It's sad to see cultural treasures on the ropes...

http://swns.com/last-remaining-sikh-warrior-lives-in-wolverhampton-081516.html

Periodicly, new elements?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/05/science/3-new-elements-named-darmstadtium-roentgenium-and-copernicium.html?_r=1

Town uses street names form Sir Pratchett's Diskworld!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1167987/A-magic-idea-Town-uses-Sir-Terry-Pratchetts-Discworld-inspiration-street-names.html#ixzz1dEd9tKVn

Funny doesn't always need a punchline...

http://starline.tumblr.com/post/12474235548/panasonicyouth-why-is-this-making-me-laugh-so

Living Bridges:

http://www.tvkim.com/watch/1481/kims-picks-incredible-living-bridge?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=csotd&utm_content=2011-11-03-fifl&utm_campaign=s

Never Anger the Barmaid

http://thetownscryer.blogspot.com/2011/11/never-anger-barmaid.html

Scrat fossil found?

http://lightyears.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/02/tiny-saber-toothed-squirrel-is-mammalian-ancestor/?&hpt=hp_c2

or if you want the dry archeological data,
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v479/n7371/full/nature10591.html

Apparently, Polar Bears are Irish...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/todays-polar-bears-all-descended-from-single-female-brown-bear-scientists-say/2011/07/08/gIQAWUWT9H_story.html

SteamPunk Hummingbird

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6119/6245666681_f9b99ed58d_o.jpg">http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6119/6245666681_f9b99ed58d_o.jpg

jaundicedeye sent it to me, so I pass it on...

Green-powered B'hooze:

http://www.sustainableplant.com/2011/10/scotch-distillery-to-raise-concentration-on-biogas-fueled-cogeneration/

Alan Funt, 2.0

http://www.wimp.com/nasasatellite/

It's Banned Book Week!

Have you read enough of these?

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/2000_2009/index.cfm

Y' can't make this kinda stuff up!

Fargo brewery unveils its first beer: Wood Chipper

http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_18996619

That could've gotten messy....

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/09/26/bi-plane-pilot-wanders-into-no-fly-zone-during-obama-visit/

Those poor birds!

http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2011/09/hummingbird-smuggler-caught-with-his.html

Odd Fossil:

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/09/doc-and-marty-went-back-in-time-way-way.html

http://sfbayview.com/2011/why-should-you-die-for-a-transfer/

Awesome!

http://hackedirl.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/epic-win-photos-crowd-surf-win.jpg

A crowd that truely rocks!

Bill Maher on the Super Rich:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU5rMO65ZTg&feature=related

Oberman on coverage of the Wall Street Occupation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbtrmRgmgt4&feature=player_embedded

Live from the Wall Street counter-occupation:

http://www.livestream.com/globalrevolution

Pretty much explains itself:

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/09/onstar-tracks-you/

For those who desire to learn of such matters, a fairly volotile nugget: 

http://www.truth-out.org/goodbye-all-reflections-gop-operative-who-left-cult/1314907779

Abu Ghraib is only one of the scandals that will not lie down and die.

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/668680/welcome_to_boston%2C_mr._rumsfeld._you_are_under_arrest./#paragraph2


Just because  the primary perps are not on the news every day anymore does not mean this infamy has been resolved...

Ask your televesion news programs:

 Why isn't this being televised?

http://www.truth-out.org/occupy-wall-street-thousands-march-nyc-financial-district-set-protest-encampment/1316446947

Fly on...

http://geeks.thedailywh.at/2011/09/17/rip-erik-martin-electron-boy/

Don't they know better than to name it SkyNET?

Using a hobbyist RPV to be a mobile platform to hack home WiFi nets

 <font size=3><a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20103599-1/diy-flying-robo-hacker-threatens-wireless-networks/" eudora="autourl">http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20103599-1/diy-flying-robo-hacker-threatens-wireless-networks/</a></font>

Self-referential loop?

http://cdn.svcs.c2.uclick.com/c2/705c8b40afbf012e2f8800163e41dd5b

Now THAT is awesome wallpaper...

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/funny-pictures-honestly-i-had-hoped-it-wouldnt-come-to-this.jpg

The Town Scryer: A Different Kind Of Funeral

The Town Scryer: A Different Kind Of Funeral: "Holy Smoke is just the thing for when the avid hunter or gun collector in your family passes. From their web site : Several years ago I wa..."

Sniper Fiddle?!?

Glacier Airport Safety Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJCTenpBTtg&feature=player_embedded

What's Aleut for "Aloha"?

PBS's Frontline: the Meth Epedemic

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/

I advocate watching this, because it's a non-hysterical look at the nuts and bolts of how meth use developed in the US.

It has historical value.  It will certainly forewarm parents.  It can also give the viewer a snapshot of the '80s and '90s on the West Coast.


Of course, Frontline is an excellent program regardless of the subject matter...

A fun web comic....

http://www.asofterworld.com/clean/bricksandmortar.jpg

Some puns hurt more than others...

http://roflrazzi.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/19cb59b7-3873-4a5b-875b-225e6ee454a9.jpg

Please, let it not suck...

http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2011/07/18/john-carter-of-mars-the-movie-video/

The Great Emu War...

How can you NOT look?  You know you want to know -ahem- Moa...

http://thetownscryer.blogspot.com/2011/07/great-emu-war.html

Hrmmmm...

...reminds me just a bit of a live-action Saturday morning kids show from waaaaaay back...

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/07/gmc-bison-bullet-1965.html

Have discovered a nice blog...

(via jaundicedeye) for those who enjoy esoteric old autos and suchlike.

One example of the stuff there:

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/07/if-you-love-duesenburgs-and-are-in.html

Two words I didn't expect to see together:

Tactical Bacon.

Yes, I am somewhat at a loss for words m'self.

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lo4ty37iBv1qzt11wo1_500.jpg

Ye Giggling Gawdz!

This is a pretty frightening idea, given how dangerous most drivers are in a two-dimensional setting.  Adding a Z axis will probably not end well...

http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2011/07/07/terrafugia-transition-flying-car-finally-gets-regulatory-clearance/

suggestion:

Say something nice to someone important to you that you maybe take for granted...They won't always be there, leaving suddenly important stuff unsaid.

...and maybe raise a toast to Absent Friends.

And now for something bluddy esoteric...

http://www.geeksaresexy.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/star-scream.jpg

Thinking a lot about "freedom" and "responsibility" of late.  Also, digging deep on the ongoing questiuon of what does and doesn't matter when the context of life starts shifting...

This could be "Interesting"....

...so, offerred as stimulus to contemplation.

French woman sues Opus Dei over brainwashing


Where is the line between sharing faith, politics, etc. and being a mental conquistador?  When is it no longer bringing up your children in a tradition, but becomes negative, even anti-social, programming? 

Heavy Stuff...

Yeah, that about covers it anymore...

http://www.evil-comic.com/comics/e20110625.jpg

the Saga of Bjorn

Tripped over this online a while back; I think it was on FARK, but can't recall for sure.  What matters is it's the tightest, funniest sucks-to-be-me I've seen since Scrat the Sabre-Fanged Squirrell Thingee.  In true Kinnisonian schadenfreud, one laughs because it beats weepeing... and then one laughs 'til one weeps.

Dude, that's cold!

http://chzsomuchpun.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/ea78aa0d-13be-4e82-bd29-ab95943a9d5f.jpg

The last act of defiance as "swan song"...

http://verydemotivational.memebase.com/2011/06/21/demotivational-posters-you-shall-not-pass-2/

...is it too late to warn the passing reader that I am (some say) disturbingly fond of puns? [ see http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/paronomasiac ]

An odd conceptual question arose today...

...as such things sometimes do:  If there were such a phenomenon as Klingon Furries, what would the Klingon word be for "yif"? 

Discuss?

Ah, that's MUCH better!

Thanks to the Town Scryer's help (http://thetownscryer.blogspot.com/) I have resolved my seemingly randomly recalcitrant links and why the ads weren't showing.

Yeah, I know ads are annoying.  However, if you'd be kind enough to ping opne now and again, I will actually make a few pence therefrom, which is especially nice this close to the fourth anniversary of my being laid off (and not yet finding poaying work).  I thank y'all for your benevolence ahead of time...

I am contemplating doing the occasional odd post in the form of links to other sites I find useful/amusing/etc.  If you feel strongly yea or nay on this idea, please say so in comments...

Evil phrases of the day:

Sailor Palin (not quite the same as Sarah Palin, because she appeals also to Otaku);

Michelle Bachman (Stomach) Turner Overdrive (if you're "with the band")....


 It has been queried that if Sailor Palin appeals to Otaku, where are the tentacles? My reply: Dick cheney. =ba-dum-ching=

cross-posted from a Facebook rant that hasn't cooled yet.

Bachmann: Schools should teach intelligent design

politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com

New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) -- Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann explained her skepticism of evolution on Friday and said students should be taught the theory of intelligent design.

Rant begins:

Put succinctly, "ohHELLno!" I'll no more approve of ID in schools than I would abstinancy-only sex ed (parenthood prep), showings of "the Handmaid's Tale" or field trips to the "Intelligent Design Museaum." Religion should be private, in one's home or house of worship. SCIENCE trumps Creationism in that it provides a chain of evidence and teaches scientific method, which works in the real world.

I do not mean to be seen as attacking the Creation story as an assault on Christian heritage or upon those who practice their faith in a Christ-like way. One faith's traditions are as valid as any other's. I _DO_, however, stand opposed to the use of a government-maintained, taxpayer-funded institution -public schools- as an indoctrination machine for those for whom their faith is something that must be inflicted upon others. That didn't work when it was practiced on the American Indians, or the Australian Aboriginies... let's take a lesson from history. School = school. Church = church N'er the twain shall meet.

We have faith-based schools as an alternative to public schools for a reason.

Rant ends. 

I would have liked to hear of this...

...the day it happened!!!

http://www.businessinsider.com/faa-closes-airspace-over-flooded-nebraska-nuclear-power-plant-2011-6

Not Safe for Work language in a statement by a New York State Senator:

I know that much isn't unusual, but what he's saying is interesting enough to point y'all at it.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/gavon/republican-new-york-senator-comes-out-for-gay-marr

My position on the issue?  Let non-heterosexuals marry if they want to.  They are citizens and taxpayers and people, and should be allowed to practice milestone rituals like marriage.  To those who are against non-traditional marriage, I say: "Don't have one."

This issue is not about protecting a tradition so that it may be passed down to our descendants intact and somehow sacred.  Marriage in this country has already been dragged down a lot of harsh road long enough to be scraps and tatters of what it could be... for those who actually honour the institution.

This fight is about preserving the illusion of control over this nation's evolution, and the threat changes trigger in some sectors of the populace.

To those who say "God" says gays shouldn't get married, I suggest a return to all the "do" exhortations from Diety and Prophets -via your sacred texts- instead of a lifetime spent raging against one of the "don't" concepts.  I won't say whether that specific article of faith is valid or not, because I'm not in charge of those religions.  I speak only for myself.

Besides, this is America.  Your fellow citizens are honour-bounbd to respect your freedom of religion, so maybe you should honour their freedom from your religion.

Disappointing those hard-workin' youngsters that way? Boot to the Head.*

http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2011/05/12/local_news/doc4dc8c8e0a76f2219524721.txt

WASILLA:  When members of Wasilla High School's symphonic jazz choir heard Friday it wouldn't be singing the popular Queen hit "Bohemian Rhapsody" at this year's graduation ceremony after working on it all year, the students couldn't get their heads around it.

WHS Principal Dwight Probasco reportedly had received complaints from at least one parent that the 1975 hit written by Freddie Mercury wasn't appropriate for the ceremony simply because Mercury was gay.

Say WHAT?!?

_______
*may require multiple cycles for the thicker skulled

Unforgettable word for today:

VolksWaffe!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjVE1XLNDJI&feature=player_embedded

Link found through FARK:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/boast-busters-those-who-hunt-and-expose-fake-navy-seals-are-busier-than-ever/2011/06/08/AGQnsbTH_story.html?hpid=z3

Meet the Boast Busters, a dedicated core of men and women committed to exposing Navy SEAL imposters


Public humilliation is only the beginning, hopefully, for the imposters.  I have similar -if more intense- loathing for those who decide to falsly claim having received the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Yikes...

http://punditkitchen.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/9c8f67f3-0da6-42d5-9342-4e5188772d28.jpg