One Red Paperclip

It started with a paperclip.

This is a story of a man with a mission to barter. He started with one red paperclip and he wants to end with a house. Right now....he's got a 1000 watt generator. Is this dorky? I'm really not sure. It very well could be, but it is fascinating to say the least.

I hope that he gets his house. I am sure that I will check on this later. [via Boing Boing]

Bad CDs

These are the music CDs that:

"1. Prevent you from copying it for personal use or from playing it on computerized devices (computers, DVD players, game consoles, MP3 players, consumer CD duplicators, car CD players and more)."

"2. In the United States, these 'copy-protected' CDs are often unmarked. Once you buy it, you can only exchange it and hope that the replacement isn't defective too."

Click on either the link in the Headline (above) or the link below for a list of some of the known bad CDs here in the United States.

http://www.fatchuck.com/z3.html

From Fat Chuck's website: "Return Defective CDs Every Time. You'd be surprised how often people don't return CDs that are defective because they think it's their fault. If you get a defective or corrupt CD, please return it for a good exchange or a refund."

Edit: Apparently the EFF has released an incomplete list of Sony/BMG CDs which have the root install DRM on them. The page also shows where to look for the labels, which it seems you can only see after purchase. I thought coming accross this link was worth updating.

French Film Star Le Pew Injured in Paris Cat Riots

"PARIS - Former French matinee idol Pepe Le Pew was among the hundreds injured last night amid violent feline rioting in the impoverished Parisian suburb of Dans-le-Crappeur. Le Pew, 58, a former Warner Brothers studio actor turned Chirac government spokes-skunk, sustained severe scratches and concussions in the melee before nose-pin equipped EMT rescue squads could drag him to safety. He is expected to make a full recovery.

"Last night's rioting marked the eighth consecutive night of violence in the Paris suburbs, as thousands of immigrant feline youths continue to rampage to protest a lack of jobs and cuts in French government tuna programs. Dans-le-Crappeur, home to tens of thousands of unemployed first-hundred generation immigrant cats, has been particularly hard hit.

"Violence erupted here last Wednesday night after French Interior Minister Nikolas Sarkozy announced a crackdown on crime and furniture-scratching in the sprawling Chateau des Chats public housing projects. Enraged feline youths went on a rampage, smashing windows of local fish shops and overturning hundreds of public pay-litter boxes. Violence intensified over the weekend as enraged cats began burning and looting sprees across the suburbs, sparked by Sarkozy's remarks that they were 'easily enraged.'

"In a stark warning of continued violence Monday, immigrant community spokes-cat Imam Tariq Al-Felix of the Lipi Le Lyon Mosque said that arson and looting would continue 'until the French government does something to solve the problem of all the burned out looted buildings in our neighborhoods.'

"Seeking to quell the burgeoning Kitty-fada and restore public order, French President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin enlisted the help of Le Pew yesterday. It was thought that Le Pew - who led France's UN efforts to oppose US sanctions against the so-called 'pussies of evil' of Sylvester, Tom and Mr. Jinks - would help establish a diplomatic dialog with the Gallic feline community.

"Instead, the outreach effort appeared to backfire. According to witnesses, Le Pew's appearance on the scene last night caused a stampede as panicked crowds began fleeing the smell. More trouble ensued when Le Pew was seen as making 'inappropriate contact' with a burqqa-clad female cat, which reportedly sparked a mob of feline activists to don nose clips and begin beating him. Youths also set fire to a street-stripe painting truck which was allegedly involved in the incident.

"From his hospital bed, Le Pew issued an apology to the Parisian cat community, explaining that 'I am to be walking in zee park one day, in ze merry merry month of Mai,' and 'Pepe, he is to thinking this feline girl, she is un belle skunk femme fatale, no?'

"Le Pew also appealed for public calm, and cautioned French citizens not to let the violence lead to anti-immigrant sentiment.

"'To ze multiculturalisme, we must say ‘Vive L’Amour!' said Le Pew.

"'And remember, France needs zee cat community,' he added. 'Who else is going to pay for Pepe’s free hospital?'"

My Battle Imp

Chris's Battle Imp is

Irord

Backstabbing: 1 Dodgin': 3 Guts: 3 Magic Mojo: 10 Smackdown: 4

Will your battle imp beat Chris's? Enter your name and fight.

1976 Marvel Fun Book (Flickr)

You might be too young to remember the Marvel Fun Books, I barely remember this one myself. But this Flickr set shows some of the fun that were in the books. Enjoy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/apelad/sets/1302533/ [via Boing Boing]

Energy Fiend: Death By Caffeine

How much of your favorite caffinated beverage will kill you? Take Death by Caffeine and find out. Share your results with us, if you dare!

Juxtapoz Magazine

This is a follow-up to my posting about the Lowbrow/Pop Surrealism posting of yesterday. Mostly because I was asked about the art style and some of its proponents.

Let's start with Juxtapoz Magazine.

If you check out the Links Page, you can find some interesting links to artists of these particular styles.

And, last but not least....Robert Williams, the "founder" of Lowbrow art.

Welcome to Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing

Here’s an interesting resource for GMs, a good “how-to” writing resource is always a good thing. Online is also a plus for many. Just click here for the page, and leave some comments on how useful/interesting that you find it, so that other may be able to better judge this as a resource.

“Have you always harbored a secret (or not so secret) yearning to write? This course is designed to help you learn many of the skills you need to write successful science fiction and fantasy stories. You can use the skills you'll learn here in other kinds of storytelling, as well.
Whether you're trying to write for the first time, or have been at it for a while, you'll probably find some useful tips here. The course is intended mainly for younger (high school and middle school) writers, but it covers fundamentals you can build on no matter what your age.
You can choose between two approaches:
• Quick Launch – Grab a few suggestions and get started writing.
• Hyperspace – Learn in depth about the elements of successful story writing.
Switch between approaches anytime you want. You can follow the navigation bar on the left to any Hyperspace section that looks interesting.* However, the sections build upon each other, so there's a benefit to following them in sequence.
There are no rules, exactly. But we do have what you might call guidelines. And that's to have fun writing!”

Testing Blogger For Word

So, now I can post to my blog by writing the post up in Word first, and then publishing it to Blogger. This, of course, would be my test post to see if it will in fact work.

Dorky, huh?

Seattlest Interview: Kirsten Anderson, founder and owner of Roq La Rue Gallery

"In 1996, Kirsten Anderson opened an issue of Juxtapoz and fell for an art movement. Two years later, she founded Roq La Rue, Seattle’s first art gallery devoted to Lowbrow and Pop Surrealism. Last year Anderson literally wrote (and edited) the book on Pop Surrealism, sensically titled Pop Surrealism. And last month Roq La Rue moved into its fourth space -- the largest yet -- just in time for its annual Halloween group exhibit and a book signing by Robert "godfather of Lowbrow" Williams. (You're invited. This Friday evening. We'll remind you.) Seattlest has enjoyed every show we’ve seen at Roq La Rue -- and Anderson's blog, Thumbmonkey -- so we were very pleased when she agreed to let us interview her."

Why did I blog this entry (particularly after my extended family emergency related "vacation" from updating the blog)? Probably because I found the concept of Pop Surrealism interesting. And I am sure that somebody else out there might too.

From the interview: "The Pop Surrealism/Lowbrow movement was spawned in the 60's, with the rise of the underground comix scene as well as the outlaw biker/hotrod scene. Robert Williams was an artist working within both genres as well as doing 'fine art' -- paintings that were shown in galleries and being taken seriously as "art". A generation of mainly southern california artists became inspired by him and started painting things that were in their personal experience -- usually relating to subcultural lifestyles such as hot rod, tattoo, tiki,lounge and kitsch nostalgia. A magazine called Juxtapoz (founded by Williams) was started and showcased the work of these artists and the mantle of 'Lowbrow' was adopted."

Enjoy.