Friday, February 27, 2004

Cockroach Scouts

Cockroach Scouts

"In the hunt for toxins, spy insects go where humans can't."

The Serpent Gods

The Serpent Gods

"I do NOT hate the Reptilians. They are not Evil. It is in their nature to act as they do. This group and my websites are NOT about spreading hatred for the Reptilians. They are about bringing awareness that the Reptilians exist. Reptilians and Global Elite insiders are welcome to join this group. :)"

Thursday, February 26, 2004

Undead Films - The Best in Zombie Movies

Undead Films - The Best in Zombie Movies

"Evil has come to the Butte County Institute of Special Education, and its students will never be the same. After surviving a battle to the death with his own monstrous creation, Dr. Stern returns to continue his horrible research in this blood-drenched sequel to the cult hit 'Monsturd.' Armed with a fatal hyper-intelligence serum, the mad doctor transforms a quiet community into an army of flesh-eating zombies. It's a showdown of limb-chopping, head-bursting proportions as Stern's nemesis, F.B.I. agent Susan Hannigan, and the local Sheriff's department take on the zombie plague in the ultimate battle royale."

Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Death From The Skies!!

News

"The Thames is home to over a hundred species of fish but never, until now, has a piranha been found in its murky waters.
One of the deadly Amazonian fish, shoals of which can devour big prey in seconds, mysteriously landed on a moored vessel in Dagenham, east London, having apparently fallen out of the sky." [via Undiscovered]

OberCon

A gaming con at Oberlin this weekend, Something*Positive creator R*K Milholland will be in attendance and apparently running a game.

OberCon

Furryweekend: What Happened?

This seems curious to me. I know its already happened....but it makes me wonder what was going on that they were trying to hide so zealously. I know furries, and I know a bit about the "subculture." I can imagine what they might have wanted to keep secret, but frankly it bothers me. It bothers me because this is something that could reflect badly on geekdom in general. So...who knows what happened?

FWA 2004: Press & Media

"Policy: As per our policy, the staff has decided not to allow ANY media coverage at the convention for our first year - the press and media are NOT welcome at Furry Weekend. Our goal is to produce the best convention for our attendees and it is our right as a private function to deny entry to the media. Attendees purchasing a membership agree not to act as media agents in any way, shape, or form while attending Furry Weekend. Questions about this policy should be addressed to ceo@furryweekend.com.

"Making photographic, audio or video recordings of any Convention event for investigative or commercial purposes is strictly forbidden."

Tuesday, February 24, 2004

Pot For Teacher

Pot For Teacher

"FEBRUARY 23--Here's a bit of advice for high school administrators everywhere: If a drug-sniffing police dog somehow misses the pot you planted in a troublemaker's locker, just let it go. Patrick Conroy, however, felt the need to tell Michigan cops about his harebrained attempt to frame a student he believed was selling drugs at L.C. Mohr High School. Conroy, who resigned his assistant principal's post Friday when the Herald-Palladium reported on his scheme, last month laughingly told a K-9 cop about planting the pot, according to the below South Haven Police Department reports. Saying, 'I know this isn't or wasn't ethical,' Conroy, 52, told the cop he put the baggie of marijuana in the student's locker since 'we both know he is dealing drugs, and I wanted to catch him so I put drugs in the locker.' The dog, named Herbie, did not cooperate, however, failing to detect the weed. For his part, Conroy repeatedly steered the K-9 team past the bank of lockers, to no avail. Conroy is now the subject of a criminal probe. (7 pages)"

YETI@Home

YETI@Home

"What is that rustling around in your backyard? What was that shadow darkening the flatbed of Junior's abandoned El Camino? What left that clump of brown hair sticking to the prized azalea bushes? Could it be a large dog? Curious George? Burt Reynolds? Your mother-in-law?

"Or -- better yet (apologies to Burt Reynolds fans) -- a YETI? Yes, the mysterious Yeti...also known as the Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Momo, Skunk Ape, Abominable Snowman, and 'Mahatma Gandhi on a teeter-totter, Vern -- what the hell is THAT over yonder in the dumpster!?!'"

Friday, February 20, 2004

FBI Press Room

FBI, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ENTERTAINMENT AND SOFTWARE INDUSTRIES

"Los Angeles, CA- The FBI, in conjunction with leaders from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) today announced a broad initiative to combat the theft of copyright protected material -- a multi-billion dollar a year crime problem.

"At a press conference at the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Jana Monroe highlighted the FBI's ongoing efforts and successes in addressing the growing number of criminal complaints. Also released at the press conference was an 'Education Letter' designed to inform the public of the risks and vulnerabilities associated with sites where users exchange file information as well an introduction of the FBI's new 'Anti-Piracy' seal and warning text to be displayed on future copyrighted materials."

ShirleyBlog

John Shirley

"I feel vindicated--I always felt I might come off like a crank in stories like 'Where it's Safe' and in novels like DEMONS, where I talked about this sort of thing. Now the Nobel laureates are getting my back. This from the San Francisco Chronicle, look it up at sfgate.com: 'Sixty-two of the nation's top scientists, including a dozen Nobel laureates, denounced the Bush administration Wednesday for 'misrepresenting and suppressing scientific knowledge for political purposes.' In an unusually harsh critique of White House policy-making, the scientists signed a joint statement accusing the administration of systematically distorting research findings, disbanding scientific advisory panels, ignoring or demoting its own staff experts and misleading the public on issues ranging from lead poisoning to climate change. The statement accompanied a lengthy report from the Union of Concerned Scientists... detailing example after example of what it called 'the Bush administration's misuse of science.''"

Alvin Toffler

Toffler's books Future Shock and The Third Wave are two of my favorite sociology books. I really have to re-read them again soon. I became introduced to Future Shock after reading the late John Brunner's spectacular novel Shockwave Rider. Pay no attention to the crass knock-off of Shockwave Rider (the TV show Pretender).

Alvin Toffler and the Third Wave

"In the annals of contemporary change literature, Alvin Toffler is the 600-pound gorilla. He and his wife and collaborator Heidi Toffler have written a baker's dozen of books that have all been best-sellers, starting way, way back in 1970 with Future Shock. The family tree of thousands of books about the future, and about how to cope with it, all lead to the leafy canopy where he makes his roost."

How To Network With Blogger

How To Network With Blogger

"In 1973 a guy named Mark Granovetter wrote an article called The Strength of Weak Ties. The thing was lousy with brilliance and included the idea that you're more likely to get a job through a friend of a friend than a close friend. I think he even had pie charts backing him up. Very scientific, but it's not the seventies any more.

"Now it's the future and we have lots of social networking web sites that show us our weak ties. So many in fact that people are getting overwhelmed. Folks, you don't need a hired hand to manage your social networking duties. If you're a Blogger user, then you're already signed up to the ultimate networking tool--one that plugs you into a world blind to height, weight, and eye color; where your thoughts, opinions, and ideas represent who you are.

"I invite you to join me in an only slightly different dimension. A dimension in which Blogger exists as 'Push Button Networking for the People.' In this version of reality, Blogger does not change, just our perception of it. Let's tour some crazy features to see how blogging doubles as social networking of a different color."

Paranoia XP

The Computer is Your Friend. The Computer Announces the return of Paranoia.

Paranoia XP

"This blog is for the use of the people working on Paranoia XP, the next version of the Paranoia tabletop roleplaying game. The people you'll see posting here are Greg Costikyan and Eric Goldberg (two of the original designers); Allen Varney and Aaron Allston (who are primarily responsible for writing the new version); and Alex Fennel and Matthew Sprange, who run Mongoose Publishing, which will publish the game. Greg is maintaining the site. We'll also invite Daniel Gelber (the third of the original designers) and Ken Rolston (who worked on the second edition) to chime in.

"In other words, all of these folks will have IDs and passwords allowing them to post; however, everyone and anyone is invited to comment."

Wednesday, February 18, 2004

hsHome Page

Home Page

"The pictures and information contained hereon can be very unsettling for some peoples realities. Our observation's show that over 7 out of 10 people when viewing certain pictures that relate directly to their belief systems have a tendency to shut down the reasoning part of the brain and show signs of nervous tension. We believe that this directly relates to reality programming that has been instilled in our race since its conception. 'By whom', is the ultimate question that needs an answer. Please proceed with caution."

DJ Dark View's Wesbite -- Free mp3 downloads !!

Free mp3 downloads !!

Tuesday, February 17, 2004

Words Fail

Censor Scooby Doo?

"The Bush administration has decided that people with bad hearing have bad judgment, too, and need special guidance from the federal government.
So the U.S. Department of Education is declaring about 200 television programs inappropriate for closed-captioning and denying federal grant requests to make them accessible to the hearing-impaired.

"The department made its decisions based on the recommendations of a five-member panel. Who the five members are, only the government seems to know, and it isn't saying. But the shows they censored suggest a perspective that is Talibanesque.

"The government is refusing to caption Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie, apparently fearing that the deaf would fall prey to witchcraft if they viewed the classic sitcoms.

"Your government also believes that Law & Order is too intense for the hard-of-hearing. So is Power Rangers. You can rest easy knowing that your federal tax dollars aren't being spent to promote Sanford and Son, Judge Wapner's Animal Court and The Loretta Young Show within the deaf community. Kids with hearing problems can forget about watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, classic cartoons or Nickelodeon features. Even Roy Rogers and Robin Hood are out.

"Sports programming took a heavy hit, too. The government has decided that people with hearing problems don't need to watch NASCAR, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League or Professional Golf Association tournaments."

AskOxford: Tolkien and the OED

AskOxford: Tolkien and the OED

"In a much-publicized media and phone-based poll conducted by the BBC over the last few weeks and culminating in a grand finale on Saturday 13 December, J. R. R. Tolkien's epic The Lord of the Rings was voted Britain's favourite novel, beating Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, which was also on the final short list.

"Most readers of The Lord of the Rings know that J. R. R. Tolkien was a Professor of English Language and Literature, but few know that before he became a professor, Tolkien spent some time working on the staff of the Oxford English Dictionary. The Dictionary evidently enriched Tolkien's mind; he later said that he ‘learned more in those two years than in any other equal period of my life’."

Tuesday, February 10, 2004

Julius Schwartz, RIP

The passing of a man who's like will never again be seen in the worlds of comics. It would be easier to list the things that he didn't do than what he did do. Along with Stan Lee, Julius Schwartz was responsible for what we now know as the "silver age" of comics. He will be missed. Click here for the AP wire service obituary.

Julius Schwartz Tribute at DC Comics

Julius Schwartz, one of the best-loved and most influential members of both the comics and science fiction communities, died Sunday morning, February 8, in Winthrop Hospital in New York from complications from pneumonia. Schwartz was 88 years old.

Schwartz, who was popularly called "a living legend" and served as DC's Editor Emeritus, will be remembered as one of the founders of science fiction fandom, as a comic-book editor whose vision spanned five decades with DC Comics, and as the architect of comics' Silver Age, revitalizing the careers of such super-heroes as Batman, Superman, The Flash, Green Lantern and The Justice League of America.

"DC has lost a living legend this weekend and a true original," says Paul Levitz, DC's President & Publisher. "Julie was an editor who entertained and educated millions over three generations, performed the near-impossible feat of getting great work out of his contributors without ever ruffling their feelings, and taught many of us our craft. If the measure of an editor is the respect of his peers, he was immeasurable — for his peers who loved and respected him were often legends in their own right. Most of us were simply left in awe."

Check out further tributes at Mark Evanier's site.

And here is the one from Neil Gaiman's site.

Another rememberance at Mike Grell's site.

Deposit or Withdrawal?

Make sure you click the link for the photos too...

Deposit or Withdrawal?

"A Friesian cow took a detour from a wedding where she was meant to be a guest of honour, wandering into a German bank where she was caught on security cameras sidling up to the tellers. Top German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Friday published four robber-style photos of the cow, named Paula, strolling into the Sparkasse savings bank in Wunstorf, a small rural town in northern Germany. REUTERS/Handout/Sparkasse Hannover "

Monday, February 09, 2004

Anti-Valentine's Night Out

Antie-Valentine's Night Out

Electronic Arts, Marvel Sign Game Development Deal

Electronic Arts, Marvel Sign Game Development Deal

"LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. on Thursday said it has signed a deal with comic book publisher Marvel Enterprises Inc. to develop a series of fighting games pitting newly developed EA characters against Marvel superheroes like Spider-Man.

"Redwood City, California-based EA, the world's largest independent game publisher, said Marvel would act as licensing agent for the new characters and would publish comic books based on them.

"The games are under development at EA's studio in Canada and the first one is expected to be released toward the end of calendar 2005.
An EA spokeswoman said the deal includes more than 100 of Marvel's superhero characters, such as Spider-Man and the X-Men. However, it does not include the Hulk or Punisher characters."

Friday, February 06, 2004

Yahoo! News - Surgeons Operate on Baby With Two Heads

Yahoo! News - Surgeons Operate on Baby With Two Heads

"SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - A team of surgeons began operating Friday on a Dominican infant born with a second head, a risky surgery that doctors say they believe to be the first of its kind.

"Led by a Los Angles-based neurosurgeon, the medical team planned to spend about 13 hours removing Rebeca Martinez's second head, which has a partially formed brain, ears, eyes and lips. "

You Just Can't Trust A Punk Somedays

Lydon walkout leaves ITV in the lurch

"Former Sex Pistols star John Lydon will not be allowed to return to I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! after storming off the jungle contest in the middle of the night, throwing the show into a temporary crisis.

"ITV bosses have been forced into emergency action and are working out a damage limitation plan to plug the gap left by Lydon, who was the favourite to win the show."

Wednesday, February 04, 2004

Michael Jackson: Threat or Menace?

The Smoking Gun

"FEBRUARY 2--A California judge today unsealed documents related to the search last year of Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch, providing the first glimpse--though heavily edited--of what investigators carted away from the singer's estate. The documents include redacted inventories of items seized from Jackson's home and two other properties raided November 18. According to the below Neverland inventory, Santa Barbara Sheriff's deputies removed computers, legal documents, magazines, and a Canon digital camera found in Jackson's master bathroom. The court records, released by Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville, show that the material was taken from the 'main house' on the sprawling Los Olivos estate. Agents searched Jackson's master bedroom, where they took a 'note' found in a nightstand, and had to have a locksmith open the locked master bath (keys to the bathroom were apparently found later in a safe). The search warrant documents also include lists of items seized from the Beverly Hills office of Bradley Miller, a private investigator working for Jackson, and the L.A. home of Hamid Moslehi, a videographer who has worked for the so-called King of Pop. Melville, however, has refused to release the affidavit filed in support of the searches, a document that would provide a details of the prosecution's case against Jackson as well as the account provided to investigators by the teenage boy who has accused Jackson of molestation. (10 pages)"

Engineering geek names son version 2.0

Engineering geek names son version 2.0

"HOLLAND, Michigan (AP) -- Tacking Jr. or II onto a boy's name is too common, a new father decided, so the self-described engineering geek took a software approach to naming his newborn son. "

Tuesday, February 03, 2004

Janet Jackson

Because you know you want to see it....

DRUDGE REPORT

"Top CBS executives approved a musical skit where Janet Jackson would expose her breast during the MTV-produced Super Bowl half-time concert, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

"'The decision to go forward went to the very top of the network,' a well-placed source explained from New York.

"The groundbreaking scene came during the most-watched television broadcast of the year -- and during the dinner hour for the nation's west coast viewers."

xtcian: cartophilia!

"States sure are funny-looking"

Sunday, February 01, 2004

Marv Wolfman

Marv Wolfman's Website

"Writer of comic books, movies, television, animation, theme park shows and rides, children's books, novels, interactive, internet animation and, in my spare time, a couple of other things I'm sure I'll remember later. I started writing because of my love for comics, so it's great fun to realize that so many of my characters have been turned into movies, TV, toys and animation. Fact is, I've been told that I've created more characters that have been adapted into movies, TV and animation than any other comics writer with the exception of Stan Lee."