Arguments about trivial things with a worthy opponent.
Blocktastic
I’ve written about Pacman, I’ve written about Rubiks Cubes, I’ve written about Super Mario Bros, and I’ve written about art. That’s a lot of topics to converge in a single post. But I’ve done it. Well, more correctly, somebody else has – I’m just here to show you the fruits of their labour. Art made from Rubiks Cubes… not just art… geek art. I would have thought a Tetris inspired design would be appropriate – but perhaps too easy…
YouTube Tuesday: Come Play
Kudos to Tim for posting this today. If World Cup bids were judged by production of the bid video then we’d be in with a shot.
Salad LOLs
I subscribed to PETA’s media releases recently just for the laughs. It hasn’t disappointed. They’re about to protest the Southern Baptists. They want to convert them to vegetarianism.
“PETA members — including one dressed as Jesus carrying a sign reading, “For Christ’s Sake, Go Vegetarian,” and another dressed as a chicken with a sign that says, “Jesus Loves Me Too”– will bring a pro-vegetarian message based on biblical teachings of compassion to people attending the Southern Baptist Convention in Louisville on Tuesday. Other members will hold signs reading, “Thou Shalt Not Kill. Go Vegetarian” and “Blessed Are the Merciful. Go Vegetarian.” They will also hand out leaflets that relate vegetarian living to Christian teachings.”
Seems they’re a little bit confused about the difference between chickens and people. That sentence could be made much clearer with a comma – either after the “compassion” or after the “people”… the easily misinterpreted (if you don’t put too much effort in) sentence pretty much somes up most of my problems with PETA – then there’s the fact that the Bible makes eating meat perfectly acceptable. The fact that meat tastes so good means that God meant us to be carnivores. Surely.
Wonderland
If ever there was a perfect piece of casting and the perfect choice of director it’s this…
Johnny Depp has been cast as the Mad Hatter for Tim Burton’s remake of Lewis Carroll’s hallucinogenic Alice in Wonderland.
Missed opportunity
After my last post Stuss wanted to know if I planned to enter the Miss Universe Australia pageant in order to secure publicity for Townsville. I checked out the terms and conditions of entry – and unfortunately I don’t qualify.
Whilst they don’t specify a gender requirement I’ve been ruled out on two of the seven conditions.
1. Be an Australian citizen or Permanent Resident.
2. Be aged no less than 18 and not more than 27 on 30/02/2009.
3. Have been residing in Australia for at least six months prior to April 2009.
4. Have a valid passport.
5. Never have been married.
6. Never have given birth to a child.
7. Not have committed any crime or been involved in any inappropriate behaviour, photographs or films, which may cause embarrassment to both parties if disclosed at a later date.
How to get media attention for your location
I’ve spent the last 3 and a half years trying to get Townsville positive news coverage around the globe. It’s a great place. It’s worth publicising. But, this morning I had an epiphany. Here’s an easy 3 step process to get your home town/city/village some positive media coverage.
1. Win Miss Universe Australia
2. Visit your home town
3. Turn up at your old job at McDonalds with cameras in tow
It’s that simple.
Reader Poll
Does anybody actually care about Utegate?
K-Rudd isn’t going to resign. Swan isn’t going to resign. Turnbull isn’t going to resign. The guy from the public service is going to get fired jailed. It seems he’ll be the only one remembering this whole saga a year from now.
What I think would be awesome would be if the alchopops thing is the trigger for a double dissolution. Imagine being the Prime Minister booted out for trying to make grog more expensive. That’ll play in headlines all over the world.
I also hate the way we add “gate” to the end of every political scandal. It didn’t happen in the Watergate building so it’s not analogous.
I hope K-Rudd is learning his lesson about how it pays to be nice to your public servants and not make them work at break neck speed. They’ve claimed his Defense Minister and now they’re after him.
Top Gear: Formulaic drama
I’m not really a regular viewer of Top Gear – though I watch it on occasion. But I think Michael Schumacher is awesome – and the fact that he’s the Stig explains why he hasn’t felt the itch to get back out on the Formula One track.
On Worship
The iMonk bemoans the evolution of worship.
“Worship has now become a musical term. Praise and worship means music. Let’s worship means the band will play. We need to give more time to worship doesn’t mean silent prayer or public scripture reading or any kind of participatory liturgy. It means music.”
Sadly, the Bible’s definition of worship (Romans 12) suggests that doesn’t even come close to capturing the essence of worship… (but the cartoon does).
Romans 12:1
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”
This question came up in my candidacy interview last week. The Presbyterian (Westminster Confession of Faith) use of the word worship falls between these two ideas in a sort of semantic compromise.
This issue creates more tension than it should because I think you can hold both ideas at once (the Biblical and the Presbyterian) and still be correct. Am I missing something here?
Pen: ultimate
This pen has been floating around in my Google Reader queue for a while – just waiting to be posted.
It’s only a concept – but what a concept.
I’m not sure how feasible it is – but it is certainly clever.
Chair woman for the bored
No – this isn’t another story about the Cronulla Sharks…
Designer Alice Wang has produced a series of “chairs for the dysfunctional“. They’re interesting and clever, sometimes both.
The “Silent Farter”
“Those with excess gas in their abdomen can find it difficult to hold it in sometimes, even at important times such as formal dinner gatherings or meetings. Quietly letting the gas out may be the solution, but although the sound may be muted, the scent is still present. It can often cause misunderstanding and unnecessary embarrassment for the innocent others.This chair announces who the gas is from by amplifying the silent fart exhausted.”
You could probably integrate some sort of twitter functionality by copying the office chair guy…
There’s also “The Constant Shaker” which helps fidgeters justify their wiggling – providing a calorie counter that monitors your every on chair movement.
“Researchers believe these unconscious muscle movements may be caused by a chemical produced in our brain to trigger additional calories to be burnt. This chair calculates the amount of calories burnt when one fidgets or shakes their leg when sitting down.”
In fact, you could probably have this send information to Twitter too…
This last one though is for those who like the concept of Twitter without the technology – the Status Announcer…
“More and more people are reliant on online social communities such as Facebook and Twitter, leading to possible technology related anti-social behaviours. Those who are used to regularly publishing their personal life online may have difficulty adjusting to public scenarios in real life and may loose the ability to speak or interact with others face to face.This chair allows one to update their status like they usually do on their online profiles byputting up various signs that shows their current status.”