How to Shoot Your Own Asian Fetish Porn!

First things first, the article is work friendly (coming from 'The Village Voice'), but the links contained within the article are probably not (it is afterall, an 'adult title' being reviewed).

That all said, it is a hilarious read.

Some sample titles for your own 'AFP' from the review include;

Feeling Good Ass Punch
Semen It Is Where?!
Naked Executive Swimming Suit
Lesbian Penis Big Boobies Instructor
Sad Exciting Gymnastics
Fetish Special Lactate Freely
Indecent Forever Twins!!!!

The 'Indecent Forever Twins!!!!' absolutely rules, but 'Sad Exciting Gymnastics' is probably not gonna move a lot of units. Call it a hunch.

Bio-Origami

The pictures are of microscopic objects created by tweaking DNA to grow and fold into specific shapes..

My personal favourite is the DNA 'world map' - cuz does it get any cooler than writing the very shape of our planet into a molecular program?

Click the link for the full story on the potential applications of this 'Bio-Origami'.

Picture of the Day

"These are some of my favourite things..."

Antiphon BANNED from Free Dominion!

Ok, fair comment, I was in fact a 'troll' on the site, one of those loathsome creatures who inhabit the net and visit sites where they can create the most inflammatory threads of commentary and controversy. As such, it was really only a matter of time before I raised enough ire to get kicked out.

In my case, I was picking on the Canadian conservative site 'Free Dominion'. Why them? Take a look at, and you'll see immediately why I couldn't resist the urge to take the piss out of them. The site specializes in stroking both the ego and moral superiority of the theocratic right. Anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-moderation, anti-Islam, anti-Liberalism and anti-tolerance sentiments abound. You literally can't visit a post that deals with anything gay related without encountering a sewer of filth from FD members, much of it likely qualifiable as hate speech (that said, I still maintain that hate speech laws are bad laws, and on free speech grounds I defend the site despite the toxic effuvian it's members spew).

In my defense, I was hardly the typical troll. I confined my commentary to SSM, and a handful of other issues that came up in relation to that topic. My tactics were simple, I took on the personage of a strict libertarian, one who would be firmly in the conservative camp on most fiscal, and foreign policy issues, but one who would be antithetical to the theocratic moralizing of the god-fearing far right the site caters to. This lead to some genuinely interesting exchanges among my first few dozen posts - especially my defense of SSM on the grounds that it promotes conservative values, but lately (post Harper victory) the denizens have been in a really poor mood.

You see, Harper is simply NOT RIGHT WING ENOUGH for them, and with a minority government that needs to be seen as moderate in order to survive, Harper won't be taking on any of the socially conservative policy initiatives that these FDers crave (i.e. banning abortion, banning sex ed, banning gays from the public sphere, stoning adulterous women, etc.). So the FD minions are not in any mood to be criticized, when at the very moment they should be feeling their oats, they find themselves still being locked out.

What fascinates me is that I got banned not for any of the really inflammtory stuff I posted aboutf religion/marriage and gays, no, I got banned because of disparaging arguments I made about the thesis of a gentleman named Bill Whatcott (who bills himself as 'Secretary of the Committee for Social Transformation'), but not on the topic of SSM, or gays, or even the value of religion in politics.

No I got banned because I came out vocally in favour of contraception as a means of reducing the need for abortions.

Apparently, pointing out that if they were intellectually serious about wanting to reduce abortions, the so-cons would endorse contraception and effective sex ed, was simply too much logic for their religion-stressed brains to take at once. This blog (from the US) has a chart that may explain why these two topics (contraception/abortion) cause such a short circuit in the brains of theocons.

No, as soon as they thought about women having the freedom to make decisions about their bodies by using birth control, and the 'out of control promiscuity' that this would inevtiably lead to, they shut down the thread, and kicked me from the site.

Am I sad about this? A little. I honestly found some of the people on the site to be challenging, and some to be very funny (and I even some who defended me - they were few and far between though), however most of them are complete and total dolts looking for a self affirmation of their more grotesque prejudices.

Them I won't miss.

Ah well. They were a diversion from real political theory, but an amusing one nevertheless. I will miss those cute little theocrats with their plans for both womb and world domination.

Sharkey for Governor of Minnesota!

He's a family man, with a distinguished career in the military, and in the high calf leather boots of a predecesor (pitcured at left), was also a former 'professional athletic entertainer', and with such sterling credentials he wins my endorsement (as shallow as it is being a Canadian) of Jonathon 'the Impaler' Sharkey for Governor of Minnesota!

I thought at first that he might consider toning down the heavy religion thing, but the fact is, Bill Frist, et al., have done quite well pimping the religious angle lately, so why not ole Sharkey?

I mean, what could be the problem?

Picture of the Day

That isn't the fishes tongue - it's a parasite.

This little devil invades the fish, consumes the tongue and then takes its place, going so far as to actually respond for the fish in grabbing prey etc. to keep the host well fed.

Ain't evolution grand?

More MVP talk for Nash!

Prognosticators all had Phoenix slipping from the elite group of teams for 2005-06 because they felt that C-PF Amare Stoudamire was too valuable for the Suns to miss for any extended length of time.

Nobody told that to Steve Nash. Fresh off his MVP season, Nash has the Suns, who are missing Joe Johnson (off-season trade) as well as Stoudamire from their mix, a threat to win 60 games again this year.

His MVP stats from last season? He's doing even better this year, flirting with 20ppg and and still clocking in with an average of double digit assists every game.

What's more, he is the ultimate team player capable of making his team mates better. Can anyone say that about selfish shot gobblers like Kobe or AI?

The best news of all is that Shaq's season hasn't been worthy of MVP consideration, taking the pressure off sportswriters who would feel the need to 'redress' last seasons close loss to Nash. With the field of candidates wide open, with Nash's Suns still a powerhouse, and with Nash having even better numbers than last season despite the absence of Stoudamire, it could well be two MVP awards in a row for Steve.

The Next Superpower

In Gwyn Dyer's 'Future Shock' he carefully points out that most economists, political theorists etc., have adopted the mindset that over the next 50 years American power will gradually wane to be replaced by Chinese and Indian super power states.

The author of the article in the header link, has a different country in mind as the next superpower - Japan.

The reason why he picks a small Island nation with relatively modest economic growth and a sclerotic oligarchical capitalism? One word;

'Robots!'

Bill Maher's got some 'New Rules' up!

New Rule: Consenting adults, not governments, must be the ones to decide what constitutes a marriage. But if you applaud that for gay marriage, you have to applaud it for polygamy. Which comes from "poly" meaning "many" and "gamy" meaning a musky odor in the bedroom. Now, by now, I'm sure you've heard how the Mormons are upset about a new HBO show called "Sex With the Entire City." But, you know, Mormons should just be happy that Scientology came along and made them the second-weirdest.

But, for everybody else, if you really are for the principle that all families don't have to look alike, then you have to admit polygamy is hot! And if you take the husband out, it's even hotter! That's right. I'm not only for polygamy, I'm for gay polygamy. Okay, lesbian polygamy. But, really, I'm for any sexual perversion the Swedes can dream up and the Japanese can make disgusting.

So - so when the conservatives say gay marriage could lead to polygamous marriage, I say, "Quit selling, Jesus-freak. You had me at 'hello.'"

Now, it comes down to who decides what love is, and what commitment means. The government? A church? No, sadly, it's Dr. Phil. Who, it was in the news last week, is selling his Ferrari. That's right. It turns out we've all been taking relationship advice from the "fat middle-aged, bald guy who drives a Ferrari!"

Which, of course, is Italian for "I'm not banging my wife." It's also all the evidence you need that the dirty little secret about polygamy is that it really does suit human nature. Because middle-aged women, they don't want that fat, beer-breathed old coot climbing on them anyway! So, ladies, why not let the latest-to-be-hired do the crummiest job. Just like at the office.

Maybe it's monogamy that just isn't natural. And don't tell me about the prairie vole. Yes, the prairie vole is monogamous. That's because it has no cash. Also, all voles look alike. They have no idea if they're screwing or masturbating.

But the question all women have to look in the mirror and ask themselves is, "Would you rather be the second wife of George Clooney or the only wife of Willard Scott?"

Enceladus - the Ring Maker

The Cassini probe has just made one of the most fundamentally transformative discoveries of modern Astronomy.

While studying the moons of Saturn, Cassini was allowed to dip close to one of it's 40+ moons - one called 'Enceladus'.

Almost immediately, they realized that something special was happening with the moon, not only was it unnaturally bright for a moon (reflecting 10x more light than our moon), it seemed to have a relationship with the 'E' ring of Saturn's rings.

What they discovered was more exciting than they imagined.

Enceladus is covered by what appears to be frozen water, with some heat source churning it up underneath the surface. This results in geysers of water pluming from the surface, and it turns out, driving the formation of the 'E' ring.

In checking on the chemistry of the ice-water Enceladus is blowing into the rings, it was discovered that its composition lacks the expected ammonia compounds necessary to encourage water to remain soluble and liquid at low temperatures.

In other words, there may well be water we can make drinkable under the surface of Eceladus.

Even more exciting is that where there is liquid water there may well be the building blocks for life.

With this discovery of water on Enceladus, two major contributions to knowledge have been made; the way moons can affect ring formation, and most interestingly, the 'Goldilocks Zone' or, the potentially habitable range around a star that life might exist in, has just been broadened substantially.

It may even turn out that rocky planets (like our own) are not the best bets for finding alien life around other stars,if only because they are so small and difficult to find.

Now, we'll have to look at their gas giants for moons that may do the trick as well.

Wedding Picture comments

First off, as any Trekkie will tell you, the picture has one obvious problem that screams for explanation;

Why are the two Starfleet officers getting married on the bridge of the Enterprise circa 'Next Generation' but wearing uniforms from 'The Original Series'?

Possible answers;

- A temporal anomaly carried their two person research ship from the past to the 23rd century. After being treated for Chroniton radiation poisoning the two happy time travellers were promptly wed on the vessel that rescued them.

- To honour their grandparents both the wedding participants wore uniforms from the past handed down to each of them through the generations.

- In a display of rebelliousness at the new uniform codes, these two officers used a loophole in Starfleet regulations to protest the single piece outfits being issued to personnel by wearing the now 200 year old designs at their wedding on the bridge. No more unitards!

- Brought to the 23rd century by the omnipotent being known as 'Q', these two lovers found themselves trapped in the future when Q's repeated attempts to breed succesfully with either of them were met with failure. Rescued by the Enterprise, they finally found peace and the time to tie the knot.

- It's a Halloween wedding on the Enterprise!

- The wedding actually took place in an alternate universe that had parallel development to our own. In this alternate universe, the uniforms from TOS were never changed. It was determined that any contact with beings of this alternate universe is to be avoided as they may be 'anti-matter' constructs and the resultant cataclysm from the contact of anti-matter and the matter of our universe could cause its complete destruction. The wedding party was subsequently isolated in a magnetic bottle cut off from either universe and the entrance to the bottle destroyed. "How would it be, trapped with a woman at your throat forever? How would it be?"

- The real question has not to do with the uniforms, but why neither of these Klingons have the distinctive head-ridges.

Ok, now to the Top Five Wedding Pic Comments!

5 - 'Aauuk Blooog Toaku'

(Klingon for 'Congratulations' - thanks to TW for her kind regards!)

4 - 'You LIED to me'! - My Mom, upon finding out we were not in fact holidaying in BC.

3 - 'So is there a shotgun off camera?' - my new boss. All class.

2 - 'My brother is the biggest nerd ever. Let's throw a party!' - From my brother, the coolest human being alive.

1 - 'vegas star trek wedding

the big geek turns pro with style

congratulations'

Top spot goes to a stellar haiku from buddy AJ.

Picture of the Day

"Where there is fire, there is smoke. And in that smoke, from this day forward, my people will crouch and conspire and plot and plan for the inevitable day of Man's downfall - the day when he finally and self-destructively turns his weapons against his own kind. The day of the writing in the sky, when your cities lie buried under radioactive rubble! When the sea is a dead sea, and the land is a wasteland out of which I will lead my people from their captivity! And we will build our own cities in which there will be no place for humans except to serve our ends! And we shall found our own armies, our own religion, our own dynasty! And that day is upon you NOW!"

'Caesar' - Conquest of the Planet of the Apes

Robert Nilsson's Goal

First it was Mike Legg in a College game, then Sidney Crosby in a QHL contest, now Robert Nilsson works a little magic in the AHL.

It's just a matter of time before this lacrosse move makes it to the pros!

Click the header link for video of Nilsson's score.

Sweet

I would be remiss if I didn't point out that Mr. Nilsson is a former Heads selection in the prospect draft.

Pick-Up lines for Economists!

Who says economists don't have a sense of humour?

My favourites:

• Are you a Keynesian? Because you sure make my monetary policy inflate.
• You've got the loveliest supply curves I've ever seen.
• I think you and me would have great potential output.

Check them out, they are worth a giggle.

The Decline of the American Empire

Unfortunately, this is not a joke. There really is a 'Faith Based Initiative' for Homeland Security!

(the governments link is in the header).

Just in case, you know, the Demons attack again.

NHL Trade Deadline Deals - analysis

Trade Deadline!

Calgary deals Weimer to the Devils for a 4th

Verdict: Flames drop a useful 3rd/4th liner with size on the Devils for a mid round pick. Good trade both ways.

Phoenix trades F Jamie Lundmark to the Flames for a pick

Verdict: Lundmark is a bubble forward who may just need the right situation to flourish. He's been a ppg in the AHL, so we know he has skills, but his speed may not be front line calibre, he's washed out of the Rangers and in a short time made himself expendable from the Coyotes. He's running out of chances, but if his work ethic is good, Sutter will find a way to make him earn his place. Not sure what Phoenix is doing except shifting deck chairs on the Titanic.

Florida trades C Petr Taticek to the Penguins for D Rik Jackman

Verdict: Taticek is a young prospect with size and some scoring ability, not that disimilar from current Pens prospect Milan Kraft. He has upside potential to be a full-time player, and he'll get a shot at being a top 6 forward with the Pens down the road. Jackman is a powerplay specialist with little defensive zone acumen. He'll fit in to Florida's top 6 as the rusher given a solid anchor partner, and could be used to help groom Bouwemeester's powerplay skills. Overall, a wash.

Vancouver made seperate deals to address their blueline and goaltending, all involving picks;

From the Blues, D Weinrich for a 3rd

From the Ducks, D Carney for 2nd (previously the Islanders) and mediocre D prospect Brent Skinner

From the Devils, D Brown for a 4th

and from the Sabres, G Noronen for a 2nd

All in all, three solid defensive defensemen, including Carney who can play pro minutes in your top 4, and a solid prospect netminder with #1 potential for four picks and a player not on the main roster. In other words, everything the Canucks needed to do, they did. Verdict: Full marks.

Islanders get a 3rd rnd pick for Oleg Kvasha.

This one is a headscratcher. Why pay anything like a third round pick for Kvasha? Does he really look like a top 6 forward for the Coyotes? He's fully bust IMO, and Mike Barnett looks like an ATM in this one.

Dallas sends D Martin Skoula and D Shawn Belle to the Wild for D Willie Mitchell and a 2nd.

Verdict: Skoula is a tweener D man, he's got enough offense to keep you interested, but he never overwhelms anyone, and his D is good enough to get by, but isn't airtight. He should fit well though into the Wild system as he has the wheels to play Lemaire hockey (see: Andrei Zyuzin and Alexandre Daigle as Wild reclamation projects that worked for that reason). Belle is a massive swift skating blue-liner who has a tonne of upside. His decision making is what is still suspect, which is why he's on his third team since being drafted by St Louis. Eventually, he'll be a regular on the blue-line. Willie Mitchell was the object of affection here, as he brings a solid defensive defenseman game to Dallas and will fit comfortably into the teams top 4. He'll bring a nasty streak to the team that is essential for playoff hockey.

Overall, a solid trade bothways, but I'd rather be the Wild's GM after this season is over when re-looking at the deal at that time.

Senators flip pre-season wonder L Brandon Bochenski and a 2nd to the Chi-Hawks for C Tyler Arnason.

Verdict: I think Bochenski has the potential to be a useful 2nd line scoring winger and Chicago may eventually be the right situation for him to flourish. Ottawa adds a pivot with speed and some playmaking to bring depth to the centre position. Is he really a 2nd line centre? Or is his future as a checking pivot ala Kris Draper? The upside with Arnason is definitely higher given the speed and experience advantage over Bochenski, which warrants the inclusion of the 2nd rnd pick. Overall, I'd say Chicago got what they needed in terms of building blocks for the future in a young player and decent draft pick, and the Sens got a skilled forward to compliment their top six. Call it even, so long as Arnason doesn't score a GWG in the playoffs en route to a Cup, and Bochenski doesn't flip the switch and turn into Brett Hull.

Oilers get Sergei Samsonov from the Bruins for forwards Marty Reasoner and Yan Statsny and a 2nd rnd pick.

Verdict: I love Kevin Lowe as a GM. The Bruins deal an elite offensive winger (albeit one who is injury prone) for a forward best suited to the AHL (Reasoner), an unproven forward who looks to be a solid third line winger (Yan Stastny) and a 2nd round pick. No wonder the Bruins suck if this is the best they can do in trades (see Thornton for Stuart et al). Samsonov will fit right in with the Oilers as his game is built on elite skating, speed and phenomenal hand skills. To get an offensive performer like him for two duds and a pick is just sick.

Nashville trades a 1st rnd pick and AHL forward Kris Beech to the Capitals for D Brendan Witt.

Verdict: Witt returns to the GM who drafted him, and will bring some much needed size, nastiness and defensive presence to the Predators. The pick is costly, but Washington needed to get a good return for Witt and a 1st is excellent. Beech returns to the team that drafted him in the Caps after a stop in Pittsburgh. He's never been able to crack an NHL lineup because of his speed defeciency, and while he'll get another new start in the depleted Washington cadre of forwards it will be tough for him to displace either of the other young two-way pivots ahead of him (Gordon, Laich) or Jeff Halpern who seems to have a lock on the 2nd line centre spot. In the end, the Predators overspent to get Witt, but he could pay decent dividends especially in the playoffs. Washington sheds salary and gets both a prospect and a 1st so you know they are happy.

The Rangers pick up Sandis Ozolinsh for a 3rd rnd pick.

Verdict: Sather has reversed several years of mediocre performances being able to spend whatever it takes and has turned in two solid years in a row rebuilding the Rangers within a budget. Ozolinsh for a third? Ridiculous. I don't care what problems he has off-ice, his on-ice contributions - especially within a system like the Rangers, will far outstrip the value of that 3rd rnder. The Rangers may have just added the guy needed to get them out of the tough Eastern conference.

Carolina releases Mark Recchi from the lottery bound Pens for two forward prospects in Nordgren and Kolanos and a 2nd rnd pick.

Verdict: The Canes lost a top 6 forward in Cole for the season and replaced him with an even better one in Recchi at the cost of two mid-ling prospects and a 2nd rnd pick. Word is that Recchi will not re-sign with the Canes and intends to end up as a Penguin again next year as his contract runs out. In that light, its a high price to pay for a rental player, but Recchi is everything you want in a rental, highly skilled, excellent leadership, playoff experience, and an easy slot into one of your top lines.

Anaheim aquires L Jeff Friesen from the Caps for a 2nd rnd pick.

Verdict: Washington gets another building block, this time cheaply as Friesen has had a horrible offensive season and frankly isn't worth a 2nd rnd pick. I'm not sure what Anaheim's GM Burke is thinking, as Friesen isn't likely to be more than an excellent checking winger in the mold of Paul Ranheim as his career winds down, but maybe there is more life in him than I see.

Colorado sends G Aebischer to the Canadiens for G Theodore

Verdict: I say its a no-brainer. Aebischer is an OK #1, but best suited to either a platoon or backup role. Theodore (when his head is on straight) is a potential all-star and a legit #1 who is a threat to win hardware if he can get back to his peak. I say Colorado simply hosed Gainey on this one, but Theodore's salary could be problematic moving forward if he pulls a Jim Carey. I don't see it. He's got game.

The Oliers send a 1st rnd pick, and a conditional pick to Minnesota for the Wild's G Dwayne Roloson

Verdict: Kevin Lowe is a genius part 2 - not. Ooops. Colour me contrarian but Roloson is a mirage as a #1, and at 36 I think clearly isn't worth a 1st rnd pick. He's at best a stop gap until the Oilers can groom a #1 from within, and I suspect he'll make them regret this deal if the Wild manage to select an NHL player of any decent calibre with that pick in the first. Risebrough laughs at the Oilers once again.

Illusions

With nothing more than chalk and a sidewalk (and some carefully angled photography) Julian Beever creates some amazing illusions.

You can check out more of his work by hitting the link in the headline.

Mapping Mars

Click the header link to take you to one of the coolest sites ever for Mars geeks.

Quote of the Day

“Presumably there is indeed no purpose in the ultimate fate of the cosmos, but do any of us really tie our life’s hopes to the ultimate fate of the cosmos anyway? Of course we don’t; not if we are sane. Our lives are ruled by all sorts of closer, warmer, human ambitions and perceptions. To accuse science of robbing life of the warmth that makes it worth living is so preposterously mistaken, so diametrically opposite to my own feelings and those of most working scientists, I am almost driven to the despair of which I am wrongly suspected.”

- Richard Dawkins 'The Selfish Gene'

There is a strain of belief that is charmingly referred to as 'Wittgensteinian fideism', (and among its proponents is non other than uber-sceptic Martin Gardner), that argues that it is legitimate to believe in God, not out of any rational enterprise, but out of nothing else than that it simply 'feels good to believe'.

This fideism presents an interesting challenge to atheists because the objection to atheism isn't reason based, but rather an attack on atheisms 'killjoyness' - to the fiedeist, the atheist seems to be resolutely focussed on being a pessimist and cynic (conversely, to the atheist the fiedeist seems hopelessly polyanna, but I digress).

Dawkins hits the nail on the head with his quotation, the correct response is not that atheism substitutes nihlism for god, but that he substitutes cold hard truth for religion, and I sometimes share his despair that people would rather believe in fairy tales that make them feel better, then grapple with the world as it really is.

Red Alert!

Thanks to everyone for the messages of congratulations that we've recieved!

The wedding was a total riot!