John Balance dies... Sad news for fans of Coil or Throbbing Gristle...

Powell resigns, more to follow... Ashcroft, Powell, and at least four other cabinet members will leave the Bush team.

Random Frog Generator Do you like frogs? So do I. This, then, is the Random Frog Generator, which lives in the memory, much like cheese.

The Great American Smokeout! Every year the American Cancer Society promotes the Great American Smokeout (November 18th). Perhaps this is the year YOU should make the decision. more inside

Geek Me Up, Scotty - A working Star Trek Communicator that's a bluetooth hands-free device for your cellphone. There's only one, it's a prototype, & don't tell me that you don't want one, because you do, even though it's utterly geeky. more inside

Paxil Babies
This recent monkeyfilter post inevitably led to this. more inside

More. Great claymation by Mark Osborne, it was nominated for an academy award in 1998. [16 MB Quicktime, via Waxy.]

MONKEYFILTER MUSICBLOG LISTING 2.0
So from about town, a few of you are probably aware that I am an musicblogger (AKA mp3 blogger AKA audioblogger).
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'Zappa': Freak Out! (NYT reg. req.) "Who are the brain police?" A review of a new book about Dweezil and Moon Unit's dad, by Camille Paglia, who IMO can be a bit of a self-aggrandizing provocateur-for-provocation's-sake, but who stays out of the way and writes a solid review in this case.

Ugly Bands! Rock and Roll has never looked so ugly.

Snarlious George... I have been a snarlfest for a few days here, and my best defense is usually to trot out a few sayings or cliches that make me consider not being such a crab-mistress. Mine are; To thine ownself be true. This too, shall pass. Shut the fuck up; I'm right and you aren't. Life is short. What works for you?

How To Make A Killing Off the Stock Market: Become a U.S. Senator A new study showing that the stock picks of Senators, as revealed in their financial disclosure forms, outperformed the market by a whopping 12 percent. Insider trading anyone? Although it's not clear whether any laws have been broken, Alan Ziobrowski, one of the study's authors says "there is cheating going on, at a 99 percent level of confidence."

Wheels of fire. Clapton to reform Cream. more inside

> FUCK FROG What happens when you swear at text adventure games? You'd be surprised.

Perverse pleasure is the best revenge. Get it while you can. more inside

Play With Your Food A Japanese site dedicated to the art of hot dog sculpting, courtesy of Nippon Meat Packers, Inc. Includes instructions, for any of our more ambitious monkeys. [SFW, despite the name of the company.]

Iraq Veterans Against the War. "When somebody else comes out and speaks, the average American hears him and goes, oh he’s just some college-educated tree-hugger that doesn’t really know what’s going on in the world. But when the average American hears a veteran . . . people listen, because this is somebody who has been on the ground, knows what the realities are, knows what these things mean." more inside

Ridiculously Old Computer Manual I had almost forgotten that one component of computers used to be the punch-card. Jesus, what a world. more inside

Curious George I hesitate to even ask, but there has been some discussion on Data Lounge about photos some photos circulating on the Intarweb. Photos of Dick Cheney with a visible hard on. Any idea where a monkey might find such a photo? My google-fu isn't helping.

Crack Babies Talk Back: how the media created a powerful myth, what science is learning now, and (most importantly) what happened to a few of the children behind it. more inside