Precipice |
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Links and commentary style addendum to The Journal
Bloggers I take Inspiration from (Alpha Order, if I've missed you, I'm a forgetful sod, just remind me)
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Monday, July 30, 2001
BBC News | WALES | Naked film postcards returned to sender "But the US Postal Service - which has a ban on "lewd or filthy matter" and sexually orientated advertisements - would only agree to mail the cards on condition a black bar was added to cover the actors' bottoms. " oh good Grief. This is the same instinct that leads the channels over here to fuzz out the middle finger when someone is using said middle finger to make a rude gesture. Everybody knows! Crikey.
BBC News | UK | One-in-500,000 Christmas "We're not aiming for more, because knowing my luck I'll end up with quads." I'd be crossing my legs at this point. Friday, July 27, 2001
InteliHealth: "Food should be your medicine. Only if food is not powerful enough should we look at medicine," said James Gordon, chairman of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy." Damn straight! Vitamins should only be needed in other than ordinary circumstances. If you're coming down with a cold, if you're PMSing, not every day occurence type deals, times when your body could use the extra help and *can't get that help from food*. Which should be the exception rather than the rule. Course, this is not in the pharmaceutical companies best interests to promote, so they'd prefer to indulge in scare tactics. This is a private Health insurer from my home state of South Australia. Do you see what the Australian Government, operating on a Much Smaller per capita operating budget than the US government is managing to do? Give a 30% rebate to people with private health insurance? And, btw, Jeff and I could have coverage of full hospital and dental and glasses and the whole box and dice for $200a month. Stupid fucking USA government, waffling about maybe being able to do minor amendments to their health care system. They're allowing themselves to be bullied and/or bought by the HMO's, the Pharmaceutical companies and whoever else is on this nice little gravy train of expensive health care. Bastards. Wednesday, July 25, 2001
Headline Haikus: All Your News in Seventeen Syllables Their title is about 3 syllables off being a Haiku in itself. I get them emailed to me daily. It's automated and intersting how closely they can resemble the news item. Monday, July 23, 2001
Bat Boy The Musical OK, this wins the Best Website title for today! A nice little twist on gutter journalism, this makes a fun musical out of one of the most notorious headlines. I think I'll have to do a NYC trip with the spouse for an OB giggle.
Censors strike Harry Potter "But the best magic of the Potter series doesn't occur at the Hogwarts School or at the World Quidditch Cup. It occurs when millions of kids around the world put down a video game or Pokemon card and pick up a 734-page book." I'm appalled at the mindset of people trying to ban a harmless children's book. This is why I support my local library financially, and why I try to support Banned Books week. This year, it's September 22–29, 2001, and the theme is " Celebrate Your Freedom to Read. Develop Yourself: Most Frequently Challenged Books for 2000 I'm pleased that I've read a lot of these books, or I recognise the authors of a lot of these. I know I'm adding to my reading list, how about you? Also, they have a nice little link to an article by Judy Blume, on the Harry Potter deal.
CNN.com - Ex-Beatle strongly denies near-death report - July 23, 2001 The Daily Mail is just gutter press of the highest order, really. Jeff believed the original nasty report, because it had quoted George Martin. Pulled that quote completely out of their arse, so it seems. Much as I despise Tom Cruise right now, I applaud his decisions to go after these gutter rags and make it not fiscally worth their while to fuck him over in their presses. Saturday, July 21, 2001
For Better or For Worse - Official website for Lynn Johnston's comic strip of the Patterson family This is the cartoon equivalent of my daily journal reads. It's in my daily paper, but I'm pretty much always behind with those, so I read it online. It's done in real time, which I like, as opposed to say, Family Circus with its 40 year old 8 year olds. This is a very well done website, regularly updated content, intuitive linkage and navigation, simple but not dull. Lynn Johnhson markets her strips very well, without crossing that over commercialised line. She's also got a goo rep in cartooning circles In 1985, she became the first woman to win the National Cartoonists Society's Reuben Award, (named after Reuben Goldberg; check out his incredible inventions cartoons) for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year. She also won the award for Best Syndicated Comic Strip in 1992. Johnston was appointed to the distinguished Order of Canada in 1992 and nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1994. Friday, July 20, 2001
Endgame Draws Near For Big Brother Inmates I'm proud to say I haven't watched a single episode of Big Brother. Course, I got sucked into Survivor something fierce at the end of each series, so I'm not claiming any higher ground here. This picture reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode, where if you get voted out, you gradually fade away into a B&W 2D version of your previous self. I could go all D&M about how this is an insightful take on the fleeting fame this gives these contestants, but it's a dodgy theory and more'n likely a rushed graphic person's best effort with the only damn picture released that's of any decent res from the show. More than likely. Thursday, July 19, 2001
In the interest of cultural fairness, I've dug up the winners for the Australian Internet awards. It's in my Australiana file "Ozwords" at http://www.amandasprecipice.com/Burbs/ozwords.html
The Webby Awards: 2001 Winners A picture of the (mostly USA'n but nice to see Sydney getting a nod under Government) web for 2001. Try Dancing Paul, it's a hoot. You need an operational sound card, Flash, and probably more than a 56K connection. Volunteermatch is a service I've not been getting my optimum use out of, completely my lack of time, but for the time I was, I can highly recommend it.
Information on X10 Advertising "Can you turn your ads off so I never see them again? Click here!" Click! Clickclickclickclick! Did they not approach GeocitiesYahoo and find out that their popup ads which were Waaay smaller than these new x-10 monstrosities made people leave in droves? Made them leave in such droves that YahooGeocities has now a discreet piece of code that opens up the window within that window, and you can minimise it? "Please try to understand that this type of advertising is what keeps the Internet enjoyable as it pays for operational costs behind the sites you enjoy visiting for free. There are some content based sites that do not accept advertising, yet charge a subscription fee to view their content. This tradeoff is the current environment of the Internet today." I'm not going to buy your stupid little camera, all you've managed to do is to associate the X10 brand name with terminal stupidity and annoyance. Is that the branding you fancied?
smh.com.au - Click go the sheilas ""She's not really a very hefty bird but she's got a good chassis under her, though," Mr Houghton said." A compliment women would die for, you reckon? "Not everyone was as happy as Mr Houghton, though, with one of the male shearers turning in his handpiece in protest at Ms Hamilton's presence." Yeah, well, I'm thinking his handpiece is not all he thinks it is.
Kidman 'in shock' over Cruz affair - smh.com.au - Arts & Entertainment "When Kidman, now in Sydney, heard the news that Cruz and Cruise were tanning together, she was, a friend told People magazine, "just totally in shock". "She said, 'He flat out swore to me up and down that there was nothing going on'." Um, Tom Cruise? That looking like a nice guy again? Not going to happen.
Sex show has the good vibrations on what women really want - smh.com.au - Arts & Entertainment "Sexpo (motto: "Don't leave without buying your mum a vibrator")" I'm speechless.
Aussie Abortion Clinic Guard Killed "The president of the anti-abortion group Right to Life, Margaret Tighe, said her organization rejected the use of violence, but said it was not surprising. ``Given the nature of what occurs in these places, it is a wonder there have not been any more of these incidents,'' Tighe said." Ah Lovey? Rejecting the use of violence and saying it's not suprising are not exactly logically bound together. The nature of what occurs in these places would seem to be shooting a man to death in the face as a statement in support of life. Doesn't seem to be a ringing endorsement of caring for other human beings, really. And then you read this, when the guy is so courageous in his convictions that he refuses to indentify himself. Even when it's revealed that the mother of the man he killed, her husband just died of cancer within the month. What a complete and utter fucking bastard. I'm against the death penalty, but I would really very much like to see this man removed from society for good. So he can't harm anyone else in the name of life.
Katharine Hepburn Admitted to Hospital This has the air of those stories about Bob Hope. You can hear the Celeb Editors checking their obit files, adpating them since the last time she was in hospital..
ABQjournal Opinion "An innovative summer camp for kids in Albuquerque is also part of the solution. Camp Love a Pet, organized by the Animal Humane Association of New Mexico, pairs 13 children with 13 dogs, and teaches the campers to train, feed, groom and pick up after the specially selected shelter dogs. The goals are to prepare the dogs for adoption, but more importantly, to instill a sense of compassion for animals in the children. A second three-week session will begin July 23. " This is a fabulous idea. Instilling care and concern for animals into kids just has to be good for them as caring human beings. I remember reading abotu a prison that does this too. It's socialisation on both sides. So many of the strays are twitchy and scared around people because of their earlier abuse and neglect, that they don't seem attractive pets to people coming in to adopt. Contact with people and care and love helps to socialise them and makes them infinitely friendlier and more adoptable. One of the prisoners commented that it made her feel good to be helping to save a life, and feeling good about her actions was a rare and new feeling for her also.
Yahoo! News - Reuters Photo This is just so sad on many different levels. The animals being sold into who knows what, and the woman that has to sell them in order to survive. |
