A Free Thinker is Satan’s Slave
LiveJournal user scarlett_1975 snapped this photo a few days ago: Link - via Accordion Guy.
Now, can someone explain to me what Pastor Ricky Shedd is talkin’ about?
Los Angeles Bans Fast Food
Los Angeles Councilwoman Jan Perry has just launched a new attack in the war against obesity: a ban on new fast-food restaurants in poor L.A. neighborhoods!
The move is trend-setting California’s latest salvo in an expanding war on the fast-food industry, which is bracing for copycat maneuvers around the United States that could threaten growth.
But residents are skeptical that such laws will have much impact in Los Angeles’ low-income and minority neighborhoods, which are already blanketed with cheap and easy-to-find meals at chains such as McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell and Domino’s Pizza.
"It’s stupid. It’s our body, we choose what we put in it," Tonya Owens, a 45-year-old nurse assistant told Reuters.
Edwin Tsai, interviewed at a cluster of fast-food chains in the affected district, which includes the neighborhoods of South Los Angeles, West Adams, Baldwin Hills and Leimert Park, said there were reasons people eat at places like McDonald’s.
"It’s fast and easy. I think people will still come here no matter what," Tsai, 23, said.
Lisa Baertlein and Dan Whitcomb of Reuters has the story: Link - via Blue’s News
(Photo: Los Angeles Councilwoman Jan Perry poses in front of fast food restaurants’ signs in South Los Angeles. By Phil McCarten/Reuters)
Krispy Kreme Bacon Cheeseburger
Photo: ccaviness [Flickr]
All that talk about obesity really makes me hungry, and what did I just find on the ‘Net? This bright idea by Googlers in NYC to celebrate the head of the cafe staff. Behold the Krispy Kreme bacon cheddar cheeseburger!
Link - via Hopeless Geek
World’s Strangest Anti-Theft Devices
Banned in Hollywood blog has a really entertaining post about the 15 strangest anti-theft devices ever employed in the history of transportation: Link - via Gorilla Mask
Emotional Pain Hurts More Than Physical Ones
That old saying "stick and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" turned out not to be true after all. Psychologists found that memories of painful emotional experiences may actually linger much longer than physical pain:
Researcher Zhansheng Chen, from Purdue University in Indiana, said that it was much harder to "re-live" physical pain than to recall social pain.
He said the evolution of a part of the brain called the cerebral cortex, which processes complex thinking, perception and language, might be responsible.
He said: "It certainly improved the ability of human beings to create and adapt, to function in and with groups, communities and cultures, and to respond to pain associated with social interactions.
"However, the cerebral cortex may also have had an unintended effect of allowing humans to relive, re-experience and suffer from social pain."
Filipino Costumes of the Mid 1800s
(L) Un Yndio Natural (R) Manila Man
BibliOdyssey has a really neat post about a 1841 watercolor album depicting the dresses of Filipinos: Link | Original book scans at NYPL Digital Gallery
Seriously Cheaper
Weeeeellll, technically, it is cheaper. Found at Daily Haha - via Slavenka & Obi
The Hidden Homeless of Los Angeles
Photo: Benjamin Reed / LA Times
Los Angeles has more homeless people - about 73,000 on any given night - than any other cities in the United States. But where are they exactly? In this interesting LA Times article by Jessica Garrison, you’ll find that some homeless encampments can be particularly creative:
Rudy Salinas, who is in charge of outreach for PATH, recalled an encampment he encountered a few years ago under a bridge in the San Gabriel River watershed that featured a working whirlpool bath. It was powered by electricity spliced illegally from a nearby power line. The men living there had obtained the spa after it fell off a truck on the 10 Freeway; they carried in water to fill it.
Link - via growabrain
Previously on Neatorama: Police Busted a Hidden Homeless Refuge Under an Overpass
Star Trek: The Love Boat
What would Star Trek: The Next Generation be like if the Enterprise was an interstellar cruise ship? RT: 1 min, 35 sec.
Update 9/4/08 by Alex - original link [MySpace video] - Thanks Charley!
I Heart Math T-Shirt
With many thanks to Jürgen Köller of mathematische-basteleien, we now have an excellent I Love Math shirt on Neatorama’s online store. (The equation is from Gabriel Taubin).
I Heart (Curve) Math t-shirt, currently on sale for just $9.95: Link
More I Love Science shirts:
 |
 |
 |
|
I Heart Biology - $9.95
|
I Heart Chemistry - $9.95
|
I Heart Physics - $9.95
|
The Jules Verne: Triplane Made from Drinking Straws and Sandwich Wrap
Photo: Bob Halvorsen
Behold the triplane Jules Verne, a fantastic flying machine made from drinking straws, Reynolds sandwich wrap, and a home-made motor by Carl Rankin of Flying Puppets.
Link | Xeni Jardin of Boing Boing TV interviews Carl Rankin (see the Jules Verne in action!) - Thanks Cynthia!
Austin Humane Society’s Reading-to-Cats Program
We read to kids, so why not let the kids read to to … cats?! Here’s the story of the Austin Humane Society’s reading-to-cats program:
"It’s just a fun, positive experience for the kids and great socialization for the cats," said Lisa Starr, the Austin Humane Society’s director of marketing. She says Austin has the only reading-to-cats program there is (where else could be goofy enough?).
So how do the cats like being read to by kids?
"Some of them just look at ‘em," Lisa said. "Some of them run away. Certainly each cat is going to have a different reaction. But the goal for the cat is that they’ll have increased exposure to children. It’s to help them to be more social and for them to be more adoptable."
When I was out there, Matt Leighty, 9, was reading a book called "So What’s It Like to Be a Cat?" to a group of cats. So how’d that go, son? "They started fighting each other," Matt said. "Big tails and hissing. They don’t appear to be doing it right now. I think they like this book better: ‘Monkey for Sale.’ "
Link - Thanks Madalina Hinojosa!
(Photo: Lisa Starr/Austin Human Society)
French Sports Minister Lost Bet, Wore Pink Crocs to Cabinet Meeting
The French Health, Youth, and Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot made a bet with the French Olympic athletes: if they came home with 40 medals from the Beijing Olympic Games, she’ll wear pinc Crocs to work.
The French athletes did just that (they got 7 gold, 16 silver, and 17 bronze medals), so the Minister made good on her words!
Link - Thanks Jee! (Image and original article: Xinhuanet)
Minister Bachelot wasn’t the only politician ever to wear crocs - here’s President Bush in black Crocs (with socks!)
DIY Jar Jar Binks Salad
Ken of Onlyknives blog has just posted a how-to guide on making your own Jar Jar Binks out of jicama:
Jar Jar Binks was easily the worst thing about The Phantom Menace. If I could create a scrumptious salad out of him and serve him up with a tasty crostini, perhaps I might have my revenge.
Jicama proved to be just the right medium for my sculpture — it’s a tuberous root vegetable that is perfect for food carvings. It’s crisp, cuts easily and doesn’t dry out quickly. Jicama doesn’t taste like much but readily absorbs the juices and flavors of a marinade or sauce.
Link - Thanks Ken A.!
Caption Monkey 41: Strawberry Headed Cat
Photo: lisascenic [Flickr]
For today’s Neatorama and Hobotopia’s Caption Monkey game, you get to caption this cute photo of Lisa and Robb’s cat Linguine:
Lisa and I have been having a chuckle over the thought that this picture of our dear little Linguine is, unbeknown to us, an internet meme – a fad, which becomes almost inexplicably popular on the web.
This picture was taken about two years ago. I remember at the time, it was a major achievement for me to stand and balance well enough to take a picture while holding a camera in one hand and a bamboo-skewered strawberry in another and convince a cat we like to call "Fidget" to cooperate.
Funniest caption wins an original Laugh-Out-Loud Cats cartoon by Adam "Ape Lad" Koford. Contest rules are simple: place your caption in the comment section. One caption per comment, please, but you can enter as many as you can think of.
For inspiration, don’t forget to check out Adam’s blog! Good luck!
Update 9/4/08 - Well, though not exactly a caption, Adam really likes this one by Catsvillage “Strawberry Felines Forever.” Since he’s da man, whatever he says goes! Congrats to Catsvillage for winning this week’s Caption Monkey contest!
Look at Me!
The word “Me” appears in the titles of dozens of Hollywood feature films. In today’s Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss, try to match 12 film titles with the 12 actors who portrayed the “Me” in each one. I scored 83% because I switched two movies I hadn’t seen. Link
Letter from School: Your Kid is Fat
Just in case parents didn’t notice before, schools in the UK will send them an official letter saying that their kids are … fat!
Parents are to receive official letters telling them if their child has a weight problem under a Government crackdown on obesity, it has been announced. [...]
From September this year it is expected that all parents who allow their child to be weighed and measured as part of the Government’s drive to solve the childhood obesity crisis will automatically receive the results through the post.
The measurements will be used to calculate the child’s Body Mass Index adjusted for their age but parents will not be told this figure.
Instead the pro-forma letter will plot where the child is on a scale from underweight, to healthy weight, overweight and very overweight.
Link - via A View From the Other Side
When Kangaroo Attacks …
Lesson for today: Don’t ever get between a kangaroo and its pack, mmkay? Here’s what happened to a jogger who got attacked by a ‘roo:
Metropolitan Ambulance Service spokeswoman Christine Paterson says the man, in his 50s, was attacked Monday as he apparently ran between a male and female kangaroo near his home at an outer suburb of Melbourne.
She says the victim ran to a nearby house and telephoned for help while the kangaroo hopped away.
Link - Thanks Tiffany!
Kids of Older Dads Have Increased Risk of Being Bipolar
It’s long been known that babies of older moms can have more health problems, but studies have now linked mental illness to advanced paternal age:
Researchers analyzed Swedish national registry data from more than 80,000 people, including 13,428 with bipolar disorder who were born between 1932 and 1991.
The risks started increasing around age 40 but were strongest among those 55 and older. Children with these dads were 37 percent more likely to develop bipolar disorder than those born to men in their 20s.
They also faced more than double the risk of developing bipolar disorder before age 20. Scientists call that early onset disease, and although they have long known that bipolar disorder tends to run in families, early onset disease has been thought to be most strongly linked with genetics.
Link - Thanks Tiffany!
The Skateboard Stairs
Ted Hunter of Thin Air Press fittingly created this awesome set of skateboard deck stairs for the Roarockit skateboard deck woodworking school: Link - via Treehugger, Thanks Chris Tackett!
Stiletto Dash
Coming hot on the heels of the Olympics (see what I did there?), here is Sydney’s Stiletto dash!
The world record for the number of high-heeled sprinters in a race has been smashed by a group of women in Australia.
Two hundred and sixty-five women took part in the 80m dash in Sydney wearing three-inch heels.
Professional hurdler Brittney McGlone easily outran her competitors, taking home $5,000 Australian dollars (£2,500) and a pair of gold stilettos.
The BBC has the video clip: Link - Thanks jeffs!
The Turntable Ghettoblaster and Other Cool Boomboxes
Like its name says, The Ghettoblaster Hall of Fame lists some of history’s most excellent boomboxes. Like this one from Sharp: a radio, cassette recorder, and yes, a turntable combo!
If you want a full stereo system that you can take with you, look no further than Sharp’s offerings. 20+ years back, the VZ-2500, VZ-2000 and VZ-3000 included compact stereos systems with a radio, cassette recorder and yes, a turntable. And these were no ordinary turntables mind you, these used "AutoDisc" technology, marketed by Sharp with the phrase "Play Both Sides." Think of auto-reverse tape technology for a record player: using two tonearms, these stereos allowed one to play Side A or B without having to flip the LP over.
Link - Thanks Max Romantschuk!
Pet Your Chicken Through the Internet!
National University of Singapore’s Mixed Reality Lab is fast becoming my favorite in cutting edge (and a little wacky - okay, a lot) research. Take, for instance, this project titled Poultry Internet, where a chicken is outfitted with a special dress that lets its owner pet it over the Internet:
The idea was inspired by acts of pets and animal abuse through lack of welfare. This system enables humans to provide care for pets even though they are physically not together. The system enables a human to remotely touch her pet which is kept at home while she is away(in her office), and at the same time monitor the movement of the pet. This is realized by using a doll, which resembles the real pet located remotely, sitting on a mechanical positioning table. The pet owner interacts with the real pet by touching the doll.
Link - Thanks Jayne Howley!
If you like that, don’t miss the Internet Pajama and the Human Pac-Man
Disaster Diorama Papercraft
Forget cutesy papercraft, Spitfuls has just come up with disaster dioramas: a set of paper models you can download and fold to depict the sinking of the Titanic and the burning of the Hindenburg!
Link - via Boing Boing, Thanks Jon Jason!
Disturbing Facts About Eugenics
Logo from the Second International Eugenics Conference in 1921
Eugenics is the pseudoscientific belief of improving the human race through selective breeding. Though forms of it still exist today (proponents focus on prenatal genetic screening, in vitro fertilization, and genetic engineering), its association with Nazism and the use of eugenics to rationalize the Holocaust have caused it to become thoroughly discredited.
Max-Bro blog has a fascinating post about the 33 disturbing but true facts about Eugenics. For example:
- Even with concentration camps, euthanasia campaigns and sterilization wards public knowledge in both Germany and America, early eugenic founders looked on with approval as Nazi Germany enacted brutal racial campaigns against its own citizens. Joseph DeJarnette, superintendent of Virginia’s Western State Hospital even complained in 1934, “Hitler is beating us at our own game.”
- The term “moron” comes from the eugenic movement. Coined by Henry Goddard, an early eugenic founder, it comes from the Greek word moros, meaning “stupid and foolish.” We use the term lightly these days as a kind of vague, almost teasing insult. For Goddard and the eugenic community, a “moron” was anyone deemed unfit for life and indeed a target to be eliminated.
Dr. John Harvey Kellogg of Battle Creek, Michigan served as a member of the state board of health and operated a sanitarium known for its unorthodox food regimens. He developed for his patients a natural product made of wheat flakes. In 1898 his brother, Will Kellogg, invented the corn flake and began selling it commercially through a company that would ultimately become the cereal behemoth the Kellogg Company. In the same year as the founding of the company, Dr. Kellogg founded the Race Betterment Foundation to help stop the “propagation of defectives.”
- For years one of eugenics greatest crusaders, Harry Hamilton Laughlin, fought to sterilize the feebleminded and people diagnosed with epilepsy. He was well known for believing that people with epilepsy did not belong in society. Laughlin was also known among colleagues for his occasional seizures. It turned out the doctor kept a tightly held secret for most of his life: Harry Laughlin, the attacker of the “unfit” and eugenic co-founder, himself had epilepsy.
Read more here: Link - Thanks Max-Bro!
(de)light: Liquid Light by Christina Ferraz Rigo
In her (de)light project, Christina Ferraz Rigo creates a lamp that uses liquid as its source of light:
In dark rooms, the liquid glows with intensity when the proper catalyst is mixed with water. Sure, it may not be conventional, but liquid light is some snazzy stuff. The catalyst used is most likely a phosphorescent material, which is non-toxic and unlike glowsticks, it has a decent “glow time” of about 20 hours.
Link - Thanks Jesse Chase and Jay Cogen!
She’s Got the Photo to Prove It!
Pics or it didn’t happen. This woman seemed to have taken the Internet phrase to heart by going to great lengths to take this photo.
Check out what she’s doing at the Oddly Enough blog: Link - Thanks Robert Basler!
(Photo: Jim Young / Reuters)
License Plates for Geeks
Photo: computationally.intractable [Flickr]
The Royal Pingdom blog has a pretty neat run down of the 23 license plates for geeks: Link - via Miss Cellania
PA System In a Briefcase
If glossophobia is the irrational fear of public speaking, what is the unusual love of public speaking? Whatever it is, here’s the gadget for it: a PA System in a briefcase!
Link | Orator Briefcase PA System
Klingon Victory Song on the Guitar and Harmonica
Here’s something you don’t hear every day: the Klingon victory song "YIjah, Qey’ ‘oH" performed on the guitar and harmonica.
Sing along:
Bagh Da tuH mogh / ChojaH Duh rHo
yIjah, Qey’ ‘oH (x3)majaq. ‘o’ tugh / jiDaq. majun.
pa’Daq jagh baH! / ou’ lo’ tlhuHQo’!
tep lagh negh ‘uH / mughato’ tu’
yIjah, Qey’ ‘oH (x3)wo’ naj, cha’ DIch / Do’ chIj, wa’DIch
‘ejDo’ ‘el Da’ / Qib’a’ boparyIjah, Qey’ ‘oH (x3)
He should do the Klingon Opera next! Link [embedded YouTube]
See the rest of Neatorama:
