WANT!

Eric Tanner’s retro-style Back to the Future poster.

A limited print run of 150 will be available for purchase at G1988’s 4th annual Crazy for Cult show, which opens July 9th.

via the Daily What

Sleeping suits

Sleeping bags are awesome. They're like a waterproof, fully enclosed doona with built in hoods.

But, they do have their limitations - like the fact that they render you completely helpless if you need to get up in the middle of the night.

Not anymore - Selk sleeping bags come complete with arms and legs, enabling carefree movement while staying snug as an earth-burrowing grub.

Odee has a full list of some other interesting styles - including Tauntauns, sharks and cocoons.

Want.

Latest on Tanks a Lot

Get your ass to Mars. Or to Thornbury.
My latest submit to Tanks a Lot.

LOL

via Monocle Pops Off

Harry Potter trailer

The trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is out. That is all.

Multiple sources? Who needs 'em?

Yet another example of badly researched journalism. Daily Mail reporter Richard Ashmore saw this tweet on the CLEARLY FAKE Steve Jobs Twitter account:

So, ignoring the bio statement "Of course this is a parody account" and avoiding any further research or confirmation, he printed this:

Nice. I'd have loved to be in the room when Dicky is explaining THAT one to his editor.

via The Media Blog

WANT!

In the 60s and 70s, various recreational vehicle manufacturers mounted small motorhomes on the Volkswagen Beetle chassis. It was called the “Bugaroo” or “Beetle Minihome”

I can just imagine putt-putting around the country in this bad baby. Love it. Want.

The Hipster fashion cycle

Finally, someone creates a graph that explains the Hipster fashion cycle.

Currently in Hipster mainstream mode: fedoras, tight jeans, lumberjack shirts, long scarves & Dunlop volleys.

via Flavorwire

Robin Hood down – but not out – at G20 Summit

After the G8 disgracefully dropped the ball on aid at what has been dubbed the ‘Summit of shame’, the G20 have missed their chance to score against poverty by failing to move towards a Robin Hood Tax on banks.

The Canadian prime minister managed to persuade countries like South Africa and India that this ‘taxing banks’ business’ would be an imposition on poor countries, when in fact the opposite is true. Big financial centers and the real casino banking is taking place in rich countries and this is where the money would come FROM. It should go TO fighting poverty and climate change, both home and abroad.

Let’s look at the context of these two Summits:

• Aid levels have been frozen despite the commitment to increase it to 0.7% (40 years later, and only five – Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Luxembourg – have kept this promise. Australia still lags behind in raising aid levels to 0.7%)
• Climate change is hitting poor people now, Oxfam estimates that in Asia alone, about 1 billion people would face risks from reduced agricultural production, reduced water supplies or increased extreme weather events.
• The economic crisis, mostly created by financial speculation in rich countries, is also hitting poor countries harder where people are already on the frontline of poverty
• Almost 1,000 women die unnecessarily every day in childbirth and in complications related to pregnancy
• 1 billion people are still going to bed hungry every night.

These problems are interlinked, unnecessary and morally unjustifiable. Rich countries should stop hiding behind their creative accounting and face up to the fact that they need to deliver on their promises and start investing in the future. Now.

The deadly numbers game

• $1 billion+ is what the Canadian government has spent (to date) on three days of Summit security
• $20 billion – ‘missing’ so far from G8 promised aid (of $50bn promised, $25bn of which to Africa)
• $650 billion – what a Robin Hood Tax could raise annually
• $2 trillion – total amount given in aid in past 50 years
• $18 trillion – total amount spent in 2009 to bail out banks

Of course, it is not all a numbers game. However, money can literally mean life or death for people in poor countries, and money that has been delivered through past Summits has been proven to make a BIG difference. Two examples are debt relief for the most vulnerable countries, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which saves 3,000 lives a year.

As it stands, the G20 ‘agreed to disagree’ on whether or not everyone should implement some form of bank tax. Some will and some won’t. It is however fair to say that none of the options on the table so far has been extensive enough to qualify for what we would dub a true Robin Hood Tax – a tax that is big enough to raise $650 billion a year globally, and that will be used for ‘global goods’: fighting poverty domestically, cover the shortage of funds needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing countries and fighting poverty on a global scale.

Originally posted on Oxfam Blogs. From our friends at Oxfam Canada.

Make Poverty History Dickson Forum

In developing countries, one billion people don’t have access to safe drinking water. This contributes to 17 children dying from preventable diseases every minute. When will Australia finally do its fair share as a global citizen and really help Make Poverty History?

This is the central question that Oxfam (as part of the Make Poverty History coalition) has been putting to politicians from all sides of politics during this election year.

On 9 June 2010, in the federal seat of Dickson, Make Poverty History held an electoral forum and asked the current sitting member Peter Dutton (LP), and challenger, Fiona McNamara (ALP), to give us their vision on ending global poverty. Specifically, we were interested – as were the local residents that attended – as to when Australia would do its fair share and commit 0.7% of our National Income in overseas aid?



If you live in the seat of Dickson please take action to let Peter Dutton and Fiona McNamara know that Every Minute Counts and that you want action to Make Poverty History.

First published on Oxfam Blogs

Conroy reaffirms stance on net filter

Conroy has confirmed the Government’s support for its mandatory internet filter policy after the change in Prime Minister, in the process slamming his colleague Kate Lundy for even suggesting that it could be on an opt-out basis.

I particularly like this quote:

"We have got an election commitment to deliver. Just because Scott Ludlam says it’s been shelved, doesn’t mean it’s true."

I beg to differ. I find that most things Scott says to end up coming true at some point in the future. But that's nothing compared to this doozy:

"I’m not into opting in to child porn."

So after months and months of debate, public criticism, religious furor and technical incompetence, our Communications Minister has brought it right back to 'if you are opposed to my policy you must be a pedophile.'

Conroy insists that the Government will still be introducing the filter legislation in the second half of 2010, but with an election date still fluctuating anywhere from August 2010 to early 2011, this is largely out of his control.

When asked whether he had anything to do with the proposed laws that would require ISPs to store records pertaining to Australians’ email, telephone calls and web browsing habits, he simply handballed it to the Attorney General Rob McClelland.

Oh, but here is the really goddamn scary bit.

From Delimiter:

Conroy said he was working with Senator Steve Fielding to win his support for the bill, with the Family First parliamentarian to receive briefings from Telstra and NBN Co. Conroy said he hoped that Fielding would support the bill now that Telstra and NBN Co had come to an agreement about the terms under which Telstra would transfer its customers into the NBN and shut down its copper network.

"I spoke to him a couple of times last week. He wants to look at the overall package now, with the amendments, and make a decision,” said Conroy. “We’re providing all the information that we can."

Oh.
Shit.

G20 riot police out in force

There are worrying reports of riot police attacking peaceful demonstrations at the G20 summit in Toronto Canada. This video shows a group of non-violent protesters being rushed by a squadron of police in full riot gear.

Canadian news outlet the National Post reports that two of their photographers were assaulted, handcuffed and had equipment confiscated before spending 24 hours in a detention centre.

The Guardian also reports that Canada spent a billion dollars on security for the event (by comparison, London last year spent some $30 million)

This comes on the back of a recent revelation that police are allowed to arrest anyone they want during the G20 summit. As BoingBoing reports:

In Canada you're not required to show ID. Except if you're in the 'G20 Zone'. You see, the law allows an exemption to the 'show ID' principle for public works. These are usually things like power stations, dams, etc. Well, the government got clever and just declared the entire area a 'public work' so police can go around demanding ID. The best part of this? The law that made this happen won't even be PUBLISHED until after the G20 is over. So nobody knew about it until the cops arrested someone.

Being mean to the ex-PM

Hehehe.
But rather mean.
But also hehehe.
via Crikey

Animal stare!

Dan Konopka, drummer from the band OK Go, spent this years' Webby Awards in a back room engaged in a staring contest with Animal from the Muppets.

After putting in a valiant effort, Dan lost and now has to serve as Animal's roadie. As Animal puts it towards the end of the struggle: "Good game. Go get drums."

Monkey-Pirate-Robot-Ninja-Zombie

Mark Rayner has developed an updated version of rock-paper-scissors.

Monkey-Pirate-Robot-Ninja-Zombie is slightly more complicated but oh-so-awesome! Each thing can beat two other things, and is, in turn beaten by two other things.

I can only hope this game is not taken over as the latest hipster pastime. Full instructions here.

The Best Party to rule Reykjavik

Icelandic comedian Jon Gnarr has just become the Mayor of Reykjavik. His 'Best Party' achieved 34.7 of the vote, and gained 6 of the council's 15 seats.

Gnarr explains the name choice quite simply:

“No one has to be afraid of the Best Party, because it is the best party. If it wasn’t, it would be called the Worst Party or the Bad Party. We would never work with a party like that.”

The Best Party's policy platforms include:

• A polar bear display for the zoo.
• Free towels at public swimming pools.
• A drug-free Parliament by 2020.
• Building a Disneyland at the airport

Since taking office, Gnarr has refused to form a coalition with any party whose members had not seen all five seasons of The Wire. Whilst this has been treated as a ridiculous joke from a party made up of comedians, musicians and the best of Iceland's punk-rock scene, there have been reports that the Social Democrats have assigned a staff member to watch The Wire and report back to leadership.

The party does have some serious agendas, and are already getting under way with some changes. Gnarr's new government has granted free admission to swimming pools for everyone under 18, and also plan to turn Reykjavik, with its plentiful supply of geothermal energy, into a hub for electric cars.

Iceland is looking pretty awesome at the moment. They have volcanoes that shut down Europe, hot springs, glaciers, Greens in federal Government and a comedian running the capital city. Sure, the economy is completely shot and they eat far too much fish, but it's still pretty cool. The Icelandic tourism board should really be playing off all this awesomeness.

Keanu receives sad news from Australia

Tube station time capsule

In around 1959, the Notting Hill Tube Station in London underwent modernisation.  The old lifts were abandoned and new escalators were installed, resulting in some passageways being boarded up and sealed off.

Just recently, these passageways have been rediscovered, and are largely untouched after 50 years. The adverts which were on the walls the day the passageways were sealed off remain and are in remarkably good condition.

These posters are nothing short of beautiful - the colours, imagery and design could have rolled off todays' presses. Want!

More pics and details at Kuriositas

The Emwow

I love Vince (of ShamWow and Slap Chop fame - and it would seem that I'm not alone. He's now peddling Eminem's new album on late night TV.

Nice to see some sarcasm being used to sell music, although I wonder if they signed over copyright of Vince's selling techniques...

Will the real Pooh please stand up?

These are Christopher Robin's toys - the original inspiration for the stories of Winnie the Pooh and friends.

They've been on display in the Central Children’s Room at the New York City Library since 1987.

They're awesome. Check out Eeyore - he's exactly as I would have pictured him.

via Neatorama

Tracking your own movement online.

I am now tracking my online movement each day, in the hope that it will bring me some majestic insight into the Interwebs. I doubt it, but it's nonetheless a good idea.

Using a Yahoo Pipe, I'm pulling the feed from my Facebook status update, Facebook comments feed, various Twitter account updates and entries from the various blogs that I contribute to. This aggregates into a feed, which is emailed to me at the end of each day.

I found that I was already reading over some stuff - my blog, Facebook status' etc - so this is really just formulating the whole picture. In an age where we all communicate non-stop, there is very little reflection on what we are saying. That's something I'm hoping to challenge.

Thanks to @jonasthanatos for the idea.

The other other other white meat (with sparkles)

Love it. ThinkGeek have just received a cease and desist letter about their Canned Unicorn Meat... from the National Pork Board of America.

Apparently the product infringes on the Pork Board's slogan 'The Other White Meat':

"You have been marketing a product called "Radiant Farms Canned Unicorn Meat" using the slogan "Unicorn - the new white meat." ... National Pork Board is the owner of THE OTHER WHITE MEAT® in the United States and elsewhere around the world, and owns the following federal trademark registrations."

Here is ThinkGeek's response:

"We'd like to publicly apologize to the NPB for the confusion over unicorn and pork--and for their awkward extended pause on the phone after we had explained our unicorn meat doesn't actually exist."

"It was never our intention to cause a national crisis and misguide American citizens regarding the differences between the pig and the unicorn," said Scott Kauffman, President and CEO of Geeknet. "In fact, ThinkGeek's canned unicorn meat is sparkly, a bit red, and not approved by any government entity."

Yet another fine example of the uselessness of lawyers, and a complete lack of understanding of irony or sarcasm. Not to mention the ongoing saga of companies actually negating their original desired outcome.

'We don't like this product/service/thought process and would like it stopped. Let's threaten them with legal action, which they will post online to all their supporters, driving up interest in the issue and ultimately reflecting badly on us and our product.'

Seriously. Dickheads.

ALT/1977

This is awesome. Alex Varanese decided to explore the concept of time travelling as it relates to technology and graphic design.

Whipping back to the cool, orange surrounds of the 1970s, he's envisaged a world where today's gadgets are sold alongside the awesomeness of Atari, Commodore 64 and Activision. Love it.

What would you do if you could travel back in time? Assassinate Marilyn Monroe? Go on a date with Hitler? Obviously. But here's what I'd do after that: grab all the modern technology I could find, take it to the late 70's, superficially redesign it all to blend in, start a consumer electronics company to unleash it upon the world, then sit back as I rake in billions, trillions, or even millions of dollars.

I've explored that idea in this series by re-imagining four common products from 2010 as if they were designed in 1977: an mp3 player, a laptop, a mobile phone and a handheld video game system. I then created a series of fictitious but stylistically accurate print ads to market them, as well as a handful of abstract posters (you know, just for funsies).

I really really want these posters. In fact, I'm going to print a few off, right now!

Thanks, Richard!

Visualising wi-fi

I know a lot of people get freaked out by radiation from mobile phones, the pervasiveness of technology and the increased digital elements of our life. Personally I don't care if my brain is being cooked, as long as I can access the Interwebs 24/7. (Although I did notice just the other day that my left thigh sometimes aches if I don't have my phone in my pocket. Eh - probably nothing).

Wireless in the world is an attempt to visually represent the various wireless fields that intersect our everyday lives. I now require permanent augmented reality glasses to let me dance around these glorious bubbles of Interweb joy.

Vote for Zach

Zach Anner is currently the top running entry to host a new show on the Oprah network, and he's awesome. Zach has cerebral palsy (apparently the sexiest of the palsies), and has hit 2.5 million votes on his audition tape, along with 3,118,907 votes on the Oprah competition website.

I love this guy. Give him a show, Oprah! He's funny, engaging and understands the need to praise and thank his audience. Hell, he's even got John Mayer's blessing!

In the meantime, go vote for Zach. Ensure he gains a regular spot on cable TV. Now.

Robin Hood Tax animation

Hooray! Check out the animated ad now running on the Oxfam site!
Oooooeerr... moving images.
Woah.



Thanks to the hard-working folk at Make Believe for their work on this one.

Take action and tell the PM to support the Robin Hood Tax

Entire earth video time capsule

One Day on Earth is an effort by documentary filmmakers, students, and citizens around the world to "record the human experience over a 24-hour period."

On October 10, 2010, people in every country in the world will record video footage that tells stories of their lives; the organizers will then cull those many stories into a feature-length documentary film to be released theatrically. If it works, it has the potential to be a cinematic time capsule for the entire world.

Take part in the project here.

via GOOD

Help GetUp! buy Tony Abbott for a refugee

This is a brilliant co-option of a campaign by GetUp!

As part of the Parliamentary Press Gallery Midwinter Ball, a bunch of charities are set to benefit from an eBay auction of a surfing lesson with Tony Abbott.

GetUp are soliciting donations to win the auction, and will organise for a refugee who has been through Australia's immigration system to go on the lesson and talk to Mr Abbott about their experience.

With less than an hour until the end of the auction, GetUp! have already raised $27,866 (the highest current bid on eBay is $11,500).

UPDATE: They won the auction. Final price was $16,100. GetUp! raised $62,131 in donations, and have offered to give the excess money back to donors or use it on further refugee campaigns.

Lightning sets fire to giant Jesus

Last night, lightning struck a six-story tall Jesus Christ statue north of my hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, sparking a fire that burned the figure down to its steel frame. The end is nigh. From the Associated Press:

The sculpture, 62 feet tall and 40 feet wide at the base, showed Jesus from the torso up and was nicknamed Touchdown Jesus because of the way his arms were raised, as though reaching out to catch a football. It was made of plastic foam and fiberglass over a steel frame, which is all that remained early Tuesday.

The fire spread from the statue to an adjacent amphitheater but was confined to the attic area, and no one was injured, police Chief Mark Neu said. The fire department would release a monetary damage estimate Tuesday, he said.

Toasty.

via BB, full story: CS Monitor

My love for IT

I really really really hate IT people.
I hate the apathy associated with a job that is fundamentally outdated and mind-numbingly boring.
I hate the self-important nature of a fat nerd who did computer science at TAFE seven years ago.
I hate that they cling on to this retarded idea that Windows is a good thing.
I hate that they pointlessly insist on being renamed 'Information Systems' instead of 'Information Technology'.
But most of all, I hate that a profession designed to be a support system for other areas of work ends up being nothing more than a huge blocking tool.

"No, we don't allow you to plug your own Mac laptop into our network - it's a security risk."

"Yes, we do have a wireless network, but you can't access it."

"Even if I DID let you access it, we couldn't possibly just rely on a firewall and WEP password like the rest of the world - you'd have to let me reconfigure your entire computer."

"Even then, we don't support Mac."

"Yes, you do have to use IE7 - we don't support anything else."

"Oh, you found out you can install Firefox or Chrome? Yeah, well, you don't have admin rights, so Flash won't work."

"Your computer is slow? Sorry, they're all standard."

"Oh, you've discovered that the graphic designer's computer is way faster than yours? Well, yeah I guess we can sometimes upgrade the computers."

"How? Fill out this paper form to request more RAM, get it signed by your section manager and submit it to IT."

"Yes, I know you haven't received the RAM you asked for a month ago - these things take time to order and install."

"No, you can't just walk down to the computer store on the corner and buy some RAM - we have to do... uhm... compatibility tests... before we can install it."

"Oh, you want Adobe CS on your computer? Where's your request form? Oh, you've already filled it out? Hmm, OK - I'll place the order. Should be a few weeks."

"Where is the Adobe CS you ordered a month ago? Yeah, sorry - we ordered the wrong version - you'll have to wait a bit longer."

"Anyway, I don't think your computer can run Adobe CS - it hasn't got enough RAM."

Seriously, I am gonna go Milton on these motherfuckers.
Incidentally, there is a workaround for the Flash problem here.

Install Flash on Google Chrome without admin rights.

Imagine you are sitting at your work computer, trying to do your job.
But those lovely people in IT have taken away every single administration right on your desktop.
You don't want to use the standard IE7 (because it doesn't fucking work!), and Firefox/Chrome/Pale Moon/Opera requires a few plugins (such as Flash) in order to work.
No administration rights means no installing Flash, right?
Wrong - I love the interwebs, and this is what they furnished me (Chrome instructions - for others, just find the relevant application folder):

1. Download this xpi file.
2. Rename that file it to .zip file.
3. Extract it with Winzip
4. Copy the flashplayer.xpt and NPSWF32.dll files.
5. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to C:/Documents and settings/”YOUR USER NAME”/Local Settings/Application Data/Google/Chrome/Application/Plugins/
6. Paste those files in to this folder
7. Close and restart Chrome
8. Open a Flash page (YouTube is a good test)

Go interwebs! Boo IT geeks!

Douche prank

Whoever did this is a goddamn genius.

via Urban Prankster

WANT!

Even without the million dollar yacht that would normally surround a table like this, I require one. Now!

Running on empty

This video of deserted Los Angeles streets is nothing short of beautiful. I really like this current fad of Photoshop-collaging heaps of photos together to create impossible, surreal images.

I've never been to L.A., but I've watched enough TV and movies to know that an L.A. without cars is a freaky, freaky idea.

Creepy GM freaks

I have never been more disturbed than just now, when I read the following sentence in New Scientist:

"Scientists installed the faulty gene responsible for the disease in several test rats..."

'installed'
*shudder*

Explanatory diagrams 101

Yet another clear example of why Venn diagrams totally rock.

via Neatorama

NYC Tourist Lane creators come clean

Turns out that the awesomeness that is the Tourist Lane sprayed on to NYC sidewalks a few weeks back was committed by none other than the awesome Improv Everywhere crew.

via BB

Oxfam Australian enters the blogosphere.

Oxfam Australia has blogs!

This is breaking news, people. It's just one of the many changes we've got planned over the coming months.

And you can read the very first post on the new campaign blog, by me.

It's awesome:

Ahead of the kick-off of the 2010 World Cup on Friday, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has launched the Alternative Guide to the World Cup.

Set out in the form of a ‘grudge-match’ report, the publication compares the ‘vital statistics’ of each African country in the games against their competitors in terms of development – examining key indicators such as economic growth, CO2 emissions, access to education and human development.

The report was launched by Mr Annan, who is Chair of the Africa Progress Panel, and United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador and football star Didier Drogba. The guide highlights that although African nations have a fair playing field when it comes to football; this is not the case when it comes to compete internationally on issues such as trade or the fight against climate change.

You can download the full report here (PDF 11mb)

Plastic-infused water

Plastic Century is a simple-but-provocative art installation that demands you to consider, in a visceral way, how plastic is impacting our environment. On display this week at the California Academy of Sciences, Plastic Century was created in honor of Jacques Cousteau's 100th birthday.

Plastic Century asks onlookers to drink water from four different coolers, each filled with bunches of plastic. But there's a catch--the four coolers are labeled by year, extending from 1910 all the way through 2030. And, unsurprisingly, the amount of plastic in each cooler rises along with the date.

via BB

Yet another Tanks A Lot

I finally got around to stopping the car and taking a photo of my local chopper shop: Reservoir Hogs.

Then, of course, I sent it in to Tanks A Lot. Awww yeah.

Australian Parliament goes CC 3.0

From the Creative Commons Australia site, via Peter Black:

Hopefully most of you have seen the official launch of the Australian v3.0 licences earlier today.

We’re very pleased to announce that the licences, only a few hours old, already have their first significant adopter. A couple of weeks ago the Australian Parliament officially announced, via the Australian Library and Information Association's mailing list, that it will be porting its central http://www.aph.gov.au website across to a Creative Commons v3.0 BY-NC-ND Australian licence. This is the website which houses all the most important documents of the Australian Federal Government – including all bills, committee reports and, most importantly, the Hansard transcript of Parliamentary Sittings – so this is a major move for the Australian Government.

From the Australian Parliament announcement:

The Parliament of Australia is committed to open access to the resources it publishes to support a vibrant democracy. Recognising the important of ensuring access to its resources published on the website the parliament has approved publication under a Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/) instead of copyright protection. Full implementation will occur when the new web site is released in late 2010. Until then a notice appears on the copyright page advising of this change.
...
We are enormously excited at this step to open up parliamentary information.

Since its endorsement of open access as its preferred default in its response to the Gov 2.0 Report last month, the Federal Government has released the Budget, the NBN implementation study and the Gov 2.0 response itself all under CC licences. This latest announcement solidifies the government's commitment to openness and transparency, and means that the entire public record of our government will now be available for non-commercial reuse by anyone, without the need for additional permissions.

How to pick up drunk chicks

The joy that is Awful Library Books has come up with the goods yet again: The Complete Guide to Meeting Women.

This how-to guide for the struggling man looks simply amazing, and would surely receive a gold star from any reader of Ralph.

This book advocates date rape as a way to meet women, includes chapters on “using astrology to pick up women” and “using the powers of the mind” and advises all the great old standbys like asking a woman to rub suntan oil on you at the beach. And for those guys who “are tired of the liberated American women who are so busy trying to be equal to men that they have forgotten how to be ‘real’ women”, there’s a chapter on how to find an Asian mail order bride.

I particularly like this valuable tip:

A high and loaded woman is either high on liquor or drugs or even both. After a few drinks or under the influence of drugs, she will be feeling rather loose and perhaps even horny. Naturally, this is to your advantage because it makes your prey easier to catch.

The BEST thing? This is not a pathetic home-publishing job from the 70s - it was published in 1991. Awww yeah.

Whenever I see fine publications such as this historic tome, I am reminded of a little-known fact. Any printed work, in any format, as long as it has been published a multiple of five times (that is, five copies have been created), is archived at the National Library. This is a legal requirement which, if breached can result in large fines. That's right my friends - those photocopied newsletters of the Communist party are collated, sealed and archived for future generations alongside the Liberal Party national newsletter, Beagle Lovers Monthly and anyone who prints their blog five times.

Hopefully The Complete Guide to Meeting Women is also protected to ensure readers in the 32th century are as offended as I am today.

8: The Mormon Proposition

This looks good. The documentary 8: The Mormon Proposition exposes the Mormon Church’s historic involvement in the promotion and passage of California’s Proposition 8 and the religion’s secretive, decades—long campaign against gay rights.

The film takes place in California and Utah as Mormons, following their prophets call to action, wage spiritual warfare with money and misinformation against gay citizens, doing everything they can to deny them of marriage and the rights that come with it. 8: The Mormon Proposition opens in theaters on June 18th, 2010, two years after the first gay marriages took place in California (June 17th, 2008).

Three men named Jesus

This is the most AWESOME scientific study I have ever heard of:

In the late 1950s, psychologist Milton Rokeach took three patients who believed they were Jesus Christ and made them live with each other for two years.

The early meetings were stormy. "You oughta worship me, I'll tell you that!" one of the Christs yelled. "I will not worship you! You're a creature! You better live your own life and wake up to the facts!" another snapped back. "No two men are Jesus Christs. ... I am the Good Lord!" the third interjected, barely concealing his anger.

via Kottke

BPGlobalPR

The fake BP Global PR Twitter account @BPGlobalPR is now my favourite reading pastime.

Here's some highlights:

I've gotta say, at night the gulf really doesn't look that bad. #bpcares
7:39 PM May 30th

Listen, we were just drilling into the Earth's crust a mile beneath the ocean with shoddy off switches. Don't blame us! #bpcares
4:24 PM May 30th

We are very upset that Operation: Top Kill has failed. We are running out of cool names for these things.
4:29 PM May 29th

Kali ma shakti de

Holy shit.

A US cage fighter ripped out the heart of his training partner while he was still alive after becoming convinced he was possessed by the devil.

Jarrod Wyatt also cut out his friend’s tongue and ripped off most of his face in a brutal assault that police said looked like a scene from a horror film. They found the 26 year old standing naked over his friend’s body with body parts, including an eyeball, strewn around the blood splattered room.

Wyatt told police he had drunk a cup of tea spiked with hallucinogenic mushrooms and became convinced his close friend Taylor Powell was possessed. According to an autopsy Powell,21, bled to death after his heart was ripped out.

The coroner said Powell had been alive when the organ was ripped out after his chest had been sliced open with a knife.
Wyatt told the police he thrown the heart into a fire along with other organs that he had removed from the body.
He told investigators he cooked the body parts because he was fearful Powell was still alive and he “needed to stop the Devil.”

Police had been called to the grisly scene after a third friend had witnessed a sudden mood change in Wyatt after they had all ingested wild mushroom tea. Justin Davis told police he returned to the flat in Klamath, California, to find Wyatt naked and covered from head to toe in blood.

You know, I used to design kickboxing magazines for a living, and the whole time I kept thinking - one day, this retarded violent sport is going to kill someone.
I was wrong.
A related retarded violent sport killed someone.
Oh and magic mushies.
But we all knew they were bad.
Drugs are bad.

Full story Telegraph