In the news today

[XanBcoo]

Wheel of Time fans, Robert Jordan died yesterday:

http://www.dragonmount.com/RobertJordan/?p=90

Never read any of that series myself, but I know it was really popular. I feel sorry for everyone who invested in it, only to have the author die on them after he stretched out the story with 7 or 8 novels of filler.

[Munsu]

I don't know what's more funny. The actual story, or that this story was posted by someone called GodsSon:
http://www.shoutwire.com/viewstory/105050/Are_You_Old_Enough_Man_72_Asked_to_Prove_he_is_Ove r_21

Of course, we couldn't do without our daily Vampire story:
http://www.shoutwire.com/viewstory/104089/Man_Arrested_For_Stealing_Drinking_Blood

[masamuneehs]

Meteorite Crashes in Peru, Causes Sickness Among Villagers (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/070921-meteor-peru.html)

Canadian coverage of the same (http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/09/19/peru-meteorite.html)

shit straight out of a sci-fi movie...
seriously, quarantine those fucker before they develop a taste for brains...

lol, well, not really... more like, crappy Peruvian pollution + meteor causes sickness...

[mage]

Russian Military Intelligence Analysts are reporting today that one of the United States most secretive spy satellites, the KH-13, targeting Iran was 'destroyed in its orbit' with its main power generator powered by the radioactive isotope Pu-238 surviving re-entry and crashing in a remote region of the South American Nation of Peru, and where hundreds are reported to be ill from radiation poisoning.

Western media reports are stating that the US spy satellite debris hitting Peru was caused by a meteor, but which, according to these reports, would be 'impossible' as the size of 30-meter crater, if caused by a meteorite, would have hit the ground with about as much energy as 1 kiloton tactical nuclear weapon, and which would have been recorded by the seismic stations around the World.

[masamuneehs]

at first i thought mage was just up to his old tricks... but indeed... the Russian source Pravada has exactly what he's talking about..

Russian Assertation that Peru Sickness Caused by U.S. Military Satelite Crash (http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/feedback/20-09-2007/97410-american_spy_satellite-0)

the NY Times has also picked up on this... although they present it alongside other strange theories and seem to be quite skeptical (note, the article is quite poorly written)
In Peru" a Crater and Questions - New York Time (http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/20/in-peru-a-crater-and-questions/?hp)
[url=

[mage]

pravda is a BS news site, i was just trying to see if i could fool anyone :)

i find it laughable that nytimes would even mention them.

[masamuneehs]

well, maybe you've already heard but...

Military Junta Continues Crackdown in Myanmar, Targets Buddhist Monastaries in Night Time Raids (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/world/asia/04myanmar.html)

if I recall correctly, Myanmar has a great deal of natural gas deposits... perhaps Bushie would like to... oh, wait. What? China would certainly take that as a sign we want to tango in World War III? Well then, you certainly can't expect us to be there.... Besides, Islam isn't involved, nor terrorism, so once again most of the U.S. remains oblivious to this event...

North Korea Disable Nuclear Facilities by 2008 (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/world/asia/04diplo.html?em&ex=1191556800&en=3441d6a2fd7ff4bb&ei=5087%0A)

I suppose this is good news... ... if in fact they're not full of shit this time, as they were the last time they signed an agreement to scale down their nuclear programme... Maybe they're content with whatever weapon they produced already? Or maybe they're hoping to just buy the goods from Iran?

[DB_Hunter]

well, maybe you've already heard but...

Military Junta Continues Crackdown in Myanmar, Targets Buddhist Monastaries in Night Time Raids (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/world/asia/04myanmar.html)

if I recall correctly, Myanmar has a great deal of natural gas deposits... perhaps Bushie would like to... oh, wait. What? China would certainly take that as a sign we want to tango in World War III? Well then, you certainly can't expect us to be there.... Besides, Islam isn't involved, nor terrorism, so once again most of the U.S. remains oblivious to this event...

I knew there were energy deposits in/around Burma/Myanmar, wasn't sure if it was gas or oil.

I think its difficult to say who is doing what in Burma with just this information. I think it is safe to say the US has some role in this new flare up, though I'm not sure what. This is out of acknowledgment of the US being a global power which aims to control world affairs rather than US bashing, in case some of you get the wrong idea. China is another player probably, as is India.

I think Burma is important not just because of its energy reserves, but also its strategic value due to its location. China is currently pursuing a policy known as "The String of Pearls". Basically, around the entire Indian ocean coast from Pakistan in the West to somewhere near Burma in the East, China is building deep sea ports from where its own warships will be able to operate from as well. So if this policy is completed China will be able to project its power in a way like never before, thus not only increasing its own political power but also threatening that of the United States and also the other regional power, India (note obviously India is not where China is building its ports).


North Korea Disable Nuclear Facilities by 2008 (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/world/asia/04diplo.html?em&ex=1191556800&en=3441d6a2fd7ff4bb&ei=5087%0A)

I suppose this is good news... ... if in fact they're not full of shit this time, as they were the last time they signed an agreement to scale down their nuclear programme... Maybe they're content with whatever weapon they produced already? Or maybe they're hoping to just buy the goods from Iran?

My personal opinion currently is that the US is full of shit when it says that it wants N Korea to drop its nuke program. As crazy as it may sound, it actually benefits the US to be seen to have a nutcase in that part of the world. Why? Simply because it justifies a military presence again on China's doorstep. If the two Koreas have peace then there will be no reason for US troops to remain in South Korea, and that would be a strategic loss for the US.

As for the danger to the US from North Korean nukes, I don't think there is a danger of a strike in reality. N Korea is hostile because it is essentialy a cornered animal, which desperatley needs things like oil and food. It is trying to survive, not start a war.

[rockmanj]

As a side note, the US has agreed to turn over control of their bases here (in Korea) to the Korean military...

[Assertn]

If the two Koreas have peace then there will be no reason for US troops to remain in South Korea, and that would be a strategic loss for the US.

How would that be a strategic loss for the US? It's not like we would lose our alliance with South Korea the second our troops leave or anything.....

[DB_Hunter]

@rockmanj: Have they? I wasn't aware of that. I know a few years back Bush announced a shake up of US troop deployments world wide and was going to shift troops away from South Korea and Germany as well, and this was supposed to take place over a few years. Are you saying that all the bases are closing?

@Assertn: I'm not saying the US would become an enemy of South Korea if the troops left. It would however definitely be a loss of military influence in the region, and could allow China to increase its polticial activity in the area.

[Genma]

@Assertn: I'm not saying the US would become an enemy of South Korea if the troops left. It would however definitely be a loss of military influence in the region, and could allow China to increase its polticial activity in the area.

... Point being?

You're typing about this shit as though Americans are still Imperialistic. Since China is now a Democratic country (at least partially), and the fact that most of our imports come from China, I don't really think we're worried that China will have an influence on South Korea.

The reason we have troops there is to monitor N. Korea, and crazy "im so ronrreeey" Kim Jong-il.

http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/archives/kim-jong-mickey.jpg

[DB_Hunter]

Do you mind telling me when America stopped being imperialistic?

Edit: Japanese workers in Wikipedia row (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7029685.stm)

Quote: "The Agriculture Ministry is not in charge of Gundam," ministry official Tsutomu Shimomura told the Associated Press news agency.

[Yukimura]

I thought this was too cool to pass up
Is the US Government spying on people with cyborg insects? (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/08/AR2007100801434.html?hpid=topnews&hpid=artslot)

[Carnage]

I didn't know Dr. Gero was working for the U.S. Government....

[XanBcoo]

Chinese government regulates Reincarnation (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/11/opinion/11zizek.html)


THE Western liberal media had a laugh in August when China’s State Administration of Religious Affairs announced Order No. 5, a law covering “the management measures for the reincarnation of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism.” This “important move to institutionalize management on reincarnation” basically prohibits Buddhist monks from returning from the dead without government permission: no one outside China can influence the reincarnation process; only monasteries in China can apply for permission.

Silly China, you can't do that~

[Death BOO Z]

do you need to apply for Reincarnation? or does the goverment decides it for you?
can you ask for a spesific animal, or just in a general lines?


too bad I can't apply, i'd like to come back as a minitaour.

[Assertn]

Here's some good news for some of you... (http://www.livescience.com/technology/071012-robot-marriage.html)

[Psyke]

Here's some good news for some of you... (http://www.livescience.com/technology/071012-robot-marriage.html)

This reminds me of Ghost in the Shell..... though 2050 seems a little too late for us. :D

[XanBcoo]

What are you talking about "Good news"?

I'm gonna be almost 70 years-old by that time, well past my need and desire to marry robotic women.

[Assertn]

Well, legalized marriages in 2050, but who says there weren't same-sex or interracial relationships 50 years prior to legalizations of those?

[XanBcoo]

I guess what I'm imagining is a a situation like that in Chobits, where the robots are so similar in appearance, personality, and in affect to humans that a "relationship" with them would seem completely natural.

I mean...sure in 5 years they'll have Real Dolls that scream "Oh God, yes!" and tense up when you stick it in, but that's really stretching the boundaries of a "relationship" in my head. I'm shooting for ideals here!

So yeah, I'm still thinking it'll be a long ways off before we get to the former example, and obviously even longer before it's "legal".

[Kraco]

Speaking of ideals the article made it look pretty... cold when the expert was listing the main points of a loving relationship and checked each point by telling how it can be programmed. If it's nothing but a bunch of preprogrammed algorithms, I wonder how well it should be considered to qualify for a marriage. If the robot was controlled by a real self-conscious AI, it would not only be able to love but also hate or dislike or be totally indifferent. Like real people. And it could also get a divorce... Now, that would do wonders to some dude's self-respect: Even the guaranteed-to-love-you $23,000 robot would get a divorce after two months of marriage (the warranty only covers two months of absolute doting love, naturally).

[masamuneehs]

Child with 8 limbs is called 'Reincarnation of Vishnu'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=491757&in_page_id=1770

considering she was born on the celebration day of Vishnu, that makes me just wonder...

[XanBcoo]

There isn't one detail of that that isn't seriously creepy.

But the Vishnu thing doesn't work since Vishnu only had 2 legs :(.

[Lucifus]

Child with 8 limbs is called 'Reincarnation of Vishnu'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=491757&in_page_id=1770

considering she was born on the celebration day of Vishnu, that makes me just wonder...

That seriously freaked me out a little. Awesome find though masa. That was some interesting though disturbing stuff.

[Kraco]

The best mom in the world. (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22723239-13762,00.html)

[TheBladeChild]

The best mom in the world. (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22723239-13762,00.html)

Dang why couldn't things like this have happened to me during high school. :(

[XanBcoo]

NO HUGGING (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/custom/fringe/sns-ap-odd-detention-for-hugging,0,24664.story)

[KitKat]

Now....what would have been REALLY funny is if the stripper incident happened in the school from the second article. I wonder if whipping counts as a public display of affection.

[DB_Hunter]

Somebody forget to close the door or something? (http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1292914,00.html)

[XanBcoo]

The researchers propose that the dinosaur's rump was 25% larger than had previously been thought. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7124969.stm)

[Abdula]

I find it difficult to get interested in paleontology.

[Abdula]

Yet another shooting (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22116784/?GT1=10645)

[Dark Dragon]

Muslim helps Jews attacked on New York subway (http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/12/subway.attack/index.html)

[masamuneehs]

that's a great story, but news...

Bush Vetoes Child Health Care bill Again (http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/12/bush.schip/?iref=mpstoryview)

[Yukimura]

More of the Same. (http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/13/congress.energy.ap/index.html?iref=topnews)

I don't know why they even bother with these bills other than to continue making Bush look like an ass for not agreeing with them. I don't know if the government insuring middle class peoples kids is a good idea or not, but I know that the President doesn't think it is and unless two thirds of congress disagree there is no chance that a bill that expands federal coverage to include more of such children will not be vetoed.

I think Bush is a cock-bite for using his veto power to essentially be the legislature instead of checking the legislature but that's just how the system works. If the Democratic Congess won't bow down to his narrow-minded vision and let him decide all the laws they might as well just go home. If they aren't going to get anything passed anyway why bother?

[LaZie]

Got w00t? (http://www.dailytech.com/w00t+is+MerriamWebsters+Word+of+2007/article10008.htm)

[Abdula]

Damn it Lazie you jacked my post, I guess I should have done it yesterday.

[XanBcoo]

“It's amusing, but it's limited to a small community and unlikely to spread and unlikely to last,” said Metcalf.
Bitch needs to stfu.

See how long that lasts.

[XanBcoo]

Most young women in the study said they personally did not use porn, but nearly half said viewing X-rated material was an acceptable way to express sexuality. (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-12-12-porn-study_N.htm)

[DB_Hunter]

Funniest quote of the story,


"We're in an age of pocket porn," says study author Jason Carroll.

[XanBcoo]

^^^^^That definitely conjures up some funny images.

"Roget's Pocket Playboy"

[6Zabuza9]

chuck norris sues!!
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2007/12/22/norris-book-lawsuit.html?ref=rss

[Abdula]

Most surprising thing about that is that he is sixty seven. Didn't someone publish a book like that already. You would think that asking for authorization would be common sense

[Abdula]

Siberian Tiger for Christmas. (http://news.aol.com/story/_a/tiger-escapes-zoo-cage-kills-visitor/20071225220209990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001)

[DB_Hunter]

Sperm power could drive nano-scale robots (http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/12/27/sperm-power.html)

[masamuneehs]

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Bhutto Assassinated During Public Appearance (http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=e07d4949-813c-4b68-85f3-729c81f70983&k=61789)

So a guy walks up to her car (where she's standing up out through the sun roof), fires three shots at her. The car speeds off, and the shooter detonates a bomb on himself, killing at least 20 other people.

Pakistan's official explanation is that she didn't die from gunshot wounds, or from the bomb. They state that no foreign matter was found on her body, and that she died from hitting her head in falling while the car pulled away. They further state that it was likely Al Qaeda and other Islamist extremists who undertook the assassination, citing a purported phone conversation capturing a top Islamist (who the US acknowledges is being considered a suspect in the assassination) congratulating Al Qaeda on killing her.

To me, this all stinks. Bhutto was about to go against President/General/Dictator Musharaff in the election. Musharaff's year includes suspending the judiciary, installing his own judicial officials, locking the country in martial law and dismantling most of the independent press units. This comes in the same year where he stated that he'd step down from the military leadership IF he was re-elected in the coming elections...

Yeah, blame Al Qaeda...

[itadakimasu]

i havent' been watching much of the news but today i was in my car and they were talking about how president bush wants them to ''continue the diplomatic process'' as they are going to have elections in under 2 weeks...

how? it just seems like an insane and stupid statement for our president to make... i mean, to the best of my knowledge this Bhotto was the only opposition. Unless we're going to find a better candidate to have elected in their country.



and about the tigers, Last night here in dallas they found a tiger dead on the side of the highway. It has been shot several times and dumped apparently by its owner(s) who had it declawed and had a rough looking makeshift collar made out of rusty wire for the big cat. I don't understand how somebody who had a pet like that could just kill it and dump its body... they could have at least tied it up somewhere and called somebody w\ the zoo to come and get it or something

[DB_Hunter]

Bhutto's death is clearly more complicated that just blaming some militiants. As a Sky News reporter said on the reports that the Pakistani Govt is blaming militants: Its very easy to blame someone from a shadowy organisation in Waziristan (next to Afghan border) where no one can get to him or interview him to confirm these reports.

[saman]

or better yet, just claim that she died by accident. yeah, she just happened to hit her head on the car and die as a guy was trying to shoot her and then blow himself up. i don't know what's going to happen now, but i really hope nawaz sharif or musharraf don't get too prominent. the only sane person i can think of to lead the country now is imran khan, who's too liberal and passive to come out on top.

[DB_Hunter]

Imran Khan isn't fit to lead the country. I think he means well, which is a big thing in itself in Pakistani politics, but he has no political pedigree. He has no ideas how to take the country forward. His policies seem to be anti-american administration and anti mush. Nawaz Sharrif is too discredited, like Bhutto herself actually was, and Mush is just generally hated by everyone now.

I think Pakistan is suffering an identity crisis more than anything else right now. The four provinces are at loggerheads, and Pakistani nationalism has failed.

[rockmanj]

Well, the whole thing with the Pakistani government's official stance seems a bit fishy. They've put out conflicting reports on her cause of death already, and it hasn't even been 3 days. I wouldn't be surprised if someone in the government was pulling the strings, or at least responsible in some way.

[rockmanj]

bump

Wow, its getting bad in Kenya, after that election. Like really bad...all that senseless violence in basically the only part of that region that wasn't in turmoil. i hope this clears ups fairly soon, because it doesn't bode well for the people or the future stability of the country.

[Abdula]

Would be nice if you put a link so that uninformed people could know what you're talking about. The best I could manage (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/kenya/index.html?excamp=GGGNkenya&WT.srch=1&WT.mc_ev=click&WT.mc_id=GN-S-E-GG-NA-S-kenya)

Anyway its nice to know that some of you guys are concerned about world events and international politics that don't particularly or directly affect you. I don't really concern myself with anything that doesn't directly affect me not because I don't care well maybe but whatever.

I know a few people who are pretty well connected with the upper echelon of the Pakistani government but they don't seem to care probably because they live in America and are financially secure but still.......

[Assassin]

and therein lies the problem.....

[Munsu]

This shit is nuts:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/01/11/twins.married/index.html

Some Luke and Leia action.

[XanBcoo]

Robots evolve and learn how to lie (http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jan/robots-evolve-and-learn-how-to-lie)

[Abdula]

Judgment Day is soon approaching, readying my EM canon.

[XanBcoo]

Word.

What's even more worrying is this article from 6 years ago: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/06/20/1023864460978.html

It's all a little sinister.

[saman]

really? i think it's fascinating. you guys should check out ray kurzweil's "age of spiritual machines" if you're into this stuff.

[Munsu]

Gamers beware:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/17/gaming_murder/
http://www.russiatoday.ru/scitech/news/19777

Robbing for hunger:
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/crime/article.aspx?storyid=71727

[Abdula]

Wow thats the trouble now with not video games but with kids these days, their delusional. They can't distinguish fantasy from reality and whats worse their proud of it. Walking around with some false sense of accomplishment.

Probably some little geeks, cause no one else spends hours playing online games, thinking their tough and they go gang up on some old men. I mean while its still unbelievable, I could understand how some dumb kids could do this but a 31 year old man. First off a 31 year old man spending hours playing online games is bad enough but when things escalated and got serious not only did they agree to meet with these kids but they actually showed up.

Wow stuff like this saddens me not because it happened but because I'm supposed to be the same species as these "people."


About the other story what the hell kind of 13 year old girl is this, she is obviously deranged. The smart thing to do would have just been to give her her burger. Must have been some nice guys to only subdue her and wait until the cops showed up.

[XanBcoo]

About the other story what the hell kind of 13 year old girl is this

a 13-year-old girl who just got out of Juvenile Detention
Obviously she wasn't in there long enough...

[XanBcoo]

Fox News attacks Mass Effect, Internet geeks fight back (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/26/arts/television/26mass.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)

Edit:
And Jack Thompson defends it?? (http://kotaku.com/349423/jack-thompson-defends-mass-effect)

[Abdula]

Kosovo declares Independence. (http://news.aol.com/story/_a/kosovo-declares-independence/20080215170409990002?ncid=NWS00010000000001)

[Yukimura]

Boy Dies Copying Naruto
Story from NarutoCentral (http://www.narutocentral.com/news-post-1205267762/?page=last)
Story from otakutimes (http://www.otakutimes.com/2008/03/10/you-are-not-naruto/)

Youtube Clip of News Coverage (Note: You will hear several Na-Roooo-Toe's) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCHv9txhVog&watch_response)
Note: At the time the news report was made the boy hadn't died, but he does later.

Another Youtube Clip of news coverage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTeiIOeBk9g)

When a 10 year old boy is left alone with 5 other children, none of whom are smart enough to realize that burying someone head first in a foot of sand will not give them super powers, and is in fact a terrible idea, is it not clearly the fault of Naruto and by extension all anime and perhaps even all of Japan?

[Assassin]

Codey was a bright, imaginative boy with many friends,

obviously not bright enough. im glad he wont be passing on his genes.

[Kraco]

Not bright but he must have been extremely imaginative to think he would somehow miraculously survive suffocation. Normally people tend to take breathing pretty seriously, and lack imagination to come up with ways to live without air.

Though being imaginative didn't really help in the end.

[Idealistic]

^^ Yeah... I don't even think it's humanly possible to hold your breath until you die. That kid must have been stuck or something. I don't think the sand in a sandbox is that thick and heavy that he couldn't get out on his own if he couldn't breathe.

Conspiracy I say!!

But seriously... I don't know what those kids were thinking.

[Assertn]

Beware....you children may ALSO be copying sand jootsos!
Sounds like a national crisis to me.

Also....
How does one get buried from their head to their shoulder? Like an ostrich? Couldn't he just...you know....lift himself up out of the sand?

[darkshadow]

“They watch a cartoon where they were like sand masters or something and they can manipulate sand or something like that. They came up with the idea that if he were to do this then he would be able to be one of them”

Thats what they were thinking, dumb fucks.

[Assertn]

Someone forgot to tell him that his eyes have to be red and have multiple holes in it before he can copy jootsos

[darkshadow]

i also suspect foul play, you cant just die outright from being with your head in the sand, he couldve dug himself out, i mean you start to feel when you run out of air, them other bitch kids were prolly holding him down or some shit.

[Uchiha Barles]

That's not necessarily true. Sand is pretty heavy, and if you're burried in it pretty compactly, you might not be able to get out, especially if you're a 10 year old kid, even more especially if you're a feeble 10 year old kid. I'm seriously trying not to laugh at this though.

[Kraco]

Yeah. Logic would dictate so. Unless the kid has some sort of a medical condition that suddenly made him lose control or consciousness and thus he couldn't remove his head from the sand.

[Animeniax]

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/other_sports/general/view.bg?articleid=1079455&srvc=sports&position=recent

[rockmanj]

http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/0-0&fp=47e0bb8a7042ca78&ei=LLzgR92OL6jk6gPBmrnHBg&url=http%3A//blogs.guardian.co.uk/usa/2008/03/when_even_joe_scarborough_on.html&cid=1141028193&usg=AFrqEzcs1WF2Nivpct0Gr53xkYSyHwetVA

Interesting speech...to say the least.

[Buffalobiian]

Things like this happen all the time, and this time it happens to come from an anime. Children (though I hesitate to call 10yr olds children) like to imitate, and hence lots of movies and stuff have PG. Parental Guidance is required to teach them what to learn, and what is bad, and what not. Not really blaming the parents, but I bet you they didn't tell him not to copy that. Hell, knowing busy parents these days, they probably don't even know what Naruto is until this happened.

[KitKat]

You don't have to be a real person to be an ambassador!

Japan appoints Doraemon as ambassador to promote animation (http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/080319/K031904AU.html)

[Abdula]

I'm speechless. Really there are no words to describe this and of all the characters they could have chosen.

[XanBcoo]

Their foreign minister looks just like Consul Han from the Rush Hour movies.

[XanBcoo]

In case anybody hasn't heard about this yet: http://www.wftv.com/news/15817394/detail.html

POLK COUNTY, Fla. -- Video was released late Monday afternoon showing a brutal beating at the hands of a gang of teenage girls. Their motivation for the attack was allegedly so they could post the video on YouTube and MySpace.

The victim reported the attack after she was beaten so badly she had to be treated at the hospital. That's when the sheriff's office started looking into it and learned about the video.

The sheriff calls it shocking, saying he's never seen anything like it. It was a vicious attack all captured on home video inside a Polk County home.

Video and news coverage of the attack (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8atbgqyO3Q)

[Buffalobiian]

(source: yahoo news.) (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080412/ap_on_re_us/the26_year_silence)



CHICAGO - For nearly 26 years, the affidavit was sealed in an envelope and stored in a locked box, tucked away with the lawyer's passport and will. Sometimes he stashed the box in his bedroom closet, other times under his bed.
ADVERTISEMENT

It stayed there — year after year, decade after decade.

Then, about two years ago, Dale Coventry, the box's owner, got a call from his former colleague, W. Jamie Kunz. Both were once public defenders. They hadn't talked in a decade.

"We're both getting on in years," Kunz said. "We ought to do something with that affidavit to make sure it's not wasted in case we both leave this good Earth."

Coventry assured him it was in a safe place. He found it in the fireproof metal box, but didn't read it. He didn't need to. He was reminded of the case every time he heard that a wronged prisoner had been freed.

In January, Kunz called again. This time, he had news: A man both lawyers had represented long ago in the murder of two police officers, Andrew Wilson, had died in prison.

Kunz asked Coventry to get the affidavit.

"It's in a sealed envelope," Coventry said.

"Open it," Kunz said, impatiently.

And so, Coventry began reading aloud the five-line declaration the lawyers had written more than a quarter-century before:

An innocent man was behind bars. His name was Alton Logan. He did not kill a security guard in a McDonald's restaurant in January 1982.

"In fact," the document said, "another person was responsible."

___

They knew, because Andrew Wilson told them: He did it.

But that was the catch.

Lawyer-client privilege is not complete; most states allow attorneys to reveal confidences to prevent a death, serious bodily harm or criminal fraud. But this case didn't offer that kind of exception.

So when Andrew Wilson told his lawyers that he, and not Alton Logan, had killed the guard, they felt powerless — aware of information that could free a man they believed to be innocent, but unable to do anything with that knowledge. And for decades, they said nothing.

As they recall, Wilson — who was facing charges in the February 1982 murders of police officers William Fahey and Richard O'Brien — was even a bit gleeful about the McDonald's shooting. To Kunz, he seemed like a child who had been caught doing something naughty.

"I was surprised at how unabashed he was in telling us," he says. "There was no sense of unease or embarrassment. ... He smiled and kind of giggled. He hugged himself, and said, 'Yeah, it was me.'"

Alton Logan already had been charged with the McDonald's shooting that left one guard dead and another injured. Another man, Edgar Hope, also was arrested, and assigned a public defender, Marc Miller.

Miller says he was stunned when his client announced he didn't know Alton Logan and had never seen him before their arrests. According to Miller, Hope was persistent: "You need to tell his attorney he represents an innocent man."

Hope went a step further, Miller says: He told him Andrew Wilson was his right-hand man — "the guy who guards my back" — and urged the lawyer to confirm that with his street friends. He did.

Miller says he eventually did tell Logan's lawyer his client was innocent, but offered no details.

First, though, he approached Kunz, his fellow public defender and former partner.

"You think your life's difficult now?" Miller recalls telling Kunz. "My understanding is that your client Andrew Wilson is the shooter in the McDonald's murder."

Coventry and Kunz brought Wilson to the jail law library and this, they say, was when they confronted him and he made his unapologetic confession. They didn't press for details. "None of us had any doubt," Coventry says.

And, he adds, it wasn't just Wilson's word. Firearms tests, according to court records, linked a shotgun shell found at McDonald's with a weapon that police found at the beauty parlor where Andrew Wilson lived. The slain police officers' guns also were discovered there.

Now the lawyers had two big worries: Another killing might be tied to their client, and "an innocent man had been charged with his murder and was very likely ... to get the death penalty," Kunz says.

But bound by legal ethics, they kept quiet.

Instead, they wrote down what they'd been told. If the situation ever arose where they could help Logan, there would be a record — no one could say they had just made it up. They say they didn't name Wilson, fearing someone would hear about the document and subpoena it. They didn't even make a copy.

But on March 17, 1982, Kunz, Coventry and Miller signed the notarized affidavit: "I have obtained information through privileged sources that a man named Alton Logan ... who was charged with the fatal shooting of Lloyd Wickliffe ... is in fact not responsible for that shooting ... "

Knowing the affidavit had to be secret, Wilson's lawyers looked for ways to help Logan without hurting their client. They consulted with legal scholars, ethics commissions, the bar association.

Kunz says he mentioned the case dozens of times over the years to lawyers, never divulging names but explaining that he knew a guy serving a life sentence for a crime committed by one of his clients.

There's nothing you can do, he was told.

Coventry had another idea. He figured Wilson probably would be executed for the police killings, so he visited him in prison and posed a question: Can I reveal what you told me, the lawyer asked, after your death?

"I managed to say it without being obnoxious," Coventry says. "He wasn't stupid. He understood exactly what I was asking. He knew he was going to get the death penalty and he agreed."

Coventry says he asked Wilson the same question years later — and got the same answer.

But ultimately, Wilson was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

His death penalty was reversed after he claimed Chicago police had electrically shocked, beaten and burned him with a radiator to secure his confession. (Decades later, a special prosecutor's report concluded police had tortured dozens of suspects over two decades.)

Logan's case was working its way through the courts, too. During the first of two trials in which he was convicted, Coventry walked in to hear part of the death penalty phase. "It's pretty creepy watching people deciding if they're going to kill an innocent man," he says.

The lawyers had a plan if it came to that: They would appeal to the governor to stop the execution. But with a life sentence, they remained silent.

Still, there were whispers. When Logan changed lawyers before his second trial, Miller says the new lawyer approached him. He had heard that Miller knew something more.

Please, he asked, can you help?

Miller says he told him he could do nothing for him. But he says he repeated the words he had uttered to Logan's first lawyer, more than a decade earlier:

"You represent an innocent man."

___

In prison, Alton Logan heard the news: First, Andrew Wilson had died. Second, there was an affidavit in his case.

"I said finally, somebody has come (forward) and told the truth," Logan says. "I've been saying this for the past 26 years: It WASN'T me."

In January, the two lawyers, with a judge's permission, revealed their secret in court.

Two months later, Marc Miller testified about his client's declaration of Logan's innocence.

But an affidavit and sworn testimony do not guarantee freedom — or prove innocence.

And Alton Logan knows that. After spending almost half his 54 years as an inmate, this slight man with a fringe of gray beard, stooped shoulders and weary eyes seems resigned to the reality that his fate is beyond his control.

"I have to accept whatever comes down," he says, sitting in a visitor's room at the Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet.

He insists he's not angry with Edgar Hope — the man who first said he was innocent — or even Andrew Wilson. He says he once approached Wilson in prison and asked him to "come clean. Tell the truth." Wilson just smiled and kept walking.

Nor is Logan angry with the lawyers who kept the secret. But he wonders if there wasn't some way they could have done more.

"What I can't understand is you know the truth, you held the truth and you know the consequences of that not coming forward?" he says of the lawyers. "Is (a) job more important than an individual's life?"

The lawyers say it was about their client — Wilson — not about their jobs, and they maintain that the prosecutors and police are at fault.

Kunz says he knows some people might find his actions outrageous. His obligation, though, was to Andrew Wilson.

"If I had ratted him out ... then I could feel guilty, then I could not live with myself," he says. "I'm anguished and always have been over the sad injustice of Alton Logan's conviction. Should I do the right thing by Alton Logan and put my client's neck in the noose or not? It's clear where my responsibility lies and my responsibility lies with my client."

On April 18, Logan will be in court as his lawyer, Harold Winston, pushes for a new trial. Along with the affidavit, Winston has accumulated new evidence, including an eyewitness who says Logan wasn't at McDonald's and a letter from an inmate who claims Wilson signed a statement while in prison implicating himself in the murder — and clearing Logan.

But obstacles remain.

Logan can't depend on Edgar Hope. According to his attorney, Hope probably will exercise his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

And he'll have to deal with eyewitnesses. His lawyer says one person changed her story in the two trials, but a second, the security guard injured in the shooting, did not. (A third, who has since died, had acknowledged that Wilson and Logan looked alike.)

Logan prefers not to look too far ahead or think too far back. He refuses to dwell on missed opportunities — marriage, children, job. "You cannot live with the situation I'm in and say, 'What if?'"

He says if he is released, he'll move to Oregon to be with his brother. "After spending 26 years in this hellhole, I want to get as far away from here as I possibly can," he says.

Last month, the Chicago Sun-Times, in an editorial, urged the attorney general or governor to release Logan, noting his claims of innocence "ring achingly true." (The state has declined comment on the case.)

Logan keeps a copy of the 26-year-old affidavit in his cell. Every now and then, he reads the single paragraph, trying to divine what the lawyers were thinking and if this piece of paper will help unlock the prison doors.

He's not banking on it.

"I'm not sold on it," he says. "The only time I'll be sold is when they tell me I can go."

For now, though, Alton Logan waits. The heavy prison doors clank behind him as he walks down the corridor to his cell. He does not look back.

I don't think this is right, (nor wrong), but I can see where that lawyer is coming from. If he did that, people won't know whether to trust their lawyers or not. We'll have a whole new issue about backstabbing lawyers.

[Sapphire]

You don't have to be a real person to be an ambassador!

Japan appoints Doraemon as ambassador to promote animation (http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/080319/K031904AU.html)That's one step away from letting a program control reproduction and later government! Just you watch..

[conquistaDan]

That's one step away from letting a program control reproduction and later government! Just you watch..


Yeah it is. My friend is a robotics major and former robotics freak from HS. He says that they're the wave of the future. He and I always disagree on that subject because he thinks they'll be helping us. Then after we watched (I, Robot the movie) I used that whole movie as a thesis to my defense. It works the whole time against him.

[darkmetal505]

Sometimes they just try to hard:

Best Buy will install your xbox games for you (http://consumerist.com/381845/let-best-buy-professionally-install-your-xbox-games)

[Munsu]

This is quite hilarious:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7374317.stm

[Buffalobiian]

Either very dumb, very greedy or both (weed probably did it)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080502/ap_on_fe_st/odd_check_for_billions

[Munsu]

Either very dumb, very greedy or both (weed probably did it)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080502/ap_on_fe_st/odd_check_for_billions
Lol, how dumb can the guy be? He should've gone for the 500 billion.

[Mr Squiggles]

At the time he probably thought he was the most brilliant scam artist in the world

[Death BOO Z]

he planned to rob he bank before handing over the check, so he could go to a diffrent bank and double the cash earnnings.

it's a fool-proof plan, it couldn't fail.

[DB_Hunter]

Pure Gold (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7379554.stm)

[Buffalobiian]

Snippets from story:

"....Why the seal attempted to have sex with the penguin is unclear... speculate that it was the behaviour of a frustrated, sexually inexperienced young male seal..."(lolled right there)...

"The 100kg seal first subdued the 15kg penguin by lying on it.The penguin flapped its flippers and attempted to stand and escape - but to no avail."

" The seal then alternated between resting on the penguin, and thrusting its pelvis, trying to insert itself, unsuccessfully." (lmao)

"After 45 minutes the seal gave up, swam into the water and then completely ignored the bird it had just assaulted."

rolf, pure gold indeed.

[Psyke]

45 minutes? That deserves credit just for determination. Though not injured, the penguin's probably going to get mentally scarred for life.

[Buffalobiian]

45 minutes? That deserves credit just for determination. Though not injured, the penguin's probably going to get mentally scarred for life.

It will never turn it's back on a seal again.

[rockmanj]

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/04/korea.wave.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

I think one of my friends' family members was killed...kinda sad.

But that article was pretty wacky...especially:
adelie penguins sometimes "prostitute" themselves to get stones for nest-building

[Munsu]

Was there some sort of earthquake that caused that wave? Or is the cause unknown?

[itadakimasu]

Last night on the local news they had this story :

this woman was being sentenced to 5 years in jail for the death of a man she was having sex with. Her husband caught them having sex and she screamed rape... her husband (of course packing heat) shoots and kills the man.

husband has no charges filed against him for killing the man, and the lady gets 5 years in jail ... not sure exactly what they charged her with... but surely 5 years for killing and/or causing a mans death is a little lenient. There are far more minor crimes committed every day that get far greater sentences then 5 years. not to mention that she will be paroled in just 2-2 1/2 years

[Kraco]

Let's hope some hc lesbian prisoners in the prison show her what a real rape is like.

(I'm somehow glad this wasn't my 5000th post...)

[Animeniax]

Well 5 years isn't too bad, considering she could claim she had no idea her husband would kill the guy, or claim emotional distress and temporary insanity that made her say it. It was probably a split second decision anyway. Hopefully, she didn't plan ahead to yell what she did in case she was ever caught in the act of adultery. Then she'd deserve much worse.

[sangai]

to bad the bullet didn't pass through him and hit her in the head...lieing slut...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24487056/ this caught my eye, basically a black hole was caught pulling a large star into its center the star was seen blasting off flares.

[Uchiha Barles]

If the guy knew she was married, he got he what he deserved. In fact, this is fucking great. Guy gets his revenge on both his wife and the dude who was screwing her (provided he knew she was married). 5 years is a bit lenient though, she should get close to the max, if not the max, for whatever penalty manslaughter carries.

[sangai]

well also, this being slightly related to my chosen career path..

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24484864

intresting article about new ways to reduce bycatch and possible make safer beaches and dives.

[Buffalobiian]

Hmm, I thought they already employed this kind of technology in diving suits and stuff. Maybe it was just one of those imagined scenarios we had for my past physics tests.

[rockmanj]

I'm wondering why Hilary won't quit...not that I care about American politic that much, but this is just getting out of hand...

[Animeniax]

Probably for the same reason you won't leave Korea, regardless of what anyone else says or thinks.

She's dreamed of being President since Bill was in office, and probably before then. She's close enough now that to give in would be a waste of years of planning and effort. She has a massive ego, and won't even let reality or bankruptcy get in her way. Meanwhile, the Republicans are happy the Democrats are tearing each other apart before the real battle begins.

[python862]

As a Democrat, I must say I'm displeased with the stupidity displayed between our two candidates. Hillary's so far up her own ass that she doesn't see that even IF she doesn't lose to Obama, she's a sure loss to McCain, simply because of the crap-throwing she's doing, which Obama just has to return in favor. Obama is similarly in trouble, though not quite in the same boat as Hillary, what with the Wright debacle. I'm amused to see where this is going to go, even though I know a Democrat isn't going to be in office.

[complich8]

I don't think Wright will have the same media staying power in McCain's hands that it has in Hillary's, simply because of the endorsements he's deliberately courted from similar firebrand evangelicals. Play back some clips of Hagee side-by-side with Wright, and the only big difference you'll find is that Wright is black, and a bit funnier.

My prediction is Obama over McCain, 57-43 in the general election.

[rockmanj]

Probably for the same reason you won't leave Korea, regardless of what anyone else says or thinks.

She's dreamed of being President since Bill was in office, and probably before then. She's close enough now that to give in would be a waste of years of planning and effort. She has a massive ego, and won't even let reality or bankruptcy get in her way. Meanwhile, the Republicans are happy the Democrats are tearing each other apart before the real battle begins.

Well, actually, its my boss that's kept me here...I don't see how your critique of Hilary Clinton applies to me, but anyway...It does look like the Democrats are just wasting time and resources in a contest that could be rendered moot because of various factors. I'm quite taken aback at how Reverend Wright has damaged Obama's campaign so. I mean, whho could have predicted that happening? And there's still that niche of people that thing "race" is a factor in being able to the the CIC . Not surprisingly, a lot of those people are kinda old and lack education.

[Buffalobiian]

Happy Mother's Day: Woman pregnant with 18th child (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080509/ap_on_re_us/18_kids)

[Assertn]

Happy Mother's Day: Woman pregnant with 18th child (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080509/ap_on_re_us/18_kids)
disgusting...

[itadakimasu]

they had on the news today where some teens dug up a grave and took the skull...

why would they take said skull?

but of course, so they could somehow smoke marijuana from it!

They went on to say it was the skull of a child who died in the 1920's.... i've heard of smoking from an apple and other fruit but a skull... seriously. wtf

[Jessper]

disgusting...

From the article:

"and husband Jim Bob" haha, is this for real?

[Buffalobiian]

disgusting...

I remember some thing on 60_minutes once, and they were discussing whether homosexuality was a genetic, environmental or something else. There was a study that found the more older brothers a boy has, the more chances of him being gay. Being left handed also increases the likelihood. Something to think about.

Really, can giving birth that many times be unhealthy?

[Sapphire]

I figure after about 9-10 children they just pop out with no need of medication or pain killers anymore.

No kidding.. XD

I bet in 6 years those children will be a good source of income. No wonder they are debt free!

College Financial Aid: HOLY SHIT there are 21 dependants and they only make $30,000 dollars a year? Okay full ride for everyone.

[DB_Hunter]

Hey all the power to them to have as many kids as they want. As it seems to be a happy family I don't see what's wrong with them having kids if they want too.

[The Heretic Azazel]

Yeah let's populate the world with as many snot nosed little shits as possible so they can further exhaust the planet and breathe up all my damn oxygen.

I really hate living in Arkansas.

[rockmanj]

I remember some thing on 60_minutes once, and they were discussing whether homosexuality was a genetic, environmental or something else. There was a study that found the more older brothers a boy has, the more chances of him being gay. Being left handed also increases the likelihood. Something to think about.

Really, can giving birth that many times be unhealthy?


I'm quite familiar with that study, but the thing is, of course its not universally applicable--case in point, I'm the youngest of 3 males, but I'm pretty sure that my oldest brother plays for the other team (not that there's anything wrong with that).

[Munsu]

You're 13, you steal your dad's credit card... what do you do? Order some hookers to play Halo of course:
http://www.money.co.uk/article/1000390-13-year-old-steals-dads-credit-card-to-buy-hookers.htm

[Uchiha Barles]

I almost choked to death reading that. I don't what to think about those kids. I might've thought it was funny in a laughing with them kind of way when I was 13. "Haaaahaa we played halo with hookers, how cool is that?! This is sooooooo worth the grounding till we move out!" But you know, at 14, I'm pretty sure I would've went "So uh...you didn't get laid?" and then start laughing. Either way though, these kids need a severe beating from their parents, get sent to military school, and continue receiving severe beatings daily once there from both officers and peers.

[XanBcoo]

Ralph's ambition is to one day become a politician.
That's the line that got me. Seems like he's on the right road.

Edit: @Uchiha Barles: They tried to get laid, but the hookers apparently would only play Halo with them.

[Buffalobiian]

"If you get lost, tell the police your name and address." -everyone's mum.

Well, I guess that applies to parrots as well.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080521/ap_on_fe_st/odd_japan_parrot_returns

[Assertn]

You're 13, you steal your dad's credit card... what do you do? Order some hookers to play Halo of course:
http://www.money.co.uk/article/1000390-13-year-old-steals-dads-credit-card-to-buy-hookers.htm
Probably fake
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4549574a4560.html

[Eurasian]

Up Next on Sick Sad World

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,357030,00.html

[Buffalobiian]

Newspaper: Courier mail (couriermail.com.au)


Title: Baby, I'm going to rock your world for 13 minutes at most
Author: Tamara LcLean

The best sex should last between seven and 13 minutes, and even three-minute sex is "adequate", a major survey of US experts has concluded.

But Australian sex therapists commenting on the new research say most men Down Under wanted it to last considerably longer while most women were "not bothered" if it finished quickly.

The sex study is the first to review what the experts believe is the ideal length of time to have penetrative sex, with the random sample of Americans and Canadians labelling seven to 13 minutes most "desirable".

Intercourse lasting between three and seven minutes were deemed "adequate", but anything less was "too short" and beyond 13 minutes was "too long".

The study, published yesterday in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, is designed to help calm couples' unrealistic beliefs that healthy sex should last a long time.
Dr Jane Howard, a Brisbane-based medical sex therapist, said most Australian women would be happy with the study's "adequate" time of three to seven minutes, while men would not.

"Usually women are quite happy with short intercourse, and are not bothered about prolonging it at all, but nearly all men want it to be much, much longer," she said

She said it was important not to obsess over the length of intercourse, with time often suspended during the act anyway.

"I mean really, who's counting?"

[rockmanj]

13 minutes too long? I read that article last week. I'm not sure how i feel about that, or what my average is, but that seems a bit short to me...

[Buffalobiian]

Doubt it's the first, and probably won't be the last, but a good read nevertheless.

http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/05/27/rock_band/index.html

[Sapphire]

It looks like we have to log on to see this.

[Buffalobiian]

It looks like we have to log on to see this.

Hmm, weird. I'm not a member myself. I can see it through firefox, but the it prompts me to log in using IE. Maybe it's cause I followed a link through Yahoo or something. Meh, here's the story.


How Rock Band saved my marriage

My husband's video game addiction was driving me crazy. Then we found an obsession we could share.

By Rachel Shukert

May 27, 2008 | The summer after I graduated from high school, I went on tour with my then boyfriend's rock band. He was the drummer for an outfit that would eventually become disconcertingly well known, and since I was leaving for college in the fall, probably never to return, I was loath to leave him to the freedom of the road and the ministrations of wan indie rock groupies.

It was very hot, one of the worst summers on record. The van was filthy -- crammed with equipment, sleeping bags and unwashed bodies. My boyfriend was sweet and wonderful, but his bandmates (not unfairly) resented my presence, and when tensions between the frontman and me flared into full-scale conflict, causing him to permanently revoke my in-transit bathroom privileges, my parents arranged a plane ticket home. All in all, not the most enjoyable experience, but chock-full of valuable lessons: how to assemble and disassemble a drum kit in record time, that it was possible to survive on a diet of gummy worms and beer, and that sad boys who write sad songs about love are often total jackasses.

Still, it was a real-life rock 'n' roll tour. I was living the rock lifestyle, and I felt certain that it presaged the adventures to come -- new and glamorous escapades in my new and glamorous life.

Ten years later, I am slumped at my computer, reading an Internet recap of a 2-year-old episode of "Top Chef" that I have seen six times. I have not put on hard pants -- that is, pants with a zipper or pockets -- for four days. The man I married is on the couch in the living room, his eyes glassy as he diddles the control on the Xbox, blowing to smithereens shadowy figures lurching across the screen. We haven't spoken in several hours.

"Ben?" I say. No answer. "Ben? Ben?" I repeat his name over and over again, with increasing desperation, finally culminating in a single, furious shriek. "BEEEEEENNN!"

We live in a two-room apartment. Next door, the neighbor bangs on the shared kitchen wall, the pounding muffled by drywall. "Quiet!"

Finally, Ben looks up. "Sorry, baby. It's the noise-canceling headphones."

Ah yes, the noise-canceling headphones. You could lock Rush Limbaugh, Phyllis Schlafly and Mullah Omar in a room together with a stack of Hustlers and 10 ounces of meth, and they couldn't come up with anything more misogynist. I storm back to my desk and type the phrases "my husband" "addicted" "video games" "HELP" into the search engine. Hundreds of links appear.

I click on the first one, a Christian counseling Web site, where a desperate woman named Tiffany, whose husband plays video games nine to 11 hours a day, is reminded by the nonaccredited Christian counselor that man is master of her dominion and tells her to pray to Jesus to restore her husband's love.

This isn't going to work for me. Besides, I have already prayed to the Jewish God for guidance, and the Jewish God, as he has done for millions of Jewish wives since time immemorial, advised me to rip my husband's headphones off his head and scream at him for never putting his leftovers back in the fridge. This tactic proved less effective than I hoped.

I click on another page, where a forum of concerned women instruct me to regain Ben's attention by walking around the house dressed in skimpy outfits and waggling my hips provocatively. One enterprising poster, aptly named Cyberhottie69, even suggests draping one's naked breasts somewhere impossible to miss -- like the coffee table, or on his head, like a doughy, undulating hat.

The angle Ben is sitting at makes this impossible, but I sit beside him on the couch, unzip my hoodie to reveal the lacy top of my bra, and press my breasts firmly against his bicep.

"Baby!" he swats me away. "I'm killing Nazis here! I'm saving our people!" His eyes are alight with righteous anger.

"No, you're not!" I want to scream. "You're not killing anything! You are pointing a piece of plastic at another piece of plastic and pretending something happens! You are not a fearless teenage hero of the Warsaw ghetto uprising! You are a copywriter on the Upper East Side and you are over 30 years old!"

The most depressing thing about getting older isn't really the reminders of inevitable physical decay -- the gray hairs that pop up in unexpected places, the faint lines beginning to etch themselves permanently in the corner of each eye, the mornings when you wake up with a hangover, even though you haven't been drinking -- but the gradual winnowing of options, as your personal limitations become more and more obvious and eventually start beating you about the head and neck with brutal force. The chasm between who you planned to be and who you are grows wider and impossible to traverse.

We try to make ourselves more interesting. We might take up salsa dancing, or become obsessed with cheeses, or begin to wear a fez in public. When this fails, we begin to take out our hostility on the person we feel trapped us in our inescapable little shell of mediocrity. Whether this hostility is expressed by retreat into a fantasy world in which one is a gun-slinging super-fighter saving the world from totalitarian evil (him) or a plunge into unforeseen depths of pathetic, whining neediness (me), the result is the same. You start to fake-hate each other, and if you're not careful, the fake-hate festers into real hate, and suddenly, ladies at synagogue are clucking their tongues at your mother. "It's such a shame! They seemed like such a nice young couple."

"If you don't stop playing that game right now, I'm filing for divorce!" I holler. He can't hear me. You know, the headphones.

But this was all BRB, Before Rock Band.

For those of you who haven't yet experienced the unmitigated joy of the must-have video game of Christmas 2007, I will explain. Like Guitar Hero for people with social skills, Rock Band is a game in which you pretend you can play instruments: a plastic guitar with color-coded buttons, a microphone and a set of "drums" consisting of four round motion-sensitive pads. A motley collection of preselected, pre-licensed songs from a variety of artists -- Weezer, Deep Purple, Metallica, Radiohead -- have been translated into a series of blinking colored bars that appear on the screen and serve as notes. Hit them, and you are rewarded with stars, fans and new, more challenging songs; meanwhile, sloppy, incompetent playing earns surprisingly real (and traumatizing) jeers of contempt from the tattooed, pierced and computer-generated audience.

Ben bought the game over the holidays, lugging the huge box home on foot through the New York winter slush. I knelt beside it on the floor, brushing the beads of oily precipitation from the damp lid.

"I thought we should have something to do, while we're stuck at home with no one else around," he said.

"Together?"

"Yeah." He forced a tight smile. "You'll like it."

I had my doubts. Apart from an episode of Tetris-induced mania in 1992 that went on for weeks and could have cost thousands of lives, I have stayed away from video games. I'm not good with technology in general -- my iPod has stayed dormant for years, so terrified am I of unplugging the charger from the computer at the wrong time and accidentally erasing all I hold dear -- and the Xbox and I have been engaged for some time in a cold war based on the doctrine of mutually assured destruction: If I touch it, I'll break it, and then Ben will kill me.

"What should I do?" I ask, fingering the Xbox control gingerly. I half expected it to explode into a million pieces at my touch.

"You like to sing," he says, slinging the nylon guitar strap around his neck and stroking the keys. "So sing."

Singing along to a video game isn't like singing in any recognizable way -- that is, in a way people would want to listen to. No points are given for tone, expression, emotion or the ability to actually carry a tune. All that is required is to make a sound of the correct frequency, for the proscribed amount of time, and you can howl like a German shepherd with a bladder stone. But try to bring a little variation, a little soul to the table, and you get the net.

"Why don't you try the drums?" says Ben, after I am booed off the stage for the fourth time for my rendition of the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter."

"I don't know," I say, discouraged. Can't I ever be good at anything? "I've never done any drumming before. It looks hard. I don't want to mess it up for you."

"Just give it a shot," he says. "It'll be fun."

I often fantasize about sitting down in front of a musical instrument and magically being able to play it, but I have accepted that this would probably require some kind of unusual brain injury, like that episode of "House" in which Dave Matthews gets into a bus accident and becomes a piano prodigy. So I'm not sure what happened, if I had a small stroke or what, but when I sit down at those fake drums something transforms in me. All my fake-hate melts away. I am more than adequate -- I am good. Really good. It's as if all of those nights standing patiently in the corner at gigs, wondering if I was ever going to get to take a shower again, had taught me how to play the drums through osmosis. I know instinctively what to do, and miraculously, so does Ben. Note after blinking colored note on the screen explodes with our rock. The fake crowd roars. I fake drum faster. Our fake band, Sex Baby, embarks on a fake world tour on our fake jet, playing fake stadiums in all the fake capitals of Europe. Our fake selves grace the covers of fake magazines, and our fake fans number in the millions. When our fake manager calls to tell us we've been invited to play the fake Hall of Fame showcase in fake Stockholm, my real husband turns toward me, and smiles.

"So what do you think?" he asks.

"I love it," I say, tired but exuberant. "My hands are killing me." Still smiling, he reaches for me, and gently kisses my blistered palm. "Let's take a break."

"No!" I cry. "I need more practice on 'Enter Sandman'!"

Ben cocks his eyebrow. "Well, I'm going to bed. I guess you can borrow my headphones if you want."

Life is filled with unpleasant realities. We have to watch what we eat and go to the dentist; we have to control our spending and unplug our electrical devices at night, lest we become obese and toothless, drowning in a sea of consumer debt and glacial melt. None of us can stay 18, and very few of us will ever be rock stars. It's important to acknowledge this; it's healthy. But sometimes we need to escape into a daydream in order to face what we've become, and what we will be. And if once in a while you can escape with someone else, then that's about the best you can do.

I figured Metallica could wait until tomorrow. For the first time in a long time, I had a real live husband who was taking his headphones off. I wasn't going to be the one to put them back on.

[Assertn]

Haha yeah.....what are they going to do once rock band gets old?
Should've bought a wii instead :]

Nah but really though, it's a story about compromising to mediocrity. I don't think a video game will have any lasting value to this kind of relationship.

[Buffalobiian]

Up Next on Sick Sad World

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,357030,00.html

French "virgin killers" sentenced to life in jail (http://au.news.yahoo.com/080528/19/171pb.html)

[XanBcoo]

Haha yeah.....what are they going to do once rock band gets old?
They'll probably buy Guitar Hero 4 (http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/puzzle/guitarheroiv/news.html?sid=6191429&tag=newlyadded;title;2).

[Chiodos]

Shit, those who have bought already two guitars for Guitar Hero, when the fourth comes out, what? You'll have three guitars?
Becuse from what I heard, Guitar Hero 4 is going to do a rip-off from Rock Band.

[Assertn]

A friend of mine is actually working on the GH4 game....
I think he's syncing the drum notes or something....

He also managed to get a song from his band into GH3:
An Endless Sporadic - Impulse

[Chiodos]

Then I could ask you, does the drum set have double bass ? You know, if you wanna go...metal <3...

[complich8]

A friend of mine is actually working on the GH4 game....
I think he's syncing the drum notes or something....

He also managed to get a song from his band into GH3:
An Endless Sporadic - Impulse

That's at least one of the top 5 most fun songs on GH3, if not the top of the list.

[Assertn]

Haha, that's good to know. He got the song in there cause he set up all the notes himself and presented the full track to the higher ups. I'm sure he put a lot of effort into making it fun to play.

[XanBcoo]

I never actually played that song on GH3, but I'm listening to it now and it's kinda cool. What does your friend play?


Becuse from what I heard, Guitar Hero 4 is going to do a rip-off from Rock Band.
It's not so much that it's a rip-off, (since rhythm games haven't been original for about 10 years now) it's that it's pretty much the exact same game being released a year late. Virtually no one who has Rock Band will buy it, and I can't imagine many people who haven't already bought Rock Band would want to buy this instead.

Also lots of people haven't had good things to say about the Guitar Hero franchise ever since Harmonix left, so it can't really rely on name-recognition.

[rockmanj]

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/05/29/monkey.robots/index.html

Just a little bit closer to the Wing ZERO system...

[XanBcoo]

Bill Cosby to release hip-hop album (http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/35944)


Bill Cosby is set to release a hip-hop album which will see the comedian mesh his book ‘Come on, People: On the Path from Victims to Victors’ with hip-hop, pop and jazz music.

The creator of the massive 1980s TV show ‘The Cosby Show’ will release the record next month, but according to reports he will not rap on the record, saying he would not “know how to fix my mouth to say some of the words."

Cosby told the Associated Press that the album is very different to gangsta rap, and is "the opposite of what I think is the profanity for no particular reason, the misogyny for no particular reason."

Yeah. No really.

[Buffalobiian]

Wow...I guess, really, anything can happen.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080530/ap_on_re_as/japan_closet_woman

[Abdula]

That is one of the creepiest things I have ever heard of. How could someone be living in his closet for an entire year and he never noticed. Did he really just never go in the closet because seeing a mattress in there that he didn't put there should have definitely raised an alarm.

[Yukimura]

Optimus Prime - Noble Alien Leader or Terrorist? (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7431640.stm)

There's cautious, then there's over cautious, then there's ridiculous, then there's this.

[Kraco]

The officials must not have liked the movie, I reckon.

[Chiodos]

The officials must not have liked the movie, I reckon.

I don't reallt think anyone did ecxept under the age 12...
And wait, what? If I did try to board with my band skirt, wich motive on the skirt is a ripped out heart, I wont be allowed becuse some random excuse?

I hope the people who worked at that place sleeps bad at night........ : (

[Assertn]

I don't reallt think anyone did ecxept under the age 12...
And wait, what? If I did try to board with my band skirt, wich motive on the skirt is a ripped out heart, I wont be allowed becuse some random excuse?

I hope the people who worked at that place sleeps bad at night........ : (
If you attempted to board a plane wearing a skirt, I would probably try to stop you too.

[Animeniax]

I don't reallt think anyone did ecxept under the age 12...
And wait, what? If I did try to board with my band skirt, wich motive on the skirt is a ripped out heart, I wont be allowed becuse some random excuse?

I hope the people who worked at that place sleeps bad at night........ : (
I think the only people who didn't like the movie didn't understand the plot. I imagine you fall into that demographic, chodos.

I wonder how much of the incident had to do with his brownish complexion, on top of the threatening nature of the gun-wielding robot on his t-shirt.

[masamuneehs]

wow, you guys just noticing that Optimus Prime's "I will sacrifice myself for the cause!" dedication caused problems?

Maybe you didn't notice that, despite being the most widely known Transformer, the leader of the Transformers, and the head good guy in a movie that is like a big piece of US military / automotive industry propoganda, he's the only Autobot in the film to not have a car company name emblazened on him?

It's because none of the American companies wanted to buy the rights to put their logo on a car that is willing to blow itself up for "the cause". Hell, I remember reading about this before the damn movie was even released...

Oh, how about some real news?

Everyone is fucked because basic food stuffs are the most expensive they've been in 30 years, and the only way to fix it is to fuck over farmers in rich countries (read: it ain't gonna be fixed) (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/04/world/04food.html?hp)
Myanmar is fucked because their military junta is too proud to accept aid (http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/04/asia/myanmar.php)
Zimbabwe is Fucked because the dumbass party leader tried to pull a fast one on his rival (http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL04243842)
Gays are about to get married in California(again) (http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20080605-9999-1mi5gaym.html)

oh, and Hilary is out of the race. Obama vs. McCain.

[Kraco]

Food really has got more expensive lately. It's annoying, because I've found out I need to eat every day to feel good.

And Myanmar is fucked simply because the military junta exist. On this planet it must be the most wretched hive of scum and villainy right now. The recent troubles with weather are just the top of the iceberg.

[docdan63]

THE RED WINGS TAKE THE STANLEY CUP AS THE NEW 2008 NHL CHAMPIONS !!!

hows that for news

I'm from Michigan btw

[Animeniax]

Food really has got more expensive lately. It's annoying, because I've found out I need to eat every day to feel good.
You could eat ramen at least twice a day and spend less than $5 for two meals, then splurge on dinner for $10, totaling $15 for the day and under $500 for a month. That's thrifty eating right there. Unfortunately the price of ramen is going up too, so stock up.


THE RED WINGS TAKE THE STANLEY CUP AS THE NEW 2008 NHL CHAMPIONS !!!

hows that for news

I'm from Michigan btw And you're proud of the fact that they won with their european brand of wuss hockey? I'm surprised the blue collar fans of Detroit would support such a gritless bunch of euros, but I was always perplexed that they were happy in the 90s with the all-Russian line. At least now it's mostly western euros.

[Board of Command]

Hockey needs more big black and latino players to beat some sense into the white men. There's a problem when the enforcer on your team is only 6'2" 200 lb.

[Animeniax]

I'm not so sure hockey needs diversity, just the best players at their roles. If those best are blacks or browns, that's the way it goes then. Downey definitely isn't someone I'd want as an enforcer on my team. He can't compete with the badasses like Boogaard, Laraque, or McGrattan, if only the NHL didn't clamp down on super goons like them.

What's really sad is that in recent years, Detroit players have actually said that the power play was their enforcer, meaning that they'd repay every beating or hard hit with a power play goal. This coming from a team that used to carry Bob Probert, Joey Kocur and Stu Grimson. How the mighty have fallen.

[Buffalobiian]

Unbreached Pyramid discovered.

http://www.yahoo.com/s/894982

Time to test that curse thing again.

[Animeniax]

Some poor akiba-chan got tired of being a virgin and went nuts in Akihabara, Tokyo, probably looking to spare some of his fellow nerds the same loneliness and desperation he felt:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25026870/

[Abdula]

Sounds like somebody read too much Gantz.

[Buffalobiian]

Staying young. It's possible. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080609/sc_livescience/115yearoldwomansbrainintiptopshape)

If there's one thing I learned in Pharm this year, it's that growing old SUCKS.

[python862]

Well, now the thing is learning how to use this to our advantage medically. It's of no use to us if the centenarians keep dying on us. I mean, it's an awesome discovery and all, and I understand that the fact that we may be able to avoid brain deterioration and all of the implications that go with that, but until something big happens (like cloning the brain to make them available for transplants) I see no use for this in the next twenty or so years.

[Kraco]

I see no use for this in the next twenty or so years.

Apart from the fact 20 years isn't such a long time in the medicine business, if they get enough material from ancient geezers staying sane, they might be able to pinpoint the exact genetic factors protecting them from Alzheimer's disease. Depending on how simple or complicated those traits are, specific medicine could be developed that would postpone the Alzheimer's by, for example, 10 years in statistically average individuals. Medicine development has two ways: Knowing exactly what you are doing, or testing the extracts of the purple agaricales that the Azashizazizo indians from the jungles of Amazon have used for 1000 generations to treat crooked fingers.

Of course I'm talking about a very hopeful scenario, but in the end no basic research is useless.

[Buffalobiian]

Think twice before throwing someone a snack. (http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=578267)

[Animeniax]

Think twice before throwing someone a snack. (http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=578267)
Too true. In high school this guy threw wet M&Ms at my cousin, trying to mess with him. After class, my cousin beat the crap out of the guy in the hallway, bloodied his nose and sent him to the hospital. Not bad for a quiet guy in honors classes.

[Eurasian]

Too true. In high school this guy threw wet M&Ms at my cousin, trying to mess with him. After class, my cousin beat the crap out of the guy in the hallway, bloodied his nose and sent him to the hospital. Not bad for a quiet guy in honors classes.
That seems excessive...and scary..

[Board of Command]

The guy tossing M&Ms deserved every bit of it. There are millions of starving people in the world and this idiot thinks it's funny to throw M&Ms at others. I've never thrown food at people in my life because I've witnessed first hand what starvation and poverty looks like.

[Eurasian]

Like when you're in college?? Because dorm food is like rubber...

[Board of Command]

No, I have the luxury of living at home while I'm in school. I only live by myself when I'm on a work term away from home, like right now.

[Animeniax]

Yeah the guy deserved it at the time, but it's funny since I became friends with him after this happened. He was a pretty cool guy after all. White kid, liked to hang out with the Asians (yellow). Not sure why he and my brother didn't get along, since I never got the full story from either.

Wet M&Ms are no joke, they stick and the chocolate gets everywhere, which is why they recommend you let them melt in your mouth, not in your hands.

[Abdula]

Too true. In high school this guy threw wet M&Ms at my cousin, trying to mess with him. After class, my cousin beat the crap out of the guy in the hallway, bloodied his nose and sent him to the hospital. Not bad for a quiet guy in honors classes.
That sounds oddly familar. Beware the quiet ones.

The guy tossing M&Ms deserved every bit of it. There are millions of starving people in the world and this idiot thinks it's funny to throw M&Ms at others. I've never thrown food at people in my life because I've witnessed first hand what starvation and poverty looks like.
Amen, uh brother.......

[Board of Command]

Yeah the guy deserved it at the time, but it's funny since I became friends with him after this happened. He was a pretty cool guy after all. White kid, liked to hang out with the Asians (yellow). Not sure why he and my brother didn't get along, since I never got the full story from either.

Wet M&Ms are no joke, they stick and the chocolate gets everywhere, which is why they recommend you let them melt in your mouth, not in your hands.
You should convince him to throw Oh Henry! bars in the swimming pool.

[Buffalobiian]

In South Africa, Chinese is the New Black (http://blogs.wsj.com/chinajournal/2008/06/19/in-south-africa-chinese-is-the-new-black/?mod=yhoofront)

[XanBcoo]

Oh Jesus.

I don't mind calling Indians "Asians", but that's just ridiculous.

[itadakimasu]

Obama has shattered presidential campaign fundraising records, raking in more than $265 million as of the end of April. Of that, nearly $10 million was for the general election. McCain, on the other hand had raised nearly $115 million by the end of May,

This is from an article talking about how obama said he wouldn't take from some public campaign fund....

and while reading this about him collecting $265 million dollars I couldn't help but wonder how the economy is in such horrible shape if people give $265 million dollars to obama, and i'm not going to take the time to try to calculate out how much money hillary blew in her campaign... its just a rediculous amount of money

[Animeniax]

Oh Jesus.

I don't mind calling Indians "Asians", but that's just ridiculous.
I think the article writer is taking liberties with the labels, ie, they aren't really going to refer to yellow people as blacks, just that they'd be categorized as a minority just like the blacks in South America. If I'm wrong, I'll hang my head in shame.

@Xan: so what do you call yellow Asians if you want to differentiate between them and the browns?

[XanBcoo]

Oh, I guess I assumed they were actually going to be referred to as "black", what with the quotation marks and all. I mean, it says that before this they were classified as "honorary whites."


so what do you call yellow Asians if you want to differentiate between them and the browns?
I can't think of a situation where I've ever actually had to differentiate the two. I suppose It'd just depend on where they're from. Or I guess if I was speaking to a person who calls Indians Asians I'd say: "Asians, as in, not Indians."

In other news: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/06/19/teens_had_pact_to_get_pregnant_report_says/

Gloucester school officials have discovered at least part of the reason that their high school pregnancy rate has more than quadrupled over the past year, according to a Time magazine story that hits newsstands today.
more stories like this

"Nearly half the expecting students, none older than 16, confessed to making a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together," the magazine's story said, after reporters talked with Joseph Sullivan, Gloucester High School principal.

[python862]

I heard that on the news last night, and I think it's absolutely stupid. Teens getting pregnant just because they want to. I don't even see why they would want to. Also, I remember hearing that one of them even went to the extent of having sex with a 25-year-olf. I don't get it.

[Buffalobiian]

I heard that on the news last night, and I think it's absolutely stupid. Teens getting pregnant just because they want to. I don't even see why they would want to. Also, I remember hearing that one of them even went to the extent of having sex with a 25-year-olf. I don't get it.

They probably thought it'd be fun for the kid to have a mum who's more like a big sister. I seriously can't imagine a girl from say my highschool trying to get pregnant.

[XanBcoo]

I heard that on the news last night, and I think it's absolutely stupid. Teens getting pregnant just because they want to. I don't even see why they would want to. Also, I remember hearing that one of them even went to the extent of having sex with a 25-year-olf. I don't get it.
Yeah, the radio show I heard about this on was saying that it was a 25 year-old homeless guy.

I really wish girls had their periods a bit later in life. I'd hate to be these girls' father.

[The Heretic Azazel]

Where these bitches at? I'll put one in 'em.

[python862]

Massachusetts, if you're willing to pay for the flight. I could care less at this point about the whole matter; alls I know is that I'm not getting laid. Insert angry face.

[Buffalobiian]

It's disturbing that they're interested in having a baby so much that they don't care whose baby it is. Kids these days really grow up too fast for their own good.

[python862]

If you're willing to call that growing up. To me, that's just the stupidity of the new teen age showing. I like to think that I'm detatched from that evil group.

[Buffalobiian]

I mean kids in general there. I wasn't talking about these girls. Or maybe I was. After all parenting is part of life for a lot of people.

[Carnage]

I'm horny.

[Animeniax]

As much as I liked the movie, Juno probably made some of these girls think getting pregnant was glamorous and fun.

I wish some Japanese girls were more interested in solving their nation's problems with population decrease by birthing more and earlier. I'd volunteer to donate my time and energy.

[XanBcoo]

Crossposting from the bitching thread:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25322638/


LOS ANGELES - Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs and dirty words, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital Sunday, a spokesman said. He was was 71.

Carlin, who had a history of heart problems, died at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica about 6 p.m. PT after being admitted earlier in the afternoon for chest pains, spokesman Jeff Abraham told Reuters.

Known for his edgy, provocative material, Carlin achieved status as an anti-Establishment icon in the 1970s with stand-up bits full of drug references and a routine about seven dirty words you could not say on television. A regulatory battle over a radio broadcast of his "Filthy Words" routine ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

I really don't want to believe this, even though I expected it soon.

[The Heretic Azazel]

Oh no, what a sad day..

[rockmanj]

Read about it somewhere else, but yea...He was a comedic genius...one of the best ever.

[Buffalobiian]

This was news to me.

http://www.gotwoot.net/?p=196

[Kraco]

Too bad they picked a series Yesy's hentai division is already subbing.

There have been some subbing groups subbing also hentai publicly, Lunar among them, for example. Who knows how many people from groups have done that under different names (well, Lunar also did using another name, but it was clearly visible at their main site).

[complich8]

This was news to me.

http://www.gotwoot.net/?p=196

Not really such a new thing... (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=group&gid=730)

[Sapphire]

I'll watch it~

[Psyke]

School locked down after 'ninja' sighted in woods (http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ap/20080626/tod-odd-fake-ninja-45981ec.html)

[Sapphire]

Court bans death penalty for child rape (http://www.mercurynews.com/politics/ci_9697843)

[Assassin]

School locked down after 'ninja' sighted in woods (http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ap/20080626/tod-odd-fake-ninja-45981ec.html)


...........

at what point did fictional cartoon characters become a threat? this is what happens when you introduce "narootoe" to idiotic american kids.

[XanBcoo]

fictional cartoon characters
lol wut?

Ninjas did actually exist in Japan, you know. They're not a complete fabrication of Masashi Kishimoto.

And despite how silly the whole thing is, a school has to take precautions for everything for the sake of safety. If they see a guy sneaking around the playground carrying weapons and dressed like Ronald McDonald they have to assume it's a nutcase, and act accordingly. The fact that it was just some lost dumbass is what makes it funny.

[Animeniax]

Dang, I didn't think mods would talk to each other that way in public. I like these new mods.

Xan is right though, the school has to act in this case, if for no other reason than the liability that could ensue if something happened due to their inaction. Look at the VTU killings. People were looking for someone to blame because the school didn't go on lockdown after reports of the first two killings. Like they could know the guy was a psycho looking to strike again, rather than just an isolated incident. Mind you, I'm not saying it's right, it is what it is.

[Sapphire]

roflmao Xan. Yeah, the first thing I thought when I read that title was 'It a pedo!'

Your description actually sounds pretty badass, but I'm sure in reality, It'd be terrifying.

PS - I watched Sora no Iro.. and it was AWESOME!!! Hilariously awesome.

[animus]

roflmao Xan. Yeah, the first thing I thought when I read that title was 'It a pedo!'

Your description actually sounds pretty badass, but I'm sure in reality, It'd be terrifying.

PS - I watched Sora no Iro.. and it was AWESOME!!! Hilariously awesome.

You mean the hentai?

[XanBcoo]

Kid gets decapitated by a roller coaster (http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/28/theme.park.fatality/index.html)

Dumbass kid sneaks into a theme park, after climbing 2 six-foot high fences and several warning signs, only to try and grab a kid's foot on a passing roller coaster and have his head whacked off.

[Abdula]

Yeah I saw that on the news last night. Sometimes people are just asking for it and sometimes death is the only cure for that kind of stupidity. Reminds me of when train surfing was popular here in New York.

[IFHTT]

How ironic that it happened to a person in a "church group"...

I guess even religion is no match for natural selection.

[Buffalobiian]

This guy knew he had it coming. I can't help but sympathise with the girl who got her ankle severed in Kentucky. That wasn't called for, and unlike the other two cases, she didn't die.

[python862]

How ironic that it happened to a person in a "church group"...

I guess even religion is no match for natural selection.
Religion is natural selection. Not that I'm speaking for the religious in these forums, obviously, but almost everyone within a religion besides Buddhism and Polytheism deserves to die because most of them are unreasonably hateful when someone who doesn't believe tells them where exactly they can shove it when they attempt to convert the nonbeliever. It's a problem that needs to be addressed. (Personal opinion, of course.)

[Sapphire]

You're generalizing too much. It's the people who do that, not the religion. It's like saying anyone who has a gun deserves to die because guns can be used to kill people.

[Buffalobiian]

I've met Buddhists that are complete assholes and hypocrites. That applies to every demographic though I guess. I'll leave it at that.

[Carnage]

Religion is natural selection. Not that I'm speaking for the religious in these forums, obviously, but almost everyone within a religion besides Buddhism and Polytheism deserves to die because most of them are unreasonably hateful when someone who doesn't believe tells them where exactly they can shove it when they attempt to convert the nonbeliever. It's a problem that needs to be addressed. (Personal opinion, of course.)

Stop being a Nazi.

[Buffalobiian]

Citibank ATM breach reveals PIN security problems (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080701/ap_on_hi_te/tec_atm_breach)

[python862]

Stop being a Nazi.
Sometimes all one can do is wish. And I'm not a Nazi; I'm strongly antitheist.

[Buffalobiian]

Cloning, one the many controversial issues of modern technology, makes headlines again.

Does being a wonder dog make it alright though?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080701/sc_afp/usattacksskoreaanimalcloneoffbeat

[XanBcoo]

In the next month, BioArts said it would transport a sample of Trakr's DNA to the South Korean lab of its partner, the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation, and the clone could be ready by the end of this year.

There's something really eerie about that last part. I don't know if it's the wording or what, but something about it makes me envision a cold, futuristic assembly line producing puppy-clones for consumers' convenience.

[Buffalobiian]

It's how they made it sound like they're meeting a deadline. Like you said, it sounds like they're going to mass produce this guy, and the prototype's ready for testing in six months.

This dog's comparable to Jango Fett.

[XanBcoo]

I'm looking forward to an army of Zombie-clone dogs.

Anyway, here's something slightly more likely, but just as catastrophic:
Judge Orders YouTube to Give All User Histories to Viacom (http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/07/judge-orders-yo.html)

Google will have to turn over every record of every video watched by YouTube users, including users' names and IP addresses, to Viacom, which is suing Google for allowing clips of its copyright videos to appear on YouTube, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Viacom wants the data to prove that infringing material is more popular than user-created videos, which could be used to increase Google's liability if it is found guilty of contributory infringement.

Viacom filed suit against Google in March 2007, seeking more than $1 billion in damages for allowing users to upload clips of Viacom's copyright material. Google argues that the law provides a safe harbor for online services so long as they comply with copyright takedown requests.

Watch all the videos you can while it's still possible everyone. Viacom is pretty much determined to obliterate Youtube.

[Assertn]

It's a trap....xanbcoo is trying to get our names added to the list of perpetrators!

[XanBcoo]

Damn, foiled.

3 years of coming to this website as a mole, ruined by one damn post!

Curse youuuuuuu....

[Buffalobiian]

Fat gene identified. (http://health.yahoo.com/news/afp/healthdiseaseobesitygenetics_080706224427.html)

Doesn't mean much yet, but genetic based health treatment is one direction the industry is looking towards. It addresses the fact that people are genetically different, and that makes them predispositioned to various diseases and side effects of drugs. It's nothing big neither, as it still requires a lot of research, and scientists still have no idea about how to implement it. The idea itself is worth looking into though, and an idea is where it all starts.

[Munsu]

Damn, foiled.

3 years of coming to this website as a mole, ruined by one damn post!

Curse youuuuuuu....
Don't worry, I haven't told anyone you're gay... so at least that secret is still safe.

First major hurricane of the season, Bertha:
http://www.weather.com/newscenter/hurricanecentral/update/index.html?from=hp_news

[python862]

Straight from my Gmail inbox: 1UP: Final Fantasy XIII to be released for Xbox 360. (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3168704) Personally, I don't care much for Final Fantasy, but I figured you'd all love this news.

[darkshadow]

wow, you totally ignored the e3 thread didnt you?
http://forums.gotwoot.net/showthread.php?t=16234

[python862]

Yes, I did.

[rockmanj]

Not today's news, but pretty damn funny anyway (and disturbing): http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1371813.ece

[Buffalobiian]

Nude girl magazine gets M classification (work-safe) (http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/entertainment/4798290/nude-girl-magazine-gets-m-classification)

God bless technology (http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/hughes/33111)

Some people are just so damn lucky.

http://www.yahoo.com/s/921449

[Buffalobiian]

Judges rule again naming child Sex Fruit.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080724/ap_on_re_au_an/new_zealand_bizarre_names

[Buffalobiian]

Okay, triple posting, but this one's worth it.

Remember Thomas Beatie?
http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/3623/pregnantman24481cri5.jpg

Well, he's given the birth, and it's a girl.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2453653/Pregnant-man-Thomas-Beatie-First-pictures-of-baby-girl.html
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4629779a5620.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2093580/Pregnant-man-Thomas-Beatie-may-have-more-children.html
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/pregnant-man-gives-birth-to-baby-girl-13874988.html


And if you thought that was out of the ordinary, you'd better take a look at this:

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/Story?id=2346476&page=1

[Abdula]

And if you thought that was out of the ordinary, you'd better take a look at this:

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/Story?id=2346476&page=1
Sakon anyone?

Bill why do always have to post the creepiest articles.

[Animeniax]

FCC may punish Comcast over web blocking (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25862033/)

But then you force ISPs to do this:

Comcast to start charging for exceeding limits (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24509832/)

[Buffalobiian]

The average user gets by on 2GB/month? Wow, that indeed makes me a download hog :D

[Board of Command]

I think 5-10 GB would be a more reasonable figure. Even if all you do is read news and e-mail, 2 GB is still very little.

[Animeniax]

Wtf, I just read this article on MSN called "Can a family eat on $100 a week?", and the intro says this:


As a test, MSN Money puts a household's food budget on a strict diet. The experiment has its downsides (no more rice, please!) but shows how to take a bite out of grocery bills.
Millions of people in the world live on rice 3 times daily their entire lives, and these idiots are complaining about having to eat rice a few times for a couple weeks? That's why the average American waistline starts at size 38.

[Buffalobiian]

links please?

I suppose the preference for rice is like how bread is to Westerns. You were brought up with it, it's your staple food, and you can eat it every day if you want.(and in some cases, whether or not you want) My uncle's like that, and we can't understand how you can get fed up with rice but not bread.

[Psyke]

Rice and noodles are staples for me. Bread is almost always only for breakfast.

[darkshadow]

rice, noodles, bread.
I can eat all 3, anytime, anywhere. But really rice is great, though i only eat basmati rice, they shouldnt complain about eating it daily >_<

[Jaitne]

Canada bus passenger stabs, decapitates seat mate (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080731/ap_on_re_ca/canada_bus_stabbing)

[Abdula]

Its a bad omen when things like that start happening in Canada.

[Lucifus]

Thats pretty disturbing. Those passengers must have totally freaked. Canada? Seriously.....

Havn't been on a bus in about 6 years, not planning to get on another for quite sometime...

[Jaitne]

I'm going to see if this gets me a car. Since my mom is all pro bus >.>

Edit:

And then I found another :D

Man accused of killing, dismembering girlfriend (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080731/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/brazil_teenager_killed)

[The Heretic Azazel]

I'll bet she's more along the lines of anti-purchasing a car for you.

[Abdula]

And then I found another
These things aren't all that uncommon. I remember when I was back home, there was this kid who went nuts one day and butchered his grandmother and went walking around with her dismembered head in his hands.

[Jaitne]

The only thing I have is of this rapist guy that was near our school. Luckily for me, he went after high school boys and I take the school bus home, so I didn't walk.

[Lucifus]

Luckily for me and python, we never met said rapist. I had to walk home too.....

Luckily, I also now have a car. =)

Edit: Any idea whatever happened to said rapist Jaitne? I don't recall him ever being caught....

[Jaitne]

I think he was.. which was why the fliers stopped and the boys were smiling again.

And then, a little while later, a teacher had porn on his computer and infected the school's entire network. That was a fun week (or month?).. cleaning up all the computers D:

[python862]

Ha ha, I remember that! Sophomore year. Good times, but I don't think he got caught... who knows, maybe he went down to Boca Ciega.

Edit: Damn you, Jaitne.

[KitKat]

This doesn't bode well for me. I rely completely on public transportation, and take the Greyhound Bus quite frequently. You meet a lot of weirdos, but I've never seen anyone get violent. I plan on avoiding getting a car for at least another couple years, so he's hoping that I avoid such a grisly fate.

[Jaitne]

The lesson of this story is: Don't let your guard down on a bus. Since.. the kid had his headphones on and was sleeping.

[Buffalobiian]

The lesson of this story is: Don't let your guard down on a bus. Since.. the kid had his headphones on and was sleeping.

Damn, I do that all the time. Can't be awake on the bus and at Uni at the same time. :(

The calmly stabbing part was disturbing. They didn't even say he was psyched or anything. Just nice and calm, cutting away.....

[Jaitne]

Well, it's always the quiet and calm ones that get you.

9,000 Chinese couples to wed on lucky date (http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2008-07-31-chinawedding_N.htm)

My last one >.> I just thought this was kinda interesting.

[Buffalobiian]

Water Found. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080731/sc_nm/space_mars_dc)

Next target: Martians

[XanBcoo]

This doesn't bode well for me. I rely completely on public transportation, and take the Greyhound Bus quite frequently. You meet a lot of weirdos, but I've never seen anyone get violent. I plan on avoiding getting a car for at least another couple years, so he's hoping that I avoid such a grisly fate.
Man, that would totally suck if you were murdered and we never knew about it and just assumed you stopped posting because you forgot about this place or had better things to do.

:(

[Psyke]

9,000 Chinese couples to wed on lucky date (http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2008-07-31-chinawedding_N.htm)

The date's a real auspicious one (to many), and would have broken records here where I live, if not for the fact that it falls during the Hungry Ghost Festival, which lasts a month and starts today.

[Buffalobiian]

The date's a real auspicious one (to many), and would have broken records here where I live, if not for the fact that it falls during the Hungry Ghost Festival, which lasts a month and starts today.

I wonder how many keep to real tradition and plan to marry 08/08 on the Lunar calendar. After all, that's the one they look at for a "good" date usually anyway.

[Jaitne]

The date's a real auspicious one (to many), and would have broken records here where I live, if not for the fact that it falls during the Hungry Ghost Festival, which lasts a month and starts today.

Ooh. I'll go tell my friend her birthday's lucky.

And, then there's this one, because it was brought up elsewhere >.> and it was actually.. pretty current. Seeing as it happened July 22nd.

Lesbos locals lose lesbian appeal (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7520343.stm)

Try saying that ten times fast.