Technology. We has it. Why?

Creepy pancake flipping robot. *shudder*

Meat eating around the world

Those prolific producers of awesome infographics, GOOD Magazine have come up with yet another one, this time documenting the consumption of meat around the world.

As a long-time vegetarian, looks like I'll be shipping out to Bhutan, at 6.6 pounds of meat per capita per year. But oh no! Those super funky Danes chow down on a whopping 321.7 pounds! And I did so love Copenhagen until now...

I'd say all that meat is going to their heads.

An Interactive Map of Banned and Challenged Books

The last week in September is Banned Books Week.

To mark the event, an interactive map has been created that shows requests for removal of books from public libraries and school libraries across the USA for the period 2007-2009.

The map is created from cases reported to and documented by the American Library Association.

totally ripped from Neatorama

Backup astronaut death speech

Speechwriter for President Nixon, Bill Safire drafted this speech to read in case the Apollo 11 mission went horribly wrong and the astronauts became stranded on the moon.



The text reads:

IN EVENT OF MOON DISASTER:

Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.

These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.

The two men are laying down their lives in mankind's most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.

They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared to send two of her sons into the unknown.

In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.

In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but out heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man's search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.

For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is corner of another world that is forever mankind.

Aside from the overpowering rhetoric of masculinity, it's a short, simple, good speech from an era where failure on the Apollo 11 mission would have been devastating for America's pride. Not to mention how it would have reflected on Nixon personally.

via Gawker

Eco certification too complicated?

Here's a good post on Treehugger about the need for better regulation of eco-labelling.

The market research group BBMG asked people to determine recognition of 13 of the estimated 400+ green labels already out there. Two thousand adult consumers were polled. Recognition was strongest for government sponsored, single attribute labels and weaker for non-government marks. BBMG conclude that too-numerous labels might confuse consumers.

This just backs up the need for governments to take more of a lead in monitoring and regulating green and eco credentials. Whilst those organisations that currently provide these certifications are doing a fantastic job, there is still need for some cohesion, particularly on a global scale.

Some green labels tackle just a single attribute: like USDA Organic, and Energy Star. These are among the most widely recognised and trusted in the USA, being government sponsored. But obviously these labels have little relevance outside of USA's borders.

Australia's energy and water ratings system are good examples of a straight-forward, easy, standard system that most people understand and recognise. Why can't a similar industry-wide approach be applied to GM, fairtrade, sustainable sources, cruelty free or organics? With these issues, it currently comes down to consumer's trust of the company doing the certification, such as the RPSCA label on cruelty free eggs. The inherent trust given to a federal government should be a major reason for them undertaking that responsibility.

It's also worrying to see FSC (Forest Stewardship Council Certification) only achieved 6% awareness response. Particularly when a large amount of rainforest or other old-growth timber is shipped around the globe, far from its original source, FSC is an important way for people to guarantee their wood products are from sustainable plantations.

First published on GreensBlog

Skill and geek cred - you has them

You eyeballin' me, frog?

Make cool documentaries about peace, not war

This looks cool.

Chicago 10 - documenting the story of the ten activists put on trial for a 1968 Democratic Convention demonstration against the Vietnam War.

Thanks Sabian

League Gothic

Oooooh - pretty.

The League of Moveable Type have just released League Gothic, under an open source license.

You fat bastard

Americans never cease to amaze me.

Picture this: you've spent half the day breaking sick records on your PS3, and suddenly you realise you haven't eaten. The effort of having to get up from the couch, shuffle to the fridge and prepare food is just unthinkable. God, even the thought of getting out the phone and ordering some home-delivery is just too much.

Papa John's to the rescue - now you can order your pizza directly from your PS3. Without even having to load up the internet browser!

Ahhhh, technology...

via Geekologie

World Peace

The Day After Peace documents the ten year journey of Jeremy Gilley, founder of Peace One Day. He successfully convinced the United Nations to adopt September 21st as a perpetual day of global ceasefire.

WANT!

Kirk Cameron on creationism

Kirk Cameron - he so crazy. Well, aside from that whole thing about the clear link between Darwin, Hitler and the truth of the Gospel. That one is, like, so obvious.

WANT!

original

Awesome comeback, Tesco

Remember when Jedi was counted as an official religion after an overwhelming number of people listed it in a UK census?

Well, a believer of the Jedi faith has been outraged by being asked to remove his hood while visiting a Tesco store.

Daniel Jones (Jedi name Morda Hehol), founder of the International Church of Jediism, was told the hood flouted store rules.

"It states in our Jedi doctrination that I can wear headwear. It just covers the back of my head. You have a choice of wearing headwear in your home or at work but you have to wear a cover for your head when you are in public."

Jones, who has made an official complaint to Tesco, is considering a boycott of the store and is seeking legal advice.

Here's the awesome bit - Tesco's official response:

"He hasn't been banned. Jedis are very welcome to shop in our stores although we would ask them to remove their hoods.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Luke Skywalker all appeared hoodless without ever going over to the Dark Side and we are only aware of the Emperor as one who never removed his hood.

"If Jedi walk around our stores with their hoods on, they'll miss lots of special offers."

Take that, Morda - the Tesco media guy totally burned you that time.

Original story: Guardian

Greenpeace Japan visit Canberra

This week we had the pleasure of hosting Greenpeace Japan's anti-whaling campaigner Toru Suzuki to Canberra.

One-half of the so called Tokyo Two, Toru shot to headlines in Japan last year when he exposed a whale meat scandal revealing widespread corruption throughout the country's whaling industry. He is currently awaiting trial and faces up to 10 years in prison for his efforts to bring down whaling in Japan.

Toru was in Canberra to deliver a talk at Parliament House about the future of the campaign against Japanese whaling.

Check out some pictures of Rachel and Toru meeting in Canberra.

Read the Greens' media release about what the Australian Government can do to take action on the matter, especially with the new government in Japan.

You can watch Rachel & Toru talking about the issues surrounding Japanese whaling.

I'd also encourage you all to take the time to watch Greenpeace's short video explaining Toru Suzuki and Junichi Sato's situation:

It was great to have Toru as a guest in Canberra, and hear about his experiences in fighting the whaling industry within Japan.

First published on GreensBlog

Passive Aggressive Anger Release Machine

‘Passive Aggressive Anger Release Machine’ is an interactive sculpture by Yarisal and Kublitz.

Experience the most satisfying feeling when a piece of China breaks into million pieces .

All you have to do is insert a coin, and a piece of China will slowly move forwards and fall into the bottom of the machine, breaking, and leaving you happy and relieved of anger.

Meet the Elements

Hehehe. This new video from They Might Be Giants - Meet the Elements. My favourite line: "Elephants are mostly made of four elements."

Buddha pears

You know, whenever I'm enjoying the sweet juiciness of a pear, I often think 'this would so much tastier if it were shaped like the Buddha.'

Well, now you too can rip the flesh from the Buddha's face and devour his insides, with pear-shaped Buddhas! I mean, Buddha-shaped pears!

via BoingBoing

Polish racist interwebs

Wow. I'm always astonished when Photoshop Disasters manage to find the 'Photoshop out the black guy' jobs, but this one takes the cake.

Here is the English version of the website of the Medical University of Lublin:


And here's the Polish version:


Did you notice the difference? That's right - the second one is in Polish. Racist bastards.

via Photoshop Disasters

Ikea Heights

I like the concept behind this - Ikea Heights is an online TV series shot entirely in an Ikea store, without the knowledge of the Swedish monolithic corporation. I'd guess this would save a lot of money on sets.

via Laughing Squid

Support gay marriage with icecream!

Go Ben & Jerry's!
In partnership with Freedom to Marry, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream has renamed its “Chubby Hubby” flavor to “Hubby Hubby” in support of gay marriage in Vermont.

via Laughing Squid

Free zone 2 buses

Bizarro world - Melbourne's zone 2 buses are free in September.
Now if only they ran on time. Or to anywhere useful. Or didn't smell like a toilet. Or had friendly drivers. Who didn't attempt to kill you as they stopped at lights.
Awesome.

Handy flu comparison table

Thousands dance to Thriller

Hands down - best flash mob EVER.
12,937 people turned up in Mexico City for a massive Thriller dance, potentially breaking the previous Guinness World Record of a measly 242 at the College of William & Mary. (Although I do wonder if Guinness have considered the Singapore prison effort of 1500 inmates).