Wish me luck . . .

I've got to go to Kasabonika this morning for work and as you can see the forecast doesn't look good for coming home this evening as planned.

Since I know you all worry, it wasn't me that fell over the rail at the Grey Cup game this past Sunday, nor did I have anything to do with the breaking of the Grey Cup.

Now because I know we're all fans of the new NBC series Heroes (Save the Cheerleader, save the world) and Dr. Who it's great news, well rumour I suppose, that the most recent, not current, Dr Chris Eccleston is going to be getting a role on Heroes. Maybe.

Here's some news that supposed to be verified and true - George Takei, aka Mr Sulu from the crew of the original Enterprise, will be joining the cast of Heroes in the new year as Hiro's dad. I've got to say that I think Hiro is my favourite character on the show, I think it's because I can relate to him, what with me being a Japanese business man and all . . . or maybe we're both geeks. It's one or the other.

And one last bit for the curious, here's a website devoted to what happens if you put something in the microwave. Complete with video goodness. I hope you don't think less of me but once when I was a kid I put a live grasshopper in the microwave. When it was done "cooking" it smelled similar to Chinese food. I don't mean to imply that Chinese food has grasshoppers in it, or anything like that, just an observation that was made.

Well I'm outta here, off into the wild blue younder

I got to take myself a permanent vacation

There's a little Aerosmith for you from the last album they released that was worth listening to. Okay maybe that was a little harsh, after all about half of Pump was good . . . but that's as far as I'm going to go.

As you may've heard I'm trying to figure what to do for a vacation this winter/next year. Well I'm not saying that I'm going to do it this year, but thanks to this article I think I've got at least ten more cities around the world visit. Although this one does make a rather good argument for returning to the UK, don't you think? Although any place where you can fish for sharks from your apartment balcony can't be all bad either. Well unless you want to go in the water. Then it's all bad, yo.

And just in case you're looking for other interesting things to check out around the globe, how about this collection of strange and amazing statues?

Anyone been watching the new Dr Who series? I have to admit the new Doctor (David Tennant), is good have to say that I thought that Chris Eccleston was an exceptionally good Doctor. Tom Baker good in fact. Speaking of Tom Baker, I have to admit I've always wanted a Tom Baker Dr Who scarf. Don't know why. Oh wait I know why, I'm a geek. Apparently I'm a total geek. I rule.

Anyway back to the Doctor, or his current travelling companion Rose Tyler, player by Billie Piper who prior to being an actress was a Brit bubble gum pop starlet cranking out such great tunes as this one and apparently she'll be leaving the show to persue her singing career with her new found fame to help her along. Someone should have told her that geek fan boys don't buy pop records or tickets to their shows. Downloading clips and photos from the net, yes . . . buying records, no.

Anyway Billie's replacement on the show is going to be Freema Agyeman. I don't know anything about her other than she will be the Doctor's first black female travelling companion, but here's her imdb page. Huh, they don't seem to know much about her either.

It's no secret that I'm not so big on Crimbo, but here's something that I couldn't not pass along - Urban Outfitters is selling replica Charlie Brown Christmas trees. Good grief.

And one last thing to leave you with, did you know that one this very day in 1805 Johann Georg Lehner invents the hot dog. Here's a little more hotdog history and some hotdog trivia for you.

Once more that's it, that's all.

Say What?

The Speech Bubble Experiment; I thought that this was a pretty interesting idea, print out speech bubble stickers slap them on ads/posters or whatever around town and leave them for passers by to fill in, then go back later and photograph the results.

There's even a spot on the site to print your own bubbles to stick around your neighbourhood, you subversive little scallywags. If anyone does give this a go, I'd like to see the results.

Since we're on the topic of speech, how about checking out the online accent archive? This site has 100's of different accents archived for you to listen to. They've had people from all over the world read out the same phrase/speech and then put the clips on line. You can select the accent you want to hear from a map of the world. I thought it was interesting anyway. Now you don't have to wonder any longer how someone from Iceland would say "Six Spoons of Snow Peas" among other things.

Now this is what I call a political ad. I'm assuming that after seeing this you're not supposed to want to vote this guy, but damn if it didn't make me want to vote for the guy, because like the one cat in the commercial said, who hasn't taken money from porn directors. I wonder if it's too late to make one of these for Adam?

This link seems a little busticated at the moment but on November 8 Mercury is supposed to be visible passing in front of the sun and according to this map it looks like it will be visible at sunset for most of North America.

Now you know things are getting too PC out there when British Airlines is being sued for religious discrimination by a former employee who was fired for refusing to remove a piece of religious jewelry while other coworkers got to wear their's. Care to guess this ex-employee's controversial religion of choice? Christianity. Read more about it here. It's fairly well established fact that I'm not a religious man, although I am an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church, I figure if you're going to make a rule like that then apply it equally and universally, if no one can sport religious jewelry then no one can, if one can then all can. It's only fair right?

And finally a little more Borat for you - he was left in charge of the Sun's bizzare page for a day, Wawaweewa! Check it out.

Well that's all for now, later

A Penny for the Guy?

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder, treason and plot,
I see of no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

For those of you who may not know today is Guy Fawkes Day or Bonfire night, a British celebration commorating the failed Catholic Gunpowder Plot to kill King James I and most of the Protestant Aristocracy (the Orange bastards . . . I kid I kid, I don't care about such things, but amusing to sometimes gauge reactions) during the opening of Parliament in 1605 by stashing 30 some barrels of gunpowder below Parliament and making the whole works go boom. Hence the bonfires and fireworks on this night.

The "A penny for the Guy" line is something that kids say to people on the street while carrying an effige of Fawkes ("The Guy"), which is later burnt, to raise some dosh to buy fireworks. The bit of poemetry at the start is not just lines from the movie V for Vendetta (based on a graphic novel by Alan Moore, the same guy responsible for the graphic novels the Watchmen, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and From Hell, I haven't read any of them but I'd like to) but the opening to a popular song/poem for the event. Check out the Guy Fawkes Day wikipedia entry for the now dropped by scathingly anti-Catholic second verse.

In the something not so related department last night I ordered myself a 6 month subscription to this magazine. It's something I've been wanting to do for most of the year but seems that whenever I'd stop by their online store it wouldn't be working, but low and behold last night it was. I can't wait for that first issue to get stuffed into my mail box all wrinkled and creased. I don't think I've looked this forward to getting something in post since my sister's room mate worked reviewing porn for the government.

Here are Modern Drunkards 86 rules for Boozing to get a little taste of what this publication will be like. It's also available in poster form . . . maybe some day I can build a bar in the unused end of the living room and put on up there.

I know I've been flogging the Borat movie a fair bit lately, but damn I'm looking forward to seeing it, and apparently I'm not the only one. Although it was only in 837 theaters, Borat took in almost as much as Santa Clause 3 and Flushed Away added together - and they were in a combined 7100 theaters. Borat took in an incredible $10,800 per theater. To give you some idea of that that means, Revenge of the Sith took in only $9,200 per theater on its opening Friday.

And apparently Kazakhs are still angry over Borat, or at least that's what this article claims . . . and unless that article is faked I can't understand why because alot of what is said reads and aweful like a Borat bit . . . I guess it hits too close to home or something? But don't fret the Sun (I wonder if they ever cover any real news? do check out the Page 3 Girls BTW) sent a South London plumber to Kazakhstan to see if Borat was right. Check out the article here, but I gotta admit best line in it is last one:

"But, most of all, we are delighted to report that the country is not as bad as Borat would have you believe.

“It’s far, far worse,” said Dave."

And lastly here's a link for Borat being interviewed by Jon Stewart of the Daily Show (wait until he finds out Jon's a Jew) and here's Borat on the Conan O'Brian show, although I couldn't get the video play for me.

How much effective advertising are you exposed to? Here's a link to a cool little logo guessing game. In the box below the logo enter what company/organization you think it belongs to, hit enter or click the check box at the bottom and see if you're right. Personally I only got 16 of them. How'd you do?

Well that's all for now cool cats & kittens.

Careful what you wish for

Well it's only been a day but remember when I said an injectable male contraceptive that would last for a year would be better than a pill everyday . . . . well here it is, although I don't know about how long it lasts, I don't think that the article said.

I guess I should have said something about how it would have been better if a car load of attractive ladies would come cruising around looking to whisk me away for a weekend of debauchery. Maybe next time.

I know I've mentioned this movie before but I think that it's going to be awesome and in case you still aren't sure check out the first four minutes of it on YouTube. And because I know you want more Borat, here's an interview with him and here are his top ten tips for sexytime.

Now that you have some topshelf tips for sexytime you need a partner and if you're thinking about using a personal ad, check out these fine examples. They might give you some ideas as to what to or not to do.

I know I've mentioned it before, but I love top whatever lists of whatever and heres' one that's right up my alley, the Top 50 sci-fi fantasy books 1953-2002. It looks like a good list and why wouldn't it be it's brought to us by the fine people at the Sci-Fi book club, and of course they have no alterior motives in getting you to their website. Anyway I've read 17 books form that list . . . is that more or less geeky than you would have thought?

Now this is probably what the inventors of the interweb thought that it would be used for instead of stealing music and watching streaming strip shows (not that there's anything wrong with either of those pursuits, well except for the stealing music one, that's kinda illegal), but the complete works of Charles Darwin are being posted on-line here and the British government has put the Doomsday Book online here. If you're not familiar with the Doomsday Book it is the record of a huge nation wide survey done at the direction of William the Conqueror to basically see who own how much of what so he could lay down some taxes and evne though it was completed in 1086 it's still occasionally used as government reference today. Now that's cool.

And now something that is unrelated to pretty much everything else I post here, but I'm looking for some help with a photo project that I've been thinking about. I'd like to compile as many photos as possible all taken on the same on the same day. I know it's still a couple months away but I figure I'd gauge interest and give people a chance to recruit others to my cause.

If you're interested in helping I'd like to put together as many shots (landscapes, city scapes, seascapes, whatever and from where ever you are at the time) taken at noon (your local time) on New Year's Day. If you're interested if you could email the pic to me as soon as possible afterward, and make it at least 1200 x 1600 pixels and at least 72 dpi, thanks. If you'd like to pass the request along to others in other places that would be awesome. If it works out I'll make sure that all who contribute get copies of the file for their printing out.

And oh yeah one last thing - the pic of Donald Duck and Christina Aguilera I posted a link to yesterday is a fake made by this guy here. Here's the original photo if you care to see, but why spoil the fantasy, eh?

Don't worry baby, I'm on the pill . . .

Now I can't wait to say that . . . and it looks like it might not be that far off. Turns out that according to this article modern science being the wonderful thing it is has developed a male contraceptive pill that has no side effects (who knew that was possible?) and temporarily lowers or inhibits sperm production so as to make the taker effectively infertile.

I don't like needles but I think that one shot that would last a year or something similar would be better than pills everyday, but hey ain't science grand?

And now from birth control to a group that thinks it's a sin, it's time for some whacky Catholic Church facts. Did you know that on October 28, 1922 in return for his signing the Lateran Treaty, which restored Papal sovereignty over the Vatican, the Catholic Church helped fascist dictator Benito Mussolini seize power in Italy by having Pope Pius XI declare "Mussolini is a man sent by divine providence."

And to go a little forward in the way back machine Mr. Peabodies on October 28, 1965 Pope Paul VI issues Nostra Aetate in which he absolves the Jews of killing Jesus, thus reversing 760 years of official Vatican policy. Innocent III had declared in 1205 that ". . . the Jews, by their own guilt, are consigned to perpetual servitude because they crucified the Lord."

Whodda thunk it eh?

Oh the Humanity, mate! Turns out that the US government has banned Vegemite. I can't blame them for that, I tried it as well and it's truly horrible stuff. I think it's another one of the jokes that Aussies play on foreigners. But it truly is a part of the Aussie culture . . . and if anyone is interested in trying it I still have single serving sized packets here at the house.

I'm not sure what you'll take away from this article but it sounds like they're saying I've got a reason piss everywhere and not wear deodorant anymore. Although I might not want to try in Calgary because soon pissing in public in Cowtown will cost $300.

Onto crimes other than public urination as those of you how like find music, movies or software on the interwebs you no doubt know that the Torrent sites are good source (Torrent Spy for example) for material. Well it turns out that the 23 year old Administrator from Elitetorrents has been sent to jail for five months, followed by five months of home detention, and a $3000 fine for the work he put in the private BitTorrent tracker Elitetorrents.

Onto some cheerier news, the cure for cancer may be in your jeans. Yep you read that right.

And finally I leave with this photo showing just what kind of duck Donald is. Still doesn't explain the no pants thing.