macabre humour to the max.

To funny for words.

Leo mask? Bleeding palm tree? Random Protestors? Please do explain.

Sumo induced Tears

Eighty babies born in 2007 take part in a baby crying contest where sumo wrestlers are used to get the tears flowing.

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?collectionId=1799&galleryName=All%20Collections#a=3

Girl, 17, killed in Iraq for loving a British soldier

A 17-year-old Iraqi girl was murdered by her father in an honour killing after falling in love with a British soldier she met while working on an aid programme in Basra, it has been claimed.

Rand Abdel-Qader was stamped upon, suffocated and stabbed by her father, then given an unceremonious burial to emphasise her disgrace. Police released her father without charge two hours after his arrest.

“Not much can be done when we have an honour killing case,” said Sergeant Ali Jabbar of Basra police. “You are in a Muslim society and women should live under religious laws. The father has very good contacts inside the Basra government and it wasn’t hard for him to be released and what he did to be forgotten.”

A total of 47 young women died in honour killings in the city last year, Basra Security Committee told an investigation into Ms Abdel-Qader’s case by The Observer. This is believed to be the only case of an honour killing involving a British soldier.

The MoD had no official advice for troops on how to behave with Iraqi women. The serviceman involved would not have been told that any relationship with her could put her life at risk, the paper said.

Ms Abdel-Qader, a student of English at Basra University, had struck up a friendship with a 22-year-old British infantryman known only as Paul five months before her murder in March.

She was believed to have last seen him in January, and the pair, whose relationship was innocent, only ever met while working at the aid station. The soldier was helping deliver relief to displaced families as part of his regimental duties. Ms Abdel-Qader was a volunteer worker.

On the day her father, Abdel-Qader Ali, was told of their friendship by a friend, he accused her of having an affair with a British soldier and killed her in front of his wife, Leila Hussain, and their sons.

“I screamed and called out for her two brothers so they could get their father away from her. But when he told them the reason, instead of saving her they helped him end her life,” Ms Hussain said. She then left her husband and has since divorced him. She has received threats from her husband’s family and is in hiding. She now works for an organisation campaigning against honour killings.

She has a boyfriend!

She Has A Boyfriend – Watch more free videos

Mac vs PC / UK

unleash the anger

Angry rant rant about Bart vs the Space Mutants.

I never beat the first level…. never got past the “bird”

Angry Video Game Nerd: Bart vs. The Nerd

proper way to start a monday morning.

Nicolas Cage is a wonderful actor… oh, and has the uttermost respect for women

Best Band T-Shirts of 2008

http://www.rollingstone.com/photos/gallery/20193918

"What are you starin’ at?"

LECCO, Italy (Reuters) – An Italian man was given a suspended jail sentence for staring too intensely at a woman sitting in front of him on a train.
A judge sentenced the man in his 30s, whose name was not revealed, to 10 days in prison and a 40 euro ($63) fine after a 55-year old woman filed a complaint for sexual harassment.
His lawyer said on Friday he would appeal the sentence. The court will explain its verdict later.
The two met on two separate occasions in 2005 on a commuter train going from Lecco, a town in northern Italy, to Milan.
The first time, the man sat next to the woman but she felt he had moved too close for comfort. The next day, the man sat in front of the same woman and according to her complaint, stared at her for the whole journey. The two did not speak.

Trackback -> http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN1845257120080418

*Snap Snap*

oddly enough (borrowed)

LONDON (Reuters) – Can man’s best friend be replaced by a prickly pal the size of your palm?Busy British pet lovers have been buying hedgehogs, whose nocturnal habits make them appealing to the modern worker because they wake in the evening when their owners arrive home after a day in the office.Although Britain has its own wild breed of hedgehogs, the latest pet craze focuses on African pygmy hedgehogs — a cross between Algerian and white-bellied hedgehogs.”They are unbelievably pretty little creatures, the way they bumble along, the way they poke their noses into everything,” British hedgehog breeder Bonnie Martin told Reuters.Initial costs for the animal and accompanying equipment can run to 300 pounds ($591). But hedgehogs, who can survive on cat food, are cheaper to feed because they eat a third of the household cat’s daily diet, Martin said.”People will travel vast distances to get them in order to get them from reputable breeders…there’s about eight to 10 serious breeders in the UK. It takes a lot of traveling in order to get a good hog,” said Martin, who has sold two litters already and has a waiting list for the rest of the year.But animal conservationists said the trend poses a serious threat to the declining population of Britain’s native wild hedgehogs, which last year made the government’s species protection list.British Hedgehog Preservation Society trustee Kay Bullen said the expense of buying rare types of hedgehog could tempt people to lure a cuddly British cousin in from the garden.”Why buy that when you can get one for nothing from the wild?” she told Reuters. The impact from poaching on the wild hedgehog population could be geater in the next month if mothers are removed from their litters during the Spring breeding season, Bullen said.”The babies will die without their mum,” she said. “They’re completely dependent for four weeks.”Bullen also said that the introduction of a foreign species could cause a secondary wildlife problem if pet owners who tire of their hedgehogs attempt to release them into the wild.”People will probably think they can exist in our country, but I don’t know if they can.”

Trackback -> http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL1690970720080417?sp=true

in overdrive.

Enjoy my favourite distractions of the week. Search in YouTube.

SIA – The girl you lost to cocaine

Clip from Teen Witch (wait until the :50 mark)

I will possess your heart – Video – Death Cab for Cutie

Blue Flame Video – Run with the Kittens

Too much, too young, too fast – Video – Airbourne

Rubber Johnny

Gross fight scene.

BLACK BOOKS<3

oops. news reporter gets Heart On.

glumbert – News reporter gets a Heart On

why apple is so great.

not.

http://www.collegehumor.com/moogaloop/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1811646&fullscreen=1

bout time.

DreamWorks to make ‘Ghost’ in 3-D

Spielberg fights for rights to Japanese thriller

DreamWorks has acquired rights to the Japanese manga “Ghost in the Shell” with plans to adapt the futuristic police thriller as a 3-D live-action feature.

Story follows the exploits of a member of a covert ops unit of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission that specializes in fighting technology-related crime.

Created by Masamune Shirow, “Ghost in the Shell” was first published in 1989. It went on to generate two additional manga editions, three anime film adaptations, an anime TV series and three videogames. The second anime film, “Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence,” was released in the U.S. by DreamWorks in 2004.

Avi Arad, Ari Arad and Steven Paul of Seaside Entertainment are attached to produce and brought the project to the studio. Jamie Moss has been tapped to pen the adaptation.
Universal and Sony were also chasing “Ghost in the Shell,” but Steven Spielberg took personal interest in the property and made it happen at DreamWorks.

” ‘Ghost in the Shell’ is one of my favorite stories,” Spielberg said. “It’s a genre that has arrived, and we enthusiastically welcome it to DreamWorks.”

DreamWorks prexy of production Adam Goodman said “Ghost in the Shell” is a property “that epitomizes 3-D live-action motion picture possibilities.”

Avi Arad is at the forefront of comicbook-based material, having produced the three “Spider-Man” films, the three “X-Men” movies, the two “Fantastic Four” picss and the upcoming “Iron Man” and “The Incredible Hulk.”

Moss’ writing credits include “Street Kings,” which bowed Friday, and “Last Man Home,” in development at Universal.

Trackback -> http://www.variety.com/VR1117984029.html

Universe: ‘many more to come please’

HOW TO: bake a yoda cake.

http://starwarsblog.starwars.com/index.php/2008/04/14/bake-a-yoda-cake/

coachella by the numbers

http://blogs.laweekly.com/play/coachella/coachella-by-the-numbers-1/

‘whoop whoop’ – initiate similar to lollapalooza? I hope so.

with love.

Stephen Colbert Explains AT&T

glumbert – Stephen Colbert explains AT&T

best movie mistakes

http://www.moviemistakes.com/best.php

My favourite one – Star Wars – When the stormtroopers break into the control room, the stormtrooper on the right of the screen hits his head on the door frame. On the DVD release they’ve added a thump when he hits it.

the middle seat

By SCOTT MCCARTNEY

The Star Treatment: Flying Like Jennifer Aniston

How the Air-Travel Industry Pampers and Protects VIPs; Paying for Celebrity StatusApril 1, 2008; Page D1

Elite-level frequent fliers get lots of perks and attention from airlines. But it’s nothing like the “star” treatment.

Despite massive cost-cutting and shrinking service, airlines still roll out the red carpet for celebrities. Many carriers have “special service” staffers to speed stars and VIPs through airports and on to planes, or out back doors to limousines. Special rooms, some hidden behind unmarked doors adjacent to gates and some private lounges inside airport clubs, are reserved for politicians, movie stars, sports heroes and other dignitaries.
FORUM

Celebrities receive special pampering from airlines including priority service and special meals. What do you think?
PODCAST

Hear Scott McCartney explain who gets star treatment in the air.
“We are left to our own devices in terms of creativity,” said Philip Williams, a British Airways PLC special-services representative at Los Angeles International Airport, which is ground zero for airline star treatment. British Airways recently slipped a major movie star out of the airport “completely avoiding photographers by devious, but legal, means,” Mr. Williams says with pride. He can’t say who, but airport officials say Angelina Jolie was a recent airport patron.
In general, if you have to ask for it, you probably don’t qualify for special-services treatment. But even if you haven’t won an Oscar, you can purchase a bit of special coddling for yourself for as little as $100.

AMR Corp.’s American Airlines has special concierge handling called “Five Star” service available at LAX and New York’s Kennedy International Airport where an airline representative meets you, shuttles you quickly through check-in and security screening and on to a gate or airport club. The airline set up the service for movie studio VIPs and American doesn’t advertise the service, says Mark Mitchell, American’s managing director of customer experience. You won’t find mention of it on the airline’s Web site. But it is available to anyone in the know. (Psst. The phone number is 877-578-2702.)

Two private firms, Airport Assistance Worldwide and LJR & Associates, offer similar services to the public as well as the rich and famous. Both are based in Los Angeles, but serve other airports as well.

Amy Goldsmith, a public-relations executive, received a certificate for use of LJR’s service as a gift from a friend and used it for a trip with her husband, baby and nanny. The family was met at the curb by a man who bypassed baggage check-in lines, security lines and then, once inside security, watched their belongings while they slipped into Starbucks. “It was amazing,” she said, and has since used LJR for a second trip with her infant. The service cost about $110, including tips.

“It made me uncomfortable when everyone was watching us move to the front of the line, because I’m not that person,” said Ms. Goldsmith. “But you get over it pretty quickly.”
Private services said they can’t guarantee clients will be able to bypass lines — that’s up to Transportation Security Administration officials and airline workers. “Our reps are pretty aggressive when they need to be,” said Michelle Kohler of Airport Assistance, whose prices at LAX start at $95.

The airlines’ celebrity wrangling efforts can go much further. American’s terminal at Washington’s Reagan National Airport, an unmarked door in the concourse opens Oz-like to a private waiting room with a wall of autographed photos of members of Congress and movie stars. At some key airports, American has motorized privacy carts to ferry VIPs to gates with fringe hanging down from the roof that “obscures the faces of the VIPs,” a spokesman says.
Airlines allow celebrities to order special meals — and some travel internationally with their own chef who is allowed to cook in airplane galleys. Stars get private phone numbers to airline officials for help with bookings. Carriers sometimes even send employees to stand in long lines at immigration and border security checkpoints if agencies won’t grant special status for traveling stars.

For airlines, star travel is big business. In the early days of jet travel, photos of celebrities on aircraft stairs or smiling at the door to a plane amounted to extraordinary advertising, highlighting the glamour of air travel back then and confirming the credibility of airlines to a public unaccustomed to everyday air travel. Airlines had their own photographers, and made sure company names and logos were perfectly placed over airplane doors or on staircases so they’d show up in the background of pictures.

Trans World Airlines billed itself as the “Airline of Stars,” and owner Howard Hughes took extraordinary care of celebrities. “He could stop an airplane at the drop of a hat for Elizabeth Taylor. And he did,” said Maggie Anderson, who became TWA’s first “ground hostess” in Los Angeles in 1965 and spent 10 years as manager of special services at LAX for American as well.
These days the glamour is gone from air travel, but the benefits of carrying celebrities remain. Besides the secondary perks of rubbing elbows with the famous, Hollywood is a big buyer of travel, particularly high-dollar first-class travel. Being the carrier of choice for stars, or having your name show up in celebrity photos, can be a public-relations windfall.

“Airlines definitely want celebrities on planes,” said Nancy Suey Castles, director of public relations at LAX.

Yet the challenges of handling stars have grown for carriers, both from dealing with tighter security and from swarms of paparazzi staking out keys star airports like LAX and London’s Heathrow Airport.

Everyone boarding a plane has to go through government screening, although many airports have set up special screening lanes for first-class customers that can be used to speed through VIPs. At LAX, airlines say they used to be able to fax a list of a few people for whom they wanted to arrange expedited handling by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, such as slipping them through inspection lines reserved for airline crews. But, now, CBP grants that only if the agency deems there would be a disruption in the line if VIPs stood waiting with everyone else.
Last July, even Victoria Beckham, aka pop singer “Posh Spice” and wife of soccer star David Beckham, was sent to the end of the immigration line as 200 photographers waited outside for her arrival. (British Airways did whisk her children and their nanny out a back door so they’d avoid the media crush.)

Airport police say they try to keep paparazzi from disrupting passenger flow by aggressively enforcing traffic rules and towing paparazzi cars. “We’re laboring under the same problems as the city of Los Angeles — what to do with these people?” said Sgt. James Holcomb of the airport police.

The LAX police force has a dignitary-protection squad that handles mostly heads of state, diplomats and politicians, and officers who can respond quickly when stars unexpectedly cause commotions in terminals.

A swarm of 60 photographers once greeted Jennifer Aniston after a flight from London, airport officials say, and trapped her as she tried to exit. Officers responded and created a “bubble” of protection to move her.

“After that we had three weeks fending phone calls from celebrities asking for security to get them through,” said Ms. Castles of LAX. “The main issue for us is, who is a celebrity?” she said. In other words, who is “big” enough to merit special treatment?

Sgt. Holcomb notes that giving celebrities police protection at airports can sometimes worsen passenger flow — the entourage draws attention and propagates the frenzy.

Though many celebrities have long ago abandoned commercial airlines in favor of private-jet travel, they frequently turn back to airlines for international trips. And some have begun using commercial jets more frequently because of environmental concerns about private jets — it is tough to champion green causes and then get back on a jet with four people.

“They don’t like to be seen in a bad light, no matter what,” said Mr. Williams of British Airways.
At LAX, most celebrities come and go without any fanfare or glad-handing. The airport says on average at least one A-list celebrity comes through every day, many partially shielding famous faces under ball caps. Before her legal troubles, Paris Hilton was able to fly Southwest Airlines Co. to Las Vegas without causing a stir, airport officials say. But no more.

Airport and airline officials say gate agents or skycaps who check in celebrities often tip off photographers — and earn a percentage of the revenue a photo generates. Paparazzi have elaborate networks of photographers around the globe, so a tip that a star is on a certain flight means photographers will be waiting at the destination.

“Their intelligence is incredible,” Sgt. Holcomb said. He refers to it as “legalized stalking.”
Of course, many times the tips come from the celebrity’s publicist. While some stars ask airlines to help them avoid photographers, others covet the attention and ask airline special-service representatives for help with hair and makeup before facing swarms of cameras.

At times, juggling the demands of stars can be difficult for airlines. Multiple celebrities on a flight can create uncomfortable situations if one gets more attention than the other. Sometimes heads of studios or corporate CEOs are on flights with stars and actually command more airline attention than an actor or actress since companies buy many more tickets.

And sometimes stars don’t want special attention. At Virgin Atlantic Airways’ posh “Clubhouse” at Heathrow, celebrities regularly use the same facility reserved for “Upper Class” customers who pay $10,000 or more for a round-trip ticket. The Clubhouse offers facials, haircuts and massages, plus a restaurant, hot tub and secluded seating area that can be commandeered for celebrities.

“More often than not, they just sit somewhere out in the open with everyone else,” says Deborah Tanner, a concierge at the Clubhouse.

Trackback -> http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120700463752278491.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

monday morning mayhem

Cubicle converted into a home

BENTO BOX

Food hackers at Obacchi Jacket Lunch Box cut and arrange ordinary bento lunch box ingredients to recreate famous album covers.

Rage Against The Machine – Evil Empire: Egg, paprika, nori (seaweed sheet), kamaboko (fish sausage), carrot, potato, ham, black sesame, rice

Jimi Hendrix – Electric Ladyland: Nori, paprika (red & orange), egg, rice

King Crimson – In The Court Of The Crimson King: Mentaiko (cod roe), kamaboko, ham, nori, rice

The Velvet Underground & Nico – The Velvet Underground: Nori, egg, rice

Weezer – Green Album: Cabbage, nori, ham, kamaboko, paprika, rice

See more than 25 pages of these bentos at Obacchi Jacket Lunch Box (use the “Next” link at the bottom of each page to scroll through the site).

Trackback – http://www.pinktentacle.com/2008/04/bento-lunches-decorated-as-album-covers/

The Googlenairs

Google has been known for a long time as the best place in the world to work. They offer free massages, gourmet meals, and professional haircuts at their beautiful campus in California. That right there puts them above 99.99% of the other companies in the world. At any rate, you already knew all that so lets move on.

Have you ever wondered how much a Google employee makes? Well this data isn’t extremely easy to find, if you don’t believe me just search Google. However, here is some interesting statistics.
Google Programmer in Phoenix – $174,000/year
Google Programmer in California – $197,000/year
Google Programmer in Chicago – $222,000/year
Google Programmer in New York – $242,000/year
(according to Indeed.com)

…and thats just in salary. What other financial benefits does Google offer it’s employees?

1) Google will pay $8,000 / year for you to continue your education. They just require you get at least ‘B’s in your classes.

2) If you refer another employee to Google’s staff and they stay for 60 days, Google will pay your $2,000

3) If you are thinking about adopting a kid, Google will contribute $5,000 towards all the legal and adoption fees.

4) Depending how long you have worked at Google you can get up to 25 days (almost a month) paid vacation a year!

Now their is one more thing that is very interesting about Google employees financial lives. According to the New York Times there are estimated to be over 1,000 Google employees with Google stock worth over $5 million dollars. Woah wait! There are over 1,000 people working for Google who are worth OVER $5 MILLION DOLLARS! Even Google’s former masseuse (did I mention employees get free massages) is a millionaire. Also, according to the New York Times, every employee that has been at Google for over a year is worth well over $250,000. Competing firms have said that Google alone has raised the average programmers salary by 50% over the last few year and with salaries and benefits like this I really don’t doubt it.

trackback – http://www.cherryav.com/articles/technology/30-The-Googlenairs.html

Johnny Greenwood QUITS Radiohead?!

This really sucks. The two biggest shows of the Spring in Atlanta, The Mars Volta and Radiohead, have now been cancelled. Jonny has decided he wants to do his own thing and that Radiohead has gotten too big. Sucks balls even more because I just bought tickets to Lollapalooza hoping they were the headliners!

click here for more…

jokes on me…

..but damn well worth it