March 31, 2005
Creation Science Fair
At least one word in the phrase "creation science fair" is a contradiction in terms. While I think the entire enterprise is an exercise in faith rather than a demonstration of scientific reasoning it is impossible to dismiss the enthusiasm evident in Cassidy Turnbull's "My Uncle Is A Man Named Steve (Not A Monkey)".
Or an ape, which would better reflect the dispute at issue though this may be overly pedantic of me given the context. But as quotes go, this intervention on teaching biology in Pennsylvania sums up the problem neatly (via Chapel Perilous).
More on a related theme at the Commissar (via INDC Journal).
Update: Here is something yet more deranged. So, if an undergrad does not like a religious studies prof's interpretation of Paul or an art history studies prof's description of, say, Fauvism they can sue? Or is this farcicle law only meant to intimidate professors of biology? How about this: if you would rather learn "Intelligent Design" than science you should pursue your education at an establishment willing to teach it and discover precisely how far your credentials will get you (via Harry Hutton).
Harold Be Thy Name
What is the origin of the H. in the phrase, Jesus H. Christ? I like these related suggestions.
An historian may be familiar with the tale that, before an important battle in 312, the Emperor Constantine saw vision of the cross in the sky and heard a voice saying that he would conquer "under this standard" or "in this sign." The Latin words would be "in hoc signo," which abbreviates to IHS.
RayRay
Aside from some bikini-themed ads I think this site is worksafe. Except for the RayRay game itself, that is. If you get started with this do not expect to get much work done.
Iris Mulej
One of my main irritations with claims about the objectification of women is that they are often based in the very sexism they claim to oppose. Take the case of Iris Mulej, for example. Why shouldn't a model have an IQ of 156? Alternatively, why should someone with an IQ of 156 not earn a living as a model? It looks a lot better than academia (though it is easy to romanticize the employment of others).
Goa'uld sarcophagus
Ginza's Goa'uld sarcophagus salon is now open.
Bun fight
Is P.G. Wodehouse responsible for the expression "bun fight"?
If it sounds to you like a Victorian children’s nursery at teatime, that surely must be the original allusion behind it. Imagine children having tea, inevitably squabbling over the buns, teacakes, muffins and—this being a British expression—crumpets. Two similar expressions are known from the middle of the nineteenth century: crumpet-scramble and muffin-worry; these haven’t survived.
I shall now endeavour to work crumpet-scramble or muffin-worry in at least one conversation every day.
March 30, 2005
Why Johnny can't code
This latest iteration of math related moral panic is no more likely to be effective at getting anyone to learn math than the posters they used to pin to the wall in the back of math class. Besides, coding is a writing skill.
Knowing your child will soon enter the same job market as his classmates, would you be concerned? Would you work with him to improve? Would you begin to question the way math is taught in school?
Numa Numa Class
Now the term is almost done I am tempted to set a Numa Numa in-class assignment for my digital media class.
Doom Reloaded
Doom Reloaded is even better for shooting stuff if you can remember how to finish that first level...
Hello Tomorrow
"Spike Jonze dreams up a gorgeous new spot for Adidas." I admit a certain wonder at a shoe with a computer that could have got people to the Moon 40 years ago.
Strong Idea
The Strong Idea TG-273 Commando Flashlight II Stun Gun: a stun gun flashlight for all the Flea's crime-fighting needs at long last!
Cold Regions
I wondered why they put my office over with the archaeologists and discovered the reason one particularly cold day about a month ago. Now the snow is almost gone it does not sound quite so bad.
Crushing foot motif
So... I am not the only person who is fully convinced this is the future, right?
VOICE
3 billion human lives ended on August 29th, 1997. The survivors of the nuclear fire called the war Judgment Day. They lived only to face a new nightmare, the war against the Machines...
A metal foot crushes the skull like china.
TILT UP, revealing a humanoid machine holding a massive battle rifle. It looks like a CHROME SKELETON... a high-tech Death figure. It is the endoskeleton of a Series 800 terminator. Its glowing red eyes compassionlessly sweep the dead terrain, hunting.
March 29, 2005
Gothic Martha Stewart
I first heard of Gothic Martha Stewart while I was living in England though at that time I had never heard of Martha Stewart. Flea Towers is packed to the rafters with curios and ethnographic miscellany making an "opposite of minimalist" Victorian look a virtue of necessity.
DaVinci California
As soon as the Flea's ad revenue make me independently wealthy I will lounge around in DaVinci originals drinking cocktails.
Deadly Nightshades
Deadly Nightshades is "the original 1950's fiberglass, reproduction lampshade company." Heaven and Hell is one elaborate example and there are plenty of custom variations.
Vivienne Westwood
Something I have been meaning to mention is that I now have Vivienne Westwood King's Road sunglasses so everybody looks at me on the street and is really jealous because I rule and they suck.
Banksy
London-based agit-prop artist, Bansky decides to show his work in New York's four biggest galleries. Wooster Collective has the exclusive.
Dressed as a British pensioner, over the last few days Banksy entered each of the galleries and attached one of his own works, complete with authorative name plaque and explanation.
He says - "This historic occasion has less to do with finally being embraced by the fine art establishment and is more about the judicious use of a fake beard and some high strength glue." Banksy continues -"They're good enough to be in there, so I don't see why I should wait"
Professional journalism
Increasingly I find the only news and commentary I can watch is from Jon Stewart or Dennis Miller. That and a certain commentary show on the CBC but that is only because it helps me plot my revenge. Or "venge" as I like to call it. Also, I am pretty sure Sarah Silverman should marry me (that last link is not safe for work or anywhere else under any circumstances, ok?).
Raven 42
Reports of Raven 42 should "end the debate about women in combat - they are in combat, period." This is a story of out-numbered military police intervening to save a supply convoy under fire by "insurgents", actually non-Iraqi fascists. BlackFive has background (via INDC Journal) and Winds of Change has video.
Each of the enemy had hand-cuffs and were looking to take hostages for ransom or worse, to take those three wounded US soldiers for more internet beheadings.
About this time, three armored Hummers that formed the MP Squad under call sign Raven 42, 617th MP Co, Kentucky National Guard, assigned to the 503rd MP Bn (Fort Bragg), 18th MP Bde, arrived on the scene like the cavalry....
March 28, 2005
Blue Equinox
Now that Weiser Press is belatedly reprinting it, some folks are at long last making available their treasured copies of the Blue Equinox. I have a '70s edition on the way... Meanwhile, I notice a Leon Engers Kennedy portrait of Aleister Crowley reproduced in the original edition of the Blue Equinox is on sale. A snip at £17,500!
Malleus Daemonum
I am almost certain there is a Flea-reader out there just itching to pick up this first edition of the Malleus Daemonum for me. Once it arrives I can go smite some demons assuming, of course, I can figure out the appropriate demon-smiting outfit. Something pea-soup resistant, I think.
Lone Star Kabbalah
With a slogan like this I don't even care what the rest of this kabbalah site is content free.
VE Day
I am making somewhat hasty preparation for a period costume party in celebration of the 60th anniversary of VE Day. This will take place in the context of a Cotswold village fete and I am expecting people to go all out. Now, the Flea is more Victorian through Edwardian by preference but I suppose I can manage a 1940s men's look.
Tony Blair
"As long as the Tories are hung up on gay issues, people will think they're weird."
No, not these Tories, those Tories. Though I would not vote for Liberal Democrat leader, Charles Kennedy, I believe his point addresses Tories on both of the Atlantic. The barely disguised contempt for gay people, the courts and the Constitution expressed by supporters of the Canadian party's recent decision to oppose equality before the law shows the bigots now have a platform they can support while the rest of us suffer continued Liberal government as a result. In stark contrast is a man for whose government I have voted twice and shall do so again: Tony Blair (via jonnyc). Here is another reason why.
Mr Blair - who noted that there are "plenty" of gay ministers just below Cabinet level - urged the Church of England to resolve its differences over homosexual bishops. He said many people in the Church shared his view that the fundamental Christian principle is one of equality.
Quite right. I was one of those people who stayed up specifically to watch Michael Portillo lose his seat. I now think the sooner Conservatives in the UK find the sense to bring back Portillo in place of Michael Howard the sooner there will be a viable alternative to Labour government. In Canada, we are waiting for Belinda Stronach. But I will not hold my breath for Conservatives on either side of the Atlantic to see sense. For now, the bigots have won.
Update: Some folks may find this sort of talk intemperate. I doubt anyone whose marriage is being threatened by one of Canada's major political parties would feel the same way. If anything, my talk here is far too moderate. In fact, the kind of moderate talk I have been engaged in at The Shotgun and other venues is precisely the kind of talk that has lost the day to the utterly intemperate voices of people who think their ideology trumps the rights of their fellow Canadians. Any of us who thought we could reason with those voices need to face facts: we were wrong. All that is left now is to make the best of the bad choices on offer and keep the bigots from power.
Update: PolSpy is calling my Belinda Stronach idea "flea-brained". I am frankly astonished nobody has thrown those mots justes my way before now. He also talks about sex dolls and Stephen Harper in the same sentence which is almost certainly another first.
Things are heating up with some loose language about plastic Canadians. But seriously. Look at that photo and tell me the words "face plate" don't leap to mind.
Libertarianism
Here is a definition of libertarianism I quite like (via the Daily Dish).
- Ronald Reagan.
This is also the conservatism I would like to find - but do not - in Canada's Conservative party. Or the liberals I would like to find - but do not - in Canada's Liberal party. It seems to me that whether it is the CRTC or the gun registry or somebody else's sex life that Canada's major political parties are interested in getting and keeping power first for themselves and second over other people's choices. I see no major political party in this country whose interest is in ceding its power to inferere let alone promoting individual freedom. What we are presented with instead is a Hobson's choice of busy-bodies.
March 26, 2005
Ju-On
I got round to renting Ju-On at long last. Creepy!
The Grudge, by contrast, was over-produced and CGI-ridden. This was a big disappointment given the successful interpretation of Ringu as The Ring (if not the not so great Korean Ring Virus). Part of the problem may have been that The Grudge was directed by Takashi Shimizu, the fellow who had directed Ju-On, in Japan and by a Japanese crew. Producer Sam Raimi probably meant this to ensure a faithful remake but in doing so missed the need to translate family relationships, reactions to scary situations and so forth to an American context. Now, look, I revere Sam Raimi but this thing would have been better if they had made an American, and not only an English-language, version of the film (and included The Classic).
On a related note is a site with some nsfw banner ads. I imagine this was a promotional stunt for Ring 2. Funny.
The Shining
So what do you call The Shining in Italian? I don't remember that line about tiramisu from the original. I am afraid this movie was ruined for me by a friend's Shelley Duvall impersonation.
Exorcism in Russia
It might be all the horror movies I have been watching lately but this sound-file of a Russian exorcism in progress is creeping me out.
Jessica Alba lasso practice
Jessica Alba explains her striptease practice regimen to David Letterman. Apparently the rope needs to be stiff but a little bit soft.
Gems
The crack-like effect of this Gems game reminds of that time on Next Generation when the whole crew got hooked on that game-pod thing except Wesley who was too cool to be addicted or something.
Luang Sathorn Mansion
The former Russian Embassy to Thailand was housed in the Luang Sathorn Mansion. How vacant... how mysterious!
Medici muddle
Investigation of the remains of Medici family members has been complicated by extra bodies, bodies in the wrong burial and... previous investigations. Take Grand Duke Francesco Medici I, for example.
"His body was exhumed in 1947 by an anthropologist. Being an anthropologist, what interested him was the shape of the skull. So what did he do? He took away the scalp. ... "Arsenic residues end up in the nails and hair. But it would be difficult to find any in the four hairs we found left in Francesco's tomb."
Hobbit vandalism
Yet another shining moment for paleontology is it is learned the remains of Homo floresiensis have been damaged since their discovery.
"The equivalent in the world of art would be somebody slashing the Mona Lisa and then trying to fix it with chewing gum," says paleontologist Tim White of the University of California-Berkeley, who was not on the discovery team.
March 25, 2005
The Apprentice: Glenn Reynolds
NBC has announced Mark Burnett and Donald Trump are to co-produce an Apprentice spin-off and that "not only will the series be like The Apprentice, it will in fact be The Apprentice."
You see where I am going with this. Imagine teams of aspiring bloggers arranged into two competing groupblogs, say "Mortal Humans" and "Top 100". Each week teams would have to carry out vaguely ludicrous tasks under the tuition of Glenn Reynolds. Can that hair possibly be real? If I get links will I have a hot wife too?
This week on the Blogprentice - we'd have to call it that... we're geeks - teams have to design a viral marketing campaign for a carbonated milk beverage. Top 100 has a tried and true strategy of paying off "Democratic" "bloggers" through Soros-controlled NGOs. "It's marketing! It's activism! It's actimarketing!" A fight breaks out, "Surely, that's marktivism..."
Meanwhile, Mortal Humans takes the rash decision to try the beverage. "Gahhh! This is foul... sell it to teenagers!" They enlist Paris Hilton and Fred Durst to the project somehow and combining tricky Google keywords involving "Jessica Alba assless chaps" the uniques roll in.
Cut to a Mazda RX8 rolling up to an ivy covered building and two teams in the boardroom reserved for law faculty of the University of Tennessee. For Mortal Humans it is a prized evening seminar in space science policy but for Top 100 it will be a return visit to the boardroom and one blogger will hear the dreaded words:
"Heh. Indeed."
So who gets to be Carolyn Kepcher?
I'm crushing your head
The US Navy having fun. I notice at least one Canadian martial arts move is now being deployed by naval aviators.
Ship of fools
If I was delivering a sermon in London on the 24th April the first thing I would do is announce that any market research types could bite me. And shouldn't pews be stern and uncomfortable? This could be why I am not cut out for the clergy.
Among other things, mystery worshippers will be asked to describe the moment which brought them closest to heaven and the moment closest to "the other place".
Well, I have certainly never heard it called that before.
Age project
How old do you think I am?
Old enough to buy beer? To be called "Ma'am" or "Sir"? To get special discounts?
Kingdom of Heaven
The trailer for the new Ridley Scott film is impressive (he directed Gladiator, apparently). For one thing, Orlando Bloom has returned to has sword/armour niche and that is a good thing. But I expect it is too much to hope a film addressing the Crusades will do so in anything like an even-handed fashion.
The phrase "stranger in a strange land" should be retired from ad copy. So... we know words like "exotic" are a problem in this context, right? Have these lefty directors not read Said? I am now taking bets on who gets to be the baddies in whatever heavy-handed contemporary parallels we are meant to draw from this epic.
Chlodosind the Blood-thirsty
Merovinginate yourself with the Merovingian Name Generator.
OK, probably not. He was king of the Franks, converted to Christianity by his wife Bathilde, and brought a good chunk of Europe under the thumb of his warlord dynasty, known as the "Merovingians." That is, until Charles "the Hammer" Martel came around, ousted the old nuts, and began the Carolingian dynasty, best known for producing that illiterate patron of the arts, Charlemagne. Anyhoo, the Merovingians didn't do much for Europe, or for themselves, for that matter.
They did, however, have one thing going for them...very funny names.
March 24, 2005
Eko Eko Azarak
I keep hearing rave reviews about the new Chaosium Secrets of Japan supplement but have yet to purchase it. It is a question of spending that much money for anything with that much anime it it. That said, there are local Japanese interpretations of the Mythos on offer. Take, Misa the Dark Angel for example. This ritual offers an interesting spin on the division of labour in the Mythos. Umm... Atorakunakua?* Something to do with the "Weitly" family presumably. You know, the one's who used to worship the demon god Yog Sototo.
I dedicate myself to the god of the spider, Atorakunakua.
I make myself as an angel...
I dedicate myself to the god of the wind, Huster.
I make myself as an angel...
I dedicate myself to the god of the underworld, Tsatugua.
I make myself as an angel...
I dedicate myself to the god of chaos, Niarlratohotepu.
I make myself as an angel...
I dedicate myself to the god of water, Dagon.
I make myself as an angel...
I dedicate myself to the god of the black goat, Shupunigras.
I make myself as an angel...
I dedicate myself to the sleeping god, Cthulhu.
Sacrifice...
*Ahh... Atlach-Nacha. It's one of Clark Ashton Smith's.
Suntory
This Suntory ad sums up why I should move to Japan. The wire-fighting badminton moves are inexplicably set off against the Sheena Easton tune and now I want some soda.
Update: The Flea's regional culture expert writes to correct my naive view of badminton and sunshine. That's no soda!
Ethnic doughs
The fried dough of many peoples. I must say I missed doughnuts while I was in England.
Those bismarks look really, really good and this is the second time this week I have been tormented with the thought of zeppole.
Formula-1
Just how comparatively fast is a Grand Prix car? I admit it. This really sucked me in. So cool.
COMINTERN Electronic Archive
For all your COMINTERN documentary needs.
The Communist, or Third, International (COMINTERN) was founded in early 1919 by Lenin as an international revolutionary proletarian party. The COMINTERN consisted of about 70 communist and socialist parties in Europe, Asia, and America. Consequently, it deeply influenced the political life of many countries worldwide. The semi-legal and clandestine activities coordinated by the COMINTERN made this one of the most cloistered societies of recent centuries.
COMINTERN Archives
The COMINTERN archives contain 55 million pages of original documents in almost 90 languages, covering the whole period during which the organization was active, from 1919 till 1943. The archives contain 237,000 files from seven Congresses, thirteen Executive Committee Communist International (ECCI) Plenums, and over 70 communist, socialist, and other international organizations. Hand-written amendments and other personal corrections made by various figureheads of the communist movement make this material even more valuable.
Handbook for civilians
Just in case atom bombs fall.
1. To outline, according to the latest available and authentic information, the capacities of modern destructive warfare as made possible through the use of atom bombs and similar high explosives, and as brought about by biological and chemical warfare weapons.
Texas Futile Care Law
Can this be true?
Update: No matter my personal opinion, I believe I understand the argument that finds a contradiction between imprisoning someone for starving an animal to death but not a human being. I also see an ethical continuity between a religious perspective that so values life that it opposes both capital punishment and euthanasia.
So, can someone please explain to me why it is right to sign emergency legislation to intervene on behalf of Terri Schiavo and also right to sign legislation making it legal to end life-support for Sun Hudson and Spiro Nikolouzos? I have seen one reference to the Texas Futile Care law in the media and that was The Daily Show. I find it grotesque that this post on the subject should be found in the top ten Google search results. Perhaps someone could point me to such coverage. I would like to know why there are vigils and children under arrest and threats of murder on behalf of Terri Shiavo but hardly a word for Sun Hudson or Spiro Nikolouzos. Does the media... do human beings... have such a limited capacity for addressing complexity? Or is our empathy limited to those people for whom we can put a face to a name? Worse yet, for people who can afford it?
To be clear, I do not know what I think about these cases and do not believe I have enough information to form an opinion. Whatever my disagreements with President Bush on most social issues he has struck me to be a man making choices on the basis of a strong personal sense of right and wrong. Have I been mistaken? I am asking serious questions because I want to know what logic is at work here.
The Hudson and Nikolous cases fall under the Texas Futile Care Law, which was signed into law by then-governor George W. Bush.
As usual, the best discussion of the matter may be found in the blogosphere. Here are comments by Sue Bob's Diary, HealthLawProf Blog, The Village Gate, Mark Kleiman and Crooked Timber. The balance of these links are critical of the President's position and I would be grateful for links to opposing arguments that consider the Texas act. At this point much of the blogosphere sympathetic to the President does not appear to have addressed the case of Sun Hudson or Spiro Nikolouzos. To be clear, I am not asking for links to argument relating to the case of Terri Shiavo unless it addresses the Texas act because those debates are well served in many, many other contexts.
Finally, here is a link to the Texas Futile Care Act of 1999 (via Common Sense). Perhaps someone with a better understanding of this sort of statute than I have could take a look.
March 23, 2005
Haint
Let's say you used your stylin' hoodoo powers and a bottle to capture a "haint", specifically the ghost of a four or five year old girl. What would you do with this destructive spirit? Destroy it at the crossroads? Or sell it on eBay.
I am pretty sure this one violates the eBay "no human body parts" selling policy.
Necronomicon.biz
"The Necronomicon really improved my life! I'm dating my dead girlfriend again, and I sent my math professor to an early grave. Life is good, and this iDeath system really rocks!" - Anonymous
Necronomicon Ex Mortuis, for business!
Sure, but will it drive blog traffic?
The Complete Waste O'Timeline
This Unified Field Crossover History of the Universe should come in handy.
570 BC: Survivors of Skaran war, reduced to nervous systems, survive in mechanical travelling cases developed by mutated scientist Davros.
567 BC: Gautama born, will achieve enlightenment as the Buddha.
Big Fast Finger
I only managed 37 clicks in 10 seconds but I am blaming the interface for not registering my blinding click-speed.
Free the balloon
I did manage to the free the balloon and open the door but that is as far as I am going.
Morgan
It is not like I will stop pointing to other vehicles but I suppose I should admit the true Fleamobile. I have wanted one of these since I was a kid. Anything in the range would suit me down to the ground though I admit a special place in my heart for the Three Wheeler. It strikes me to be particularly well suited to a crime-fighting life.
The worst jobs in history
There have been a lot of rotten jobs throughout the history of Britain though this website inexplicably overlooks adjunct lecturer as one of them. Though I suppose it is not that far from being a sedan-chair bearer.
Bird flu
Two million people could be killed by the Bird Flu if it gets loose in the UK. Or, taking the World Health Organization estimates, it could be eleven million. I imagine the Canadian governme