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February 28, 2009

To the victor the spoils of victory

Not much in the way of spoils, actually. Unless you count rebuilding Germany and everything stepped on my Germany (including France, for the love of God) as a spoil; and this after the Blitz (a buzz bomb is included for effect). Pop goes the weasel (1948) does part of the math. I am just happy to see England when it was still England.

Posted by the Flea at 07:07 AM

Air: La Femme D'Argent

Posted by the Flea at 07:04 AM

February 27, 2009

Gred & Forge: Save the Quibbler

Wrock and/or wroll: Ginny Gets Around.

Posted by the Flea at 08:31 AM

February 26, 2009

Brave and combative

Michael Totten offers an eye witness account of Christopher Hitchens and the Battle of Beirut (via Ace).

“My attitude to posters with swastikas on them,” [Hitchens] later told Alice Fordham at NOW Lebanon, “has always been the same. They should be ripped down.”
Posted by the Flea at 10:14 AM | Comments (9)

Kate Beckinsale eats Pot Noodle, drinks tea and is celebrated.

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Word.

"I am hoping for a Pot Noodle and a cup of tea!" the Sun quoted her as saying at the bash.

Pot Noodle Flavour Development Manager, Grahame Walker, said: “We’re always on the look out for ideas for new flavours so when Miss Beckinsale announced her love for Pot Noodles we just had to make one in her honour. Steak & BeckinsALE is just like Kate – classically British and a tasty little number.”
Posted by the Flea at 07:28 AM

Valve: Still Alive

Posted by the Flea at 07:21 AM

February 25, 2009

More suffering in Gaza

Small investors in Gaza face losses as tunnel industry collapses.

Ba-dum.

In the months prior to the war, Abdullah received $3,000 per month for his investment, but, since the fighting broke out, the investor has not seen any revenues and fears his investment went down the drain.

"I went to my broker, who is a friend of mine, and he told me that he had the same problem. What can we do now?" the desperate vendor wondered.

You could stop trying to kill Jews and get a proper job. Just a thought.

Posted by the Flea at 07:24 AM | Comments (1)

Viddyho

A Gmail chat phishing scam is a salient reminder not to log into any site using a URL you did not enter yourself.

Gmail users who are logged into the accompanying chat service Google Chat, as most are, have been getting messages that appear to be from friends, urging them to click on a Web address starting with tinyurl.com that takes them to a site called ViddyHo. The site asks for the person's Gmail log-in information and then hijacks the account, sending out chat messages to all of the user's contacts and spreading itself further.

The online service Twitter had a steady stream of complaints and warnings about the attack. "To anyone who receives a Viddyho invite from me, please ignore it," a Twitter user named Zaffi cautioned. "I think I've been duped."
Posted by the Flea at 07:22 AM

Exquisite precision

James Lileks eviscerates the hysterical Puritanism of "the left" as the Mayor of San Francisco is caught with bottled water. RTWT.

Sir. Six oysters for breakfast with a rasher of bacon is an indulgence. Three showgirls in your lap is an indulgence. Racing a car at high speed on weekends is an indulgence. Having a moral tuning fork that twinges when someone drinks water from a plastic bottle is an affectation.

Gals!

Posted by the Flea at 07:21 AM

Sleepdealer

Yet another dystopia that looks better than day to day life, Sleepdealer may nonetheless be the closest thing to a proper cyberpunk film ever made. I am not getting my hopes up. I have been fooled by trailers before.

Posted by the Flea at 07:17 AM

February 24, 2009

Worth 1000 words

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Age of Pericles pens a scathing critique of "smart power". It is well worth the read for all it would be better we live in a world where these ideas were so obvious they could be left unsaid. Revealing too for an image of Persia's nominal leader*. Our adversaries are rabid neo-Nazis, psychopaths and mental defectives.

In Iran's case, it's a hat trick.

Theoretically, "smart power" is supposed to encourage other nations to aid the United States in international conflicts and create brotherhood. ... In an obnoxiously smug ivory tower kind of way, it's true; however, recent experience proves that smart power must be exercised upon a reasonable constituency. That is to say, begging a regime so blatantly disrespectful of international institutions to supplicate to more of the same strongly-worded UN letters isn't smart. In fact, it's just plain dumb. Furthermore, the "power of ideals" might work well in a culturally-barren society begging for an identity. Unfortunately, religious leaders in the Middle East have already found a common cause, and it's pretty much at loggerheads with everything the West has done, ever.

* An image at odds with the lamestream media's picture of the man as an Iranian Kennedy. That isn't a president; it's a mug shot.

Posted by the Flea at 07:24 AM

McFriendly growth measures

This McDonald's flash RTS McVideogame should keep Brooks amused for a bit. Though I get the impression it was meant to criticize GM foods, employees of the week and the like, I expect the rightosphere may co-opt it as a best practice sim.

Posted by the Flea at 07:21 AM

Let's consider who it was that dreamed it all

Nadya at Coilhouse invokes the Great Old Ones and calls it "Destruction of Mankind: Kawaii Edition".

Posted by the Flea at 07:17 AM

February 23, 2009

Slumdog Millionaire - Paper Planes DFA Remix

Posted by the Flea at 07:47 AM

February 22, 2009

Crimson & Clover, please

Time to dip into my Canadian Tire money.

Posted by the Flea at 04:34 PM

February 21, 2009

Stefane & 3G: We Don't Wanna Put In

Some context and assorted cattiness from Moscow.

Posted by the Flea at 08:10 AM

Lost the plot

While it is possible I might consider expanding my reading horizons, I am pointing you at Ace of Spades HQ once again as Gabriel Malor has a handy Battlestar Galactica thread underway. Handy, at least, to those of us who are still scratching our heads after last week's episode and the wall of exposition the writers are building around a fleet of rag tag fugitive plot-holes.

Many spoilers - including a visual - for those of you who are not up to date with the latest broadcast.

Also...

Glen Larson, creator of the original Battlestar Galactica, is in talks with Universal to write and produce a movie version. The proposed big-screen version would have no connection to either television series. It would be yet another re-launch with a new concept, although it will obviously keep the characters and the ship.
Posted by the Flea at 05:44 AM

The Parselmouths: Illegal Love Potion and Voldemort Fan Girl

Wrock on.

Posted by the Flea at 05:44 AM

February 20, 2009

The Evolution of Daedelus

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Los Angeles-based Victorian gentleman, Alfred Darlington busts some Flea-ish moves with a Monome; a sensible solution to presenting music to an audience when you are used to producing said music inside the box.

Though I prefer the look of the JazzMutant Dexter and the Tenori-On has a kawaii factor the Monome lacks. As for me, all future Ghost of a flea music now depends on the forthcoming APC40 controller for Ableton. Such is the peril of Gear Acquisition Syndrome.

Related to the latter if not the former: Some appealing soft synths.

Ish: This Frankenstein Steampunk PC mod. A steampunk Ableton controller by contrast... (via Capt H).

Posted by the Flea at 05:57 AM

SlaughterClub: Ambient

Posted by the Flea at 05:43 AM

February 19, 2009

Burn rate

For Y chromosome readers wondering where all the toilet paper is going, the answer has something to do with the application and removal of cosmetics. Could have asked, I suppose, but that would have been cheating. Will report as further evidence is acquired.

Posted by the Flea at 04:04 AM | Comments (1)

Minutemen

Veidt Enterprises presents this Watchmen videogame. Fun. Though I cannot help but wonder what Alan Moore makes of the merchandising of his masterpiece.

Posted by the Flea at 04:03 AM

Salvador Dali on "What's My Line?"

A better Flea than I might ever reasonably hope to be.

Candidate for best YouTube summary: "A stupid hippie destroys Dalí's movie."

Posted by the Flea at 04:01 AM | Comments (1)

February 18, 2009

Progress for women

Posted by the Flea at 08:34 PM | Comments (1)

The Postal Service: We Will Become Silhouettes

Posted by the Flea at 09:01 AM

February 17, 2009

Water space management

On the plus side, the Royal Navy was at least aware of its encounter with the French.

A British nuclear submarine collided with a French sub in the Atlantic because sophisticated antisonar equipment made them undetectable to each other, it has been claimed. The French submarine Le Triomphant remained unaware that it had rammed and damaged HMS Vanguard until days later, when it was informed by the Royal Navy. ...

The French Navy claimed this month that the bow sonar dome of Le Triomphant was probably damaged in a collision with a submerged shipping container while returning from patrol. It only discovered that it had hit a British submarine after one of the regular exchanges of information with the Royal Navy.

And in the civilized world: India raises its defence budget by 34%. Good.

Posted by the Flea at 05:23 AM

They are not treating them as fully three dimensional humans

Clearly, a pathological reaction to a two dimensional object.

Posted by the Flea at 05:22 AM

Scissorhands gloves

A snip at £2,800 - £4,200. Possibly sold at a premium/discount as they have been worn by Michael Jackson.

Posted by the Flea at 05:21 AM

Stewie Griffin: (Everything I Do) I Do It For You

Posted by the Flea at 05:17 AM

February 16, 2009

They can't see each other in the water

HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant, both said to have been carrying nuclear weapons, have crashed while travelling submerged in the mid Atlantic; no word on what these two boomers were doing in the exact spot at the time.

Vanguard's bicycle locks are said to have held but the Gods of Metaphor must have been struck dumb.

The Ministry of Defence said the Vanguard returned to its base in Faslane, Scotland, with only "scrapes". A spokesman said: "We can confirm that the UK's deterrent capability has remained unaffected at all times and there has been no compromise to nuclear safety."

Fortunately, you can't divide by zero.

Posted by the Flea at 06:57 AM

Text-to-speech

Lots of blah-di-blah about the new Kindle wireless reading tablet (described in detail at the Amazon Kindle page). Happy as I am with dead tree media when it comes to novels, I was content to ignore the whole idea until I came across the story reframed with a new twist as part of today's copyright wars.

It turns out Kindle has some capacity to read books to you. Potentially handy for those with lazy eyeballs; assuming - of course - this feature actually works. But what to do with the audiobook rights? Neil Gaiman considers.

My point of view: When you buy a book, you're also buying the right to read it aloud, have it read to you by anyone, read it to your children on long car trips, record yourself reading it and send that to your girlfriend etc. This is the same kind of thing, only without the ability to do the voices properly, and no-one's going to confuse it with an audiobook.

Quite sensible to my mind. Let that be an end to it.

Posted by the Flea at 06:48 AM

Jeeves & Wooster: Minnie the Moocher

Related: Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry and 'Your name, sir?'

Posted by the Flea at 06:47 AM | Comments (1)

February 14, 2009

Another legend that has yet to be told

The trailer for Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter & Under the Hood. Featuring the voice of Gerard Butler.

Posted by the Flea at 03:51 PM

They've totally betrayed the soul of the party to even mention this

Camille Paglia - who rocks hardcore - attacks the "Fairness Doctrine".

Posted by the Flea at 03:47 PM | Comments (1)

The L Signal

The new Batwoman: Lesbian socialite by night and a crime-fighter by later in the night.

Posted by the Flea at 01:57 PM

NIN: Discipline

Possibly the most accurate video ever made (hat tip to Agent Bedhead, obviously).

Posted by the Flea at 07:21 AM | Comments (2)

February 13, 2009

Part economist, part rabble rouser

The Rebel Economist.

Posted by the Flea at 07:04 AM

A very special post for Agent Bedhead

Not outgoing miserable, apparently.


Posted by the Flea at 07:03 AM | Comments (1)

February 12, 2009

1938 Phantom Corsair

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Possible Fleamobile sighted.

Very closely related: Watchmen portraits (for example, above). Am I the only one who did not know how to spell "whet"? Clearly I am illiterate.

Posted by the Flea at 06:47 AM

The cut of his jib

Rick Falkvinge, leader of the Pirate Party, comments on the Pirate Bay political trial of the decade.

What scares the establishment is that everybody are equals on the net. Everybody can share and receive freely. There is no central point of control. They are fighting tooth and nail to bring back the good old days, where there was a hard division into approved senders and passive consumer receivers, where the approved senders would compete for the wallet of the consumers. Essentially, they are trying to turn the Internet into a cable TV network.
Posted by the Flea at 06:43 AM

The Black Sisters: Harry and Ginny

On a bit of a wrock kick at the moment. Expect it shall pass. Or lead to a Flea wizard rock EP. Always changing is the future.

I think "Open at the Close" is lovely. And stick around for the Slytherin take on "Womanizer".

Posted by the Flea at 06:41 AM

February 11, 2009

Moving forward in harmony

China's bloggers celebrate the failure of their state media to report on their own problems. Their towering inferno, for example.

Wang Xiaofeng, a popular blogger, could not help noting that CCTV employees had accidentally created one of the biggest stories of the year and then failed to cover it. “They didn’t feel the urgency to report the news, even though the fire was up to their eyebrows,” he wrote. “In this case of breaking news, the official media has been defeated by the citizen media.”

Even if they lamented the death of a firefighter, other bloggers were almost gleeful over the network’s misfortune. Some said they were happy to see the demise of a building that had come to symbolize the government’s Olympian extravagance. Others noted with self-satisfaction that the charred structure was also intended to house recording studios for CCTV.

With tongue-in-cheek humor, another writer, Chaindrive, tried to find a silver lining in the fire. The rebuilding effort, he said, would mean more jobs for unemployed migrants, more money spent on construction materials and a lift for the economy.

“Businesses will have new customers and our government officials will have new opportunities to take bribes,” he wrote. “To make up the loss, we taxpayers will pay more, but our G.D.P. will go up and society will move forward in harmony.”

The tone sounds eerily familiar.

Posted by the Flea at 03:47 AM | Comments (1)

Studio B: I See Girls

Hey, traffic doesn't click itself.

Posted by the Flea at 03:41 AM | Comments (4)

February 10, 2009

Not proving a negative since 2002

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This bus slogan generator should come in handy (via Will).

Posted by the Flea at 05:29 AM | Comments (1)

The dangers of posting under your real name

Sure if I was the Batman, the Flea would be my secret identity. But as Rorschach, the Flea is more like putting on my real face.

(Google that one, hypothetical future employers!)

Absent heroes: Alan Moore discusses the Charlton-Watchmen connection.

Posted by the Flea at 03:24 AM | Comments (1)

Mise-en-abîme

Quite possibly more exciting that the Watchmen film feature: an animated version of Tales of the Black Freighter.

Tales of the Black Freighter brings to strikingly animated life the graphic novel’s richly layered story-within-a-story. Within the graphic novel, Tales of the Black Freighter, appears as a comic book read by a young man in New York City while the city is being destroyed. This daring pirate saga chronicles a sailor’s journey home from being marooned. During his journey, the young seaman is “forced by the urgency of his mission to shed one inhibition after another” and experience horrible events along the way. The turbulent events the sailor endures seem to mirror those in the Watchmen’s world.

A word from our sponsors: Sponsors, in this case, offering products whose theme I can wholeheartedly endorse.

Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter & Under the Hood

Watching the Watchmen: The Definitive Companion to the Ultimate Graphic Novel

Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic

Related: I am empowered to award One Internet to anyone who can tell me what GWAR stands for without resorting to Google.

Posted by the Flea at 03:23 AM

The Frozen Autumn: Is Everything Real?

With a hat tip to the Armored Facilities Manager.


Posted by the Flea at 03:21 AM

February 09, 2009

The awesomeness that is Summer Glau

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Summer Glau explains robot love. Just a guess but I am betting Terminator infiltration units make a wicked sammich.

"Cameron's deep love for John is because he is her whole reason for existing... I think that is love, and I think she would do anything for him, and in her reality, I think that's what love is for her."

Also, Summer Glau: an actress who could replace Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft (and four other supposed candidates).

(A tip of the hat to Agent Bedhead and to Quotulatiousness.)

Related, obviously: Oh, Playboy, why do you want your "readers" to lust after androids?

Posted by the Flea at 03:17 AM | Comments (1)

Top five reasons for the collapse of civilization

1 - Human impact on the environment.
2 - Climate change.
3 - Withdrawal of friendly support from neighbouring society.
4 - Contact with unfriendly neighbouring society.
5 - Epic comb over.

More to the point: J.J. Abrams' mystery box.

Posted by the Flea at 03:14 AM

Dangerously Nerdy

"Attacking George Lucas while dressed as Luke Skywalker and shouting that Han shot first."

Indeed. And who has not dreamt of contriving a time machine for this very purpose. Though I would have a firm word Frank Herbert's son en route. The spice. I am told it must flow.

Wizard rock rules, btw.

Posted by the Flea at 03:04 AM

February 06, 2009

The Keene Act and YOU

Actually, masked vigilantism has much to recommend it. Or so I am reliably informed.

Collectible: Coraline has yet to be released but potential collectors are going to want to get in on the game early; props and such are already appearing at an eBay charity auction. I expect this screen used Coraline animation puppet to be particularly sought after.

Also of historical interest: Yesterday in history, "Tempest in a D-Cup".

1999: The first Victoria's Secret online fashion show also becomes the first major webcast, attracting an estimated 1.5 million viewers worldwide. The 21-minute spectacle featured VS supermodel Tyra Banks and a pulchritudinous supporting cast flaunting the latest in boudoir apparel.

Also, Heidi Klum. Just saying.

Posted by the Flea at 09:33 AM

Better late than never

Funny how it turns out the Pope does have some latitude after all. Of course, if you point this out before the fact you get the stick. As one friend pointed out to me, Vatican PR needs to be brought forward from the Middle Ages.

On Jan. 24, the Vatican announced it was lifting excommunications on four bishops from the ultra-traditionalist Society of St. Pius X. Not only are the four bishops unrepentant enemies of Vatican II, which completely transformed the Church over the past decades, but one of the men turned out to be a vocal anti-Semite and Holocaust denier.

Richard Williamson has said that Jews are plotting world domination, that women should never be allowed to wear pants and that the movie The Sound of Music is pornographic. He also thinks 9/11 was a hoax.

The Vatican announcement about the bishops was made on the 50th anniversary of Vatican II and Holocaust remembrance weekend in Europe.

Yesterday, the Vatican was still in full damage control, saying it now wanted Bishop Williamson to recant his extremist views.

That said, fair dues about The Sound of Music.

Posted by the Flea at 09:28 AM | Comments (1)

Mutinous Zombies of the Battleship Potemkin

And a variety of other classic films that would be much improved with zombies. In this case, the addition has the advantage of greater historical accuracy.

Synopsis: A Soviet cinema masterpiece, Eisenstein’s film depicts the 1905 uprising of zombies on the titular vessel against the oppressive officers of the Tsarist regime. It begins when soldiers aboard the Potemkin are forced to eat rotten, maggot-infested meat, which turns the men into mutinous zombies. Later, the city of Odessa becomes overwhelmed with undead citizens and the Tsarist military is sent in to massacre them. In the end, though, even the soldiers are converted.

Possibly should have put a spoiler warning on that one. Kids these days cannot tell you what year 9/11 happened let alone the particulars of ancient history of no immediate relevance to their interests.

Posted by the Flea at 09:24 AM

February 05, 2009

The Idiot Test

Need to work on my green button reaction time.

Posted by the Flea at 06:41 AM

The Cramps: Thee Most Exalted Potentate of Love

Among my earliest memories of dealing with hippie/feminist thought control is the time I found myself explaining my Cramps T-shirt to a Wiccan priestess. "There can't be a woman in that band," she sneered. I explained the depth of her error as best I could and more politely than she deserved. Looking back on so many conversations along these lines, I realize now I should never have conceded there was a point to be debated. A two word explaining would have been more than sufficient.

Lux Interior, RIP.

Via Five Feet of Fury.

Posted by the Flea at 06:37 AM

February 04, 2009

Saluting the Canadian contingent

Video of a young Belgian boy saluting Canadian troops marching at a memorial service. They return his honor splendidly.

Via Dave in Texas.

Posted by the Flea at 07:38 AM | Comments (1)

From the Beeb

Three video reports from the Beeb.

i - Chinese anger at UK shoe-thrower. Can't we shoot both of them?

ii - Google Earth dives under the sea. Looking forward both to this and to a new Historical Imagery feature, allowing users "to scroll back through decades of satellite images and watch the spread of suburbia or erosion of coasts."

iii - On board Navy's new hi-tech ship. HMS Daring is a tidy looking vessel. Lest anyone be impressed by the British armed forces, The Economist offers a depressing look at the state of play.

Not at the Beeb: Le Terrible has its first sea outing. Might at well enjoy the quiet times. I expect she will see more service when she is renamed Al-ruku'.

Posted by the Flea at 07:07 AM

Imagining the Tenth Dimension

Get your head round this.


Watch Imagining the ten dimensions in How to Videos  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Via.

Posted by the Flea at 07:04 AM | Comments (1)

Vangelis: Alpha


Vangelis alpha
Uploaded by paradixman
Posted by the Flea at 07:03 AM | Comments (1)

Florist and Butcher

The severed head of a missing schoolgirl has been discovered by St. Petersburg residents, a presumed victim of the Florist and Butcher killers.

The case got its name from the professions of two suspects arrested on Saturday. Yuri Mozhnov worked at a florist's and Maxim Golovatskikh was a butcher in St. Petersburg's main meat market.

The two men, who investigators say both have criminal records, were immersed in Goth and Emo culture.

If these two were both Goth and Emo small wonder they were confused. Though how they worked up the organizational skills or requisite motivation to carry out a murder is beyond me. Not to make light of the situation, obviously. Will update once I have worked out what the Russian press thinks Emo looks like when it is at home.

Posted by the Flea at 07:01 AM

February 03, 2009

Alan Parsons Project: Eye In The Sky

Posted by the Flea at 11:34 AM

Code Guardian

Intermittent posting today. To start: Nazi robot pr0n.

Posted by the Flea at 09:03 AM | Comments (1)

February 02, 2009

Dorothy crossed with the Predator

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How is it I am only now learning of Gareth Pugh? It is as if Tim Burton cast a fashion designer... If House Flea's North of 60 collection ever sees the light of day, I want a line that looks much like this. The Seal edit is brilliant too.

Posted by the Flea at 06:08 AM

Post-apocalyptic

i - Concept art for Terminator Salvation... especially the motorcycle. I wants it.

ii - The final Watchmen poster. Somewhat lacking in extra-dimensional horrors.

iii - More on a rumoured Blade Runner sequel. Lucas has already raped my childhood - so much so I was numb even to an abomination like the The Lost Boys "sequel" - but enough is enough. If this monstrosity proceeds it will be time for direct action. I cannot go back in time and throw Brian Herbert under a bus but this I can put a stop to. Never. Again.

Posted by the Flea at 06:07 AM | Comments (2)

Central casting

I hope the American electorate are happy with their movie President. No (public) resume. No friends (he will admit to). No record of public service (voting present does not count). But I admit he looks the part. The rest of us are going to have to hope fronting it is enough to get the job done.

Posted by the Flea at 06:05 AM | Comments (1)

TV On The Radio: Province


TV On The Radio - Province
Uploaded by UniversalMusicGroup
Posted by the Flea at 06:01 AM

February 01, 2009

Gabriela Irimia (left)

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Lembit Öpik tells of his failed romance with a Cheeky Girl. The man is a Liberal Democrat; best to activate your rose-coloured monitor filters.

Have a look in the mirror you deluded man she was only ever with you for the publicity and media exposure.

Technically, that was not Öpik but a Daily Mail reader comment. All the same, I believe there is at least one more fish in the sea, so, look on the bright side.

Posted by the Flea at 02:54 PM

The Valentine thing

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I am enjoying this whole Amazon adventure, obviously. Arguably, a little too much. Still, it beats Pajamas Media and, unlike some other big ad vendors one might mention, Amazon has managed to keep a lower profile politically. I just want to sell stuff me (these pixels don't publish themselves) and - to that end - am hoping to make my music available through a related interface...

In the meantime while I get my act together are opportunities like this Valentine's promotion. I am not certain they have quite hit the mark. Jewelry and intimate apparel are all very well for the ladies but it seems to me the way to a man's heart is through his Gerber Diesel Multi-Plier (Black).

Posted by the Flea at 02:51 PM

Cheeky Girls: Touch My Bum (TOTP edition)

Protip: This is how to publish a Canadian politics and pop culture blog. Heavy on the Romanian pop stars. Light on the aristocratic Russian Liberal party leaders. Either way it is all lip-syncing and vampires all the time but you get the picture.

Posted by the Flea at 02:47 PM