Links posted in February 2004
February 29, 2004
How to tie a Turban. Warning: Link contains egregiously ugly site design.
Turns out, pain is a good thing. Saw this via Metafilter. I had heard of it before, but this was more informative and very scary. [more inside]
The Nitpicker's Guide to Lord of the Rings. Obsessive, much? Got time to waste and want to know exactly how many deviations Peter Jackson's movie triad made from the books? Then this link's for you.
Jews for Guns, Guns for Jews A site dedicated to promoting gun ownership among Jews. The proclaimed raison d'etre is teach about the historical perils of being unarmed and Jewish. Lifetime Membership is only $500, and you don't even have to be Jewish to join. I find this page interesting not only because it goes against the fact that Jews have historically been anti-gun, but also because of the deceptively cheesy, flag-waving look of the site.
Star Wars (by which I mean Episode IV) in asciimation.
Truth, or calumny? I love reading her columns, but how do our British members react?
Try Proloxil.
Proloxil works by completely replacing your naturally miserable serotonin with happy little Proloxil molecules.
(flash)
[more inside]
Carl and Phil are Monkey Ninjas.
February 28, 2004
Fifth graders' opinions on the Martha Stewart trial And for anyone who cares, Martha herself is looking forward to returning to being America's domestic diva.
Launch a Warthog. This is a little Halo game where you have grenades and launch a Warthog with them to smash floating purple alien things. Rather amusing for a Saturday afternoon. [more inside]
Hey Ya, Charlie Brown! (Quicktime movie) is one of the best edited bits of whimsy I've seen in a long time. Originally by Venis Productions, they got a Cease and Desist from United Media, as have some other sites hosting the clip. I think they'll be chasing this one forever, though....
Canada's Juno Awards are our answer to the Brits and Grammy's. They're also quite famous for ignoring the bleeding edge of our own rock moment. Such acts include Joy Division/New Order-esque The Stills, Cure-lovers Hot Hot Heat, U2/Coldplay-worshippers Pilate, and the enigmatic Broken Social Scene. [more inside]
Designer Vaginas.
An "appearance gynaecology" clinic in Auckland offers a range of new treatments, including restoring hymens, vaginal rejuvenation, repairing damage from giving birth, liposuction and labial reconstruction.
[more inside]
A girl, her Ducati, and her blog. "The repetitive dream I hate the most is the one where I'm on a motorcycle and I crack the throttle and nothing happens so I have to start pedalling. If that isn't some subconscious sign of emotional impotency, I'll eat my hat." [more inside]
Oh, the Rhodes to Ruins: Ancient Ephesus is only one of many classical relics on this site, sponsored by the Turkish government. There are also other materials, as for instance this, featuring a downloadable Guide to Ephesus. [more inside]
"The Vulva is something men have feared..."
As a man, I not only don't fear them, but kinda think they are neato!
This is a cute little clip.
Innocent enough, but probably NSF.
Accidental videogame pornography. Bask in the warm glow of pornographic "accidents" in your favourite videogames. Witness a mind-blowing Kirby gang-bang, be shocked and awed by a Chrono Trigger robot servicing, or be entertained by Pikachu's frisky side. Hilarity? [more inside]
A mystical experience ...flash...apparently there's more to this than i can achieve.(more inside)
Ninjai: The Little Ninja This is a brilliantly done flash cartoon. Somewhat violent, but also beautiful and intriguing.
Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War
After watching this, I am surprised that more folks, on both the left and the right, aren't up in arms about the deception that was practiced on the American public.
I did a search and it appears that this hasn't be published in Monkeyland before. I thought that it might make a good companion to Atrios Gets Interviewed.
Unlike the innuendo that passes for "news", filmmaker Robert Greenwald and his team interviewed subjects from across the political spectrum to come up with a blistering indictment of the Bush Whitehouse and the deceptions it practiced in misleading us to war. Quick time of the trailer here.
Nader has got at least one thing right. Let's start the impeachment now!
My American... A short comic by Susannah Breslin (who used to be the Reverse Cowgirl). [more inside]
Final hours of a supernova. Sure, it's a big explosion, but what's cool is astrophysicists have a detailed picture of the final hours and seconds of the blast. In short, the supernova occurs when silicon fusion ends and the star is suddenly left with about 10^27 tons of unburnable iron. The star collapses at up to 15% of the speed of light and rebounds cataclysmically, all in less than one second. More neat stuff here and here. Whoever said class notes are dull?
February 27, 2004
The End. We're sorry, but you have reached the end of the internet. [more inside]
Atrios Gets Interviewed
He didn't give up his real name.
Glenn Reynolds is the most popular, but there's no doubt in my mind Atrios is the most powerful political blogger on the internet. He started the Trent Lott frenzy and helped get Ben Chandler elected. He also had his readers vote in a poll on Senator Bill frist's site and that ended up getting talked about on the Senate floor. Name another political blogger that can stir up the Senate?
He's also snarky as hell. One thing that bugs me about him and Reynolds is that they are always bitching about media bias. I heard Al Franken (of all people) says that, overall, that it's silly to talk about media bias. I agree. Fox News is to the right. NPR is to the left. In the end it all evens out. The problem with America media is that it doesn't dig.
Move over Mr. Schumacher
(shockwave) It's friday!! Time for some fun.
And no, there is no point to this little racing game. Just drive baby, drive.
What to Rent Get a movie recommendation based on your personality. Your lonely Friday nights will become slightly more palatable.
Polystyrene the Unhealthy.
Polystyrene is everywhere. And we know it's bad for the environment. But did you know that the base for the product, styrene, is horrendously poisonous and has been found in 100% of all samples of human fat tissue taken in relevant studies? What does this mean?
Main link snarfled from Bifurcated Rivets
[more inside]
Ten little, nine little, eight little monkeys:
Bicycle Safety Rule #4: If your riding companions should be killed en route to the picnic-grounds, do not stop to check on them, as this will pose a traffic hazard.
Thanks to Elim on MeFi
Administrator, please hope me! What do you do when you can't remember your MoFi password? Passwords are a thing of the past, anyway. How about giving us your fingerprint? Or a retina scan? Maybe we could have a MonkeyCard that plugs straight into the computer. In any case, I'll be asking for samples of your DNA before you can log in again.
The 'Bashi Thread
President Saparmurat Niyazov - or Turkmenbashi, as he likes to be known - has just banned long hair. And beards.
It's not the first slightly eccentric ruling that the Turkmenistan dictator has introduced (he likes melons, it seems.) Cobblers! It's not all fun and games, though.
[more inside]
The Height of Civil Rights On March 24, 2004, Dr. Dorothy Height will be awarded a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of her work for African American women. In this interview with NPR's Juan Williams, she discusses her memoir, in which she details her extraordinary life in the civil rights movement and the changes she has seen in her 91 years.
A Weekly Dose of Architecture. Former crack dens, ferry ports, floating restaurants, futuristic shacks...
The Passion of Pixels
Lately, you can't turn on the news without hearing about the new profound, dramatic reimagining of the savage murder (and possible hinted resurrection?) of the one true saviour.
I'm talking, of course, about Luigi and Phantasmagoria Crow's flash animated Super Mario Bros. Saga.
Parts 2 and 3.
It's better than Cats.
via penny arcade
Customised Lego Anime characters, Video Game heroes and Film Stars. Now all I want is to know who they all are... [more inside]
Where Senators Stand On Gay Marriage Amendment Oxblog posted where the Senators stand. A few are trying to duck the issue. The list is incomplete at this point, but it gives a good idea of where this thing will go. Personally, I don't see it going anywhere. Did you people know that this is the fifth amendment that Bush has backed. The man has never seen an amendment he doesn't like. [more inside]
February 26, 2004
'Passion' and Death: Movie opens. Death ensues. Jeebus!
Kofi Annan Unsettles People, As He Believes U.N. Should Do.
An interesting old article.
Anyway, here's a short biography, and an Online News Focus from the PBS.
Raiding the 20th Century Raiding the 20th Century is a mashup created by Strictly Kev. It is probably one of the greatest things I ever got from Metafilter. Download, listen, and be amazed. (Warning, 54MB download).
Curious, George - Geeky question: I'd like Windows something differently and I need some help. [more inside]
The handwashing experiment. Are hoitsy-toitsy types more likely than the hoi palloi to wash after bathroom activities? Perhaps they need a laminated hand-washing poster to remind them!
No Religion Scholarships - Is this a valid ruling, or is the Supreme Court guilty of a ruling in favour of religious discrimination?
America's new coal rush juxtaposed with this link, Now the Pentagon tells Bush: climate change will destroy us, equals sick fun with environmental issues. Humans are like energy drunks determined to drink themselves to death.
A/S/L? Curious George: All this talk about being kinder and gentler got me thinking.... [more inside]
StrangeCo-- Purveyors of the Peculiar!
An incredibly multi-layered site with all the goods on the new breed of cutting edge toys-- more like small-batch fetish objects tailored to every flavor.
Give yourself plenty of time to wander!
Drunken Chimps Threaten Humans courtesy snarkey malarkey
9/11 Commission
This is unsurprising.
But Hastert cast serious doubt on its prospects for passage in the Republican-controlled House. "He thinks the (commission's) report is overdue and we need to get the recommendations as soon as possible. He is also concerned it will become a political football if this thing is extended and it is released in the middle of the presidential campaign," Feehery said.
I agree with Kevin Drum, Dennis Hastert is not even pretending that the decision is not politically motivated. Notice the "political football if this thing is extended and it is released in the middle of the presidential campaign" comment made by Hastert's spokesman John Feehery.
Eye of Argon
(actual story text here) is generally held to be the worst-written SF/fantasy story. It was penned in 1970 by 16-year old Jim Theis and immediately gained a cult following. Eye of Argon draws its inspiration from a thesaurus and breaks almost every rule on style, dialog, and grammar. The tale describes the adventures of Grignr, an "enthused barbarian" who is not only an accomplished swordsman but quite the ladies man, embracing "tempting females" and caressing their "firm protruding busts".
Zen. [Flash.]
The perfect accessory for your Sleep Number bed,
especially if you're a 90 and he/she's a 15...
Probably the most unneeded useful item you can buy for $251 (especially if you get the BOY/BOY or GIRL/GIRL style). BTW, SFW.
Curious George: Web Storage & Wireless devices: I've a plethora of wireless goodies and am tired of needing multiple storage cards. Are there web storage solutions that interface well with camera phones, wireless-enabled PDAs and the like? [more inside]
February 25, 2004
Slipping past the censors. And onto kiddie TV. I hated Rainbow asa child, mostly because it was so condescending compared to other kids TV. I must vave missed being traumatised by this one.
Depression Many mysteries remain, but scientists are making progress in understanding what causes depressive disorders and how various treatments work. (via Linkfilter)
Protein blocks AIDS Virus in monkeys
The Stand should be required reading for biologists. It's bad enough that bird flu might jump species - so let's help it along! Does this give anyone else the creeps? [more inside]
When you get sick of the fancy language of debate, try sarcasm!
The chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors proposes to cover job losses in the manufacturing sector by... redifining McDonalds staff as manufacturing workers. In response, John Dingell tires of maintaining a non-snarky facade.
[PDF]
Tribute to Goatse.cx. First page is SFW, but beyond it there be Goatses. [Via Milk and Cookies.]
Self-policing rehash - Things have been a little different around here for a week or so, do we need a little reality check? [more inside]
Top 100 Sports Moments on “The Simpsons.” Some fun memories from hilarious episodes, here, although I'm not exactly sure how Miss Vicki's tap dancing class (#85) is considered a sport. Tappa-tappa-tappa.
The Beach Boy's "Smile" Album 1966. Inspiration for Sgt. Pepper. Brian Wilson at his peak. Superlative. Superlative. Superlative. Etc. Have you Lived without this album?? [more inside]
ok..not quite what you're thinking more inside
If I Had A MONKEY
... the Best Source for Metaphorical Violence Against The Monkey You Don't Even Have in the Whole Wide World! (Don't miss the List of Evil.)
Mutant Bosnian brothers have extra kidneys! A pair of Bosnian guys who claim to be able to drink anyone under the table with no ill-effects apparently each have an extra set of fully functioning kidneys. Blimey!
An attempt at Constitutional destruction. These yahoos are relying on their own interpretation of Article III of the Constitution to claim that the judiciary is subordinate to the legislature, not independent. All that does is turn 200 years of settled American law on its head. All that does is leave all or rights and protections swingin' in the political breeze.
Origins of Band Names If you've ever been curious about this--and being Monkeys I know you are--this is the site for you.
The Takin , with its dignified sidewhiskers and sometimes small, inadequate-looking horns, may have been the source of the Golden Fleece; contrary to the general belief, it is probably not related to the musk ox. They have no sweat glands but 'their entire body secretes an oily, strong smelling substance that is said to have a burning taste' ('said to have'? - isn't it part of a zoologist's job to taste the bodily secretions of ungulates??). [more inside]
Land the plane (Flash. In German, just use arrow keys. Plane descends at uniform rate.)
Curious George: Running a *filter site Just because filmfilter, geekfilter, sportsfilter, and everythingelsefilter aren't enough, I'm thinking of setting up my own *filter site. I have a few questions for anybody who runs such a site, and one question for users of those sites. [more inside]
Curious George: 1) MoFi 2)??? 3) Profit! [more inside]
Quino
Really impressive flash cartooning, "someone set us up the bomb" engrish aside.
And if you can speak Japanese check out this Golgo-13 likealook from the same animator:
Gonorego.
February 24, 2004
Talking bluntly about class, in the context of the debate on women, motherhood and work. Caitlan Flanagan's article on the issues of nannying gets beyond middle-class obsessions about perfect childrearing to look at the real concerns about the relationship of feminists to women of all classes. [Via Arts and Letters Daily] [more inside]
Bush Shootout Brave this brave ex-National Guardsman defend the White House from evildoers.
Domain Name Expiration? Curious, George: What time do domain names expire? [more inside]
This is really quite beautiful. There are many more panoramas like this, in the bottom-right corner.
Get your chopper out!
Raleigh, that designer of such tasteful bikes as the Commando and the Grifter, are relaunching their best-known design -- the Chopper:
'Loz Cox, product manager for the Chopper at Raleigh, said: "The new Chopper has been restyled. The biggest changes are the lightweight alloy frame - the original was steel - and the position of the gear lever.'
I can't wait!
POUR EVERYTHING INTO YOUR BLENDER AND PREPARE TO UNLEASH A SURGE OF ALL NATURAL GOODNESS STRAIGHT INTO YOUR BLOODSTREAM! (A site by someone obviously far too excited about a smoothie recipe.)
Although I'm not a writer and have never read any of his novels, I really liked reading Elmore Leonard's tips on good writing. Among the more interesting kernels of wisdom: "Never use a verb other than 'said' to carry dialogue, " and "Never use an adverb to modify the verb 'said' . . . "
Principal in Spot After Flopped Plot to Plant Pot
Quiznos transformed a piece of outsider art into a nationwide ad campaign. The Spongmonkeys hit the big time, in a much-discussed series of spots for a chain of sandwich shops. Apparently the little guys are not to everybody's taste. [more inside]
Madame Chao's Chaorin Kombat
Que es est?
Be patient, good luck and turn down your speakers.
John Ashcroft's Patriot Games. This is an interesting article on Ashcroft reprinted from this month's Vanity Fair (read it before they go after the guy with a 2 x 4.) [Via Boing Boing.]
Who could this possibly offend? [via SomethingAwful]
Constitution Restoration Act of 2004
This is a bill that religious conservatives are trying to pass. Read it and weep.
`Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the Supreme Court shall not have jurisdiction to review, by appeal, writ of certiorari, or otherwise, any matter to the extent that relief is sought against an element of Federal, State, or local government, or against an officer of Federal, State, or local government (whether or not acting in official personal capacity), by reason of that element's or officer's acknowledgement of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government.'.
Who needs the Supreme Court anyway?
" I just wanted to come out and show my respect for the white race and support the cause."
"The atmosphere inside Aryanfest was that of a Renaissance Fair gone over to the dark side, with "Heils" in place of "Huzzahs.""; "Shaved-headed men hugged each other like they were at a gay pride picnic."
But what mental confusion would convince a coloured kid to show up with a swastika tattoo?
[more inside]
Got Baby?
Seems that Monday is "Push The Envelope" Day.
Here's the Best of my Worst.
Suin' the WNBA Man sues WNBA after being denied a try-out, then insults the female players. Amazonian-style beat-down to ensue. [more inside]
February 23, 2004
Weapons of class instruction? Education Secretary Rod Paige calls the NEA a "terrorist organization."
The Grey Album: What do you get when you mix The Beatles' White Album with Jay-Z's the Black Album? You get the Grey Album. Downhillbattle.org has declared tomorrow to be Grey Tuesday and is coordinating an effort to get websites to post the Grey Album to protest EMI's attempts to censor this work. (The music previously discussed here.)
Down Syndrome Dolls
I am from the East, and love to play
with my puppy. This is but one quote for one of several dolls manufactured for kids with Down Syndrome.
I'm not sure which is creepier, the dolls, or those who thought, "Hey, a Down Syndrome doll would be kind of fun!" For extra fun, check out the anatomical Teddy.
How do you express yourself when you have nothing to say? With Meaningless Messages!
Curious George: Long Haul Flight In April I'm flying to Honolulu. Trouble is, I've never been able to fall asleep on airplanes. [more inside]
Schwarzenegger says foreign-born citizens should be able to run for president Is it just me, or does anyone else get the Damien: Omen Triology heebee-geebees from this one?
Son of Total Information Awareness
the US Congress eliminated the TIA program, but it looks like the spooks are baaaaaack.
Yeah but what're ya gonna do?
The Rabbit wants your Cursor Stupid Rabbit. Or maybe.. he's very smart? You decide. (Flash)
This might lower your heating bills
Welcome to Bathroom Mania! Today's hectic world doesn't usually allow much opportunity or time for our fantasies, but the Bathroom Mania! designs help us to let our minds relax and drift off into another, imaginative world.
Dr. Seuss Will Get His Own Postage Stamp despite the lameness of "Cat in the Hat: The Movie"...
Hallucinogen May Cure Drug Addiction. [Via Plastic.] [more inside]
Beautiful Agony
might be the first porn site on the net to merit your (unironic) support.
It comes with movies for any sexual orientation, is utterly without exploitation or humiliation (videos are submitted by the performer, often without intention of compensation) and there is absolutely no nudity...
...yet it still manages to be honest, simple , _VERY_ NSFW and sexy as hell.
Does this site have a future?
(via Fleshbot)
Bin Laden 'surrounded'
I remember talk like this during the Afghanistan war from Pentagon and White House officials who were confident that they had him. We'll so. I sure as hell hope so. This guy doesn't deserve to be free one more day.
Note: Sorry for sounding like James Lileks there.
February 22, 2004
Indian man drives in reverse for Peace!
Harpreet Devi, from the state of Punjab, has been driving in reverse for two years... It is all part of a 'reverse philosophy,' aiming to improve ties between India and Pakistan. Monkeys were not available for comment at time of writing.
[more inside]
League player found guilty of...er, "poking". In the end the NRL Judiciary had little trouble differentiating between a "wedgie", a "finger up the arse" and the area between the "arse and the nuts" before finding Hopoate guilty. (SFW, just grotty.)
SideDish is back! Hurray! I’ve missed my fellow monkeys the past week! I’ve been doing a time-honored American tradition, I was on jury duty. Which got me wondering: Do my fellow MoFites across the deep blue seas also do jury duty? Is it like this? That was very much like my experience. And do lots of your citizens dread jury duty and try to get out of it? I was pleased and excited to serve. Interesting experience.
Just monkeying around. Finally, I no longer have to worry about alien mind control, thanks to the kooks page.
Who drew all the pies? An interview with Weebl [Flash.]
Kathy McGinty
An oldie but a goodie.
May I also recommend VixenLove?
The austere lifestyle of Kim Jong ll
It's spring in California and rodeo season has started Whiskey Flat Days was last weekend. fun if chllly. [more inside]
What If You Could Wear A New Face Every Day?
In the tradition of Cindy Sherman, Tomoko Sawada transforms herself into someone else.
Click "ID400", then explore the thumbnails.
Where is your line in the sand? This site appears to be written by a prime example of a paranoid schizophrenic, who believes secret government agencies are out to control our minds via street theatre, killing pets, and sabotaging underwear. [more inside]
The Tofu Hut.
An excellent new MP3 weblog. The music is both obscure and excellent.
Music posted here is posted out of love, not with the intention for profit or to violate copyright.
[more inside]
February 21, 2004
Yankee or Dixie...Dialect-wise, that is?
Aging band pose as teens to sell single. Welsh band The Alarm renamed themselves The Poppyfields (top right) and got teenagers to mime their single, 45RPM, for the video, supposedly as a statement on the importance of image in selling music. [more inside]
Ralph Nader Set to Announce His Candidacy For President Ralph Nader is set to announce that he will run as an independant for the office of President of the United States. I have been reading that the Green Party will not support him this time out. Democrat bloggers are angry that he is set to run again and Republican bloggers are overjoyed. Nader says people who urge (not force) him to not run are against the first amendment rights. That's interesting for a man who goes out of his way to not have workers unionize. [more inside]
Ishkur's amazing electronic music guide. [via memepool]
The merchandising messiah Mel Gibson's new film, "The Passion of the Christ," is set to open nationwide next week. Amidst all the controversy surrounding the film is a curious phenomenon: marketing Christ. [more inside]
Elvis Lives in Flash with dancing bananas and monkeys, amongst other fine things. [Via Blort.]
For those of you who think "How X Are You?" Quizzes are just random...
with bonus banana references!
foon.
[more inside]
Virtual voices. The software is a "singing engine": type in lyrics and a melody and it carries out the complex mathematical operations needed to generate a voice singing the words to the right tune. [more inside]
"Aliens Beam Editor To Tabloid Heaven"
reads Washington Post article.
Eddie Clontz, longtime editor of the Weekly World News died today. (via waxy)
New Kids IX: Math is Hard
Previously here, here and here.
593 entries and still goin' strong!
The vacation cruise getaway... of the damned
February 20, 2004
Parents attack bathroom policy
- Some middle school students here are learning to shun soft drinks, water and other liquids during school hours for fear their consumption will lead to an urgent need to answer nature's call.
Under a new policy at the Lawrence Middle School, the seventh- and eighth-graders are allowed to leave class for the bathroom a maximum of 15 times a month.
Peggy Noonan's Latest Masterpiece I'm am not a left-winger that gets all worked up by Peggy Noonan. The reason is I find her hysterical. I don't think that's the intention of her op-eds, but good entertainment is hard to find. [more inside]
What a stirring sermon, reverend! Man orders Viagra online, takes it and goes to church. Very amusing tale, but NSFW if stories about viagra are taboo. (via TMN)
Flowers From the Heartland
Folks from all over the place are sending flowers to the people waiting in line to get married in San Francisco in a show of support. Supporters in the Bay area have been bringing tea, pizza and other snacks. Simply wonderfull.
Via Boing Boing and Metafilter.
More information about a collective flower effort can be found here.
Previous (and amazing) discussion on the topic here.
Sandoval County, New Mexico is issuing same-sex marriage licenses! [self-link] This means a short 20 minute drive for those of us in Albuquerque. Could this mean there is a trend brewing? If so, where will this happen next? [more inside]
Did you know Cher called C-SPAN in October? Not much else to say about it. [Quicktime/Broadband]
"Penguin Balls"
Pete and Barb's Penguin Page is but one stop on the myriad sprawl of links that is the Sphenisciform Webring.
Linux fans will want to check out The Penguins of Ana Maria Frias, Travis Miller Likes Penguins! (great drawings), the Live Penguin-Cam, Paper Penguins and (oldie but goodie) Spaced Penguin.
Spoofpark Southpark-style spoofs of popular TV/movies. (Via Whedonesque.)
Monkey Poo... Ewww, that's disgusting. Don't you find it so?
Larry Flynt On Porn Interview The Flyntster talks about the internet, free speech and his time in prison.
Justly Married
One photographer's work during the gay marriages in San Francisco.
Can you tell me, Who are we to deny anyone's happiness?
via boingboing
Le singe est curieux. I'm looking for good French music. [more inside]
New Weebls and Bob Animation, Except This Time It Stars Bob Only!
The Suffragists Oral History Project has collected and transcribed oral histories from leaders and participants of the American women's suffrage movement. Suffragists Speak has audio clips of Alice Paul. [more inside]
Matmos. "In their recordings and live performances over the last nine years, Matmos have used the sounds of: amplified crayfish nerve tissue, the pages of bibles turning, a bowed five string banjo, slowed down whistles and kisses, water hitting copper plates, the runout groove of a vinyl record, a $5.00 electric guitar, liposuction surgery... [more inside]
February 19, 2004
You're fired! Do you have what it takes to climb the corporate ladder? Donald Trump, his hair, and his Apprentice cohorts give you a radioactive water cooler and a bunch of stair cases to find out.
No Pants Day 2004 is on Friday, May 7. Dare you not wear pants?
CURIOUS GEORGE: Let's make beautiful music together
I think we talked a little about this over here, but I need somebody to speak english to this dumb monkey...
>more inside, dontchaknow<
Welcome to the most Extreme Elimination Challenge. originally Takeshi’s Castle.Take 100 volunteers, scripted voice over and let the hilarity ensue.
"Each Gum Blonde is 100% chewed bubblegum on a plywood backing. No paint or dye is used. The colour is inherent to the gum - the mixing of colour takes place inside the mouth during chewing using an endless variety of flavours ...."
Ever wondered what a monkey brain looks like? The Comparative Mammalian Brain Collection has photos of brains from 175 different mammal species. Whole brains, sectioned brains, and more, each with a photo and range map of the donor species. (If you pay US taxes, you're helping to fund this research, so take a look.)
The Drum Solo collection - From Steve Gadd to Dave Weckl.
"The Unavoidable Future of Entertainment:" Amateur filmmakers create and submit 5-minute "pilots" for fictional TV shows. [more inside]
Papers Please
Meet Dudley Hiibel. He's a 59 year old cowboy who owns a small ranch outside of Winnemucca, Nevada. He lives a simple life, but he's his own man. You probably never would have heard of Dudley Hiibel if it weren't for his belief in the U.S. Constitution.
One balmy May evening back in 2000, Dudley was standing around minding his own business when all of a sudden, a policeman pulled-up and demanded that Dudley produce his ID. Dudley, having done nothing wrong, declined. He was arrested and charged with "failure to cooperate" for refusing to show ID on demand. And it's all on video.
On the 22nd of March 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether Dudley and the rest of us live in a free society, or in a country where we must show "the papers" whenever a cop demands them.
[more inside]
Things I'd Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord...
Philosophical quotes for every occasion:
Priceless quotations from such astute minds as that of Miss Alabama:
"I would not live forever because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever."
Or, how about a random selection?
The Amazing EC Brown MP3 Link Collection
More free music than you can shake a banana and a fistful of feces at and it all looks pretty legal.
Genres range from Techno to Metal, Ska to Ukranian, Found Sound to Polish Folk, Hare Krishna to Iranian, Bagpipes to Mexican traditional.
Good for weeks of browsing.
"Of all my inventions, the glass armonica has given me the greatest personal satisfaction."
- Ben Franklin
Ugg boots What do people think about trademaking generic words? [more inside]
The Alcoholic Monkeys of St. Kitts exhibit "skeedrow behavior." Alex Shoumatoff takes you there.
Rest Stop, Stephen King's latest story, available online. Here too is the transcript of King's National Book Foundation's Distinguished Contribution award acceptance speech. That's more directly related to this ancient thread.
Researchers Discover New Source of Neural Stem Cells. Of special interest to monkey lovers: "the differences we see imply that this region in the human brain doesn't necessarily do the same things as its primate and rodent counterparts." Maybe.
New Noise. A new fortnightly web based music magazine, currently on its second issue. [more inside]
February 18, 2004
Black Hole Sun, Won't You Come... Black hole destroys star The pictures are just illustrations, but fairly cool nonetheless
You're Totally Soaking In It
Most of us who aren't rich have to do some goofy things in order to feed ourselves, provide clothing and shelter to loved ones, and generally sustain live so that we can do the things that we really love (make art, post links, expand minds).
Jan Miner, aka Madge the Manicurist, was a serious actress. She figured out how to do what she wanted and still eat three square meals a day.
Let's all think back to our own "you're soaking in it" moments, have some lunch, and endeavor to be half as successful and Jan Miner.
Mouse Swallows Frog: Disney Acquires Muppets.
And that's not the only Muppet-based news these days: How about a muppet version of Dr. Phil? And on tonight's episode of "Angel", the remorseful vampire is turned into a muppet-esque puppet.
And then, there's this photo here (NSFWWSOH - Not Safe For Workplace Without Sense Of Humor)
Torturing Monkeys in the name of Security "When F-Secure's antivirus researcher Katrin Tocheva first spotted the MyDoom virus late in the evening of Jan. 27, she immediately reached out and smacked the monkey that sits near her desk."
Primal Humans Cut Off From Civilization. Father admits to "failures".
Te Whiti and Parihaka. Before Gandhi and Martin Luther King, there was Te Whiti; a spellbinding public speaker who persuaded Taranaki Maori that their best remedy to growing dissatisfaction with the British settlement of New Zealand was not traditional warfare, but non-violent resistence.
Donald Rumsfeld Fighting Technique I didn't know Rummy was a martial arts master.
The Many Treasures of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna include an extensive gallery of paintings, as well as objects from antiquity, state carriages, and court uniforms. This is a huge website, the cream of which is found under "Collections".
Fresh monkey meat
Curious George:
We've seen something like a hundred new monkeys sign on this week — and it's only Wednesday. Who are you? How did you find this place? Speak, monkey!
Monkeyshines
The cheeky monkey in this Japanese nature video is my vote for our new mascot.
This goes on for a LONG time.
/via birivets who astutely notes, "I wonder what is really going on here - the music and sound effects make it all sound harmless fun, but who can tell."
Nothing cries for attention
like a poll on which of your presenters should go in Playboy. Of course, one of them has already had some exposure</a>.
[more inside]
Chocobo Robo Voice. Final Fantasy inspired flash.(FLASH) (via World of Stuart) [more inside]
February 17, 2004
Fred's Escape: Episode 2 (Flash) [more inside]
The war on drugs Success or failure? [more inside]
Mp3 blogs.
For people like me, who are constantly on the lookout for new exciting music, mp3 blogs provide a daily fix. Run by real music geeks, blogs like Fluxblog and Said The Grammophone provide unknown yet fresh sounds, together with informative and inspiring descriptions. The songs are hosted temporarily, but long enough to spread the word of a hot track or a talented artist. As a starting point for your soulsearching, the mp3 blogs are unbeatable.
Other blogs worth checking out are The Mystical Beast, Gabba/POD, Popnose, TTIKTDA and Do you feel loved?
4,450 Priests Accused of Sex Abuse According to this report, "Children accused more than 4,000 priests of sexual abuse between 1950 and 2002, according to a draft survey for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops."
I KNOW What You Did Last Summer.
Do you have a bee in your bonnet wondering what people mean when they say "Doesn't know shit from shinola?"
Use the handy Phrase Finder.
[more inside]
The Naked Trucker
From the site: "The Naked Trucker Show" is a cabaret show about buddies... two buddies that met on the open highway... when T-bone hopped up in the cab of a trucker who likes to drive around naked... and now they sing... naked... well the trucker is..."
I got to see the Naked Trucker show here in Hollywood at Cafe Largo last Friday night and laughed so hard I cried. They perform at a number of comedy festivals and recently played on the Conan O'Brian show.
Their comedy is at the same time, campy, touching, and densely layered. I found myself laughing at what seemed to be a straight line minutes after they told it. If they come to your area, check them out.
Cingular buys AT&T Wireless for nearly $41 billion in cash. For consumers is it the best of both worlds or a looming monopoly?
Bob and Doug McKenzie discuss the pros and cons of Leap Day
Bob: You're tuquing my underpants.
Doug: Am not.
The biggest diamond in the universe. A couple of days too late for Valentines day, though.
Death from the skies ... Kites: festive fun or deadly menace?
For the daddy who needs help.
Instructions for Dads when looking after their children, by MomMum.
500!
500's up, people!
Well done us!
Conway's Game of Life : The game of life uses simple rules to construct interesting patterns. It's also available for download.
Internet Top 100 SF/Fantasy list.
Tristrom Cooke's list still serves as an indisposable guide for any patron of the SF arts, even though updates stalled last year. If you dare, view all 4375 titles ranked. Alternate up and coming choice: the Internet Book List, which spans other genres of literature.
Tin Man Alley [...] is the center for underground, lowbrow and outsider art on the east coast.
Bizarre, kitschy and seemingly omnipresent
Of course, if you're still racking up therapist bills from evil ventriloquist dummies, you might skip contributing artist scott radke's collection of creepy marionette dolls.
Dean Won't Dropout This is getting too painful to watch and that's coming from someone who never supported Dean. He also lost another campaign manager (Steve Groosman.) What's worse is that Grossman jumped ship and said he will drop his support of Dean if he looses Wisconsin. [more inside]
Big Bang
Fireworks are hardly all fun and games.
Almost four years ago in the town of Enschede in the Netherlands, a fireworks depot caught fire and blew up. Twenty two people were killed, hundreds were injured and an entire residential district was razed to the ground.
Here's a survivor's testimonial and a collection of mind-boggling videos of the disaster (look under MOVIES/Explosions to the left).
with a tip o' the fork to snarkymalarkey
The Hole-In-The-Wall: an experiment in Minimally Invasive Education.
What The Better Barbies Are Throwing Up This Season. Super-Small Snacks For Super-Small Super-Models.
February 16, 2004
His love for America shines like a rainbow in the dark... and he's giving something back by running for President. [more inside]
Busted Wonder.
A weblog of very good pictures, by Charity Larrison. (Via diepunyhumans)
Chinese -- a better second-language choice? Foreign investment in China last year was $57 billion, and its exports to the U.S. totalled $170 billion. Yet American educational TV and public school curricula remains focused squarely on Spanish as the foreign language of choice, a view that has remain largely unchanged since the 1970s. Some suggest that a shakeup is needed and that kids need more opportunities to learn Chinese to find success -- and for the sagging economy to remain competitive.
Eep! eep! neigh! neigh! (MonkeyPony)
Dear Tracicle,
Can you please expand the number of HTML tags we can use? I'd especially like to use the font tag; using a small tag instead makes me die a little inside. Also, the tt tag would be nice.
fond regards,
Loyal monkey #305, boo_radley
<musically>I got it. I got it. (I got)I got IIIITT!</musically> Some guy's trying to sell the phone number 867-5309 on ebay, in the 212 (New York) area code no less.
Some amusing background, with a mention to the ebay auction.
Curious George: Civil Disobedience - Related to the thoughtful and flame-free discussion regarding gay marriage, I was curious what the qualifications are for civil disobedience? Is there a standard that says it's okay to disobey the law if...? What would those standards be? I'd like to get people's ideas and opinions without getting a lecture on how I should have read my Thoreau (no snarkiness intended). What do YOU think?
137Mb for only one monkey joke Nine-minute short film, or very expensive audition piece? Download KING KONG: DON'T MESS WITH THE MONKEY and decide. (Skip the first six minutes to cut to the chase, so to speak.)
Ben Chandler Raises $45,000 Off Blogads In less than two weeks, Democratic candidate Ben Chandler has raised $45 thousand off of internet blogads. He bought two thousand dollars worth of ads on the blogs of such people as Atrios, Josh Marshall, and Daily Kos.
Valentine's Day may have come and gone, but you can still send a late Happy Tree Friends E-Card to that special twisted someone.
Say it with mindless violence.
Spooky Ventriloquist Dummies From Your Childhood, Eager To Invade Your Dreams Again...
Let's get this straight:
Charlie McCarthy WAS the spawn of Satan.
Goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City Here I Come: A lazy man's tour of The Toy and Miniature Museum, located in Kansas City, offers two floors of childhood relics for the curious to investigate. [more inside]
Women in Afghanistan are still widely oppressed, opium production is flourishing, and Kabul is running out of money. Afghanistan is still a mess.
February 15, 2004
More gripping than CSI. But also a lot more dangerous. Fredy Peccerelli's family have been forced to flee from Guatemala to the United Kingdom by his work - unearthing the forensic evidence associated with the mass killings of previous murderous regimes.
Harvard Dialect Maps Do you swim in a creek or crik? Do you like carr-a-mel or car-mel in your candy? Harvard Computing Society has done a neat survey where American dialect variations are mapped out. The geographical bias in the maps are not normalized, and some results are rather homogenous, so use at your own risk!
Curious, George: Which of these kung fu movies must I see? [more inside]
Optical Illusions in Flash
It may only take three licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, but have you ever wondered How Much Is Inside a Sharpie? Conversation Hearts? Easy Cheese or my personal favorite, a Keg?
Wil Wheaton is a Dick. Link points to an Alternet article which is more about Orkut than about Wesley Crusher. Find Wil's response here.
"XXX Church.com is the #1 Christian Porn Site"
"I caught my kid looking at porn, what do I do?"
"How do I talk to my husband about this?"
"Can I ever stop?"
"Your situation probably cannot wait and requires immediate attention. That is why we have created the X3 Help Line. This toll free number 1-888-309-4218 is available 7 days a week from 6pm-9pm (PST) and it is a place where you can find answers, help, encouragement and prayer for your situation."
Highly recommended tales: Author James Branch Cabell's work has been hard to find, and is difficult to classify -- was he primarily a humorist, a satirist ("For some occult reason ideas become far more revolting when they are very."), a writer of 'cult classics', or a fantasist? [more inside]
Deli Food Porn. For All Your Fake Meat Needs....
February 14, 2004
The media in Iraq. (Supposedly) an US 1st lieutenant Public Affairs Officer's perspective.
Bush Administration Censoring Hearing-Impaired The Bush administraion has decided to not pay for "200 television programs inappropriate for closed-captioning and denying federal grant requests to make them accessible to the hearing-impaired." [more inside]
I know you've seen the Political Compass, but what the heck. Where do you score? [more inside]
Vanishing species acts? Punch and Judy performances, once common scenes of marital/social disfunction, can still be found, but you may have to hunt harder for them nowadays. [more inside]
Road sign, WTF files. "Her gift for Valentines? Stop looking at porn," proclaim billboards put up by NetAccountability, a nonprofit software company that aims to help Christians confront the "secret sin" of pornography. [more inside]
The Annals of Obscurity Meet the author who was told "You are illiterate. You must learn to use nouns and verbs properly before you ever attempt to compose a story. Trust me." Or "Poor" Rich Henry, a forgotten folksinger. (A new blog with a lot of promise, but I can't promise that it's all true)
The day the earth screamed.
"It was important to get the sound between the two towers going down ... It's kind of eerie."
So says Mark Bain, a 37-year-old Seattle-born "vibrations artist" who has recently completed a CD project using seismological data from New York during the September 11 2001 terror attacks.
A small section of the piece. (Real Audio, sorry)
[more inside]
I waited forever to watch American Splendor
and now I come to sing its virtues.
[more inside]
Curious George: a stupid webhosting question I need a cheap web hosting service with < 500MB of storage, PHP/CGI support, a few mailboxes, and MySQL - not much to ask for. My current host is charging $15 bucks extra a month for MySQL and I'm sure there must be something cheaper. I know nothing about this, but I figure some of you will. Thanks.
Molecular Expressions
Michael W. Davidson, director of the Optical Microscopy Division of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, has put together some galleries of photos taken with ridiculously high-powered microscopes.
Some of the better galleries: The Silicon Zoo (which has nothing to do with Janet Jackson and "Nipplegate;" it's a collection of photos of microchips, and the bizarre designs occasionally etched into them), and Beershots, which features "digital images and photomicrographs (photographs taken through an optical microscope) of the World's most famous beers." Arranged by country, no less.
Possibly the funniest food related commercial ever.
Original Star Wars Trilogy on DVD: yea or nay?
The trilogy currently holds the top three positions on the Amazon.com Most Requested DVD List, and fans are now hearing the good news that episodes IV, V, and VI are finally in the pipeline.
Some, however, are irate about the lack of extras and, more significantly, Lucas's decision to only release the snazzed-up special editions but not the originals.
"One extra disc and a couple of hours of supplementary material isn't going to cut it. Hundreds of millions of people saw these movies in the '70s and not to make it available...it's as though history has disappeared."
Is Lucas really doing the fans a long-awaited favor, or is it a disservice?
The Broken Heart from The Morning News. "People on the street were asked to tell us about the jerk who treated them bad, and what they’d say to that jerk right now." Eleven brief tales of woe, just in time for Valentine's Day. "And one day, after we had slept together a couple times, it was a beautiful day, and I thought, god, out of something so terrible, something meaningful and lovely could have happened…and he rolled over and said, ‘I should probably tell you, I’m dating a few other women.’" Nice.
Aurora Experience. Photos and videos of the aurora borealis from Iceland.
Comic Book Bondage Cover of the Day.
Welcome to Comic Book Bondage Cover of the Day, the web's foremost reference site for bondage covers on mainstream comic books.
The archive contains about 1200 covers. (Some images might be unsuitable for work. All images are probably only suitable for misogynists. And sometimes only racist misogynists, at that.)
[more inside]
February 13, 2004
The Crimson Room Try to get out. (Flash)
Monkey abode. Perfect home for us monkeys who want to stay close to nature.
Jayson William's wife has a web site. For those of you not familiar with Jayson Williams, he is a basketball player who is being charged with accidentally shooting someone (his chauffeur, I think) on his property. OK, I guess it's really *his* site--aimed at damage control or otherwise at influencing public opinion. Can't blame a guy for trying.....I just think it's funny he named his son Tryumph.
Oh dear God "On Saturday [Valentine's Day], why not spend the night with a horny disabled guy instead?"
A Family Proposal. Bill Miller wants to raise a village. And he's willing to pay for it, too. He's a built a website to explain the game plan, find the ideal candidates, and paint a picture of village life. Wait, did I mention the polygamy? (via coudal)
Monkey Cliff Diving! Your simian Friday fun! But beware: One monkey has trouble with gravity, another with wind, another with his wife.
An interesting slashdot thread about outsourcing in India. You see, Indians geeks do read slashdot.
Majik. A video with some nice stop-motion animation by Artomic and Process, and music by ohGr. [Via Milk and Cookies.]
Simpsons: The Movie Via Slashdot
Loxie and Zoot
is a comic strip for, by and about nudists.
Lots of T and P and A, but no XXX.
If this is your cup of tea, check out the artist's site, Toons au Naturel.
Civil disobedience in San Francisco - In an open challenge to California law, city authorities officiated at the marriages of at least eight same-sex couples Thursday and issued about a dozen more marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. [more inside]
Enchanted Ceiling : a photoblog
The history of Tetris. Probably the most played computer game ever (although Super Mario Bros or Space invaders might beat it), Tetris is currently the subject of a documentary on BBC4 (BBC news companion piece). Of more interest, maybe, is the Tetris Taxonomy, with its comprehensive look at the pieces, moves, and even the philosophy in the game. [more inside]
February 12, 2004
Their deals were just too good Customers of Poland run amok.
A (Last) Day in the Life of GG Allin
Splitsville For Ken And Barbie--Rumors Abound!
Orca Slap New Pingu and Yeti game.
Curious George: MoFi census A butcher, a baker, and candlestick maker... [more inside]
The Snow Show. The Snow Show is a unique cultural project that brings together internationally recognized artists and architects to design collaborative installations using snow and ice as their primary materials. [more inside]
Higher Primates Can Program After VB.NET Training - The finding have implications for the entire software industry, with some scientists predicting routine programming such as maintenance and report writing will be performed by teams of primates within 10 years. [more inside]
Uh-oh. Kerry in trouble?
The Tale of the Nazi Pornographers- in which a young German novelist runs into trouble for portraying Nazi porn auteurs in too flattering a light. Somehow, this wasn't a problem for Gravity's Rainbow's Nazi orgy scenes...
Texas Pharmacist fired for denying rape victim's prescription Followup on a story that I think we had our collective monkey peeper on.
Molecules with silly names "Here we'll show you some real molecules that have unusual, ridiculous or downright silly names" (one pic NSFW?)
You liked grouphug.us?
One time I was sitting on the couch, drinking a glass of milk. When I finished, I threw it up, back into the glass. I then placed it on the coffee table for later disposal, and fell asleep on the couch. Awhile later, I woke up, said to myself 'I thought I'd finished this milk"...
More complete stories like this at lowbrow dot com
I Told You So: Bush Washington Times Letter Bogus
The Washington Times letter was brought up in a previous post. This is a form letter. It was also sent to "The Observer." There are serious errors in this letter.
Second, there was no such thing as a "disciplinary unit" to which Bush would have been ordered. They just don't exist. Any discipline, if required, is handled within the squadron or group, administratively or judicially. There would be a record and a reflection in Lt. Bush's performance review, and none such exist, as was confirmed in a (unfriendly) Washington Post article in 2000.
[more inside]
You only think you saw that happen
Human Clone Produces Stem Cells
This is sure to create a shitstorm.
Korean researchers have created a human clone and derived the first cloned stem cells from it -- a significant advance toward using the cells to replace those damaged by diseases like diabetes and Alzheimer's.
A Korean woman now has a set of cells that could one day replace any damaged or diseased cell in her body with little worry of rejection, if researchers can get stem cells to work therapeutically.
***
While researchers have cloned animals like sheep, cats and cows before this study, researchers had been unable to make the jump to monkeys or humans and believed cloning primates posed a unique obstacle. Now, the Korean researchers show they have perfected a cloning technique, also known as somatic cell nuclear transfer, that works in humans and potentially other primates..
You got Beatles in my Jay-Z! No, you got Jay-Z in my Beatles!
... Mmmm ...
If you're particularly snotty about your British Invasion or your rap music, you probably don't want to visit.
Fat Day is a band
that, with their last release, included a postcard, inviting fans to write songs for them -- whatever that meant. Many did. 21 postcards were chosen, and released as a new album ("Fat Day - IV"). This is a new kind of music - before, we had Do It Yourself. Now, Do It For You. Incidentally, there's also
Hamsters who will make music for you. Anybody else?
[more inside]
Weapons makers are cashing in. This article is adapted from the new book by William D. Hartung on the arms industry and its intimate relationship with the White House and the Pentagon. [more inside]
You Buy An Old Summer Camp. Now What Do You Do? (Excellent, restrained Flash underscores living WITH the resources at hand and not depleting them...)
February 11, 2004
If he cheats on his new bride, he's a dead man. No, wait.... Interesting philosophical (what is a man? what is marriage?) and legal (what is the interest of the state in sanctioning this union?) ramifications. Clearly the U. S. needs a Constitutional amendment to defend traditional marriage against this new French threat. [via Volokh]
'Bush and I were lieutenants' - An open letter to the editor from one of Bush's squadron mates. It corroborates evidence from the White House that Bush served his time and was not AWOL, as many Democrats allege... [more inside]
Transformers: Robots in Disguise! In the vein of x-entertainment and i-mockery, I submit a complete catalog of Transformers instruction scans: Autobots and Decepticons.
1 Player Online Scrabble. (via Spike Magazine)
Curious George: Meta...what? Maybe this is not the place to ask but, what happened with MeFi? I cannot reach it by any means and I have been trying for the past few days, and the Google cache is 3 days old already. It is me or the site is down?
It's not just individual dirty words that caught author Jonathan Chamberlain’s attention. It was the grammar. "You can 'fuck somebody up,' but you can't 'fuck somebody with.' Which phrases are transitive and which are intransitive, and what does that mean in practice? ... This is why a book that provides a detailed deconstruction of the language is needed," Chamberlain explains.
Best in Show! Behold this year's winner at the the Westminster Kennel Club, a Newfoundland named Josh. Lord Byron had a Newfoundland named Boatswain, which he memorialized in poetry (judging by the painting, I'd guess Boatswain must have been a Landseer.)
Have a nice cuppa. And while you're at it, admire the hard work of the scientists struggling to help you make the perfect food. Perfect so long as you aren't a vegan, that is.
Studio Tanuki
has a host of excellent, strange, french fun activities.
Watch the inimitable Catfish Hotel movie, check out PinPin Le Lapin, play a frustrating round of Strip Poker (hint: the computer cheats... "hihihihihi!") then take a whirl at this exceedingly difficult to follow Dating Simulator.
You can play strip poker with the gentleman as well, if you care to. Oh those wacky French! Those wacky Japanese!
thanks to Webzen for the Catfish Hotel link
'It's the monkey or me'
Redemption for two double posts in one week.
A story of a pop idol, his wife, and the monkey that... tore them apart
Theory On the Bogus Nigerian Yellowcake Uranium
Rodger A. Payne's has a theory on the bogus yellowcake uranium document that Joseph C. Wilson debunked to sheds. Payne's theory is plausible. He links to Symour Hersh's and Josh Marshall's thoughts on the subject. It sounds like Marshall is about to crack the story open.
Is it just me or is Bush starting to look really beatable. He's got all these scandals on national security going on at once. If he looses the national security issue, I don't see what else he has to run on.
Downloadable valentines cards
True Love expresses itself in strange ways. Some of these strange ways can be found at youyesyou.
True Bitterness also expresses itself here, just in case something terrible's happened twixt you and a faux beau.
Snotty indian tech support? They're probably racist says India's economic times. Casteless Americans don't seem to engender much love in some of these people. More forward thinking Indians are getting over this however. The times are a changing, albeit slowly. My only question is WWJD?
The Darker Side Of eBay. [more inside]
February 10, 2004
Can philosophers help handle terror? A book review of Philosophy in a Time of Terror, by Giovanna Borradori. Via Arts and Letters Daily.
The Meaning of Life Everyone (including) tells me how great this link is. What am I missing here? Some interesting art, baaaaaaaaaad poetry, and old, O*L*-D, WAY OLD absolutely ORFFAL rock&roll to inspire you. Monkey chatter?
"The maxi pads woke me in the middle of the night. I saw maxi-pads as coasters, maxi-pads as rug stoppers, maxi-pads doing everything but the darn dishes. Hey, wait a minute _ I bet they COULD do the darn dishes!"
The Bathroom Diaries Would that I had known of this resource when I lived in NYC.
The Physics of Cows. "Eventually, this vast and ever-growing cube of meat will implode under its own gravitational force, forming a singularity. This is why, as every astronomer knows, the surface of every black hole is always a cow." [Flash.]
The Candy Wrapper Museum. Old Favorites and Strange New Ones. [more inside]
February 09, 2004
The Mao of Pooh.
Disappointed with the bourgeois drivel that passes for children's fiction these days, a Turtle Collective has formed to combat the indoctrination of our youth with a series of heartwarming tales involving a bear, his best friend Christopher Robin, and socialism with Chinese characteristics.
NationStates An online nation simulation game. You create your own country, fashioned after your own political ideals, and care for its people. Either that or you deliberately torture them. It's really up to you. Created by the author of Jennifer Government, Max Barry. [more inside]
Kevin Drum May Have Broke the AWOL Story
George W. Bush got 4 credit points (which are earned for retirement) for serving time on October 29, 1972. He received this on an ARF statement of points earned. What is an ARF statement? I let Drum answer that.
The answer, as you can see from the top line, is that it is an ARF document, as is this record from 1973-74. So what is ARF? I asked Bob Rogers, a retired Air National Guard pilot who's been following this for some time, and what follows is his interpretation of what happened.
ARF is the reserves, and among other things it's where members of the guard are sent for disciplinary reasons. As we all know, Bush failed to show up for his annual physical in July 1972, he was suspended in August, and the suspension was recorded on September 29. He was apparently transferred to ARF at that time and began accumulating ARF points in October.
[more inside]
A survivor speaks. On July 20, 1944, a group of German army officers tried to change the world. Planting a bomb to kill Hitler, the had troops prepared to sieze key parts of Germany's governing apparatus and end the war in Europe; this highest profile of the attempts to kill Hitler was also famous for the thoroughness of the killing of those related to the plot, but one man survived.
Go on, be a punk!
Okay, I have a new time waster, this little bit o' Flash silliness allows you to crank out a punk ditty of your own creation. Plus, as an added bonus, you get weird cut scenes with blue penguins. Perhaps I'm just having a slow day...
WARNING: EXPLICIT LYRICS! NOT WORKSAFE WITHOUT HEADPHONES!
No longer do you need to have that awkward breakup talk. If you've had enough of your significant other, send them a DumpMonkey!
Will Hung is 2004's Bubb Rubb
I've watched American Idol once and found it repulsive (not in a "i don't own a tv" way, in a "I loathe 'reality' programming" way) but Will Hung has rapidly become my new hero.
Geeky Civil Engineer student by day, international mega-celebrity by night.
The petition to put him back on the show has almost garnered 23,000 signatures.
He bangs.
50 Coolest Apes Ever! The latest in Year of the Monkey zippity-doo! (via Retrocrush via Fark, don't hate me because I'm a fan of the Boobies tag) You'd think that #48: Chim-Chim would have beaten out #39: Bear from BJ and the Bear, but perhaps this is more, in the Lettermanian tradition, exhibition than competition. Nevertheless? Enlightening and uplifting.
The Catholic Encyclopedia Written in 1908 and hardly enlightened by today's standards, I still find this an interest resource to have around, whenever looking for the party line on issues like Angels, Demons, Transubstantiation, the Holy Sepulcre, and Masons. Also hosted (and not for the faint of heart) is the complete Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas.
Dabbles in Sand. (direct Link to Windows Media video)
George W. Bush: The Plato of the White House
William Saletan of the Slate compares President Bush to Greek philosopher Plato.
Plato believed that what's real isn't the things you can touch and see: your computer, your desk, those empty barrels in Iraq that Bush thought were full of chemical weapons. What's real is the whole idea of these things. The idea of a computer. The idea of a desk. The idea of a grave threat posed by Saddam Hussein. Whether you have a computer or a desk, or whether Saddam had chemical weapons, doesn't really matter. What matters is the larger truth. The abstraction is the reality.
The Eyes Have It: photographer John Goto's digitized galleries kept me happily occupied for hours. There is fascination after fascination here, from the pastoral landscapes portrayed in 'High Summer' to the urban setting of 'Gilt City'.
Spot The Fake Smiles.
Can you tell who
is trying to play you?
(blatantly stolen from MeFi, with a smile, of course...)
February 08, 2004
World of Illusion: Community Bridge, is not what it seems to be, but the creation of muralist William M. Cochran, who transformed a plain concrete bridge into an elaborate trompe l'oeil structure.
Monkey Sex Song My pal Discothekid was "awoked up" by his upstairs neighbor having "monkey sex." He posted this song in response.
Kikkoman Extravaganza.
Soy sauce hero will save us all from Banana and Shrimp. (japanese flash, via brainwashed)
There is an English translation of one of Kikkoman's adventures here.
The Art of Susan Kare Those of you (possibly very few) not already aware of her will be shocked at the influence she has had on your daily life. Here's an interview, too.
The Horniest Apes on Earth
via Game Girl Advance
If John Kerry And John Edward Had A Baby. Scroll down for Phresh Photoshop Phun!{via Wonkette.com} [more inside]
February 07, 2004
Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life A serialized graphic novel. With robots! Yay! It's good.
From the Pigeons Viewpoint: After a ten-year study, scientists conclude pigeons navigate by using landmarks such as highways and railroads. (It has been known for some time that pigeons use magnetic and celestial patterns to find their way}.
Atrios Tires of the Pro-War Hypocrisy
Atrios writes a suberb essay on how the violence is getting worse in Iraq and the hypocrisy the the pro-war people. He targets warbloggers, Paula Zahn, Andrew Sullivan, Ahmed Chalabi, Jim Hoagland and liberal hawks.
It's aided and abetted by the "liberal hawks" who for the most part seemed to just want to prove they have bigger testicles than the rest of us. But, why the hell should anyone listen to them? They were wrong, and I don't really care about reading their tortured essays of self-evaluation.
I say it didn't matter whether or not Saddam Hussein had WMD. The Bush administration don't need a reason 9in their collective minds.)
I knew science would explain this.
Create your own conspiracy theory. Or try the Warner Bros. option, the pull-down menus, or the Internet Conspiracy Generator. Or, lastly, the George W. Bush Conspiracy Generator.
419! Small wonder these Nigerian types keep sending those stupid emails: the returns can be spectacular!
Thanks for the Memories: a whimsical and charming Flash perspective on our ties to Saddam Hussein. Enjoy.
Qwerty.
[more inside]
Valentine's Day Cards For The (Dis)Enchanted. {via Boing Boing}
Quality Control.
The plant was also perturbed that they "did not hear the title in some songs." It seems that a logical doublecheck for most WEA manufactured albums is to match up the lyrics with a tracklist of titles. It had to be explained that the songs on this album don't necessarily feature the titles shouted out in the choruses. . . .
Manufacturing was undertaken at the customer's risk.
An amusing story from Damon and Naomi's website.
[more inside]
February 06, 2004
What the hell? Anyone wanna buy a Bulgarian scammer? Only 25 available...
Too good to let MeFites have all the fun. The Kiss. [more inside]
Now tonight you're going to twice be entertained by them. Right now, and again at the end of our shew. Here they are, The Beatles! Let's bring 'em out!
Curious George: Laptops The dreaded expensive computer purchase [more inside]
Weapons of Mass Destruction Related Program Activities Song The scary thing is sounds like what passes for a country music hit these days. When Johnny Cash couldn't get radio play for his last album then something is wrong.
American domestic propaganda during World War II. Fascinating pamphlets including "Do You Want Your Wife to Work After the War?" and "Can the Germans Be Re-educated?" As the site says: "The American Historical Association produced the G.I. Roundtable Series to help win World War II. Or so they were led to believe. In fact the U.S. Army sought the pamphlets as part of a larger effort to prepare for the transition to the postwar world, and represent a novel effort at social control. "
Curious George Follow up on this Question. I'm trying to create ten second samples of the beginning of songs. [more inside] [more inside]
Avant-garde art, Iraqi style. From Kevin Sites's blog, the story of an Iraqi propaganda artist who is now free to paint what he likes.
Wozzat you say? Words to the left of us, Words to the right of us, Words may look familiar but fuddle the wits of monkeydom -- Wot does it mean? [more inside]
Just in time for valentines day! The talking Ann Coulter action figure.
touchy-feely : sock puppet paintings. Not getting any comments over at MeFi, but these are worth a look. [via Mefi]
Ass Hunter
In this online game you are a hunter going against savages that only have one thing on their minds.
NSFW
American Porn: Women Exploiting Women.
Lizzy Borden, director/producer at Extreme Associates:
Q: So what is this scene going to have in it that's controversial?
A: A girl being kidnapped, being forced to have sex against her will, being degraded. Being called "a c***, a whore, a slut, a piece of s***." Then being butchered at the end, and spit on. She's being degraded.
From the PBS Frontline documentary American Porn.
Caution: Explicit content.
Tori's Tiffany Registry. Maybe we could all pitch in and get her something nice?
Paul Volker's Gallery of 1000 Beasts
Well, 408 and counting.
Individual beasts apparently not linkable?
Can someone show me how?
Illegal Art: Freedom of Expression in the Corporate Age.
A special edition of the magazine Stay Free.
The Illegal Art Exhibit will celebrate what is rapidly becoming the "degenerate art" of a corporate age: art and ideas on the legal fringes of intellectual property. Some of the pieces in the show have eluded lawyers; others have had to appear in court. (via World of Stuart)
[more inside]
February 05, 2004
John Hannah and Lewis "Scooter" Libby Named In Plame Probe
I always thought that the Valerie Plame leak came from Dick Cheney and not Karl Rove. Boy Genius hasn't slipped up yet. Cheney has been messing up from the Energy Commission to the Iraq war.
According to these sources, John Hannah and Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, were the two Cheney employees. "We believe that Hannah was the major player in this," one federal law-enforcement officer said. Calls to the vice president's office were not returned, nor did Hannah and Libby return calls.
None of this matters since Glenn Reynolds officially declared the Plame leak bogus.
"So you want to win a monkey, well you have come right place."
400! What does the future hold for the island of misfit monkeys?
Woman strikes oil in her toilet. Not sure if this will affect efforts to drill in ANWR, though.
Bizarre music: Beatles goes opera Revolution - An Operatic First by Madame Cathy Berberian
Monkey mind Thoughts pull attention here and there and may seem to take us out of meditation altogether; they become obsessive. Feeding the monkeys is buying into the show of proliferating thought, reifying it, being led off by it. [...] How does reflective awareness of thought and ideas differ from tossing bananas to the monkeys? If you don't meditate, feel free to substitute in its stead any activity that demands focus.
Slashdot is down As of 11:30 PM CST Slashdot, responsible for bringing down so many sites, appears to down with a 503 error which is indicates it is out of resources. I blame SCO which been down for while because of the latest internet parasite. [more inside]
Andrew Sullivan - Fact-checker of the NY Times
Andrew Sullivan tore former New York Times editor Howell Raines and new asshole for the Jayson Blair's plagiarism. The only problem with that is he let Ruth Shalit and Stephen Glass do the same thing on his watch when he was editing the New Republic. Charles Lane had to clean up his mess. The Sullen Man was also fired from the New York Times for his own sloppy reporting and then told the Washington Post he was fired because of his blog.
Someone explain to me why people take this man seriously.
They Made me Do It. Donnie Darko inspired graffiti. (flash required, unfortunately).
We heart David LaChapelle, photographer.
The Asian Imposter Hall Of Shame. Vaudeville and then Holywood had a distinctly odd way of portraying Asians. And you still wonder why Margaret Cho is pissed?
February 04, 2004
All your friends are doing it. Don't you want to be cool too? - I've created a MonkeyFilter group at orkut.com. Any monkey who wants an invitation to join orkut send me an email. [more inside]
Monkey sperm alert Science has finally seen the light -- the fact that monkeys willl rule the world. [more inside]
China is tightening its control of the internet with the help of technology from foreign companies. Nevertheless, internet activism seems to be growing and many activists are successfully evading the government's control.
Extreme swearwords! Mr. Johnathan Lydon, aka 'Johnny Rotten', said a very rude thing on television last night. 28 years after his mate did a similar thing. [more inside]
CBS Will Run Whitehouse Medicare Ads
The White House is using taxpayer dollars to promote (the already passed) Medicare Bill during an election year.
It gets weirder.
The new Medicare ads urge citizens to call 1-800-MEDICARE to hear more about the new law. And in "Big Brother" style, when you call that number you have to actually say out loud "Medicare improvement" in order to get information. The information you then receive is filled with distortions. The hotline claims the new Medicare "is the same Medicare you have always counted on" – failing to disclose that the law includes provisions which try to force more seniors into private HMOs.
Looking for a little geek love this Valentine's day? If chocolate sushi is out of your price range, a set of nerdily playful panties may be in your weblogging princess' future.
Of course, be sure to visit the HTTP Status Codes so you can make your own jokes.
Evil 2 the Core "Hostile undergarments for smiling professionals." Hate your job? Your boss? Your clients? Say so on your undies! Ah, that's better.
Pet Sitters For Dean With the entire independent professional petsitters community behind him, how could he possibly lose?
The Hayao Miyazaki Web. [more inside]
Novello Finotti's Surreal Marble Sculpture
Whoa.
Carl De Keyzer's God Inc., Homo Sovieticus, India, and History Paintings.
Caution: Trunk Monkey. For those of you not fortunate enough to live in the Portland area, please enjoy the best commericals in the world.
Miles Iz Ded
The video for the Afghan Whigs song Miles Iz Ded never aired uncut on MTV (if it aired at all.) The video contains a guy making out with a person in a chicken costume, a woman cutting her wrist open, graphic herion use, sex in a bathroom stall and all around weirdness.
In case you haven't figured out: NSFW.
An LJ Book is a book with all your entries extracted from your LiveJournal!
The mandlebrot fractal reinterpreted
L'il G n' R Yes, it's the world's first Guns n' Roses kids' tribute band. [more inside]
VOTE!: Who Has The Messiest Desk?
February 03, 2004
Judge sentences man to listen to opera
The 213 Things Skippy is No Longer Allowed to Do in the U.S. Army - Once upon a time, there was a SPC Schwarz stationed with the Army in the Balkans. SPC Schwarz was either very clever or very bored; but probably both, since he managed to attempt or be warned about 213 things he wasn't allowed to do. He collected those things into a hilarious list and posted them to the web. [more inside]
Video Game Tablature - beat Super Mario Brothers using this helpful World tablature guide. Also comes with instructional videos.
"If you knew sushi before, we'd like to show you sushi as you've never imagined it." Forget that heart-shaped box of chocolates, give gorgeous candy sushi this Valentine's Day!
The Heraldic Dictionary Interesting description of the building blocks of heraldic crests. See also International Civic Arms for your hometown's / home canton's own.
Curious George: I have too many post-it notes...[database help] [more inside]
Oodles of O's!
If you like Google, just wait until you meet the family: porn based cousin Booble, the semetic twin Koogle and the somewhat confusing Inner Goodle. You'll love the whole kit and kaboodle.
A partnership... It was a good speech...much more than the state of a union... Welcome to Canada.
Everything you ever wanted to know about filthy chavs. I've decided these people are the British equivalent of everyone in my hometown.
Techie Names Baby Version 2.0
Version 2.0 was born Tuesday at Holland Community Hospital, and the proud parents took him home Friday.
He's got his father's JavaScript and his mother's CSS.
February 02, 2004
Orbital Mind Control Lasers Is the U. S. government reading or controlling your thoughts? How about the wily Russians? You are not alone!
Things People Said. Sometimes ordinary people can be drop dead funny. I personally like the tourist ones.
"By now you must have heard of dipping plush bears in a vat of hot scented wax, but if you haven't, you are in for a real treat and a great fund raising idea!"
As with most things, it started out
on the web but Mingering Mike has attracted the attention of the masses.
Now that the spotlight is on, can he keep in Pynchon-mode?
Can anybody direct me to a recording of this guy live?
Groundhog Day
Today is Groundhog Day in the U.S. In honor of my favorite day of the entire year, here are some fun links:
Groundhog Day songs
Groundhog Day birthdays
Groundhog Day the movie
Groundhog day blog
Canadian Army needs French translators in Afghanistan
Got French? It seems Quebec is well represented in the Canadian armed forces over in Afghanistan, but Afghan interpreters who know French are in very short supply. Questions that arise to me:
a) Aren't most Canadians bilingual? (This may be a naive question I know--I just thought they were more multilingual then we neigbours to the South)
b) Will French-speaking people be irked that there's a surplus of English-speaking translators, but few French ones.
C) Would you be willing to work as an interpreter in a combat zone for $12/hour?
Discuss. (-:
Ever wished you had a second brain? You do.
Ever wanted to play with that skeleton in your doctors office? Thanks to the good folks at Vector Lounge you can.
The Lord of the Rings as written by Click and Clack, Damon Runyon, Johnny Cash and more.
Robots of the Victorian Era And, since you ask, of course I have never heard of steampunk.
The Velvet Elvis Store-- Create Your Own Velvet Portrait of The Big Guy, Yourself, or Your (Astonished & Frightened) Pals... [more inside]
Pressure builds for Bush decision on Iraq WMD probe
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House and key congressional leaders on Sunday negotiated details of an independent commission to investigate intelligence failures before the Iraq war and a senior Democrat said the probe should include whether decision-makers misused information.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when we practice to deceive.
The MiniBosses.
They play only music from classic Nintendo Entertainment System videogames. And they are rock stars. (via The World of Stuart Forum)
[more inside]
February 01, 2004
IranFilter is another MeFi clone which is focused on Iran and is maintained by Hossein Derakhshan (AKA hoder.)
3ms Pedals.
Not only do they look insanely cool, they also create some of the craziest effects you'll ever hear. Most interestingly, they're handmade by a non-profit anarchist artistic collective, and if you can't afford the rather steep price tags, they'll accept bartering or let you make one yourself. Now that's hardcore.
if guitar effects pedals don't interest you, go look at the fat naked Elvis instead.
A Bonobo Chimpanzee wrote Infinite Jest with the help of 13-year-old Mark Leyner.
From an interview in Salon with Leyner:
Q. In the novel, you as a 13-year-old, with your partner, a genetically altered bonobo chimp, write quite a few novels during your spare time.
[more inside]
Monkey Fight. Monkey Battle. Monkey Puncher. Another Monkey Fight. Monkey Fighter. Monkey Pirate vs Monkey Ninja. Monkey and Monkeytron vs A Dinosaur. The End of Monkey Fight. [more inside]
Monkeybrains
Which of your hemispheres in more dominant? Play 20 questions to find out.
Also, if you feel like helping an undergrad link personality and aesthetic preferences, help him.
Monkeyfight? Sissyfight.
I _know_ this is older than dirt (I remember playing this in early '00),but this MUST be new for someone, right?
Don't tease me. I'll tattle.
I hear a voice
Interesting duplication of a notorious experiment in psychiatry, raising questions scientific, social and epistemological.
An Encyclopedia of Images and Design. "The Visual Telling Of Stories Archive"; everything but the kitchen sink, with lots of little nooks and crannies to explore....
