Archive for October, 2009
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »Maybe The Green Car Of The Future Is A Boat
[ Comments Off ]Posted on October 11, 2009 by admin in Clean & Green, Technology
Sunday, October 11th, 2009They just announced the Green Car of the Year finalists, but with Tuvalu disappearing into the ocean, maybe we should think a little further ahead.
Although the Green Car of the Year finalists were announced recently, maybe we should be even more forward-thinking. In spite of the fact that there’s a growing movement that claims global warming is a myth, this Scientific American piece points out that most of these naysayers are non-scientists, and I for one refuse to ignore the fact that Tuvalu is disappearing into the Pacific Ocean, or that a third of Florida is in danger of disappearing too. So as awkward and foolish looking as amphibious cars have always been, maybe their time has come. One of the coolest options out there is the Squba concept car, which, while vaguely reminiscent of James Bond’s aquatic Lotus Esprit, is a tiny bit less stylish, and carries considerably fewer armaments and secret weapons. Although only a concept, it possesses a couple of advantages when compared to vehicles like those produced by companies like WaterCar though: 1.) It’s not butt-ugly, and 2.) It will still be useful when the world is one big ocean like in Waterworld
What’s The Matter, Michigan?
[ Comments Off ]Posted on October 10, 2009 by admin in Lifestyle & Culture
Saturday, October 10th, 2009Michigan is a beautiful state with lots of resources, and is full of hard working people. So why don’t they just cheer up and get to work?
I live in Michigan. A state surrounded by the world’s largest fresh water lakes, with more than 11,000 inland lakes. The state is relatively rich with wildlife and natural resources, and the residents are known nationwide for their exceptional work ethic. So why is it that the state is number one in unemployment as of August, 2009? Why is it that the state’s largest city is known mostly for its urban decay? I have one guess: ATTITUDE. For some reason, the same character traits that give a Michigander a hard working, common sense attitude are easily flipped to the negative. Michigan’s sort of like a beetle. Almost indestructable and very industrious when things are right, but flip it on its back, and oh boy, forget it. I’ve had two experiences in the past year that highlighted this phenomena, and I still don’t understand it. But they’ve both re-invigorated my positivism. I’m proposing we start using the old saying “Michigan. America’s High Five To The World” as the tagline to get things rolling. One of these experiences was when the huge pharmaceutical conglomerate Pfizer closed its operations in the Ann Arbor area. It was psychological Armageddon for the locals. The economy was DOOMED. Until a short while later of course, when Google announced they were opening an office in the area. THE MESSIAH WAS ARRIVING. WE ARE SAVED! No-one paid much mind to the Read the rest of this entry »
Is Glenn Beck A Homosexual Nazi Blood Elf?
[ 5 Comments ]Posted on October 9, 2009 by admin in Popular Media
Friday, October 9th, 2009Why hasn’t Glenn Beck denied raping and murdering a young girl in 1990? Who cares. When else do you get to have serious conversations about the Chewbacca Defense and the Moron in a Hurry Test?
One of the joys of not having cable is that I rarely have to get to know the personas of people like Glenn Beck. Stories about how there was an advertising boycott against him were an amusing side note in my peripheral media vision; I’m always happy when some ranting hack on cable news or talk radio takes a beating, especially in the case of one who makes comments that President Obama is a “racist” and has a “deep-seated hatred for white people.” My interest in the story took a new turn the other day though; having received frivolous cease-and-decist letters letters on more than one occasion myself, I was especially amused first when Isaac Eiland-Hall created the site glennbeckrapedandmurderedayounggirlin1990.com, but even more so when Beck took the issue to the WIPO, and then again more so when Eiland-Hall’s lawyer Marc J. Randazza responded. The lawyer’s response (143KB PDF) is the best part of this all; it’s not only hilarious, but a perfect instructional tool if you know someone who isn’t familiar with Internet Memes. In the response brief, the lawyer points out that “Only an abject imbecile could believe that the domain name would have any connection to the Complainant“, referencing the moron in a hurry defense (which I was surprised to find has nothing to do with the Chewbacca Defense), and then going on to reference in Read the rest of this entry »
Thoughts On Tom DeLay: Are You Fucking Kidding Me?
[ 2 Comments ]Posted on October 8, 2009 by admin in Politics
Thursday, October 8th, 2009I’m not surprised that ABC helps whitewash Tom DeLay’s public image. I’m surprised that YOU don’t seem to care.
 Would you let your daughter dance with this man? |
I don’t really swear much, but that was my response when someone told me that Tom DeLay was on “Dancing with the Stars”. I wasn’t surprised that the federally-indicted, lying, self-serving and egotistical asshole would have the nerve to do such a thing – in fact if I were his publicist it’s exactly the sort of audacious thing I’d suggest. What surprises me is that a major media organization like ABC would deliver his image-washing for him, and that the American public would sit there and slurp it up like a bunch of livestock at the trough. Watching the several seconds that I did watch of him wiggling his fat white ass on national television frankly made me “vurp” just a bit. It gave me the same feeling you might get at an old-fashioned ice cream social when the gym teacher that everyone knew had been caught at the local rest stop doing questionable things with a truck driver says “that’s a fine boy you have there” and no-one says anything. On a more fundamental level though, it highlighted why I’m slowly drifting into a more and more apolitical state. It’s nothing new to turn political criminals into celebrities; Oliver North and G. Gordon Liddy were trailblazers in this area. But to me, putting smug-faced contemptuous asses like Karl Rove and Tom DeLay on national TV while they’re under subpoena or indictment perhaps makes a bigger statement about you and me than them, in a way. And with a slew of villains like the last administration wandering the streets and major television networks, I might as well get used to it. But I will remain utterly perplexed: why the apathy towards these men?
October Holidays: Columbus Go Home!
[ 3 Comments ]Posted on October 7, 2009 by admin in Holidays
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009How can we celebrate International Newspaper Carrier Day if there are no newspapers to tell us about it? And a quick explanation of why we’re starting a campaign to replace Columbus Day with Leif Erikson Day.
We wanted to tell you about the Newspaper Association of America’s International Newspaper Carrier Day, which is supposed to be celebrated on October 10, but as you’ll learn if you click that link, the “Full text of this content is available to subscribers only“. I’m personally not going to fuss about it, because as is more often becoming the case, my town doesn’t even have a newspaper. What I will fuss about though, is this character Christopher Columbus. I’m on a personal mission to have his holiday replaced with Leif Erikson Day for two simple reasons: 1.) Leif was here first, by 500 years, and 2.) He went home without making a big mess like Columbus did. As we all now know, the whitewashing of Columbus’ life we received as kids in America was bunk; he was brutal when in power, and messianically delusional later in life. I’m kind of joking (at least in terms of my personal activism on the issue) but this is a serious topic; as the people of the Transform Columbus Day Alliance point out, “Columbus Day is an inherently racist statement of cultural domination“, and Columbus was a “slave trader whose legacy is steeped in blood, violence, and death“. I’d like to add that his movie