Just thinking about this makes my head hurt. Things used to be so much simpler.
A wordy post
Meriam Webster dictionary has released the 10 most frequently looked up words in 2008. In order they are:
Bailout, vet, socialism, maverick, bipartisan, trepidation, precipice, rogue, misogyny, turmoil…
Obviously some were influenced by the global economic crisis – like misogyny… others by the US election… like bailout. Obviously other people wanted to know where to send their dogs… Or, it could be that the American populace was wondering why Obama was so keen to vet his cabinet. English is a funny language. Why do you need a trained animal doctor to check out a piece of furniture?
Here’s how the list stacks up to previous years – where w00t, Facebook and others all appear. It’s an interesting way to track people’s thinking and concerns. And what they don’t know but are choosing to be educated about.
Right Ahead
I’m preaching at church on Sunday night. A Christmas talk. On Revelation 12. It’s a weird passage. You should read it.
Here’s the first five verses:
1 A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.
Seriously, how can you not want to write a 25 minute talk on that (and the next bits)? Will you be putting a seven headed dragon in your nativity scene this year?
Revelation is, along with Daniel, one of those books that gets Christians in a bit of a pickle. It has been so poorly understood and spawned crazy theological ideas and eschatology (end time theology). Revelation was written to the early church, in a time when the early church was being ripped to pieces (quite literally) by crazy emperor Nero.
One outcome of the confusion surrounding the book of Revelation is the unbelievably (in the literal suspension of belief sense) popular “Left Behind” series. I haven’t read them. I have no desire to. But the underpinning idea of secret one world governments and the shadowy “Illuminati” is based on a really poor apocalyptic reading of Revelation that defies context.
I caught Louis Theroux and the Survivalists on TV a couple of weeks ago. These are people who take Revelation all the wrong way. Here’s the full length episode on google video.
I plan one day to write a spoof of “Left Behind” called Right Ahead. I’m not sure anyone will buy it. But at least it will be theologically correct.
Conspiracy
Hillary Clinton only has to kill four people – then pardon herself – to be the next President of the United States. The Huffington Post has the order of succession as follows:
PRESIDENTIAL LINE OF SUCCESSION (Obama Administration)
- Joe Biden (Vice President and President of Senate)
- Nancy Pelosi (Speaker of the House)
- Robert Byrd (Senate President Pro Tempore)
- Hillary Clinton (State)
- Timothy Geithner (Treasury)
- Robert Gates (Defense)
- Eric Holder (Justice)
- TBD (Interior)
- TBD (Agriculture)
- Bill Richardson (Commerce)
She better watch out though, that Timothy Geithner is a mean looking son of a gun.
Need an easy reference card featuring your DNA?
Of course you do. You could mount it on your wall. What if I told you it’s available in 25 different colours? How bout a couple of sizes? Still not sold…
If you’re curious – here’s the process:
Additional Details:
- Upon ordering, you or the gift recipient are sent a kit with DNA collection swab and simple instructions.
- You also receive a card for adding your name or personal message to the bottom of the image (no extra charge).
- Takes 4-6 weeks from ordering online to receiving your print.
- Print is easily removed from glass if you want a different frame in the future.
- Includes isolating and visualizing your Brain and Muscle Gene. Your Gene booklet is also included.
- Comes with a certificate of authenticity.
- 100% unconditional money back guarantee.
Deus Ex Machinima
I’m no gaming aficionado. I like games. I play a lot of Tetris. And I like Hitman. I just haven’t yet lost the requisite number of kilos (1 down, 9 to go) to earn my Xbox. I’ve also never played Deus Ex. But this project – to provide a high definition texture pack for the game sounds very interesting. Imagine all the old games with great gameplay but lowsy graphics that could be improved in this manner. And to make some reference to my cool title pun – imagine high definition machinima made using old games… like Deus Ex… actually, a quick google reveals Deus Ex Machinima has already been done. But using Halo. Oh well.
Kudos to this design team. Wolfenstein 3D in high res anybody? I’d play that.
Dull
I find this blog incredibly amusing. It claims to be the dullest blog in the world and it is.
It has been defunct for two years but still enjoys some popularity. Here’s a sample. They are all this good.
Putting a piece of junk mail into the waste paper basket…
February 2nd, 2004I discovered a piece of junk mail on my door mat. I carried the item away from the front door and held it above the waste paper basket. I opened my hand, thereby allowing the piece of junk mail to fall into the basket.
When you sing you begin with Do Re Mi
When you want to make big bucks in radio you begin with ABC. It’s a sad fact of life that JJJ, and more broadly the ABC, cultivate 90%* of the media talent in this world, and they all eventually leave.
Roy and HG have had many trists and dalliances with commercial TV through their Olympic broadcasts and the like – but until now have remained true to their radio roots with “This Sporting Life” on JJJ on a Sunday afternoon. But no more. They’re off to the greener pastures of MMM. They did manage to stay there much longer than Merrick and Rosso, or Wil Anderson – and they command respect for that…
But for some reason this makes me angry. I was probably so ingrained by the left leaning creative types at uni that I scream “sell out” every time someone makes money out of their creativity. It’s a hard line to tread. The thing is – even JJJ radio personalities make an exhorbitant amount of money on the professional MC circuit.
Even ABC breakfast radio hosts command more than $10,000 an appearance** – and that’s pretty close to the base rate. Seriously, this is easier than painting some obscure blue poles on canvas. You get 100 of these gigs a year (assuming 1 mid week and 1 a weekend over 52 weeks) and that’s a million bucks. Why you can’t stick to your principles and stay committed to the station that nurtured your talent is beyond me. I guess this is the only way new talent is allowed an opportunity. But I find it all a little mercenary.
*arbitrarily selected figure
** One extroverted mathematician in particular, ex JJJ, we had him up here for a function a while back…
Dangerous book for boys
Nine year old Alex Greven is putting out a self help book for guys called “How to talk to girls”. Advice from a nine year old with no experience may be a bitter pill to swallow. But here are some quotes from Alex (via the SMH)
On brains v brawn
“You want the girl to notice you,” he writes. “But you don’t want to draw too much attention to yourself or she will think you are a crazy madman who doesn’t even know where his brain is.”
He says it is important not to be a show-off.
But it is good to be the smartest boy in the class, because “girls will be prowling at your feet”.
On grooming
“Comb your hair and don’t wear sweats. Control your hyperness (cut down on the sugar if you have to). Don’t act desperate.”
On pretty girls
He warned boys to be wary of “pretty girls”.
“It is easy to spot pretty girls because they have big earrings, fancy dresses and all the jewellery … pretty girls are like cars that need a lot of oil,” he writes in chapter three.
On heartbreak
“Sometimes, you get a girl to like you, then she ditches you. Life is hard, move on!”
“Or sometimes it doesn’t work out. I had a crush on a girl in preschool. Then my family had to move, so I had to let her wash out of my mind.”
“About 73 per cent of regular girls ditch boys; 98 per cent of pretty girls ditch boys.”
“If you do get a girl to like you, that is victory. Winning victory is a dream for most boys, but it is very rare.”
The boy is clearly a genius.
You know you’ve got too much time on your hands when…
When you can make a scene from Super Mario using 17,000 pins. There’s a whole gallery of Mario goodness awaiting anyone brave enough to click that link. I know they’re called drawing pins… but that’s ridiculous.
Jupiters stripped bear for charity fundraiser
Today’s Townsville Bulletin carries an unfortunate headline regarding Jupiters’ charity garage sale on the weekend. Apparently they stripped a bear? But it’s ok, it was for charity. Not like that cruel “dancing bears” game they play in India. The humane society is dead against that.
Say “I love you” in style
Nothing says “I love you” like one of these. Literally. You can turn any computer generated sound waves into highly fashionable jewelery at just the click of the button . Bracelets, necklaces and earings are just the tip of the sonic iceberg. There’s also an “installation art” option where you can wall mount the sound waves and have a specially installed stereo play it at just the push of the button. John Cage’s 4’33” would be a particularly poignant piece of art and/or the ultimate avant garde arm guard.
A good analogy
I know Ben hates analogies. This will annoy him. But if Annabel Crabb is my Herald pin up girl then Peter Hartcher is a close second as far as his writing is concerned.
“Rudd has grown attached to his description of the crisis as a result of “extreme capitalism”. That’s akin to saying the Titanic sank because of “extreme sailing”. The US economy and financial markets collapsed not because of the doctrine of capitalism, any more than the Titanic sank because of the practice of international shipping. The cause of the calamity was bad policy, just as the cause of the Titanic’s fate was bad navigating.”
Both Rudd and Turnbull cop a tongue lashing in the piece. Well worth reading.
“Why does it matter what Rudd calls it? Because from the diagnosis comes the cure. The fault was not capitalism, extreme or lame. It was bad policy.
As for Malcolm Turnbull, he has made some sensible suggestions on how the Government should respond to the crisis, but the one he made this week is not one of them. Turnbull claims the Government must not allow a budget deficit. Already, Rudd has used half the projected budget surplus for this fiscal year as apackage to stimulate growth.”
Of mice, and monkeys?
Engadget has compiled a list of stupid gadgets that should be avoided at all costs. There seems to be a particular focus on mice.
Like this one:
It sure is dumb. It’s a red piggy mouse. Some of them are quite cool. I would buy them. But I’m not sure why, or why they were ever invented. Like the Mouse Scale… for those people wanting to keep track of how much their hand weighs?
Luckily it comes with a cover for when your hands are feeling a little fat…
The real winner, as far as I’m concerned, is the USB powered “monkey” hand warmers.
For those looking for a little monkey magic – there’s a matching footwarmer. At $46US for the set – plus postage. A great Christmas present. Shame I live in the tropics.
