Ghost of a flea

Polaroid-o-nizer™

Polaroid-o-nize™ an image. You know you want to (via Raymi).

Týr: Ormurin Langi

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance in memory of Ólavur Tryggvason and the conquest of Midgard.

The Henry Root Letters

Charles William Donaldson, author of The Henry Root Letters, has died aged 70 . Props to Magdalene College for rumbling him. I have a friend who engages in the same letter-writing hobby and now a swath of Oxfordshire has to double-check any ridiculous mail to be certain he is not its author.

Miss McDonald

A Day In The Life of Miss McDonald is one of the most frightening things I have ever seen on "the internet" (new pictures every week!). And is it wrong to think she's hot?

The Ten Commandments of Ayn Rand

The Ten Commandments of Ayn Rand. That is a stylin' outfit in the linked article, btw.

Tree-worshipping pagan sex slaves

A comment to a post at Daimnation! repeats that old chestnut about Rome falling due to the failure of its moral values. This is where the slideshow would normally feature pictures of guys at Pride having fun, seemingly anathema to those repeating said chestnut.

So nice to cite Edward Gibbon's "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire". So sad to miss the point entirely. In fact, the Roman Republic and Empire were strong for exactly as long as these societies featured tree-worshipping pagan sex slaves in their spiritual, moral and political structures. It was when they picked up Christianity that their civilization collapsed before hordes of... wait for it... Germanic tree-worshipping pagan sex slaves. So, yes, there was a collapse of traditional Roman values in play but it was Christianity that burst the (presumably buff and fun-loving) imperial Roman bubble. Those chaps at Pride are doing an admirable job of living out Roman ideas of virtue and virility and I fully expect the tree-worshipping pagan sex slaves of downtown Toronto to create an empire in due course. How's that for a hidden "gay agenda"? Ave! It is certainly to be preferred to the constant, barely suppressed whining about other people having fun that would have made Gothic and Vandal rule a welcome relief. Or even our forthcoming Liberal majority government.

Let them marry

Knotted Knickers posts an English-language translation of Psicofonías think-piece, "Matrimonio y católicos". I agree with his argument in favour of allowing Christians to marry. Also: yay, Spain!

He's tipped

N = 1 has reached his tipping point and cannot continue to support the Conservative Party of Canada.

If the Conservative party had advocated civil unions when the Liberals opposed any such arrangement for same-sex partners, if Stephen Harper's supporters did not make an historic effort to reach out to new Canadians on the sole premise that disliking gay people was a "vote winner" or if Stephen Harper himself had decided to participate in Pride Week, reaching out to gay people and explaining how civil unions were just as good, really, then I could imagine his party's opposition to same-sex marriage was based on something other than simple prejudice. If the Conservative party had taken a stand in defense of the word "marriage", respectfully disagreeing with the outcome of a decades long legal and political process without demonizing successively "gay activists", advocates of same-sex marriage within their own party, the honesty of courts in nine jurisdictions, the integrity of the Supreme Court of Canada, the legitimacy of Canada's constitution, multiple opinion polls, Canadians living in whole regions of the country including and especially Ontario and Quebec, the views of the other three main political parties and finally the will of Parliament itself then I would feel differently about their opposition. If the Conservative party was opposed to same-sex marriage but were planning to fight tne next election on the principle of personal liberty (though how these would square I cannot tell you), defense of the West against fundamentalism (even harder to square) or the principle of less intrusive government and the rights of religious minorities including those religious minorities in favour of same-sex marriage (impossible to square as these are an outright contradiction) then I would have to carefully balance one party policy against the dangers of continued one-party government and the inevitable risk of corruption such an arrangement brings.

Too bad that Conservative party does not exist.

Bewitched

Long time Flea-readers know of my Nicole Kidman idée fixe and watching her play Samantha in Bewitched I may as well have had my heart yanked out and thrown at the movie screen (the Sony website has a cute trivia game promoting a dvd release). The film was faithful to the series we grew up with but worked well with the playful conceit that the film was itself about a remake of the tv show. Casting Shirley MacLaine as Endora was inspired. There are plenty of negative reviews written by grumpy people about this film. Ignore them.

I Hate Myself and Want to Die

Tom Reynolds offers his top 25 miserable music tracks. Take Bonnie Tyler's 1984 hit, Total Eclipse of the Heart, for example.

Funky G feat. DeeN: Imam nekog

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance in front of the mirror wearing Chanel medallions.

Suppressive Person

Caroline Letkeman posts documents related to her legal quest to get a refund from the Church of Scientology.

L. Ron Hubbard's reported "battle tactics" make for particularly interesting reading for those interested in Scientology's supposedly defunct injunction that Suppressive Persons are "fair game".

Defense of Biblical marriage

This seven point "Defense of Biblical Marriage" memo found its way to me through the miracle that is "the internet".

The Book of Coming Forth by Day

An alternative, and probably foundational, list of "commandments" may be found in Chapter 125 of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. These should sound familiar.

We should have been first

"The state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation."
- Pierre Elliott Trudeau

Canada is to become the third country in the world to recognize same-sex marriage. About time.

Of course, same-sex marriage was already the law of the land for 90% of Canadians so this new legislation is of most importance to those remaining who live in Prince Edward Island, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories (where a court case had already been filed) and in one more province that comes as no surprise. Meanwhile, some politicians in, don't hold your breath, Alberta continue to embarrass themselves. And by the way, Calgary Tory MP Ted Morton, if your ludicrous suggestion becomes law in Alberta there will be plenty of churches who will be delighted to marry same-sex couples. But the religious rights of those churches, or their gay parishioners, have never meant a damn to you have they? So it hardly surprises me you could care less about the rights of men and women who want to marry outside any church, let alone the one that failed to teach you Christ's compassion.

Satarial

Every once in awhile I stumble across a band that leaves me with a profound feeling of yearning. When, oh when, I ask myself, will I get off my ass and form Hand of Vecna, my hypothetical viking-metal band of the future? Satarial is just such a band (warning: nipple!). While more Celticy than Vikingy in inspiration these videos leave me no doubt we are faced with an awesome presence. Especially that one with the elf queen and the flagellation and the ritual sacrifice. Just take care not to browse through band photos at work. One word: firecracker.

City Hideout

City Hideout by OOOMS is a collapsable metal box resembling "the kind of streetside sheds that commonly house electrical devices such as streetlight controls, new-age parking meters, and small generators." This is the ideal duckblind for my crime-fighting activities in Annexia. One the one hand it would allow me to disappear...

Le Building

Le Building is just the thing for your cute, animated short needs.

Amoeba v Product.01: Heart ov Glass

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance. More Product.01 goodness!

WYSIWYG

I am looking for software that will let me do WYSIWYG website, and specifically blog, design. My current Flea design makes me happy but I would like something that would let me shift the top banner into the background, make the layout fill the field better, etc. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Sheepish

I had never played Sheepish before yet it bore an eldritch familiarity. As if I had known it in another life, dimly remembered.

Wondimu Wedajo

Sgt. Wondimu Wedajo reports three lions rescued a 12-year-old girl kidnapped by men expressing a lamentable aspect of Ethiopian traditional marriage.

Daniel M'Mburugu

Note to leopards: do not try to eat 73 year old Kenyan grandfathers.

Double-entry book-keeping

Yesterday, I was challenged on my assertion that selective tax-cuts are subsidies by another name. I ask Flea-readers to turn your attention to the practice of double-entry book-keeping to allow me to illustrate why a tax-cut and a subsidy are effectively the same thing.

Say you live in a community that has roads and a society that has decided some things like road repair are a communal good for which we are collectively responsible. Excepting Robert Heinlein's moon-dwellers, chances are you live in such a community. It may be that your society has decided to have infrequent and basic road repair or it may be that your society has decided to build an Autobahn. It may be that your society has reached its decision through a transparent system of representative democracy or that its decision has been made by a relatively small elite. But no matter what system of road repair is decided upon or what system of government reached the decision, let alone the merits of any combination of the above, the fact remains that some choice has been made and the potholes will need to be filled. Whether you would rather take your chances with Mike on the Moon is immaterial to that fact.

Now let us say you have a socialist government handing out subsidies to groups it likes. No matter how big those subsidies are or which groups are so endowed someone still has to pay the bill for road repair. If more money is spent on selective subsidies then one of two things must happen: either more taxes must be raised from everybody else or road repair has to be scaled back. It may be that subsidies will prime the pump a la John Maynard Keynes/George W. Bush and that increased economic activity will have a knock on effect of a larger economy as a whole and so reduce pothole repair burdens across the board. But this has no bearing on the fact that in the short term more subsidies equal less money for road repair. Or health care. Or national defense. Or anything else our community has decided to pay for.

Now let us say you have a conservative government that actually cuts taxes rather than claiming at election time that it intends to do so then proceeding to spend just as much, if not more, on its own pet projects than the socialists it claims to oppose. A tax cut, it is often supposed, is the opposite of a subsidy because the government is forgoing taxation rather then finding ways to spend more money. Unfortunately, there is the small matter of those potholes needing to be fixed. Again, no matter how fancy a road system our community has chosen to support there will be a bill to pay in supporting it. If some organizations or interests are offered a tax cut then one of two things must happen: either more taxes must be raised from everybody else or road repair has to be scaled back. It may be that tax cuts will prime the pump a la Tony Blair/Ronald Reagan and that increased economic activity will have a knock on effect of a larger economy as a whole and so reduce pothole repair burdens across the board but this has no bearing on the fact that in the short term more selective tax cuts equal less money for road repair. Or health care. Or national defense. Or anything else our community has decided to pay for.

It seems to me that both approaches have merit. By all reports both Hong Kong and Singapore have working road systems though historically these two communities have had different underlying economic philosophies directing their growth. This does not change the fact that in both instances a decision was made about what kind of road system the community was prepared to pay for. In even the most directive or the most laissez-faire contexts some organizations or interests are inevitably going to be offered advantages through subsidies or tax cuts. But no matter which side of the ledger the monies come from the rest of us have to pay for their privileges. And that is true whether or not the organization or interest claims to represent a religious ideology.

Pride 25

I was thinking of putting together a list of materials by people driven to distraction by the idea of their fellow citizens being treated equally before the law across Canada instead of in only 8 of 10 provinces. Unfortunately, some websites would require a line-by-line fisking to address properly. The grotesque thing about Charles McVety, et al. is how fixated they are on something that has no effect on them whatsoever (via Sinister Thoughts). Same-sex marriage has been the law of the land in Ontario for two years and I have yet to hear even a rumour of any church, synagogue, mosque or temple losing the charitable status my tax dollar continues to support no matter what lunatic nonsense spews thenceforth. I mean, I am literally paying for a variety of people to teach all sorts of things I regard as utter foolishness and yet none of the above pay a tithe to support my blogging religion. All this while my taxes support some folks from a minority of those churches, synagogues, mosques and temples who want to use the law to obliterate the marriages of a number of my friends. It seems that a loudmouthed, obnoxious few hold a peculiar idea of persecution where anything that impinges on their ability to tell other people what to do signals the end of the world. So, add "gays" to "Jews", "Masons", "Majestic-12" and every other group whose occult agenda is supposedly pulling the strings. The agenda? To force people like McVety to, uhh, well nothing except present them with the grim prospect of minding their own business. With any luck C-38 will pass quickly and CBC Newsworld can stop giving McVety airtime and put me on to talk about Kylie Minogue instead.

Meanwhile, I went to Pride yesterday afternoon and at least until the heat drove me off I did not see a single banner, flyer or float that made any reference to C-38. Just a lot of people having fun. But I suppose that is the difference right there.

Dimitri Soudas

According to today's Dose (no article link) Tory leader spokesman, Dimitri Soudas was asked why his boss was "noticeably absent" from Pride week festivities in Toronto. His reply beggars description.

No, I don't imagine it is. Dose was referring to a million strong festival representing a community your party wishes not only deny equal rights but whose rights you would rescind, the courts, Parliament, the Constitution and numberless lives be damned. A community your party leader cannot not show his face to for the shame I can only assume he is feeling. Imagine for a moment a Conservative spokesman offering a similar sly comment about any other community in Canada. I do not swear at the Flea but if I did I would be telling Soudas where he could put his remark. Remember this sneering dismissal of a million people celebrating their hard won freedoms the next time the Conservative party leadership says it is "defending" anything except its own prejudice. And just so we are clear on this point: there was plenty of Muslim and Chinese-Canadian Pride on show yesterday.

Stephen Harper, you and your office owe Canadians an apology.

Dandi Wind: Umbilical Noose

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance in ecstatic worship of Dandilion Schlase.

Hydro-Foam

Ok, I hellawant one of these Hydro-Foam toys. More on the Hydro-Foam at the inventor's website.

Interview Tom Cruise

Ask Tom Cruise anything (via KiP). Also, Tom Cruise's Thetan powers are showing (also via KiP! xoxo). Here it is again with suitable Sith music accompaniment.

Tom Cruise and David Miscavige

Upon L. Ron Hubbard's death and transition into research in some other plain of existence, the management of Scientology was taken over by David Miscavige. Now, I know that while I have been caught in a few undignified poses myself this image of Tom Cruise saluting Miscavige is priceless. Presumably this is a gesture specific to the Scientology para-military arm, Sea Org. Nice uniform, by the way.

Behind the Sofa Again

Behind the Sofa Again is a soon to be completed group-blog dedicated to the first season of the new Doctor Who. Very nice design. I am waiting for the end of the season one broadcast in Canada before reading too much.

On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem

"Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth but supreme beauty, a beauty cold and austere like that of sculpture." - Alan Turing

Wade Rowland argues the "sum of our debt to a gay man." Alan Turing's sexual preferences probably had nothing more to do with his mathematical abilities, a mathematical genius that was critical to winning the War, than his choice of ice cream flavour. But in the end his sexual preferences were the only thing that mattered to a country he had faithfully served.

To which I would add: hounded to death at 41-years of age, what did Alan Turing never have the opportunity to invent? We not only failed to treat him properly but lost the world he might have made. It is crucial to understand that Turing never made a secret of his sexual preference. This demonstrates something of the disattention to social worlds so typical of most of the mathematicians I have met and was most probably unwise given the time in which he lived. But it strikes me it would be impossible to blackmail a gay man for his sexual preference when it was not a secret he had ever bothered to keep. The threat of blackmail used to deny him access to his work, in other words, was a nonsense and nothing more than an excuse to treat the man badly. Sadly, precisely these sorts of self-serving, irrational excuses are still put about to justify treating gay people unequally before the law fifty years later. All too many of these excuses are propagated using computers whose underlying logic is indebted to a gay man. That isn't just ironic. It is tragic. But such is the logic of the inquisition. If history had seen that line of reasoning consistently win the day we would not be using computers, we would be living in mud huts. And if that logic had killed Alan Turing before the War we might yet to be free of Hitlerism.

So... being igorant, just what is an Entscheidungsproblem when it is at home?

Pride

Over a million people are expected to come out for this afternoon's centre-piece parade of Pride Week in Toronto (bigger than Sydney... but we already knew Canada is bigger than Australia). The first Toronto Pride twenty-five years ago was a reaction to police harrassment and was bravely celebrated under people surveillance. This year Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair will be in the parade. The Ontario Provincial Police are operating a recruiting booth at the event, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty attended a Pride awards gala last Tuesday and I have read messages of support from federal cabinet ministers, the leader of the NDP and from Canada's Governor General.

So Stephen Harper.. what are you ashamed of? And why should a single person among that million vote for you or your party?

Equality

Same-sex marriage is already the law in eight of ten Canadian provinces. The sky has not fallen. When Bill C-38 passes and Canadians in those last two provinces are treated equally before the law it will not be a day too soon.

Breast aware

Kylie Minogue recently released a statement about her treatment and thanks to fans for helping to raise awareness about breast cancer. Also, to deny rumours she had imported English body guards to Australia (perish the thought), caused amubulances to be diverted (though I expect heads were turned) or had her hospital room painted pink (and why not?).

Batman Beginerer

The Batman Begins sequel will shed Katie Holmes. I am taking bets on whether the bride to be ever makes it up with aisle with Tom Cruise. The shade of Bennifer, and the not inconsiderable Tom Cruise irritation factor, says: not likely.

Dave Clarke ft. Chicks On Speed: What Was Her Name

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance like we're in detention and have to explain our Cap'n Crunch sandwiches (hat tip to the Flea's Sensitivity Awareness Advisor).

Pewter Daleks

Years ago I spotted a pewter Dalek salt and pepper set but was saved from temptation because one of the Dalek plunger arms was broken. A Dalek bottle stopper or table lighter is an even bigger temptation. But a reproduction TARDIS key... almost too much to resist.

And then there is Dalek bubble bath.

Moon over London

Now, that's what I call gibbous. No wait, that's a different kind of moon. This one is a Ponzo.

L. Ron Hubbard and Aleister Crowley

While I knew L. Ron Hubbard was (allegedly) associated with Jack Parsons and the OTO Agape Lodge in Pasadena I did not know he was (allegedly) involved in the Babalon Working or how close Hubbard (allegedly) felt to occult supergenius Aleister Crowley, "my very good friend."

Not that Crowley ever met the man, writing instead that Hubbard appeared to be a "prowling swindler" and, writing of him and Jack Parsons, "I get fairly frantic when I contemplate the idiocy of these louts". Here is some official word on Scientology symbols.

Fried minke whale

The BBC reports on the latest innovation in Japanese fast food technology from Hakodate based Lucky Pierrot, winner of a gold prize from the Hamburger Lovers Association . I gather minke whale sits somewhere between beef and fish on the taste and texture scale (hat tip to the Jawa Report).

Hyogo Gubernatorial Election

While Tokyo Times is probably right to say the Hyogo Gubernatorial Election does not usually attract more than local attention instances of poster theft and thoughts on the 7-3 hairstyle merit closer scrutiny. Also, swimsuit model Ms. Eriko Sato.

One Free Minute

One Free Minute is either a very good idea or a very bad idea (via Raymi).

Hungry Hippos

It took me three tries to beat the computer at this straightforward, click-as-fast-as-you can Hungry Hippos game. I just like hippos.

Husky Rescue: Summertime Cowboy

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Wafah bin Laden update

Wafah bin Laden (and not Waffa bin Laden as per my earlier post) has taken her mother's maiden name and is now known as Waffa Dufour. Despite her family's enormous wealth her "It Girl" difficulties should be obvious.

Update: Wafah appears on talk show, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch.

Dufour update: 12/24/2005

Wafah Dufour poses for GQ. This may be the tipping point that brings her to public attention and is sure to annoy most of the right people but I cannot see how it will improve her unreleased musical efforts. Perhaps she can pursue a career in being famous for being famous.

Funny that. And here I was under the impression her relation to that man was the one and only reason her attention seeking behaviour has had the slightest success.

Waffa update: Waffa video!

Sec Whole Track

Radar Online samples the Scientology® "Sec Whole Track" questionnaire for expert E-meter operators (that's "electro-meter", or the even grander "electropsychometer", for those not living in year zero). But first, some background (via A Socialite's Life who comments on sixteen missing days in the life of Katie Holmes). How does Tom Cruise keep his cool?

I would link to an on-line version of the whole 343 word questionnaire but Google has removed a search result. At least the "whole track" term is expounded upon at this Scientology website. A vivid example of a whole track identity crisis offers a, ahem, clear picture of the problem.

Update: The Flea's HR Rep informs me that Google "did not really cave". Yay, Google!

Update: Who is Xenu? Bwa ha ha! In future, anyone claiming I do not show tolerance for people of faith "round these parts" shall be directed to this leaflet for spiritual guidance. They may find Scientology's reported teachings on "homosexuality" all too familiar.

Update: I finally worked out what the "Sec" stands for. That would be "security" as in security check whole track. Be sure not to miss the (alleged) security check for children aged 6 through 12!

PETA

Knowledge is Power comments on reports of PETA's twenty-million dollar annual budget and the ten-thousand animals they are reported to have killed between 1998 and 2003. But PETA claims to mean well so I expect those numbers will not deter many from supporting them.

Puzzle box

I have yet to purchase a working music box from the Pyramid Gallery largely due to the sheer bewildering variety of Philip LeMarchand designs on offer.

I have seen plastic, glass and wooden models, even a reconfigured Rubik's cube, along these lines but these are the first working musical versions I know of. All too collectible. At four-hundred dollars for a working puzzle version, I am both frustrated and pleased to see some folks are even more devoted to their puzzle box collection than I am.

Hellraiser

This is a banner year for Hellraiser fans seeing the belated release of both Hellraiser: Deader and Hellraiser: Hellworld. Deader was beautifully shot on a lowish budget in scenic Romania and Hellworld offers the promise of ever creepy Lance Henriksen in a lead role. One reviewer was right about Deader, thumbs up for the practical effects and thumbs down for the cgi.

Given his experience in occult horror film-making, I thought director Rick Bota's name had to be a pseudonym reference for Builders of the Adytum but I now think I was perceiving a pattern where none was to be found. But one surprise proved itself to be a worthy sensation... Pinhead fans should not overlook the "No More Souls" Easter egg.

Better yet is the promise of The Scarlet Gospels, Clive Barker's much anticipated addition to the Hellraiser mythos with a hope for new cenobites and the first ever appearance of Pinhead in print.

Natalie Imbruglia: Shiver

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Vexed

Vexed is only recommended for Flea-readers with no history of an obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Zombie Arcade

Zombie Arcade explores the thin line between the second-hand fear of videogames and real fear.

Solstice

Skeleton remains found at Durrington Walls suggest contemporary druids are celebrating the wrong solstice at Stonehenge. This is the best sort of archaeological reasoning.

Murder in Mesopotamia

"In the era of Saddam Hussein, protector of Iraq, who rebuilt civilization and rebuilt Babylon."

The Guardian shows its usual meticulous attention to archaeological detail when the archaeology in question lets them have a go at the United States. It would be interesting to do a quick count of how many times this bastion of the free press chose to address the politics of Mesopotamian archaeology in four decades of dictatorship in contrast with the last two years of occupation. This article is noteworthy, however, for being the first I have seen to point out that many who worked on that fatuous Ba'athist "reconstruction" of Babylon, from whence that fatuous quote above, did so at gunpoint. Also, for this nice observation by Agatha Christie.

I want to recommend a news source

Here is a handy form should anyone want to recommend "Ghost of a flea" as a Google news source. I hope there is enough original content here in the form of political and pop culture news commentary to be worth a look!

Captain Jack

Captain Jack Harkness represents a new twist for Doctor Who, the first (openly*) bisexual Who companion. Captain Jack is also one of the few companions who is a time-traveller in his own right.

While this new season has not quite ended most of the innuendo has been from the Doctor, demonstrating a sarcasm missing in the character since the days of John Pertwee. Most welcome. It seems John Barrowman is making an even bigger step than I had thought as AfterElton points out how few bi guys have been represented on television in any role whatsoever.

I suppose despite the lack of mind-controlled kissing thus far that there are some who will see Captain Jack as an Uhura/Kirk style intrusion of social comment into an sf story. It should be pointed out that Russell T Davies never hesitated to make Who references in Queer as Folk, at least as intrusive to a hip urban gay story given the contaminating aesthetics of nerd culture. Besides, Doctor Who has always been as camp as a row of tents.

*We can only speculate about Leela. And the Flea still pines for Romana II wandering in Exo-Space.

The Sisterhood of Karn

The Sisterhood of Karn is an all lesbian Doctor Who fan-club. No images of Karn outings, sadly, excepting some folks in Cybermen outfits. Which I suppose passes for stone cold butch in some region of space/time.

Ladytron: Seventeen

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance (a large QT file but patience is rewarded at the altar of Ladytron).