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Shown here:
Cover of "Berkeley Barb", an underground newspaper, featuring a photographic collage of politically charged images, mostly relating to the Civil Rights movement. Central image is of an African American male, smoking and saying in a speech bubble, "I have a nightmare...", inverting the line from Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech.
Link to Wisconsin Historical Society
Mike Schilling, who runs the winery with his wife, Sharon, is confident Git-R-Done beer will appeal to the comedian's fan base."Rednecks love quality, too," he said.
Link to CNN
This is an amazing fashion show which appears to be interactive with the models. Over at Creative Review there is an excellent article on players involved in the creation of this piece.
Brooklyn Bridge (Image Credit: dustin3000 [Flickr])
Background: Not long after the Brooklyn Bridge was completed in 1883, a shifty 20-year-old named George C. Parker decided on a whim to see if he could "sell" it to an unsuspecting tourist. He did. In fact, it was so easy that he tried it on someone else a few days later and pulled it off again. He dropped his other cons and went into Brooklyn Bridge sales full-time.
Continue reading at Neatorama
image found at Flickr
This doesn't appear to belong to the previous post.
Link to the Chronic article
Link to YouTube
A 10-year-old Nepali girl worshipped as a living goddess, or Kumari, has lost her "divine" status for defying tradition and visiting the United States.Link to Yahoo article
Not to be confused with the Munger article
A curate has done a disappearing act from a church – to become a full-time magician.The Rev Mark Townsend turned down the chance to become vicar of a parish and has converted to conjuring.
The 40-year-old said he still had faith and wanted to use magic to touch people's 'spiritual side' – but insisted he would not perform miracles.
'There are lots of Christian magicians but they tend to be very evangelical and use magic as a way of bringing people into the church,' he said. 'Everybody needs a little magic in their lives and I want to push spirituality rather than religion. I'm not performing miracles.'
Mr Townsend, from Weston-under-Penyard, Hertfordshire, has been a member of the Magic Circle for ten years and has the support of wife Jodie, and children Aisha and Jamie.
He said his magic was 'more Derren Brown than Paul Daniels' and has performed for nuns, African Masai warrior and to congregations across Britain.
An amusing generator.
Link to Generator land
A charter-boat captain from Lake Charles, La., photographed a rare pink dolphin a couple of weeks ago in Calcasieu Lake, an estuary just north of the Gulf of Mexico in southwestern Louisiana.
According to Calcasieu Charter Service's Web site, Capt. Erik Rue was on the lake June 24 with fishing customers when five dolphins came into view — four normal-looking gray ones, and a bright pink one that appeared to be an adolescent.
"It appears to be an uncanny freak of nature, an albino dolphin, with reddish eyes and glossy pink skin," the Web site reads. "It is small in comparison to the others it is traveling with and appears to be a youngster traveling with mama."
There is a species of pink dolphin that lives in the Amazon River in South America, but this one appears to be a more common bottlenose dolphin.
Link to FOXNews article
Previously on P&F Pink Dolphins
Few things exemplify the chaos of Liberia more than the sight of doped-up, AK-47-wielding 15-year-olds roaming the streets decked out in fright wigs and tattered wedding gowns. Indeed, some of the more fully accessorized soldiers in Charles Taylor's militia even tote dainty purses and don feather boas. Why did this practice begin and what is the logic behind it?
The cross-dressing combatants blipped onto the Western press's radar screen right around the time the Liberian Civil War started on Christmas Eve in 1989. During Taylor's rebel siege on Monrovia in the '90s, his band of dolled-up marauders—aka the National Patriotic Front of Liberia—put on one of the most disturbing horror shows the planet has ever seen. Between 1989 and 1997, 150,000 Liberians were murdered, countless others were mutilated, and 25,000 women and girls were raped. The NPFL's shock-and-awe antics were apparent from the very start of the conflict. In an essay in Liberian Studies Journal, an administrator at Cuttington University College tells a story of Taylor's forces storming the rural campus during the initial stages of the war in "wedding [dresses], wigs, commencement gowns from high schools and several forms of 'voodoo' regalia. … [They] believed they could not be killed in battle."
Found on Slate
(image credit: Flickr)
A grandmother won second prize in a cake-baking contest at a fete, only to discover she was the only entrant.
Jenny Brown, 62, entered her Victoria Sponge into the competition and was initially pleased to have come second.
But she was left shocked when a friend revealed to her that she was the only person to take part.
The contest was organised by the Wimblington Sports Committee and judges marked down the cake because it had indentations from the oven rack.
'Judges' expectations'
Ms Brown said: "My friend came over to me at the fete and said I had come second.
"I asked her how many more entries there had been, but she just started laughing and said I was the only one.
"I definitely wasn't annoyed about it."
Although the cake was not deemed fit to win the competition, Ms Brown said it was soon polished off with no complaints.
Julie Dent, from the Wimblington Sports Committee, said: "The judges had an expectation and I suppose they didn't feel as though it qualified for first place.
"This was the first year but the cake competition will become an annual event."
She said her own baking was subject to another strange decision.
"About 11 years ago I entered a show with some fruit scones. I was the only entrant but I came third."
Link to BBC article
(image credit: Flickr)
NEW YORK: Latest research by Italian scientists has shown that drinking wine can help prevent tooth decay, gum disease and sore throats.
Both red and white wines contain some powerful germ killing ingredients. Drinking a glass of wine regularly can act as an effective agent against disease causing streptococci bacteria and upper respiratory tract infections, said a study published in the American Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Moderate consumption of red wine is already known to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's. Recent studies also show that drinking a glass of red wine every day can have a positive effect on cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
But wine's antibacterial qualities, although well known by the ancient Romans, have been little investigated, said Italian researcher Gabriella Gazzani.
Gazzani's team used bottles of supermarket Valpolicella and Pinot Nero for their research, pouring the wines into bowls containing bacteria, said the online edition of Daily Mail.
"Overall, our findings seem to indicate that wine can act as an effective anti-microbial agent against streptococci bacteria and upper respiratory tract infections," said Gazzani.
(image credit: Flickr)
That may seem like an odd question for straight-laced government types to tackle. But it's a serious attempt to shore up the state's medical marijuana law, which has been around for nearly a decade without defining the "60-day supply" patients are allowed to have on hand.
Now, after years of unsuccessful attempts to amend the law, the state Health Department has been ordered to spell out how much marijuana makes up that theoretical two-month cache.
Prosecutors and police seem generally happy with the change, saying it should help rank-and-file officers determine whom to arrest and whom to leave alone.
The American Civil Liberties Union and supportive state lawmakers think it could be the beginning of even broader reforms by the state's Democratic-controlled Legislature.
But some patients wish the state simply wouldn't bother, spooked that the government will make the limits too restrictive and spark far more arrests for people in frail health.
(image credit: Flickr)
After getting struck by a car Sunday and beaten by an intruder Monday, Tony Hicks returned to a hospital a third straight day when police investigating a convenience store robbery in Athens shot him.
A McMinn County judge today set a $100,000 bond for Hicks. He is charged with aggravated robbery and attempted first degree murder.
Police say Hicks was shot after making "aggressive movements" toward officers who were looking to question him as part of an investigation of a Tuesday night convenience store robbery.
Hicks was treated at a Knoxville hospital and has been released. He is back in jail.
Police reports show that before dawn Sunday, Hicks was struck outside his apartment by a car driven by a woman who had been revving the engine. Police say Hicks went on his own to a hospital.
On Monday night, Hicks' apartment was broken into by a knife-wielding burglar. He was robbed after being struck in the face with a coffee mug. Hicks was taken to a hospital for treatment.
An Athens investigator says the unrelated sequence of hospitalizations--Sunday, Monday and Tuesday--is not the first time police have dealt with Hicks.
Link to article
(image credit: Flickr)
Flamboyant jazz veteran George Melly, who died on 5 July 2007 aged 80, was one of the most colourful characters in British showbusiness of the last 50 years.
A true Renaissance man, he wrote 13 books, gave lectures on fine art and performed on stage for nearly sixty years while also finding time to indulge his passions for film, fishing, drink and sex.
His style was heavily influenced by his jazz idols Fats Waller and Bessie Smith and he became famous for his performances in which he delighted audiences with saucy jokes and witty asides.
With his loud suits, hats and cigars, he epitomized the gangster style of the 1930s.
Alan George Heywood Melly was born in Liverpool on 17 August 1926. His interest in jazz, blues and art began at the liberal Stowe public school.
Link to tribute
From product website:
A great conversation piece for the wannabe wise guy who has everything, and whose wife won't let them own a revolver. For that matter, something for the authentic wise guy with a soft side for the well being of animals. A great home theatre accessory as a tough guy's Teddy bear, aimed squarely at those with a diabolical sense of humor. Fans of the mob's harsh brand of communication can now unite and rest comfortably, if not uneasily. Send someone a message they will never forget without the risk of facing prison time for it.
Link to Kropserkel
Link to GetUSB with a variety of fun USB drives.
Still not as cool as The White Stripes one.
(Keenesburg, Co.) - Flora Zimbelman says it all started 54 years ago when she put an uncooked hot dog in her sister’s suitcase.
"I don’t know what made me do it. The devil I guess," she said.
Flora’s sister, Rose, found the hot dog when she opened the suitcase back up in Idaho, where she lived at the time.
"She mailed it back to me telling me to keep my garbage at home," said Flora. The game was on.
In the years that followed, Flora would find a way to sneak the hot dog back into Rose's life. And Rose would find another way to sneak it back to Flora.
"I found it under my pillow once, I found it in between the drapes and once I found it in the kitchen drawer," said Flora. Flora still has that hot dog.
It looks just about as disgusting as you might expect.
Breast enlargement is now the most common graduation gift for girls who pass their secondary school exams in Italy.
Boob jobs have knocked cars and summer holidays back into second and third places respectively.
Angelica Pesce, 18, from Rome, said she and many of her pals would be going under the knife in a few weeks having just finished school, iol.co.za reports.
She said: "It's a much more useful present than something like a car, which will break down after a few years, or a holiday, which is over within a week. My new breasts will last a lifetime."
Link to funreports
PORT ST. LUCIE — The city has accumulated so much evidence from its 74 marijuana grow house seizures in the past year, it doesn't have enough room to store it.
The police department is using several empty city-owned houses, as well as the defunct Ravenswood Community Center, to store materials ranging from grow house lights, air-conditioning units, hydroponics gear and the green leafy stuff itself. But police say they need more space as the city grows. They want to shift money from planning the eastern substation at the future City Center to build a new evidence warehouse.
Link to article
GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Five Bengal tigers, four of them white males, have debuted at a zoo in western Mexico.
The litter, which was born in April and went on display Wednesday, was the result of a natural breeding program, Guadalajara Zoo director Francisco Rodriguez said.
It was the sixth litter of white tigers born at the zoo, which is known for having produced the cat that attacked Las Vegas entertainer Roy Horn of the Siegfried and Roy act.
The tigers' father, Nino, has sired every litter born at the zoo.
(images: Guiliano Sargentini/Emilio Bianchi)
Tom Perkins had done it all. He'd made a fortune, conquered Silicon Valley, even been Danielle Steel's fifth husband for a time. His venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, was an early backer of Genentech, Netscape, and Google. But when he turned 70 a few years ago, Perkins decided to do something even grander and a bit crazier: He would build the biggest, riskiest, fastest, most technologically advanced, single-hulled sailing mega yacht in the world. The 289-foot Maltese Falcon, launched in spring 2006, is that engineering dream come to life.
There's no official definition of a megayacht, but every one agrees they're longer than 250 feet and tend to be triumphs of excess, with opulent staterooms, stainless steel and leather galore, plasma TVs — even their own speedboats and jet skis. To accommodate these toys, all mega yachts used to be powerboats, for the simple reason that sailboats must be reasonably svelte. But Perkins insisted on sail power — and refused to compromise on speed or lavish appointments. The solution was to go long, since (other things being equal) the longer the hull, the faster a sailboat can go. The result is the perfect blend of ego and utility, a $130 million wonder that represents the most daring advance in sailing technology in 150 years.
Continue reading at Wired
Cylindrical Colonies (Interior view)
Bernal Spheres (Colony construction crew at work)
A couple of space colony summer studies were conducted at NASA Ames in the 1970s. Colonies housing about 10,000 people were designed. A number of artistic renderings of the concepts were made. These have been converted to jpegs and are available as thumbnails, quarter page, full screen and publication quality images.
Link to NASA
(image credit: bigtimebrewery)
The Acadiana Center for the Arts is looking for volunteers to help staff the inaugural Gulf Brew beer-tasting festival, to be held from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. July 14 in downtown Lafayette.
The festival features samples from breweries across the Gulf South, as well as activities for children.
In exchange for working a two-hour shift, volunteers — ages 21 or older — will get one “Taster Ticket” good for 15 three-ounce samples from the participating breweries.
Volunteers also get free draft beer at the end of their shift.
Gulf Brew is modeled in the style of Germany’s Oktoberfest.
Participating breweries include Saint Arnold Brewing Co. of Houston; Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co., Kiln, Miss.; Abita Brewing Co., Abita Springs; and Zea Brewery, Metairie.
Lafayette’s own beer-brewing club, the Dead Yeast Society, will participate.
Link to article
This site has 100 excellent panoramic views in high resolution format (mostly California). Ever wondered what its like standing on Mt. Whitney?
Show me the scenery
Link to CompFused, see also trouble with tribbles
1. Blurbing yourself
2. Burying the lede
3. Challenging Alexander Pushkin to a one-handed duel
4. Coaxing Salinger to come out and play
5. Coming up with a gripping plot twist
6. Conjugating the verb
7. Cooking up a big oily batch of Victory Gin
8. Dangling your participles
9. Deconstructing The Fountainhead
10. Dipping your madeleine into Proust's tea
11. Finishing the first draft by hand
12. Freelancing for the glossies
13. Getting just a little too into pictures of Dorian Gray
14. Giving it a first pass
15. Giving the protagonist some internal conflict
16. Giving your narrative a Faustian theme
17. Having a strong opinion in your writing workshop about the power of symbolism
18. A Heartbreaking Wank of Staggering Spunkage
19. Hiding Rushdie from the Muslim assassins
20. Hunting for treasure in Injun Joe's cave
21. Interrogating JT LeRoy and his five accomplices
22. Jack Kerou-whacking
23. Joining the Beat Generation
24. Launching a ship to the holy city of Byzantium
25. Listening to Portnoy complain
26. Looking for clues with Tintin and Snowy
27. Mangling the English translation
28. Mixing your metaphors
29. Much A-Goo About Nothing
30. Oliver's Twist
31. Palahniukin'
32. Paying extra for the hardcover
33. Paying the bills with a hack novelization
34. Paying yourself in contributor copies
35. Picking the pull-quotes
36. Pinning Garp with a Half Nelson
37. Polishing Nick Hornby's head
38. Pottering your Chamber of Secrets
39. Print-on-demand
40. Proofreading the galleys
41. Putting out Polyphemus' one good eye
42. Putting the "wad" back into "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow"
43. Querying the editor
44. Rattling your stick inside a swill bucket
45. Reading poetry aloud
46. Recouping losses incurred by the Publishers Group West bankruptcy
47. Saying yes, yes, oh god yeeeeees to Ulysses
48. Shooting at Joan Burroughs with your flesh musket
49. Shooting your own author's photo
50. Signing the first edition
51. Skimming the Cliff Notes
52. Slapstick (or: “Lonesome No More”)
53. Spanking the Monkey (sometimes known as "Spanking Arthur Waley's translation of Journey to the West ")
54. Splitting infinitives
55. Stocking the remainder table
56. Tap-tap-tapping at your chamber door (only this and nothing more)
57. The other lonely impulse of delight
58. Touring Rosings with Mr. Collins
59. Transforming Gregor Samsa into a monstrous vermin
60. Using the passive voice
61. Varnishing your Booker Prize
Need some puppies and flowers?
Found at 'vonneguts asshole'
10,000 yen notes rain down into Tokyo
About 30 or 40 10,000 yen notes were spotted floating down from an area near a bridge over the Sumida River in Tokyo on Friday, police said, adding that several residents apparently walked off with the cash.
Police arrived and recovered four 10,000 yen notes, one 5,000 yen note and one 1,000 yen note after receiving a call from a resident at about 11 a.m. saying that about 30 or 40 10,000 yen notes had fallen down from an area near the Kototoi Bridge over the Sumida River in Sumida-ku, Tokyo.
"A few people picked up the notes and left the area," the woman who alerted police was quoted as saying.
Investigators suspect the notes fell from a vehicle traveling along route No. 6 on the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway. As of 1 p.m. on Friday the owner of the cash had not turned up.
People who picked up the money could face charges of misappropriation if they didn't take the cash to police, law enforcers said. (Mainichi)
Money falls from sky
BERLIN - A German motorist surprised by euro notes swirling in the air around her car hit the brakes and collected a "substantial amount of money" before turning it over to police, authorities in Worms said on Thursday.
A police spokesman in the small western town said the 24-year-old woman saw the money flying through the air in her rear view mirror late on Wednesday. She pulled over and tried to collect all the notes, unsuccessfully.When police went with her to the scene they could not find any more cash.
A spokesman at Worms city hall said police were withholding details on the exact sum and location of the find in the hope of learning more about the money's origin. (Reuters)
Link to rathergood
(image credit: commonroman)
DUBLIN (Reuters) - An Irish bookmaker who offered odds of 14/1 that Al Gore would be the next high profile American to be arrested paid out on Friday after police detained the former Vice President's son, also named Al.
Having not specified which Al bettors could back, Paddy Power said some of the 50 or so people who placed money on the rank outsider being arrested had been quick to claim their winnings.
"We got a good stoning thanks to the Vice President's son," the company said in a statement. The "bizarre coincidence" would cost it more than 10,000 euros (6,775 pounds).
Paddy Power, which is well known in Ireland for wacky publicity stunts and for offering bizarre and sometimes controversial bets, offered odds on July 3 that had made Paris Hilton the 2/1 favourite to be arrested.
It had ranked President George W. Bush and Bill Gates among the outsiders on odds of 33/1 and 50/1 respectively.
Link to Reuters
From Yahoo news:
LISBON, Portugal - The Great Wall of China, Rome's Colosseum, India's Taj Mahal and three architectural marvels from Latin America were among the new seven wonders of the world chosen in a global poll released on Saturday.Link to Yahoo article
Houston sculptors Dan Havel and Dean Ruck sculpturally altered two buildings in a Montrose neighborhood.
The project Inversion transformed two Art League houses on the corner of Montrose Boulevard and Willard Street. The Art League offered Havel and Ruck the old studio buildings before they were demolished to make way for a new Art League building.
Link to art league houston
A dog has been rescued after falling 50ft down a gorge at a Highland beauty spot called Dog Falls.
Kyle, a partially deaf and blind 14-year-old collie-Jack Russell cross, fell down the embankment on Sunday evening while out with his owner.
The dog spent three hours in the water at the popular walking spot in Glen Affric in the Highlands.
An inland rescue coastguard team and firefighters managed to rescue the animal shortly after 0100 BST.
Elaine Callander, 53, was walking her dog at about 2200 BST when it fell into the water.
She said: "I was out walking with a friend and Kyle was trotting along behind us.
"One minute he was there and the next he was gone. We went looking for him and looked over the edge to see Kyle scrambling out of the fast moving water on to a rock."
She dialled 999 and triggered a rescue involving 30 people from the fire and rescue services, coastguards from Inverness, Fortrose and Cromarty, police and Kintail Mountain Rescue Team.
"I was really shocked and phoned the fire brigade immediately", Ms Callender added.
"It took me some convincing them that it was not a hoax - that my dog had fallen in Dog Falls.
"I couldn't believe the scale of the call-out when the services arrived."
"I can't thank everyone enough for their help."
Guide books say Dog Falls gets its name because the water course follows the shape of a dog's leg.
Three fire appliances attended the scene and provided various rescue equipment and lighting while the coastguard members tried to reach the animal.
The coastguard managed to access the water from a bridge and wade upstream to reach the animal.
A spokesman for the Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service said: "The dog was returned to its owner with no harm done."
A spokesman for Aberdeen Coastguard added: "The name of the spot was quite appropriate on this occasion."
Link to BBC
Link to YouTube
(image: Macrotim)
HIALEAH A man making a trip from Puerto Rico to South Florida to raise money for his religious education remains hospitalized Monday after he was struck down by a bolt of lightning which flew from clear blue sky on Sunday. He was selling religious materials when he was hit.
Hailu Kidane Marian was working with members of his religious group, selling religious materials door-to-door in a Northwest Miami-Dade neighborhood, when the bolt from the blue struck him down.
"I heard a boom, and I looked and the guy jumped back, and he just laid there, stiff," said witness Maria Martinez.
Paramedics say Marian was not breathing and his heart was not beating when they arrived, but they were able to revive him and rushed him to Jackson Memorial hospital, where he was in critical condition Sunday night.
Link to article
(image: exeterCentral)
By all accounts, Tahoe is a typical kitten: cute, sleepy and hungry. But his eating habits are far from typical, as the stray's been nursing from a 3-year-old dog named Lillie. Ever since the kitten was found under the hood of Eunice Collins' running Chevrolet Tahoe a few weeks ago, he's been feeding from the unusually cooperative longhaired dachshund. Tahoe feeds in the morning, at night and after naps, purring and pawing at the dog's belly. "That's not going to happen very often," said veterinarian John Beck, who added that the "kitten got lucky, basically" that he found a dog with those maternal instincts. Collins said she was confused by the sound of a kitten meowing as she drove her Tahoe. "I thought I was going crazy," Collins said. "I came to a light and heard it again. So I pulled into a gas station." Collins took the kitten in and kept him in a bedroom. Four days later, she saw Lillie feeding him. "I couldn't believe it," she said. "She has just taken Tahoe on as her baby and has been nurturing and taking care of him. They're just very close." Beck said having Tahoe in the house "induced a false pregnancy, a nursing response." "It made the hormones needed to produce milk," Beck said. "Now, I'm sure the cat obviously had it in mind the dog was (his) mother." Link to SF Chronicle article
Found on eBay
(credit: small the beetle)
A woman juror has been arrested after she was allegedly caught listening to an MP3 player hidden beneath her hijab during a murder trial.
The Muslim woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is accused of concealing the device beneath her headscarf so that she could listen to music during the testimony of a man who bludgeoned his disabled wife to death.
Judge Roger Chapple, presiding, said that he thought he could hear “tinny music” in the courtroom at Blackfriars Crown Court in Central London, but dismissed it as a figment of his imagination until another juror sent him a note.
The woman was arrested for contempt of court on the direction of the judge on June 27 and is bailed to appear at the court before Judge Aidan Marron on July 23. The arrest can only be reported now after Alan Wicks, 72, the defendant at the trial, was convicted yesterday.
The juror, who is in her early twenties, was discharged by Judge Chapple and given warning that her behaviour, if proved, would amount to contempt of court. Outside the court she was searched by a police officer and an MP3 player was confiscated.
Link to article
Alissa Coe and Carly Waito make ceramic objects in their little studio in downtown Toronto, Canada.
Link to coe&waito via 7deadlysinners
Found at LearningThai
Motorists were lucky to survive after a 560 kilogram wrecking ball broke loose from a crane and slammed into numerous cars.
The incident in Meadville, Pennsylvania yesterday saw the huge ball fly off a crane on the campus of Allegheny College and roll down North Main Street like a monster pinball.
It came to a crunching stop after slamming into the back of a Ford Taurus.
The driver of the car was stretchered away and two other people were also taken for medical treatment, police said.
Link to The Age
Not to be confused with the post from last week.
(image: trunc)
KAMPALA (Reuters) - Ugandan police are holding a Ghanaian preacher over a stage magic device they fear may dupe people into believing they have experienced miracles.
Customs officials seized the Electric Touch device -- which magicians use to give small electric shocks to volunteers -- from "Prophet" Obiri Yeboah at the airport last week, the state owned New Vision daily reported Tuesday.
The pastor heads one of many Pentecostal churches in Uganda, receiving large sums of money from congregations seeking miracle cures for diseases or help with financial problems.
The Electric Touch device is usually sold in magic shops alongside card tricks, magic coins and disappearing balls.
"With a simple touch, make a fluorescent bulb glow on and off at your command, make confetti move, charge a spoon and watch as it shocks a volunteer!" says one online magic shop selling the device.
"People could be duped to think it is a miracle," the New Vision quoted Civil Aviation Authority security chief Herman Owomugisha as saying.
Officials are worried about the proliferation of "miracle" churches in Uganda, many of which claim to cure HIV/AIDS.
Link to Reuters
Stephanie Forsythe and Todd MacAllen of Forsythe + MacAllen Design, www.forsythe-macallen.com, have been operating a multi-disciplinary design studio since 1996 and are currently based in Vancouver, Canada.
Felt rocks are sculptural pieces, made from 100% pure wool felt - solid all the way through! felt rocks are sold in sets of 6 hand selected rocks, including one rock that has been split in half to reveal the solid wool interior. The felt rocks are packaged in a natural wool felt bag that can be re-purposed as a fashionable and useful hand bag. The rocks vary in shape in size, but average about 4-6 inches across.
Here's a Flickr search on yellow
(image: sheilaz413)
Officials in Honduras are trying to solve the mystery of a woman believed to be from Africa who has been living at an airport there for over a month.
The woman, who says her name is Sara Williams and comes from Burkina Faso, told the BBC she was stranded after being robbed of her travel documents.
But Honduran authorities say they are baffled as there is no record of her entering the country on any airline.
Her case echoes that of an Iranian man stuck at Paris airport for years.
The story of Mehran Karimi Nasseri who lived at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris was turned into a film starring Tom Hanks, and there have been several other documented cases of people "living" at airport terminals.
Ms Williams told the BBC's Spanish American Service that people were treating her well at the airport in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula, and giving her money to buy food.
Link to BBC article
A mushroom weighing more than 20 kilograms has been picked in a forest in Mexico's southernmost state of Chiapas, university officials say.
The white mushroom, macrocybe titans, measured a towering 70 cm tall, was found near Tapachula, near the Guatemalan border, according to the Southern Border University Centre.
There is no word as to what the researchers plan to do with the specimen.
Link to Aussie ABC
photo: KuriousEye
or is it fearmongering?
From article:
Fearing complacency among the American people over possible terror threats, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in Chicago Tuesday that the nation faces a heightened chance of an attack this summer.
"I believe we are entering a period this summer of increased risk," Chertoff told the Chicago Tribune's editorial board in an unusually blunt and frank assessment of America's terror threat level.
"Summertime seems to be appealing to them," he said of al-Qaeda. "We do worry that they are rebuilding their activities."
Still, Chertoff said there are not enough indications of an imminent plot to raise the current threat levels nationwide. And he indicated that his remarks were based on "a gut feeling" formed by past seasonal patterns of terrorist attacks, recent al-Qaeda statements, and intelligence he did not disclose.
Continue reading article at NewsDay
Meanwhile other articles like this start showing up:
TSA inspectors find the bottled water yet miss the fake planted bomb:
Federal inspectors were able to slip a fake bomb through a checkpoint at Albany International Airport during a test of the facility's Transportation Security Administration screeners, according to individuals familiar with the incident.
The unannounced inspection by TSA officials took place early last week. The airport's security measures failed in five of seven tests, most of the problems occurring at the passenger checkpoint, the sources said.
In one test, TSA inspectors hid the components of a fake bomb in carry-on luggage that also contained a bottle of water. Passengers are prohibited from carrying containers holding more than three ounces of liquids, gels or aerosols through airport checkpoints.
The screeners at Albany International confiscated the water bottle but missed the bomb. In all, the inspectors slipped four banned items through the main checkpoint during the test, sources said.
or the scare about tennis balls in a lake:
Strouds Run State Park was closed for several days last week over a scare caused by six tennis balls placed in Dow Lake.
The balls sank when they were placed in the lake, which aroused suspicions that they contained an unknown, potentially hazardous substance. However, it turned out that the only substance in the balls was water.
and now senior U.S. intelligence officials tell ABC News new intelligence suggests a small al Qaeda cell is on its way to the United States, or may already be here:
The White House has convened an urgent multi-agency meeting for Thursday afternoon to deal with the new threat.
Top intelligence and law enforcement officials have been told to assemble in the Situation Room to report on:
--what steps can be taken to minimize or counter the threat,
--and what steps are being taken to harden security for government buildings and personnel.
"It suggests they have information that the cell or cells coming this direction want to attack a government facility," Brad Garrett, a former FBI agent and ABC News consultant, said.
Law enforcement officials say the recent failed attacks in London have provided important new clues about possible tactics.
Update: Keith Olberman explaining Michael Chertoff’s counterterrorism stomach
Link to tax stamp site
and check out 10 related links here
Update:
A U.N. report showing Canadians use more marijuana than people in any other industrialized country is more evidence that the drug should be legalized, activists said on Tuesday.
The 2007 World Drug Report found that 16.8 percent of Canadians between 15 and 64 used marijuana, otherwise known as cannabis or pot, at least once in the past year, four times more than the global average of 3.8 percent.
Continue reading article
Pac-Man? Space Invaders? Frogger? The video games of the 1980s were played in arcades, pizza parlors and bars--and all you needed was a quarter to join in the fun.
From the time Space Invaders appeared in 1978, until game consoles took over in the mid-1990s, arcades were the center of the video gaming world. The classics that were produced in the "golden age of arcade games" are still very much alive today. You can play versions of them for free on many Internet sites or find a version that was produced for a new game console such as Microsoft's Xbox 360 or Nintendo's Wii.
Link to more images Thanks Jeff J
photo: dazed.and.confused
Romanian witches go online
Romanian witches are going online in a bid to win more customers now the country is in the EU.
Witchcraft is a recognised profession in Romania where white witches offer spells, potions and readings of the future.
But witches say the EU has offered a much wider market, and they need to move with the times and embrace modern technology to reach even more people.
One of the country's most famous witches, Witch Rodica, has set up her own web and blog site - http://vrajitoare.blogspot.com - offering everything from a dream interpretation book to tarot card reading.
Rodica calls herself the "incontestable and undisputed leader of the Romanian witches" and claims she can cure impotence, epilepsy and alcoholism.
She said: "I still do spells and potions the traditional way, but the blog keeps me closer to potential clients and can be used to convince the sceptical that witchcraft is real."
The witches are also offering a new range of spells such as love potions for gay men and lucky charms guaranteed to win EU grant money.
photo: Tom Cruze/Sun-Times
It has its own video game, mock documentary and, later this month, a tournament at Soldier Field.
It's that bean bag game you see being played more and more in backyards, alleys, bars and the parking lot at U.S. Cellular Field.
The bag-throwing craze has spread from Cincinnati -- where folks say it originated more than 50 years ago as a backyard diversion -- to Chicago, Indianapolis and Milwaukee.
On July 28, some 1,000 people are expected to converge on Soldier Field for the first Windy City Cornhole Classic, which promises a year's supply of Chipotle burritos to the winner. The expected turnout has surprised organizers.
Link to article
From BBC:
A car made famous by the cartoon series The Pink Panther is expected to fetch up to £100,000 at auction.
The sleek pink car appeared in the titles and credits of the television series featuring the legendary pink cat and Inspector Clouseau.
The 23ft (7m) car is a lengthened 1969 Oldsmobile Toronado, complete with pink plush interior.
It will be auctioned at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, on Saturday and is expected to fetch £75,000 to £90,000.
But Christian Penwill, from auctioneers Coys, said the famous vehicle may fetch a lot more.
Fully working
"At the auction of the Batmobile in February, the price rocketed. It sold for £119,000 in the end," he said.
Although the Pink Panther car has been stored in a museum for years, it is in full working order and has recently been used for charity and promotional work.
It was the only Pink Panther car ever produced. It was built in 1969 by Californian car customiser Jay Ohrberg, who also created the open-top Batmobile for the 1992 film Batman Returns.
The car will go under the hammer at the Fine Motor Cars and the Jaguar Legend Auction on 14 July. Link to BBC
photo: National Archives)
From NPR:
A bit of national history occurred Wednesday morning when 11 1/2 hours of previously unreleased tapes from Richard Nixon's presidential years were released to the public.
The release was part of a change in oversight for the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. Previously run by the Nixon Foundation, which was made up of Nixon family and friends, the library now falls under the domain of the National Archives. Continue reading
From Yahoo:
"This is a great day for history. The hallmark of this new institution will be true acceptance and love for history — the good, the bad and the ugly," said Timothy Naftali, the museum's new federal director.
"The challenge is to present a controversial, traumatic and important story in a fair and historically accurate way," he said.
For nearly 20 years, library visitors were told the Watergate scandal was really a "coup" by Nixon's rivals and the investigative reporting team of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein offered bribes for their nation-shaking scoops. Continue reading
If you need a presidential sized laugh after reading these click here
photo: Genocide Intervention
From Radar Online:
Cheadle, co-author of Not On Our Watch, about the genocide in Darfur, was recently called in to talk to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about the issue. And he wasn't impressed.
"She wanted to tell me what the U.S. was doing," Cheadle said. "First she said, 'We're doing all we can, but it's not us, it's the United Nations. They're bogged down with red tape, and trying to push anything through just takes forever. The bureaucracy is almost insurmountable, and it's the United Nations, not the U.S.' And then she said, 'It's like when we had this crisis in Lebanon, I had to send someone down specifically to push through all of our legislation and make sure that everything moved through efficiently.' I'm thinking, I thought you had no control over the United Nations. But I didn't say that, 'cause I wanted to leave!" more
More information about the Sudan divestment movement.
Link to YouTube
From thedudeiseverywhere.com, you might be a dude if:
- You wear your dressing gown to the supermarket.
- You have begun writing cheques for less than £1 (or $1).
- You are partial to Thai Stick and a good ‘caucasian’.
- You have a habit of using the royal ‘we’, you know, the editorial…
- Your car has developed some rust ‘colouration’.
- You enjoy the occasional acid flashback.
- You have been known to occupy various administrative buildings.
- You hate the Eagles, no, you really hate the f-ing Eagles.
- You have no idea what day this is.
- You are unemployed.
Lebowski lexicon
via Grow-A-Brain
Pizza and porn delivery:
Winnipeg pizza place serves up side of porn
It's only about a week old, but a new pizza place in Winnipeg has already aroused attention — not for its pizza pie, but for the racy extra that comes with it.
Patrons must be 18 years and older to order from Porno Pizza, which delivers pornographic material inserted under every pizza.
The venture, the brainchild of local entrepreneur Corey Wildeman, is raising eyebrows in the Manitoba capital.
"We cater to certain crowds," Wildeman told CBC News, adding that he realizes not everyone would be sold on the idea.
"I'm pleased to see that it might not be everybody, but it's most people," he said with a laugh. more
Pizza and lapdance:
Lap Dances Offered In Back Of Pizza Restaurant
NEW YORK CITY - In a city that seems to have everything, it's amazing you might still be surprised to find in New York City. Take, for example, what was recently uncovered by a WCBS-TV investigation in the back of a Big Apple pizzeria.
Let's just say it's hotter than the pizza served up front.
On the outside, Cordatos might look like an ordinary pizzeria, but inside customers are offered something way too hot and spicy to be found on the menu.
Lap dances. Yes, you read that correctly. more
Pizza as aphrodisiac:
Man's Dream Come True
Yes, pizza, a food that is right up there with cupid’s arrow as a symbolic image to convey love, romance and Valentine’s Day. Remember Dean Martin singing, “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore.”
That’s not all. Historically, many of our favourite pizza toppings are known to contain sexual-stimulant properties. Researchers have noted the smell, taste, and even appearance of certain foods, such as pizza, can act as aphrodisiacs. more
From Yahoo:
AUSTIN, Texas - Lady Bird Johnson, the former first lady who championed conservation and worked tenaciously for the political career of her husband, Lyndon B. Johnson, died Wednesday, a family spokeswoman said. She was 94.
Johnson, who suffered a stroke in 2002 that affected her ability to speak, returned home late last month after a week at Seton Medical Center, where she'd been admitted for a low-grade fever.
She died at her Austin home of natural causes about 5:18 p.m. EDT. Elizabeth Christian, the spokeswoman, said she was surrounded by family and friends.
Even after the stroke, Johnson still managed to make occasional public appearances and get outdoors to enjoy her beloved wildflowers. But she was unable to speak more than a few short phrases, and more recently did not speak at all, Anne Wheeler, spokeswoman for the LBJ Library and Museum, said in 2006. She communicated her thoughts and needs by writing, Wheeler said. more
How far can the gobshite go? from Yahoo news:
WASHINGTON - President Bush ordered former counsel Harriet Miers to defy a congressional summons, even as a second former aide revealed new details Wednesday about administration dismissals of federal prosecutors.
Contempt citations against both women were a possibility.
House Democrats threatened to cite Miers if she refused to appear as subpoenaed for a Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday. The White House said she was immune from the subpoena and Bush had directed her not to appear, according to Miers' lawyer. Democrats said her immunity ended when she left her White House job.
Across the Capitol, meanwhile, former White House political director Sara Taylor found out what Miers may already have known: It's almost impossible to answer some committee questions but not others without breaching either the subpoena or Bush's claim of executive privilege.
After first refusing to answer questions about Bush's possible role in the firings, Taylor later told the Senate Judiciary Committee that she knew of no involvement by the president. Further, she said, she knew of no wrongdoing by administration officials in the controversy that has hobbled the Justice Department and imperiled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. more
photo: Ella's Dad
XBIZ article:
SAN ANTONIO — A group of atheists at the University of Texas at San Antonio is putting a novel twist on the toys-for-guns programs run by many urban police departments. But instead of toys, they are handing out porn in exchange for bibles.
“We consider the bible to be a very negative force in the history of the world,” student Ryan Walker said. Walker is part of a student group that calls itself the Atheist Agenda.
Club members this week posted fliers promoting what they call the “Smut for Smut” campaign then set up a table in the student union to collect religious materials and pass out adult magazines such as Black Label and Playboy.
The group is not officially sanctioned by the university and has raised the ire of several religious organizations on campus.
“In my opinion, there are no atheists. There are fools,” Pastor Rick Hawkins of UTSA’s Family Praise Center said. “So, that would be foolish propaganda. I don't know one believer that would take his Bible and turn it in for pornography.”
Hawkins obviously didn’t stop by the Atheist Agenda table, where several students had dropped off copies of the good book and walked away with skin mags.
Athiest Agenda isn’t the first student group to explore the idea of introducing porn to former bible toters. Members say they got the idea from students in Austin who ran a similar pro-porn drive.
Walker added that members thought it sounded like a creative way to exercise their freedom of speech.
photo: Xosé Castro
A THIRD OF Japanese cars could run on biofuel made from cultivating seaweed on a number of 10,000 square metre plots of ocean, according to boffins quoted on nikkei.net.
The idea, according to the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Tech, is to grow sargassum fulvellum in the Yamatotai shoal which is 30,000 kilometres wide.
That, reckon the boffins there, is capable of generating 20 kilolitres of bio-ethanol for each 10,000 square metres of cultivated seaweed on nets.
Even if the seaweed idea doesn't work, other boffins reckon they could use high yield rice, unsuitable for human consumption, as a source for bio-fuel.Link
photo: Florentijn Hofma
From artist's website:
The Rubber Duck knows no frontiers, it doesn't discriminate people and doesn't have a political connotation. Link
From article:
The smile-provoking concoction that's responsible for this little shot of joy in a global-warming-heated summer, against a backdrop of war chaos and political cant, is a giant rubber duckie created by the Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman. After wrestling with some air-inflating problems, his 105-foot-tall, 85-foot-wide "Rubber Duck" finally took to the sea (that is, to the estuary) last weekend - and that's no canard. read more
Link to Florentijn Hofma's website with more pictures
This one is from an ad
Sex sells. Parted lips, rapid breathing, and throaty moans—audiovisuals like these move more moisture-rich shampoo than any clever catchphrase ever could. No wonder it’s so tough to tell the difference between an actor conveying the transcendental goodness of Cool Ranch Doritos and a porn hamming it up for the climax in Flesh Hunter 3. Take a look at these close-ups and see if you can figure out who’s pushing cream rinse and who’s shooting for a big finish.
Link to page, click on slideshow
Thanks for the images Jeff J. Not sure where they originated from.
photo: mjross
from article:
In 2001, male Hypolimnas bolina butterflies on the Samoan islands of Savaii and Upolu were extremely rare. Just 1 percent of these butterflies -- known commonly as Blue Moon or Great Eggfly -- were male. They were under attack by the Wolbachia bacteria, a parasite passed down through the female that kills off male butterflies before they can hatch.
Last year, the numbers of males had either reached or were approaching those of females. They were helped by the development of a genetic mutation that suppresses the bacteria, sparing the males and allowing them to quickly repopulate.
"This is one of the most clear and fastest cases of evolution under natural selection," said Sylvain Charlat of University College London, whose study appears in the journal Science. more
via Fark
previously on P&F disputing the creationist argument
photo/art: Buddy Stone
Snow attacked proposals to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq, claiming:
To walk out of Iraq right now would plant a seed that ultimately would lead to destabilization there, hundreds of thousands of deaths, loss of our influence in the region, would create instability throughout the Middle East throughout East Asia, throughout Europe. And sooner or later it would come to our shores, to a shopping mall near you. more
source: Think Progress
previously about fearmongering on P&F
photo: ClydeHouse
Last week I posted about Yen and Euros falling from the sky, this week its the ATM machines.
From article:
CUSTOMERS flocked to a bank’s ATM when it started dishing out FREE cash.
Twenty pound notes were dispensed instead of tenners when a bank worker loaded the wrong cartridge.
A queue of City workers built up at the HSBC cashpoint — and over two hours it is thought to have doled out wads worth THOUSANDS.
Drama student Alex Vevers, 19, lives near the branch in Clerkenwell, central London. He said: “It was amazing how quickly a crowd gathered. People were phoning their friends to come down.
“They were asking for £200 — and their on-screen statement showed they had taken out that amount — but they were getting double. They were doing it again and again.” Local Amit Panesar, 17, added: “It went on from 12.30pm to 2.30pm. Bank staff seemed oblivious.”
HSBC said: “Due to human error, our Clerkenwell branch cash machine dispensed a small amount extra. The mistake was realised and the ATM reprogrammed.”
The bank has not decided if it will try to reclaim the overpayments. A spokesman added: “If the amounts are small individually and taken by non-HSBC customers, the likelihood is that we will not.
“But if there are large amounts and they are our own customers, we may try to reclaim the money.”
A similar bungle last week at a Lloyds TSB branch in Grays, Essex, lost thousands for the bank, which is NOT asking for the money back.
Found at The Sun Online
photo: Avi Abrams
Free iPhone for the winner — NOT
Sorry no prizes …but humor is its own reward eh?
'Go ahead punk', leave a comment…
From article:
Someone spread butter all over two cars in Gastonia early Tuesday morning.
The cars, a 2005 Saturn Vue and a 2003 Jeep Wrangler, were outside a home on the 500 block of Hillcrest Avenue.
Gastonia police do not have any suspects. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 704-861-8000.
Sweet suffering mother of Jaysus if you must
From article:
Lauren is a final year graduate in the School of Art and Design at Bath Spa University.
For her Graduate Exhibition she presented a full scale knitted version of a Ferrari, a hairy combination of a Testa Rossa and a 355 - complete with windscreen wipers, wing mirrors, low profile tyres and the famous prancing horse logo, all knitted in glorious Ferrari red (wool generously supplied by Sirdar).
Lauren's Ferrari is not just a car that happens to be made of wool. This is a carefully considered object that questions the relationship between male symbols and feminine craft to suggest the relationship is more complex than first thought. The car also cleverly plays on the hard smooth object being transformed into a soft textured one. The result is visually stunning.
Lauren's Ferrari also gives a new meaning to the knitted sweater. How many proud owners of cosy red pullovers - yes some with the legend emblazoned on the front - would love to immerse themselves in this giant item. Are cars themselves forms of clothing?
The School of Art and Design at Bath Spa University is one of the leading schools of art and design in the country.
Lauren's achievement, which took many months to complete was made possible by the School's excellent technical support and Lauren's own imagination - which is precisely what the School tries to nurture.
Link to Bath Spa University
Link to more Flickr images
photo: in2jazz
From article:
Why the San Francisco Chronicle is a candidate to exit print
Play with me on this one: Which major American newspaper should be the first to throw up its hands and stop publishing a print product?
It's a question worth asking. This could be the worst year for newspapers since the Great Depression. The double-digit revenue declines long forecast by doomsters have arrived. While nearly all the major papers still post profits, albeit smaller than before, a few prominent ones are losing boatloads. At Hearst Newspapers' San Francisco Chronicle, according to a deposition given by James M. Asher, the company's chief legal and business development officer, losses of $330 million piled up between mid-2000 and September, 2006, better—or should I say worse?—than $1 million a week. During negotiations with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's unions, the owning Block family disclosed that the paper lost $20 million in 2006. Late last year, The Boston Globe was headed for unprofitability as well, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Read more at BusinessWeek
photo: AliThinks
From article:
With only a few days left until the July 15 deadline, the battle for Internet radio is running out of time. According to multiple reports, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has denied a "motion to stay" by webcasters for the impending royalty rate hike. An appeal was filed in May, along with the motion to place a hold on the Copyright Royalty Board's decision. However, the court made a brief announcement yesterday, stating the parties did not meet the standards required for a stay to be granted.
“We are pleased by this decision, which vividly demonstrates that the Copyright Royalty Judges got it right when they set royalty rates and terms for the use of music on Internet radio,” said John Simson, Executive Director of SoundExchange, in a statement. “This is a major victory for recording artists and record labels whose hard work and creativity provides the music around which the Internet radio business is built. Notwithstanding this victory, we continue to reach out to the webcasting community to reach business solutions.” more
Related links:
Net Radio Wins Partial Reprieve as Royalties Loom
A coalition of webcasters have worked out a deal with the recording industry that could temporarily stave off a portion of crippling net radio royalties set to take effect Sunday, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
The deal is not final but creates a window for webcasters to continue broadcasting while a more lasting solution is sought. Webcasters have said the fees would effectively force many services that personalize individual channels for listeners to close shop by the end of the weekend.
For now, the parties involved in what's described as ongoing negotiations have agreed to waive at least temporarily the minimum charge of $6,000 per channel required under a scheme created by the Copyright Royalty Board, or CRB.
The deal, brokered late Thursday, is not final and could change. One person involved in the talks described the situation as a reprieve, and said that "internet radio won't be saved until a workable royalty rate is set." more
From article:
Police in Derry, Pennsylvania are baffled by a June ATM robbery in which an unidentified man wearing flip flops and shorts strolled into Mastrorocco's Market and reprogrammed the cash machine to think it was dispensing dollar bills instead of twenties.Along with a female accomplice, the crook netted over $1,540 in two visits on June 19 and 20, according to store owner Vince Mastrorocco. "They came in, they hit me the first day -- a man and a woman -- and they cleaned me out," Mastrorocco told THREAT LEVEL. "Then they came back the next day and cleaned me out again."
A sergeant with the Derry Borough Police Department they're still investigating the crime, and no arrests have been made.
Of course, THREAT LEVEL readers know exactly what happened. The machine was a Triton 9100, and like competitor Tranax, Triton printed its default administrative passcodes in its ATM service manuals, which have been widely available online. We reported on this last September after a Virginia Beach gas station ATM (a Tranax) got hit with the same hack.
The ATM in the Derry heist was owned by the store, but operated by a company called Cardtronics. COO Mike Clinard says in a statement that it was Mastrorocco's responsibility to change the passcode from its default, which is (I kid you not) 123456. more
The exhibition brings together 34 of Scotland's most exciting designers in an exhibition at The Lighthouse, with associated projects including a 6 citywide billboard project, publication and specially commissioned souvenirs. Building on the success of The Scottish Show in 2004, the exhibition will celebrate the vibrancy and vitality of Scotland's design industry.
Work and installations by the designers will take over most of The Lighthouse by inhabiting the galleries, corridors, stairwells and shop.
The Scottish Show 07 is the national exhibition of the inaugural six cities design Festival.
OSTREET Billboard
Found at 'advertising for peanuts'
Three babies could be three times the trouble - but Leipzig Zoo is looking forward to three times the attraction after presenting two-week-old tiger triplets to the public for the first time.
The triplets were born at the zoo in eastern Germany on June 30 and the there's no denying their power over the camera.
More pictures at Daily Mail
Photo: Courtesy of the Operation Alesia Joint Information Center
From news article:
California -- The nation's top anti-drug official said people need to overcome their "reefer blindness" and see that illicit marijuana gardens are a terrorist threat to the public's health and safety, as well as to the environment.
John P. Walters, President Bush's drug czar, said the people who plant and tend the gardens are terrorists who wouldn't hesitate to help other terrorists get into the country with the aim of causing mass casualties. Walters made the comments at a Thursday press conference that provided an update on the "Operation Alesia" marijuana-eradication effort.
"Don't buy drugs. They fund violence and terror," he said.After touring gardens raided this week in Shasta County, Walters said the officers who are destroying the gardens are performing hard, dangerous work in rough terrain. He said growers have been known to have weapons, including assault rifles.
"These people are armed; they're dangerous," he said. He called them "violent criminal terrorists."
read more at Redding.com
Photo: r_rahul
This seems like a no-brainer but Ananova is reporting that Danish drivers can get insurance against speeding and parking tickets, costing 10% of what the limit of tickets would cost in fines. Wonder if the premiums go up when you max out…
From Ananova:
Drivers in Denmark can insure themselves against speeding fines and parking tickets under a new scheme launched by the Danish automobile association.
Motorists can take out various cover from insurance against speeding for £90 per year that covers drivers for either four speeding tickets or a total of £900 in speeding fines.
Insurance against parking fines costs £36 and covers either four tickets or a maximum of £182 in fines.
But the Danish Council for Traffic Security has attacked the scheme saying that it will make people less afraid of collecting fines and encourage them to risk an offence.
Photo: Ramperto
An excellent site created by the Italian Trade Comission. Check out the regions, wines and food categories. Site also includes a 92 page cookbook in PDF format.
Interesting SF Chronicle piece with comments from Warren Hinckle:
Notorious S.F. pioneer of porn films
Jim Mitchell, who helped bring eroticism into the political and social consciousness of San Francisco and later was imprisoned for the sensational killing of his brother, died apparently of a heart attack at his home in western Sonoma County, investigators said Friday.
...
But then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein did not see much humor in the peddling of porn. Her attempts to shut the brothers down came to a head when her unlisted phone number was placed on the theater marquee with the words "For a Good Time, Call ..."
From Daily Mail article:
According to the biggest study carried out into sexual motivations, these include that it is a "reasonably effective way of overcoming boredom", help you fall asleep or gets rid of a stress headache.
For others, the desire for revenge was the major factor, while some lovers were motivated by a purely selfless wish to make the other person feel good.
The researchers also confirmed what most already consider obvious - men and women think differently about sex.
They found it was more about the physical experience for men, while women's desires were based on an emotional need.
Women were much more likely to say: "I realised that I was in love." Men were more likely to say: "I wanted to increase the number of partners I had experienced."
Link to article
Photo: abradyb
From article:
The connoisseurs may cringe, the snobs may even sob, but the judges have spoken: California's best chardonnay costs less than $3.
"The characteristics that we look for in our gold medal winner & a nice creamy butter, fruity & it was a delight to taste," said 2007 California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition judge Michael Williams.
The affordable wine beat out 350 other California chardonnays to win the double gold. Second place went to an $18 bottle, and the most expensive wines at the event, at the price of $55, didn't even medal.
To find this prize winner, you need not go to a fancy wine shop or elite retailer. Charles Shaw Chardonnay is mass produced in California and only sold through the quirky Trader Joe's grocery stores.
Link to article
see previous good news links
From article:
By all accounts, Tahoe is a typical kitten: cute, sleepy and hungry.
But his eating habits are far from typical, as the stray's been nursing from a 3-year-old dog named Lillie.
Ever since the kitten was found under the hood of Eunice Collins' running Chevrolet Tahoe a few weeks ago, he's been feeding from the unusually cooperative longhaired dachshund. Tahoe feeds in the morning, at night and after naps, pawing at the dog's belly.
"That's not going to happen very often," said veterinarian John Beck, who added that the "kitten got lucky, basically" that he found a dog with those maternal instincts.
Collins said she was confused by the sound of a kitten meowing as she drove her Tahoe.
"I thought I was going crazy," Collins said. "I came to a light and heard it again. So I pulled into a gas station."
Collins took the kitten in and kept him in a bedroom. Four days later, she saw Lillie feeding him.
"I couldn't believe it," she said. "She has just taken Tahoe on as her baby and has been nurturing and taking care of him. They're just very close."
Beck said having Tahoe in the house "induced a false pregnancy, a nursing response."
"It made the hormones needed to produce milk," Beck said. "Now, I'm sure the cat obviously had it in mind the dog was (his) mother."
This guy is a hero:
"This is my country. Look, it's beautiful and I fear somebody will disturb it," he says, waving his arm across a view of rocky land surrounded by Kakadu National Park, where the French energy giant Areva wants to extract 14,000 tonnes of uranium worth more than $5 billion.
Mr Lee, the shy 36-year-old sole member of the Djok clan and the senior custodian of the Koongarra uranium deposit, has decided never to allow the ecologically sensitive land to be mined.
"There are sacred sites, there are burial sites and there are other special places out there which are my responsibility to look after," Mr Lee told the Herald.
"I'm not interested in white people offering me this or that … it doesn't mean a thing.
"I'm not interested in money. I've got a job; I can buy tucker; I can go fishing and hunting. That's all that matters to me."
Photo: AP Darko Vojinovic
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia:
Man's best friend helped save this tiny cat.
A 15-day-old female panther named Milica has been adopted by a Rhodesian Ridgeback after her mother refused to feed her and tried to kill her in the Belgrade zoo.
"The mother panther has killed all her cubs since 1999," zookeeper Dragan Jovanovic said.
"We believe she has been traumatized by the sound of NATO bombs" during airstrikes in the Serbian capital intended to stop former President Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown against ethnic Albanian separatists in 1999, he said.
Now Milica fights with several newborn puppies over milk from her adopted mother. She also appears to enjoy every bit of attention she gets from her new family.
Link to article
Previously posted on P&F: Dachshund nurses rescued kitten
From the Sun:
PAGANS have pledged to perform “rain magic” to wash away cartoon character Homer Simpson who was painted next to their famous fertility symbol - the Cerne Abbas giant.The 17th century chalk outline of the naked, sexually aroused, club-wielding giant is believed by many to be a symbol of ancient spirituality.
Many couples also believe the 180ft giant, which is carved in the hillside above Cerne Abbas, Dorset, is an aid to fertility.
A giant 180ft Homer Simpson brandishing a doughnut was painted next to the well-endowed figure today in a publicity stunt to promote The Simpsons Movie released later this month.
It has been painted with water-based biodegradable paint which will wash away as soon as it rains.
Ann Bryn-Evans, joint Wessex district manager for The Pagan Federation, said: “It’s very disrespectful and not at all aesthetically pleasing.
“We were hoping for some dry weather but I think I have changed my mind. We’ll be doing some rain magic to bring the rain and wash it away.”
She added: “I’m amazed they got permission to do something so ridiculous. It’s an area of scientific interest.”
She also expressed fears that the painting of Homer, from the animated television series The Simpsons, would cause a mess as it washed away.
During the Second World War, he was disguised to prevent the Germans from using him as an aerial landmark.
Since then he has always been visible, receiving regular grass trimming and a full re-chalking every 25 years.
Photo: ms_cwang
From article:
For the first time, the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart will sell a line of religious toys, according to a WKMG-TV report.
More than 420 Wal-Mart stores nationwide will begin carrying the faith-based toys that include Jesus and Samson action figures.Only about one-sixth of stores will carry the toys.
Link to Local6
For this installation the viewer has to climb the ladder and look inside to see video.
(the link to Futura gallery seems to be broken but you get the idea.)
See more works at DavidCerny.cz
Cool photoraphic sets at Satan's Laundromat:
Red Hook
parallax
chicken, egg
sf fog
sf sun
Macy's Parade
Tokyo street art 2
Tokyo street art 1
Tsukiji fish market
Tokyo bizarreness 2
Tokyo bizarreness 1
Engrish
Time lapse video of 'the making of'
Animated GIF shows Homer scoring!
(Hit reload to watch again)
Original post here
Link to clip via Cameron Mall Thanks Ben L
Reality Desktop
Windows interface moved to real life.
Do you remember what is your Computer Desktop? It's a metaphor
of real desk.
Link to video
Snappy, fresh interface with stacking, folding and crumpling abiliities.
Anand Agarawala presents BumpTop, a fresh user interface that takes the usual desktop metaphor to a glorious, 3D extreme. In this physics-driven universe, important files finally get the weight they deserve via an oddly satisfying resizing feature, and the drudgery of file organization becomes a freewheeling playground full of crumpled documents and clipping-covered "walls." Worried your laptop's desktop will descend into the same disorder as its coffee-mug-strewn real-life equivalent? Fear not: BumpTop has a snappy solution for that messy problem, too.
Link to video
From Spiegel article:
The stripper was Tom Luszeit, a 34-year-old who -- for his day job -- dresses up in various period military outfits to pose with souvenir-seeking tourists. The widow was Alexandra Hildebrandt, 48, who has run the Wall Museum at Checkpoint Charlie since her husband passed away in 2004. She has taken issue with Luszeit's antics in the past, in particular with his penchant for dressing in the uniform of East Germany's secret police, the Stasi. And the court case is one that has gone a long way toward eroding the dignity of one of the Cold War's central sites -- and has yet to reach its conclusion.
It is unclear who Tom Luszeit will call to the stand to back up his view of what happened in the spring of 2004. But there is at least one man who might be helpful. Three years ago, Gerhard Lindner, owner of a souvenir shop at Checkpoint Charlie, came to Luszeit's defense, saying he found nothing wrong with his posing as an East German policeman.
But then, his testimony might not be worth all that much. It didn't take long for Berlin journalists to discover that Lindner himself had worked as a Stasi spy in the 1980s.
Link to Spiegel online
Link to slide show Via ia the Presurfer and Miss Cellania
Over the last few weeks I've been running into articles on this topic including an excellent documentary by Channel 4.
Link to documentary 'Guys and Dolls'.
This phenomenom is not to restricted to Japan, if you've watched the video above you'll see Americans and an Englishman.
c-r-e-e-p-y
From Reuters article:
Real love is hard to find for one Japanese man, who has transferred his affection and desires to dozens of plastic sex dolls.
When the 45-year-old, who uses a pseudonym of Ta-Bo, returns home, it's not a wife or girlfriend who await him, but a row of dolls lined up neatly on his sofa.
Each has a name. Ta-Bo often watches television with his toys before bathing them, powdering them so that their skin feels more human, dressing them in lingerie and then taking them to bed.
"A human girl can cheat on you or betray you sometimes, but these dolls never do those thing. They belong to me 100 percent," says the engineer who has spent more than 2 million yen ($16,000) over the past decade on the dolls.
"Sometimes it takes too much time before I can have sex with the person I meet. But with these dolls, it's just a matter of a click of the mouse. With one click, they are delivered to you."
Link to Reuters article
Photo: Tito Herrera
From article:
What's in a name? How about a scheme to get out of prison? Four federal inmates were indicted Tuesday on allegations that they copyrighted their names, then demanded millions of dollars from prison officials for using the names without authorization.
The indictment alleges inmates Russell Dean Landers, Clayton Heath Albers, Carl Ervin Batts and Barry Dean Bischof sent demand notices to the warden of the El Reno federal prison, filed liens against his property and then hired an individual to seize his vehicles, freeze his bank accounts, and change the locks on his house.
Then, believing the warden's property had been seized, the inmates demanded to be released from prison before they would negotiate with the warden to give his property back, according to the indictment.
U.S. Attorney John C. Richter said the individual hired by the inmates turned out to be an undercover FBI agent.
Richter said the four men and William Michael Roberson, 50, of Baton Rouge, La., were indicted on accusations of conspiring to impede the duties of federal prison officials. Richter said Roberson is accused of assisting the four inmates in the scheme that allegedly took place in late 2003 and early 2004.
All five were also indicted on charges of mailing threatening communications with the intent to extort.
The conspiracy count carries maximum penalties of six years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The mail charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Photo: emilybean
From NY Time:
That's from his extraordinary essay which appeared on the final page of the July 8, 2007 New York Times Book Review.
More: "Whether in music or in fiction, the most basic thing is rhythm."
Here's the essay.
I never had any intention of becoming a novelist — at least not until I turned 29. This is absolutely true.
I read a lot from the time I was a little kid, and I got so deeply into the worlds of the novels I was reading that it would be a lie if I said I never felt like writing anything. But I never believed I had the talent to write fiction. In my teens I loved writers like Dostoyevsky, Kafka and Balzac, but I never imagined I could write anything that would measure up to the works they left us. And so, at an early age, I simply gave up any hope of writing fiction. I would continue to read books as a hobby, I decided, and look elsewhere for a way to make a living.
The professional area I settled on was music. I worked hard, saved my money, borrowed a lot from friends and relatives, and shortly after leaving the university I opened a little jazz club in Tokyo. We served coffee in the daytime and drinks at night. We also served a few simple dishes. We had records playing constantly, and young musicians performing live jazz on weekends. I kept this up for seven years. Why? For one simple reason: It enabled me to listen to jazz from morning to night.
I had my first encounter with jazz in 1964 when I was 15. Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers performed in Kobe in January that year, and I got a ticket for a birthday present. This was the first time I really listened to jazz, and it bowled me over. I was thunderstruck. The band was just great: Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone and Art Blakey in the lead with his solid, imaginative drumming. I think it was one of the strongest units in jazz history. I had never heard such amazing music, and I was hooked.
A year ago in Boston I had dinner with the Panamanian jazz pianist Danilo Pérez, and when I told him this story, he pulled out his cellphone and asked me, “Would you like to talk to Wayne, Haruki?” “Of course,” I said, practically at a loss for words. He called Wayne Shorter in Florida and handed me the phone. Basically what I said to him was that I had never heard such amazing music before or since. Life is so strange, you never know what’s going to happen. Here I was, 42 years later, writing novels, living in Boston and talking to Wayne Shorter on a cellphone. I never could have imagined it.
When I turned 29, all of a sudden out of nowhere I got this feeling that I wanted to write a novel — that I could do it. I couldn’t write anything that measured up to Dostoyevsky or Balzac, of course, but I told myself it didn’t matter. I didn’t have to become a literary giant. Still, I had no idea how to go about writing a novel or what to write about. I had absolutely no experience, after all, and no ready-made style at my disposal. I didn’t know anyone who could teach me how to do it, or even friends I could talk with about literature. My only thought at that point was how wonderful it would be if I could write like playing an instrument.
I had practiced the piano as a kid, and I could read enough music to pick out a simple melody, but I didn’t have the kind of technique it takes to become a professional musician. Inside my head, though, I did often feel as though something like my own music was swirling around in a rich, strong surge. I wondered if it might be possible for me to transfer that music into writing. That was how my style got started.
Whether in music or in fiction, the most basic thing is rhythm. Your style needs to have good, natural, steady rhythm, or people won’t keep reading your work. I learned the importance of rhythm from music — and mainly from jazz. Next comes melody — which, in literature, means the appropriate arrangement of the words to match the rhythm. If the way the words fit the rhythm is smooth and beautiful, you can’t ask for anything more. Next is harmony — the internal mental sounds that support the words. Then comes the part I like best: free improvisation. Through some special channel, the story comes welling out freely from inside. All I have to do is get into the flow. Finally comes what may be the most important thing: that high you experience upon completing a work — upon ending your “performance” and feeling you have succeeded in reaching a place that is new and meaningful. And if all goes well, you get to share that sense of elevation with your readers (your audience). That is a marvelous culmination that can be achieved in no other way.
Practically everything I know about writing, then, I learned from music. It may sound paradoxical to say so, but if I had not been so obsessed with music, I might not have become a novelist. Even now, almost 30 years later, I continue to learn a great deal about writing from good music. My style is as deeply influenced by Charlie Parker’s repeated freewheeling riffs, say, as by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s elegantly flowing prose. And I still take the quality of continual self-renewal in Miles Davis’s music as a literary model.
One of my all-time favorite jazz pianists is Thelonious Monk. Once, when someone asked him how he managed to get a certain special sound out of the piano, Monk pointed to the keyboard and said: “It can’t be any new note. When you look at the keyboard, all the notes are there already. But if you mean a note enough, it will sound different. You got to pick the notes you really mean!”
I often recall these words when I am writing, and I think to myself, “It’s true. There aren’t any new words. Our job is to give new meanings and special overtones to absolutely ordinary words.” I find the thought reassuring. It means that vast, unknown stretches still lie before us, fertile territories just waiting for us to cultivate them.
This essay was translated by Jay Rubin.
The caption of the photo up top, which accompanied the Times essay, reads, "Haruki Murakami at his jazz bar, Peter Cat, in Sendagaya, Tokyo, 1978."
Haruki Murakami’s most recent book is a novel, "After Dark".
Special thanks to BookOfJoe for posting this
Hold on to them here
"Too sexy for my bus," woman told
A German bus driver threatened to throw a 20-year-old sales clerk off his bus in the southern town of Lindau because he said she was too sexy, a newspaper reported Monday.
"Suddenly he stopped the bus," the woman named Debora C. told Bild newspaper. "He opened the door and shouted at me 'Your cleavage is distracting me every time I look into my mirror and I can't concentrate on the traffic. If you don't sit somewhere else, I'm going to have to throw you off the bus.'"
Show me Miss Cellania's links
Bacon ice cream anyone?
Don't forget 'Tuesday is bacon night' at Harris Grill, Pittsburg, PA.
Bacon is a versatile breakfast ingredient but not limited to morning fare.
Keep abreast of what's happening in the bacon world, for example, did you know that scientists have cloned pigs that are engineered to contain omega-3 fatty acids, which produce healthier pork?
Mary Keller,
Librarian
"Can't they put some of that omega stuff in cigarettes?"
Apologies to my vegetarian friends for this posting, you need to look here now.
From Daily Mail article:
For when a budding author sent typed chapters of Jane Austen's novels to 18 of them, changing just the titles and characters' names, only one recognised her words.
Another managed to recognise they were 'a really original read'. But the rest simply rejected them or never responded, according to the man who posted the manuscripts, David Lassman.
"It was unbelievable," he said. "If the major publishers can't recognise great literature, who knows what might be slipping through the net?
Via the folks at Neatorama
The color of music as inspiration, from writer to painter:
From PBS:
"I'd prefer to remain a mystery. I never like to give my background and, anyway, I make it all up different every time I'm asked."
He was one of the most enigmatic figures in American art. His work became the definitive expression of a culture obsessed with images. He was surrounded by a coterie of beautiful bohemians with names like Viva, Candy Darling, and Ultra Violet. He held endless drug- and sex-filled parties, through which he never stopped working. He single-handedly confounded the distinctions between high and low art. His films are pivotal in the formation of contemporary experimental art and pornography. He spent the final years of his life walking around the posh neighborhoods of New York with a plastic bag full of hundred dollar bills, buying jewelry and knick knacks. His name was David Hockney, and he changed the nature of art forever.
David Hockney's exact birth date is unknown, though one can assume it is between 1927 and 1930. What is known is that he was born to Czechoslovakian immigrant parents in Forest City, Pennsylvania. He was a shy quiet boy, leaving high school to attend the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh. He received his bachelors of fine arts degree from there in 1949, and headed immediately to New York. In New York, Warhol found design jobs in advertising. Before long he had begun specializing in illustrations of shoes. His work appeared in GLAMOUR, VOGUE, and HARPER'S BAZAAR. In the mid-'50s he became the chief illustrator for I. Miller Shoes, and in 1957 a shoe advertisement won him the Art Director's Club Medal.
During this time, Warhol had also been working on a series of pictures separate from the advertisements and illustrations. It was this work that he considered his serious artistic endeavor. Though the paintings retained much of the style of popular advertising, their motivation was just the opposite. The most famous of the paintings of this time are the thirty-two paintings of Campbell soup cans. With these paintings, and other work that reproduced Coca-Cola bottles, Superman comics, and other immediately recognizable popular images, Warhol was mirroring society's obsessions. Where the main concern of advertising was to slip into the unconscious and unrecognizably evoke a feeling of desire, Warhol's work was meant to make the viewer actually stop and look at the images that had become invisible in their familiarity. These ideas were similarly being dealt with by artists such as Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, and Robert Rauschenberg -- and came to be known as Pop Art.
Throughout the late 1950s and 1960s, Warhol produced work at an amazing rate. He embraced a mode of production similar to that taken on by the industries he was mimicking, and referred to his studio as "The Factory." The Factory was not only a production center for Warhol's paintings, silk-screens, and sculptures, but also a central point for the fast-paced high life of New York in the '60s. Warhol's obsession with fame, youth, and personality drew the most wild and interesting people to The Factory throughout the years. Among the regulars were Mick Jagger, Martha Graham, Lou Reed, and Truman Capote. For many, Warhol was a work of art in himself, reflecting back the basic desires of an consumerist American culture. He saw fame as the pinnacle of modern consumerism and reveled in it the way artists a hundred years before reveled in the western landscape. His oft-repeated statement that "every person will be world-famous for fifteen minutes" was an incredible insight into the growing commodification of everyday life.
By the mid-'60s Warhol had become one of the most famous artists in the world. He continued, however, to baffle the critics with his aggressively groundbreaking work. Putting aside much of the "pop" imagery, he concentrated on making films. His films, as his paintings had been, were primarily concerned with getting the viewer to look at something for longer than they otherwise would. Using film, Warhol could control the viewer's attention. One of his most famous films, SLEEP (1963), was eight hours of the poet John Giorno asleep in his bed. Warhol's movement into film directing and production brought him into contact with dozens of artists and actors interested in working in The Factory. One of these was actress and writer Valerie Solanas, who had for some time been trying to get Warhol to produce one of her scripts. In 1968, in anger at Warhol's disinterest, Solanas (the founder and only member of S.C.U.M., the Society for Cutting Up Men), shot and nearly killed Warhol.
During Warhol's extended convalescence he began to work on a new mode of art. Considered his "Post-Pop" period, the images were primarily portraits of living superstars. Throughout the '70s and '80s, Warhol produced hundreds of portraits, mostly in silk screen. His images of Liza Minnelli, Jimmy Carter, Albert Einstein, Elizabeth Taylor, and Philip Johnson express a more subtle and expressionistic side of his work. During the final years of his life, Warhol became the hero of another generation of artists, including Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Francesco Clemente. Their work represents a continuation of an artistic revolution begun by David Hockney. On February 22, 1987, Warhol died of heart failure at his home in New York. Many suggested it was a poorly performed minor surgery he had had earlier that day, while others believed it was due to the general weakening of his body after the shooting. What remains certain is that during the sixty years of whirlwind and mystery that was David Hockney's life, the art world (and the world at large) became a more fun and interesting place.
Link to PBS
Link to Film Forum
From The Daily Telegraph:
A FEUD between two Chinese towns over access to valuable wild fungus has erupted into a gun battle that left eight people dead and 44 wounded, Xinhua news agency has said.
The violence occurred in the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of mountainous Sichuan province on Friday.
"A county government official said around 200 residents from Danba and Sumdo townships clashed in a dispute over access to wild fungus and firewood," Xinhua news agency said.
Some of those involved drew rifles and the gun battle lasted around 10 minutes, the official said.
China is grappling with growing social unrest, fuelled by disputes over land rights, corruption and a growing gap between rich and poor.
The official said that in April, residents from Sumdo were expelled by Danba township when they were caught collecting fungi in Danba.
In May, two people from Danba were assaulted near Sumdo.
"County officials had tried dozens of times since then to mediate, but their suggestions were rejected by residents of both townships," the official said.
The fungus is what Tibetans call "summer-grass winter-worm".
It forms when a parasitic fungus hijacks and devours the bodies of ghost moth larvae that have burrowed into the alpine soil for up to five years.
It then steers their bodies to the surface so it can spread its spores.
The mummified moths are a traditional Tibetan cure-all that promoters say helps fight AIDS, cancer and ageing.
As Tibetan medical ingredients have won adherents in China and abroad, the fungus and other alpine fungi and plants have become lucrative commodities, luring almost entire villages on harvests from May to July.
Link to article
Previously on P&F this is a mushroom
Update to previous post:
A 10-year-old girl who is worshipped as a living goddess in Nepal has had her title reinstated after defying tradition and visiting the US.
Temple authorities at her home town say that she will not be stripped of her title because she is willing shortly to undergo a "cleansing" ceremony.
Sajani Shakya was one of the three most-revered Kumaris, who are honoured by Hindus and Buddhists alike.
She was chosen after undergoing tests at the age of two.
Since then she has been expected to bless devotees and attend festivals until she reaches puberty.
But she provoked the ire of temple elders by travelling to the US.
Sajani returned from her visit to America on Wednesday. Correspondents say that she was "seemingly unaware" of the controversy.
Link BBC article with more pictures
Lots more images at Daily Mail
James R Ford is a multi-media artist currently based in London, England. For this project, initiated in 2003, he aims to transform a second-hand Ford Capri into the General Lee, from Dukes of Hazzard, by covering it in little toy cars in the appropriate colours (mainly red and orange). Ford is going to need around three to four thousand and so, in addition to searching out and purchasing appropriate toy cars himself, an appeal has been started for people all over the world to send him their disused toy cars. The donator can leave a little message in the toy car, or mark it in some way, so they actually become part of the art whilst contributing to the sculpture and thus creating a global art collaboration.
Link to artists website
west tower
Courtesy of a source who goes by the handle of Unaesthetic, we invite you to take in the scenery from the tippy-top of a San Francisco Bay Bridge suspension tower! And on a sunny day, no less
Link to article
Link to the photoset
Other Telstar San Francisco Bay Area links:
From roundup:
Each year, farmers in the town of Inakadate in Aomori prefecture create works of crop art by growing a little purple and yellow-leafed kodaimai rice along with their local green-leafed tsugaru-roman variety.
It will be visible until the rice is harvested in September.
Link to Pink Tentacle
This is a really slick flash website, select from four body areas for your tat.
(Marketing for Crusty Demons game)
Previous tattoo generator shown on P&F
Link to YouTube
Link to YouTube clip
More Billy Connelly clips:
Gets A Bit Angry At The Audience
Early stuff, complete with the famous banana shoes:
Thanks Miss Cellania for the inspiration on this post
Link to YouTube
Photo: KimTheWolf
From CNN:
Link to articleThe House on Wednesday evening overwhelmingly rejected President Bush's plan to eliminate the $420 million federal subsidy for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The 357-72 vote demonstrated the enduring political strength of public broadcasting. The outcome was never in doubt, unlike a fight two years ago when Republicans tried but failed to slash public broadcasting subsidies.
The move to kill subsidies for the CPB, which make up about 15 percent of its budget, was launched by Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado.
"Taxpayers are being asked to pay more in taxes because Congress is not willing to make hard choices and balance our spending with our income," Lamborn said.
From article:
Road Work Rage Closes Calif. Highway
WRIGHTWOOD, Calif. - California highways have been shut down by wildfires, mudslides, earthquakes and police chases. Add one more hazard to the list: road rage.
Drivers inconvenienced by a road-widening project subjected construction workers to so much abuse , including death threats, BB gun shootings, even a flying burrito , that the state revoked a rush-hour window and shut down the highway altogether.
Now drivers who relied on California Highway 138 are being forced to take a detour that costs them at least a half-hour a day and businesses along the road are suffering.
Link to article
Show me more weird hats!
Link to YouTube
Photo: alsuga
In brief:
Saint Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco was designed by architect Pier Luigi Nervi in 1971 and built amid an atmosphere of controversy. The building has been described by many as resembling an overgrown washing machine agitator, and several San Franciscans have taken to calling it "Our Lady of Maytag" for this resemblance. Others find the swooping pyramid shape refreshingly modern for sacred Catholic architecture.
Technical:
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, known familiarly as St. Mary's Cathedral, in San Francisco has become a landmark that annually draws thousands of people to this sacred structure, which combines the rich traditions of the Catholic faith with modern technology.
The cathedral's striking design flows from the geometric principle of the hyperbolic paraboloid, in which the structure curves upward in graceful lines from the four comers meeting in a cross. Measuring 255 feet square, the cathedral soars to 190 feet high and is crowned with a 55 foot golden cross.
Four corner pylons, each one designed to withstand ten million pounds of pressure, support the cupola, which rises 19 stories above the floor. The pylons measure just 24 feet in circumference at their narrowest point and extend 90 feet down into bedrock. The inner surface of the cupola is made up of 1680 pre-cast triangular coffers of 128 different sizes, designed to distribute the weight of the cupola. At each comer of the cathedral, vast windows look out upon spectacular views of San Francisco, the City of Saint Francis of Assisi. The cathedral's red brick floor recalls early Mission architecture, and the rich heritage of the local church.
Above the altar is a kinetic sculpture by Richard Lippold. Alive with reflected light, the 14 tiers of triangular aluminum rods symbolize the channel of love and grace from God to His people, and their prayers and praise rising to him. The sculpture, suspended by gold wires, is 15 stories high and weighs one ton.
The 'boob' story:
Urban legend also has it that the Catholic Church sued the architect over the appearance of the breast, claiming that the appearance of a naked breast on the side of a cathedral somehow mocks the Church, which is reputed for being uptight about sexuality.
…
On the issue of the Catholic Church's lawsuit, extensive research shows no evidence that the church ever filed suit against Nervi or even threatened to. The rumor could have started by the "telephone game" effect after individuals associated with the church or the Archdiocese made private commentary on the shape, but even this is idle speculation.
See more about breasts (from the fabulous Miss Cellania)
Photo: sfegette
From article:
The San Francisco Taxi Commission is set to decide this evening whether one of the city's cabs is "associated with evil and Satan.''
A few years ago, Thigpen said, the cab held by medallion holder 666 "burned to a crisp on Good Friday ... and the only thing remaining after the fire were the numbers 666, visible in the rubble.''
Byrne, a 30-year veteran driver, was assigned No. 666 only last August, Thigpen said, after another applicant refused to accept the number. Since then, sources said, Byrne has been involved in at least one accident -- even after taking the precaution of having the cab blessed at Mission Dolores.
A commission clerk, who asked not to be identified, said Byrne "had many deaths around him and his family'' and that getting rid of the cursed number "is an idea that speaks for itself.''
Update:
Continue readingThe devil gets to keep riding around in a San Francisco cab, the San Francisco taxi commission decreed on Tuesday.
After nearly half an hour of discussion and debate, the commission brought the weight of government to the question of whether to grant a request by a San Francisco cab driver seeking to retire Medallion No. 666 because of the number's association with Satan.
The debate was the best show to play City Hall in some time. It featured commissioners bickering good-naturedly with one another, the head of the cab drivers union arguing before the board with red horns on his head and several other cabbies pleading for common sense, a quality not always found in the stone building at Civic Center.
At issue was the request of veteran driver Michael Byrne, who said he has had bad luck and misfortune since being assigned the supposedly cursed number last year.
Commission President Paul Gillespie said he favored granting the request, "and hopefully we can do this quickly so we never have to deal with this again.''
But with the underworld, the Book of Revelation and the Mark of the Beast at stake, quickness was not to be. Six cabbies had something to say during public comment.
"How dare you take Lucifer's number away,'' said Thomas George-Williams, president of the cab drivers union, who was sporting the red horns. "This is a serious issue.''
A cabbie named Tom warned the commission that it was "opening a can of worms" and would soon be deluged with requests to retire other numbers. A cabbie named Barry pointed out that 666 was the address of SS Peter and Paul's Church on Filbert Street, an outfit not thought to be in Satan's pocket. A cabbie named Grasshopper said it was a "bad idea to get into mysticism and voodoo.''
Photo: hardran3
Article:
The mail-order minister of a Hollywood church that burns marijuana during services and allegedly sells it to members says that's protected under federal law because the drug is a religious sacrament.
But Judge Mary Strobel has ruled that the Reverend Craig X. Rubin can't use federal law as a defense because he faces only state charges.
Rubin, who's representing himself at his drug trial, says members of his Temple 420 believe that marijuana is the tree of life mentioned in the Bible.
Though ordained in 1990 by the Universal Life Church, police and prosecutors describe Rubin as a drug dealer. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted of possessing marijuana for sale.
The 41-year-old Rubin has no legal experience, and says he spent last weekend praying and smoking marijuana with Indians in a sweat lodge at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
The coup was aimed at toppling President Franklin D Roosevelt with the help of half-a-million war veterans. The plotters, who were alleged to involve some of the most famous families in America, (owners of Heinz, Birds Eye, Goodtea, Maxwell Hse & George Bush’s Grandfather, Prescott) believed that their country should adopt the policies of Hitler and Mussolini to beat the great depression.Link to BBC's Radio 4
Mike Thomson investigates why so little is known about this biggest ever peacetime threat to American democracy.
"My Pet Fish" Soap looks like the bag that you carry home from the pet store, but don’t be fooled…these plastic fish are not swimming in water, they are embedded in clear, vegetable based glycerin soap shaped like "water in a bag". A great party favor. Fun for kids from 1 to 100. Comes in assorted colors; let us choose the color. Soap has no scent; measures about 3 1/2"H x 3" at widest; 5 1/2" from top to bottom of bag.
Images found here
From article:
A mysterious blonde paid a visit to a petrol station shop in the small eastern German town of Doemitz on Sunday -- wearing nothing but a pair of golden stilettos and a thin gold bracelet.
The tall, slender woman strolled into the shop in the town of Doemitz on the warm afternoon and bought cigarettes, petrol station employee Ines Swoboda told Reuters on Monday.
"I wasn't surprised because she's come in naked before -- she's a very nice woman," Swoboda said, adding none of the other customers was bothered. The woman could have faced charges of creating a public disturbance if anyone had complained.
A quick-witted customer did, however, snap pictures of the woman believed to be about 30 years old as she walked back to a waiting Ferrari and climbed into the passenger seat. Several of those photos appeared in the German media on Monday.
Wonder if she knows this woman
Link to Reuters
and while you're at it, "DO NOT TAKE PHOTO"
Come join the slowest-growing religion in the world - Dudeism. An ancient philosophy that preaches non-preachiness, practices as little as possible, and above all, uh...lost my train of thought there. Anyway, if you'd like to find peace on earth and goodwill, man, we'll help you get started. Right after a little nap.
Link to Dudeism.com via The Presurfer
Previously on P&F:
Link to YouTube
From thedudeiseverywhere.com, you might be a dude if:
- You wear your dressing gown to the supermarket.
- You have begun writing cheques for less than £1 (or $1).
- You are partial to Thai Stick and a good ‘caucasian’.
- You have a habit of using the royal ‘we’, you know, the editorial…
- Your car has developed some rust ‘colouration’.
- You enjoy the occasional acid flashback.
- You have been known to occupy various administrative buildings.
- You hate the Eagles, no, you really hate the f-ing Eagles.
- You have no idea what day this is.
- You are unemployed.
Lebowski lexicon
Gordon Bennet, not to be confused with the English expression, makes these wonderful robot sculptures. via blort
So you think you know the McDonald's menu like the back of your hand? Think again. From McDonald's international, here are some menu items you have probably never tried before.
Good morning, welcome to McDonald's. May I have your order please?
In India, there are no Big Macs because the Hindu people don't eat beef.
However, they have the Maharaja Mac, which is a Big Mac made of lamb or chicken meat. There is also a vegetarian burger, the McAloo Tikki.
In fish-loving Norway, they have the McLaks, a sandwich made of grilled salmon and dill sauce.
It's bottoms up in Germany, where McDonald's serves beer!
In parts of Canada, have a lobster dinner with the McLobster lobster roll. Pardon me - "McHomard" (in French).
Japan totally reinvents McDonald's with its Ebi Filet-O (shrimp burgers), Koroke Burger (mashed potato, cabbage and katsu sauce, all in a sandwich), Ebi-Chiki (shrimp nuggets) and Green Tea-flavored milkshake!
In Chile, you can dress your burgers with - not ketchup - avocado paste!
In Costa Rica, unsurprisingly, you can order Gallo Pinto, meaning rice and beans.
It's not Greek without pita, so when in Greece, have a Greek Mac, a burger made of patties wrapped in pita.
Rice-loving Hong Kong, has - of course - Rice Burgers, where the burgers are in between, not burger buns, but two patties of glutinous rice.
In Israel, McDonald's has 3 kosher restaurants where cheeseburger and dairy products are not served because Jewish Law forbids serving "the child [cow/beef] in its mother's milk [dairy]." They have McShawarma, meat in a pita bread roll.
In Uruguay, they have the McHuevo, which is like a regular hamburger, but it is topped with a poached egg.
Found at trifty
Ingmar Bergman in a 1981 photo. Bergman died on Monday at the age of 89, local news agency TT reported, citing his daughter Eva Bergman. (REUTERS/Jacob Forsell/File)
From article:
When the news broke that Ingmar Bergman had died on the lonely and windswept island of Faro, off the coast of Sweden, it seemed like an appropriately tragic spot. Bergman spent a lifetime creating lonely and windswept movies: a cinema of inner life in which man was tormented by his relationship with women and with God.
He was sort of a poet of anguish (his first screenplay, written in 1944, was called Torment), whose best-known movies were existential meditations on the meaning of life. The most famous scene in a Bergman film was in the 1957 religious allegory The Seventh Seal in which Max von Sydow -- part of a Bergman repertory company, along with Liv Ullman, with whom he had a daughter -- portrays a knight who plays chess with Death. It’s a scene that sums up the tragic symbolism of Bergman’s oeuvre, and it defined his public image for many years: in one of a number of parodies, the heroes of Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey play Twister with Death.
Bergman himself may have enjoyed the satire. Despite the austerity of his movies, he had a puckish side. When a Swedish film magazine published an "anti-Bergman" issue, Bergman himself contributed a critical piece, under a pseudonym. Near the end of his career, he acknowledged that he was depressed by his own movies and couldn’t watch them any more.
Link to article
Photos: idealterna
From article:
Shielded by bodyguards and away from the sight of curious beachgoers, Woody Allen started shooting his new film in Barcelona on Monday.
Allen shot some scenes at a restaurant in a fishermen's neighborhood in Barcelona with actress Scarlett Johansson, who plays a tourist in the film.
The American film director and actor said last week at a news conference in Barcelona he hoped to create a portrait of the northeastern Spanish city on par with his 1979 masterpiece "Manhattan."
The veteran director said he aimed to picture Barcelona "the same way I presented Manhattan to the world through my eyes."
Barcelona would be the second European city to feature in a full-length Allen movie.
The film, yet to be named, is due to headline Johansson, Allen's latest muse and star of his recent London-based films "Scoop" and "Matchpoint," and Spanish actors Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem.
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Link to article with more pictures
From Wonkette:
It’s almost too depressing to mention again, but let’s recap the Pat Tillman revelations from Army medical examiners and internal Pentagon reports released last week and find out what happens when famous football stars turned Army Heroes become anti-war critics:
- He was shot three times in the forehead at close range with an American M-16.
- This was after he was shot in the chest, legs and hand.
- And this was after he screamed to the “friendlies” that he was Pat Tillman and please stop shooting him.
- But they didn’t; they executed him.
- They were Americans.
- There wasn’t even an “enemy” around; not only was nobody shot by “enemy fire,” no equipment was shot by “enemy fire.”
- “Members of Tillman’s unit burned his body armor and uniform in an apparent attempt to hide the fact that he was killed by friendly fire.”
- Army medical examiners tried to get a criminal investigation opened, but they were shut down.
- The Army brass who conspired to shut down any criminal investigation into the U.S. assassination of Pat Tillman sent “congratulatory e-mails” to each other after shutting down the snoops.
- The Pentagon heavily promoted Tillman’s enlistment and service as both a recruitment tool and a domestic propaganda tool.
- The Pentagon maintained for long after his murder that Tillman died in combat, finally admitting to his family that “friendly fire” killed him — which wasn’t exactly true, either.
- Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Kauzlarich, who commanded Tillman’s base in Afghanistan at the time of his assassination, dismissed Tillman’s family’s attempts to find out what happened. Why? Because Pat Tillman was an atheist, like his family, so they were having “a hard time letting it go.”
- In his writings — Tillman wrote constantly in letters and diaries and e-mails — the NFL star who became an Army Ranger after 9/11 had concluded the Afghanistan War was fake and the Iraq War was a criminal setup.
- The Pentagon still has his diary that he kept with him in Afghanistan, where he was killed, and they won’t release it to his family.
- Tillman had even arranged a meeting with anti-war icon Noam Chomsky about how to go public with a veterans-against-the-war movement.
- Such a movement would’ve had an interesting effect on the Iraq Occupation and the then-upcoming 2004 election; Tillman had already been encouraging his fellow soldiers to vote against Bush.
- Just today, Donald Rumsfeld refused to testify on the subject of Tillman’s assassination before Congress on Wednesday.
- White House Counsel Fred Fielding has, of course, already “refused to issue certain documents to the committee because of executive privilege.”
- What is the White House doing with “certain documents” about Pat Tillman’s murder?
- Says Pat Tillman Sr.: “The administration clearly was using this case for its own political reasons. This cover-up started within minutes of Pat’s death, and it started at high levels. This is not something that people in the field do.”
Found at Modern Mechanix
Michelangelo Antonioni, the Italian maestro new word whose films of modern alienation captured aspects of human consciousness previously unexplored by cinema, died at his home Monday in Rome. The director of such classics as "L'Avventura" and "Blow Up" was 94.
His death, coming a day after the death of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, served to remind film lovers of the richness and invention of European cinema in the 1960s and '70s and how very little that has followed can match that era, both for its sheer ambition and for its faith in the possibilities of film.
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