Two Movies
The first is Ripple, basically a no budget, homemade movie. The movie is, uh, obviously of amateur quality, but it's an admirable attempt.

The second is the upcoming 32 Hours 7 Minutes, the story of an outlaw Cannonball Run from NY to LA. The trailer is great, and shows the type of thing that we only see Burt Reynolds play at. I like watching the old guys' eyes when they talk about the glory days. Fire burns within them.
- posted by frank crist @ 2:51 PM 0 comments

 
Mushroom Cloud Picture Gallery
Mushroom Cloud Picture Gallery, with some links to info about the test, dates, all countries, but still missing plenty of info. Not as complete as "Trinity and Beyond," but still a great gallery site to waste a half hour or so.
- posted by frank crist @ 2:32 PM 0 comments

 
Fired for Blogging
Tourtgirl--hacker, PHP enthusiast, and beloved creator of software--was shitcanned from her job at Friendster. The "reason" is being listed as "for blogging" but the conspiracy is reading it as "poking fun at Friendster for using JSP when she is a PHP." OK, maybe not that simple. In fact, I'm not sure I understand what the reason is at all. Troutgirl loves PHP, tried to get Friendster to use PHP (IMHO, an excellent idea), Friendster finally went over to PHP, and now she's fired. There's got to be something more here.

Link
- posted by frank crist @ 1:40 PM 0 comments

 
Aradia - The Gospel of the Witches
Aradia is the Witches' Gospel.

Quote:

He who would have a good vintage and fine wine, should take a horn full of wine and
with this go into the vineyards or farms wherever vines grow, and then drinking from the horn say -

I drink, and yet it is not wine I drink,
I drink the blood of Diana,
Since from wine it has changed into her blood,
And spread itself through all my growing vines,

Link
- posted by frank crist @ 4:52 PM 0 comments

 
Looney Toons .WAV Files
Woo, a huge collection of Looney Toons sound bites.

Woo, a huge collection of Looney Toons sound bites, and a Looney Toons Lyrics page.

[linkfilter]
- posted by frank crist @ 4:35 PM 0 comments

 
If The Simpsons Mated
A gallery showing what would have been had character A been combined with character B from The Simpsons.

Link

[via linkfilter]
- posted by frank crist @ 4:22 PM 0 comments

 
Dead Puppies
How much money would it take for you to kill a puppy with your bare hands?

Link
- posted by frank crist @ 3:46 PM 0 comments

 
Fascinating Dialect
Singlish: the Singapore dialect of choice, combinging Mandarin, English, Malay, and Tamil. Something straight out of a cyberpunk sprawl.

Link

[via MoFi]
- posted by frank crist @ 3:38 PM 0 comments

 
Garrison Keillor Condemns Bush
Garrison Keillor is about the mildest form of entertainment one can find on the radio; host of the NPR Sunday program, Prairie Home Companion, and author of such light-weight reading as Lake Wobegone Days. See how he expresses frustration at the treatment of the United States by recent Republican bosses:


How did the Party of Lincoln and Liberty transmogrify into the party of Newt Gingrich’s evil spawn and their Etch-A-Sketch president, a dull and rigid man, whose philosophy is a jumble of badly sutured body parts trying to walk?


Link
- posted by frank crist @ 12:46 AM 0 comments

 
Ghazi al-Yawar: the Invisible Man
Why does google images list only a handful of images of the Iraqi President, Ghazi al-Yawar, but none of them show his face? Who is this man?

Link to Google Images
- posted by frank crist @ 12:10 AM 0 comments

 
An Open Letter to W from Michael Moore
To call it a scathing indictment of Bush's & his cronies' attack on Kerry's medal record would be a vast understatement.

Link (salon subscription--watch the ad, get the day pass).
- posted by frank crist @ 8:48 PM 1 comments

 
Gmail Invites
I keep getting these things. They're like tribbles now. The links are in the comments.
- posted by frank crist @ 7:44 PM 1 comments

 
Naked Army Chick
A soldier overseas took some nekkid photos of herself for her boyfriend (or whatever) back home, but forgot to delete them, now everyone gets to see her nudity. The poor quality of the shots only enhances the experience IMHO. She's hot, pretty, and being naked around a bunch of weapons certainly doesn't detract from the experience.

Link

[via linkdump]
- posted by frank crist @ 5:16 PM 2 comments

 
What is Transhumanism?
Nick Bolstrom, a research fellow at Oxford, has some ideas, not only on what it is, but reasons for its advancement.

[via linkdump]
- posted by frank crist @ 4:55 PM 0 comments

 
Firefox part 3
I gotta say, I'm becoming quite enamored with Firefox. I'm at my roommate's computer, farting around today on IE, and I'm hating it. Let me tell you why, and let this be a lesson to all browser manufacturers everywhere.

1. There are banner ads. I don't see banner ads in Firefox because I installed the Adblock extension and found some dope filters, and the whole thing took me about five minutes to do.

2. There are no popup ads. Firefox is extremely good about blocking popups (better than Google toolbar, that's for sure).

3. I miss mouse gestures!

4. Tabbed browsing, although I didn't want to like it, is far more efficient for me to use than the Back and Forward buttons. Feature request: hierarchical tabbed browsing, so I can create trees instead of paths.

But mostly it's the total lack of popups and banner ads.
- posted by frank crist @ 4:32 PM 0 comments

 
Greenspan: You've been screwed
AP article about how Chairman Alan Greenspan blasts the looming budget crisis built on deceiving the public--esp the baby boomers and now--about their Social Security and Medicare benefits. Speaking at a two day conference on aging sponsored by the Fed, Greenspan warned: "As a nation, we owe it to our retirees to promise only the benefits that can be delivered."

Link to the "fuck you" from the government. Thanks!

[linkfilter]
- posted by frank crist @ 4:17 PM 0 comments

 
Cobra Training Sim for Sale on ebay
Now, this is interesting.

Apache Cobra Helicopter Flight Simulator like new

From ebay:

APACHE COBRA HELICOPTER FLIGHT SIMULATOR. NEW VALUE 1.5 MILLION

THIS UNIT ON THE SCALE OF 1-10 IS A 9+

IT COMPLETE WITH TRAINING COMPUTER SYSTEMS, ALL MANUALS ECT...BOXES OF GOODIES.


Unfortunately, the bidding has ended. It would make a sweet interface for a MAME cab.

But then I remember that stuff like this makes good training material for terrorists, and that I'm supposed to be a scared American and not allowed to have fun thoughts. [insert moral outrage here]
- posted by frank crist @ 3:50 PM 0 comments

 
Fark Gmail Invite Contest
Six, yes, six gmail invites up for grabs here, so I will have a simple contest. Post something that will amuse or entertain me, six winners picked at around 8:00 PM CST.

Some worthy examples are: fotos, jokes, good websites, kitten killers, and, fuck, I dunno. Whatever. The six most entertaining win.

Bonus points for syncophants who go read my blog and make comments and then, in the spirit of true sycophants everywhere, point out to me that they've made said comments.

1.2.3.go.

[btw.. anonymous posting is ON, so you don't have to register if you don't wanna]

UPDATE: contest over at 5pm instead of 8. That's too long to leave people hanging. So, unless there's a mad rush, it'll probably be first come first serve...unless, of course, latecomers make good mit die funny schtuff.
- posted by frank crist @ 2:03 PM 8 comments

 
Deep Sea Creatures
A pretty awesome gallery of creepy-ass deep sea creatures that I definitely wouldn't want to run into in a dark alley.

Link
- posted by frank crist @ 5:54 PM 0 comments

 
Magic alive and well in Zimbabwe.
In the last half hour or so of half-awake web traversing, I've stumbled across the following articles about Zimbabwe:

Witchcraft blamed as man grows genital organ on face

Zimbabwe traditional healer burnt by goblins

Satanists stalk Zimbabwe city

What the FUCK is going on out there?
- posted by frank crist @ 1:36 PM 0 comments

 
Firefox part II
I'm starting to really like FireFox, and it can all be summed up in a word: plug-ins. For instance, adblock will remove all content based on your filter criteria, e.g. "banners". w00t.
- posted by frank crist @ 1:33 PM 0 comments

 
Americans Are Different From Saudis
Quite an interesting little column on the differences between Americans and Saudis written from the Saudi point of view. Not supplicating to the U.S., but somewhat critical of Saudi society and culture. The column is written by Dr. Mohammad T. Al-Rasheed, a reformist columnist who has written many articles for The Arab News and AlJazeerah (.info???)

Other articles: 1 2 3 and try this google for many more.

Link
[via linkfilter]
- posted by frank crist @ 1:29 PM 0 comments

 
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Astronomy Picture of the Day. Awesome stuff.
- posted by frank crist @ 4:24 PM 0 comments

 
Cheney splits with Shrub over Gay Marriage
Of course he would--Dick Cheney has a gay daughter. Is this obvious breach in the ranks of the normally tight-assed Republican ranks just a ploy for W to rid himself of Cheney for a re-election bid?

USA TODAY link
[via linkfilter]
- posted by frank crist @ 3:54 PM 0 comments

 
Interesting High-speed Video Clips
Interesting High-speed Video Clips
- posted by frank crist @ 3:39 PM 0 comments

 
Found in a Windows 2000 install license...
12. NOTE ON JAVA SUPPORT. THE PRODUCT MAY
CONTAIN SUPPORT FOR PROGRAMS WRITTEN
IN JAVA. JAVA TECHNOLOGY IS NOT FAULT
TOLERANT AND IS NOT DESIGNED,
MANUFACTURED, OR INTENDED FOR USE OR
RESALE AS ONLINE CONTROL EQUIPMENT IN
HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENTS REQUIRING FAIL
-SAFE PERFORMANCE, SUCH AS IN THE
OPERATION OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES,
AIRCRAFT NAVIGATION OR COMMUNICATION
SYSTEMS, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL, DIRECT
LIFE SUPPORT MACHINES, OR WEAPONS
SYSTEMS, IN WHICH THE FAILURE OF JAVA
TECHNOLOGY COULD LEAD DIRECTLY TO
DEATH, PERSONAL INJURY, OR SEVERE
PHYSICAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE. Sun
Microsystems, Inc. has contractually obligated Microsoft
to make this disclaimer.
- posted by frank crist @ 2:05 PM 0 comments

 
ORIGINAL SIN
The most original essay on Original Sin you'll read today.
- posted by frank crist @ 12:31 AM 0 comments

 
Hare Krishnas
A k5 article on the origins and teachings of the "Hare Krishnas" in the US. Lots of interesting things, for instance, did you know that the actual name of the, uh, cult? religion? whatever, is Gaudiya Vaisnavism? Me neither!

Link
[via k5 obviously]
- posted by frank crist @ 11:47 PM 0 comments

 
Public Power in the Age of Empire
When freedom means occupation, when democracy means neo-liberal capitalism, when reform means repression, when words like "empowerment" and "peacekeeping" make your blood run cold

Link
[via monkeyfilter]
- posted by frank crist @ 9:09 PM 0 comments

 
Healthspan Calculator
Find out how long you'll live based on the results of this quiz. I got 73.2 years. Hrm. Still gonna make it to 300, I can tell.

Link
[via monkeyfilter]
- posted by frank crist @ 2:23 PM 0 comments

 
The French
Hate the French? Enjoy mocking their "inability" to win wars?

Then you're a dumb asshole.

The French have been on the winning side of the table of warfare much more than the losing side, and Gary Brecher has an article for anyone that would engage in "dumbass Frog bashing."

So the next time an acquaintance gets all snarky about how cowardly the French are, hit him with this article.

[via mefi]
- posted by frank crist @ 2:00 PM 0 comments

 
100 Best SF Books
Keith Olexa wrote a top 100 SF books list for Phobos. I've been doing a bit of reading lately, and I'm inspired to pick up the books I haven't read on the list, including the #1 book, "Childhood's End," by Arthur C. Clarke. Of course, that would mean, ultimately, reading 77 books, since I've only read 23 on the list.

Just the list with Amazon links
Book-by-book with details
- posted by frank crist @ 5:05 PM 0 comments

 
alt.nerd.obsessive | A Tribute To The Comic Book Guy
Comic Book Guy. Love him. Hate him. Know him.

Link.
- posted by frank crist @ 4:29 PM 0 comments

 
Living Jewels
Living Jewels is a high-definition photography project involving the beetles of the world. You really have to see it to believe it.

- posted by frank crist @ 4:02 PM 0 comments

 
NPR : The Middle East and the West, A Troubled History
NPR has a six-part series on the relationship between the Middle East and Western Europe. This is a must-hear for anyone interested in the current conflicts, but unknowledgable about its long-lived origins.

Link
- posted by frank crist @ 3:07 PM 0 comments

 
GENERATION C
Generation C seems to be a new concept identified by those over at Trend Watching, and has to do with the ability for the average consumer to crank out professional-quality works of new media. Of course, crap is still crap, the article says, but there will be so much of it that some gems will come out of the rough. Seems to be a trend worth keeping an eye on.

Link
- posted by frank crist @ 3:02 PM 0 comments

 
Iraq Body Count
Iraq Body Count.
- posted by frank crist @ 2:33 PM 0 comments

 
Doggy Poo
"Every so often, a character enters the realm of popular culture and quickly becomes unforgettable, an instant classic. This is the story of nature's most unlikely hero: Doggy Poo."

I...

I just don't know what to say. I'm touched in a way that I never thought possible. Never. Ever. Just go see for yourself.

Official Doggy Poo Website
[via monkeyfilter]
- posted by frank crist @ 1:24 PM 0 comments

 
Firefox - The Browser, Reloaded
Today I begin my experiment with switching over to Firefox. Already I am missing the familiarity I have with IE, but it is probably purely nostalgia.

I installed the GoogleBar, and have to say that I definitely liked the IE one better. There are only four things I use on the Google toolbar--Blog this (obviously), the text box, a button to go, and the highlighter. When I remove all the excess buttons, the dividers stay, so as a result I have two dividers with nothing in between. Furthermore, I have yet to figure out how to move the toolbar so that it's nested within the File menu, like I had it with IE. Firefox doesn't seem very friendly with this, and I'm not very friendly with having three rows of toolbars. I needs my real estate!

Anyways, I'll continue to update as things go on. I've used IE since about version 1 (I used to work at MS), but I'm sick of it. Out with the old...

UPDATE Some things are definitely starting to annoy me.

First of all, where is this alleged "tabbed browsing" I keep reading about? Why don't popup links go into new tabs? Why can't I choose that as an option? I go to many blog and linkdump sites where the links open in new windows. Why not new tabs?

Second of all, the triple toolbar is really getting to me. I hate to see all that wasted space to the right. Yar.

Third, I hate the image icons that come up before the image loads. Just load the damn image! Jesus. I don't want to see the page all jumping and skipping around because Firefox can't figure out that the image is smaller than the icon it uses to mark the image before it loads. This reminds me of the bad old days when some browsers would load B&W pre-images before the actual images.

Fourth, I hate to say it, but Firefox is slower than IE. I dunno why, but it definitely feels like it. However, I will chalk this up to a bit of "not used to the new stuff", and will wait before I pronounce my judgement thusly.
- posted by frank crist @ 12:19 PM 1 comments