes the tactical costs of prisoner abuse."
A merry "Bah, Humbug!" to us all
- Robert E. Howard-themed fantasy blog The Cimmerian posts a different take on a holiday classic.
- Mystery Science Theater presents A Child's Christmas in Space, A Patrick Swazye Christmas, Merry Christmas (If That's Okay), a critique of Christmas movies and shows, and a little yuletide hysteria.
- Tom Lehrer: "A Christmas Carol"
- Futurama: The Elves' Christmas Song
- Finally, there's The Colbert Report's book-burning Yule Log, both on the web and downloadable for Windows and Macintosh.
Mythbusters takes on the Moon Hoax!
Has man really set foot on the moon? There have certainly been a lot of claims that the whole Apollo missions were one giant hoax. Adam and Jamie at Mythbusters examine the claims of the Hoax Believers one by one. Did they use a wire rig or slow down the film to simulate the 1/6 moon gravity? What would it look like in real 1/6 G? Would a footprint in the lunar regolith have maintained it's shape even if there was no moisture to keep the material together? Why was the flag waving so much if there was no wind on the moon? Why are the shadows on the moon not parallel if they are coming from a single light source? Why can we see the astronauts when they are in shadows if there isn't a second light source? To finish it all off they shoot a laser at the moon to see if the reflector they supposedly left there is actually there.
Higher State of Consciousness
Some Sweet Eye Candy
How to bake a potato
How to bake a potato. I've got mine in the oven right now.
I know you are, but what am I?
The town of Shawano, WI claims a local group with a history of controversy called the Samanta Roy Institute of Science & Technology (SIST) profiled in this WSAW TV investigative series (part 1, part 2, part 3 & part 4) is a murderous cult that tried to hire a hitman to assassinate 60 prominent citizens including the mayor, city administrator, city treasurer, city attorney, police chief, judges, investigators & fire commissioners. SIST returns the favor & claims it's the mayor who's running a cult (part 1, part 2 & more), calling her the Minister of Propaganda. As a CBS investigative team found out, things are tense in this sleepy town. The FBI says it's keeping an eye on the situation.
The Enterprise, Now Silent.
RIP Majel Barrett-Roddenberry. Executive producer of Andromeda, Earth: The Final Conflict, Nurse Christine Chapel of TOS, and the always comforting voice of the Federation, passed away today at 78. A sci-fi legend has left for the stars. [more inside]
globalizing democracy
Today's featured article at Wikipedia concerns the United Nations Parliamentary Assembly: a proposed UN body which, according to its proponents, would eventually consist of representatives elected directly by the people of the world. Might this proposal be a viable plan for a more global expression of democracy? Or is it just one more Utopian vision of "world government" doomed to wither under the vociferous criticisms that such proposals seem, inevitably, to attract?
Hey, Podo! Let's put on a show!
Dean and Company have been making "family-friendly TV" on local cable in Birmingham, Alabama for thirty years or so. Now they have a deeply weird and annoying website. Caution: do not visit The Time Warp. You have been warned. (Flash, intensely painful audio, forced jocularity, creepy family photographs, howlingly bad original music and choreography. May contain homemade hand puppets and Jean Harlow's stand-in.)
CuteOverdose
Scarlett Johansson's snot for sale on eBay.
On December 17's Tonight Show With Jay Leno, featured guest Scarlett Johansson claimed she had caught a cold from Samuel L. Jackson; she said she felt that her germs were valuable, coming from Jackson, and maybe she could sell them on eBay.
Jay Leno handed her a tissue, she blew her nose. The used tissue was sealed in a plastic bag, which was signed by Johansson. Proceeds go to charity. [more inside]
I Have a Little Dreidl, I Learned to Make it Pay...
OK, everyone knows Chanukah overlaps Christmas this year (it starts this Sunday evening), but do you have your dreidel game going? If you are full of Maccabean mojo, you might want to try to win some gelt at Major League Dreidel, No Limit Texas Dreidel, or even The World Series of Dreidel ("a chai stakes tournament"). For those of you who will only be playing at home, but would like something more convenient than a physical dreidel, there is also Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel – for your chai-phone, of course!
It's just like back in Rimini in '85!
Ten downloadable/streamable mixtapes of hi-NRG/Italodisco/new wave/Eurotrash/synth mixes for your delectation. [more inside]
Arctic icemelt unambiguous evidence
Arctic Melt update: Scientists now have unambiguous evidence that the theorized phenomenon known as "polar amplification" has in fact been occurring for the past 5 years. It was not expected to be seen for at least another 10 or 15 years. "We're in a vicious positive feedback loop." [more inside]
"You'd never know if he didn't have a scar there"
The god of Airplane pr0n
Almost everyone is familiar with Airliners.net, but there's one fellow in particular who seems to manage to be in the right place at the right time an awful lot. He's been referenced (with his 17 million page views) as the Ansel Adams or Alfred Eisenstadt of airplane photography. Meet Sam Chui.
You're paying me what now?
Credit Suisse is the first bank to use commercial debt to pay employee bonuses this year. Another take on bonuses this year
I always preferred Jawbone anyway
"I am staggered and embarrassed at what you have written, and firmly believe you should be banned from writing professionally in the UK, especially when i read some of the apalling bands you give good reviews to." The NME reviews Seasick Steve - in the literal sense.
Students Occupy The New School
In protest to tuition increases and the anti-democratic policies of President Bob Kerrey, students from The New School, CUNY, NYU and others have occupied the Graduate Faculty building of The New School at 65 5th Avenue.
Conductor or charlatan?
Gilbert Kaplan: businessman, investor, occasional journalist, and conductor of Mahler's vast Second Symphony. Or is he, really? [more inside]
Meet the future stars of Palestinian radio
Radio Lajee is one lone Aussie woman in the Aida refugee camp in the West Bank, teaching young Palestinians how to podcast and share their stories with the world. The project's been going for a little over six weeks, but already there's four episode up on the site; all of them in English. These include a story about the beginning of the Camp, a day in the life of a 14 year old Palestinian girl, a celebration of the traditional dance style of Dabke and a cooking segment by future celebrity chef, Amal Abu Srour.
Indie game of the week: Alien Deathmatch 2
Alien Breed + arena shooter + online highscores = Alien Deathmatch 2. Windows only.
Shoe throwers support network
Your chance to say: Thank you for throwing your shoe!
"There are no more Jews in Portugal"
What is a Spaniard?: Forcibly Crossing the Cross, the Crescent, and the Star
"The conversions came at the end of one of the most successful Jewish periods in human history... Their success led them to call their land Sepharad, a name from the book of Obadiah that implied that Spanish Jews were the successors to the Jews of Israel. This world ended in 1391."
"At the appointed time, those children who were not presented voluntarily were seized by the officials and forced to the font.... In many cases, parents smothered their offspring in their farewell embrace. In others, they threw them into wells in order to save them from the disgrace of apostasy, and then killed themselves. Sometimes, even old men were dragged to the churches and forcibly baptized by over-zealous fanatics,... In all other cases, the unwilling neophytes, some mere babies, were distributed throughout the country, as far as possible from home, to be brought up in Christian surroundings."[more inside]
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