The Day We Celebrate the Birth of Our Lord?

Here are a couple of interesting links that discuss the real origins of Christmas. Happy Holidays!

Origin of Christmas

The Psychedelic Secrets of Santa Claus

Resurrection of Santa Claus
by Jimmy Bursenos:
solsticestudios.net

UkeBox and Joe Jack Talcum

I saw these two guys on Wednesday night at the Springwater.
The guy on the left is UkeBox and on the right is Joe Jack Talcum. UkeBox plays sort of acoustic punk on the ukelele. Joe Jack was a member of The Dead Milkmen. Both were excellent. I almost got teary when Joe Jack played "Life Is Shit". It was the anthem of my halcyon days at an oppressive Adventist boarding school.

I remember the day I found that Dead Milkmen tape. It was called "Beelzebubba". On the cover was a photograph of a blue-collar everyman, standing with pride aside that noble steed of the suburbs, a red lawn tractor.

At my place of academic incarceration, radios, tape & CD players were considered contraband. Rock and/or Roll was considered the Devil's music. (I remember one time hiding outside a Bible class, and listening through the door just to hear part of an AC/DC song playing on one of those "all-enjoyable-music-is-evil-and-played-by-sexual-deviants-who-worship-
Satan-and-if-you-like-it-you-are-going-to-burn-in-eternal-hellfire-praise-
Jesus-amen" videos)

I noticed the tape in a trash can as I looked for discarded treasure. One of the deans must have confiscated it, and then, instead of disposing it in his fireplace in the usual method, must have realized how much pollution was being created by the incineration of so many plastic-cased audio cassettes. Little did he know that a greater destruction was being wrought, the pollution of my innocent little mind. This album was like a wake-up call. (Like harpy screech of your mother when you are late for school, not the pleasant phone-call from the lady at the Day's Inn) To this day I have heart-warming memories of my friend Chris and I singing that song, our cracking and out-of-tune voices causing the paint to peel from he cinder block walls of our cells... I mean rooms.

P.S.-This is the most links I have ever put in a single post. It also my longest post. Call the people at Guinness (the book of world records people, not the beer people, although that would be nice , too). Woo Hoo!

Game-Inspired Flags

These are coooool!










(via we make money not art)

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Thanksgiving Prayer

(via Cynical-C)

Eyeglasses Stores are for Suckers!

Ira bought online and saved a bundle!

(via Lifehacker)

Lil' Sparky

Lil' Sparky is a cool little working electric chair. I plan on using this to take care of my mouse problem. It doesn't look too hard to build. Here are the schematics.

(via MAKE: Blog)

A Cool Zombie Song

Re: Your Brain is a hilarious song by Jonathan Coulton. It is sort of Office Space meets Shaun of the Dead. I heard it on the How to Succeed in Evil podcast - Cheap Labor (part 1, part 2, part 3). It is in the second part. Be sure to check out the rest of the podcast's episodes. The story is great!

A Great Halloween Story

This is a great Halloween story put out last October by the podcast Escape Pod. It is called The Great Old Pumpkin. It is Lovecraft meets Peanuts. What could be cooler than that?

Oatmeal Box Photos

Here are some pictures I took with pinhole cameras made from oatmeal boxes.

Nachos, anyone?

The interesting origin of the word "nacho"

(via GeekPress)

Always use a glass! Ouch!

A woman has suffered severe burning to her anus after being struck by lightning which hit her in the mouth and passed right through her body. Link

(via GeekPress)

Bald Eagles is Buzzards!

Was the bald eagle really the best choice of national symbol? A closer look at the habits and evolutionary lineage of this American icon casts doubt. Link

(via MetaFilter)

Is there anything pot can't do?

"The challenge is that marijuana plants absorb energy, heat very readily. It's very difficult to penetrate with thermal devices. ... And as a result you really have to be careful that the Taliban don't dodge in and out of those marijuana forests." Link

(via White Man Stew)

Religion and Tyranny

A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side.
~~Aristotle

(via Crook and Liars)

My Busted Kidney Stone

Pluto gets the boot!

"Leading astronomers declared Thursday that Pluto is no longer a planet under historic new guidelines that downsize the solar system from nine planets to eight."

(via Boing Boing)

Group wants to reconcile dinosaurs & the Bible.
Some Adventists say science flawed, call for discussion.

This is the kind of bullshit they tried to brainwash me with at their schools.

(via Cynical-C)

Daniel Pinkwater's new book serialized online







(via Boing Boing)

Richard Linklater Interview











(via Metafilter)

Nerd ABCs


Just what you need for that budding little mad scientist!

(via Omni Brain)

Cat and Girl on getting old

A Terrifying Message from Al Gore

...and Bender

(via Gizmodo)

Could you pass the U.S. citizenship test?

I scored 85%. I get to stay.

(via J-Walk Blog)

Faith In America
A national organization dedicated to the emancipation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from bigotry disguised as religious truth. Such religion-based bigotry has been used throughout history to justify discrimination against other groups of people, including women, racial and ethnic minorities, and people of minority religious beliefs. Faith In America is committed to ending this misuse of religion.

(via Metafilter)

Why Religion Must End

(via kottke.org)

A Helpful Tip for Phone Hell

Skip straight to the operator with your dirty mouth

(via Lifehacker)

Towel Day -May 25th :: A tribute to Douglas Adams
Shit! I wish I had known this before I left for work!

(via Boing Boing!)

Truth to Power - Jean Sara Rohe

Why I Spoke Up
(via MetaFilter)

Truth to Power
(via onegoodmove)

"Humans!"

(via Drawn!)

Chavez One, Bush Zero

(via Disinformation)

MyHeritage - Find the Celebrity in You (tm)!

I tried it. Here is the best match at 75%. What do you think?


(via Metafilter)

Employee Loyalty = Stockholm Syndrome

(via Cynical-C)

Atheism is a liberating world view
"God, faith, religion, and the supernatural are, in the atheist's world view, the causes of the delusional wishful thinking that has at best, wasted man's time and at worst, been responsible for his most awful behaviors."

(via J-Walk Blog)

Time for a Rebel Alliance?

(via Metafilter)

Free Comic Book Day 2006
This is so much fun. We go every year. Try Nashville's
best comic book store The Great Escape .

Happy May Day, Comrades!

SketchUp - Free!
This is a great 3-D modeling program that is easy to use. I had tried the demo back when the full program was several hundred dollars. I was overjoyed to find out that Google has bought SketchUp and is giving away a basic version for free. It is available for Windows and Mac. Download it today!

Stephen Colbert Rant at the White House Correspondent Dinner

Fantastic! I think someone will lose their job over this.

(via onegoodmove)

It Can't Happen Here

I think it already did.

(via Crooks and Liars)

Goth subculture may protect vulnerable children

This actually doesn't surprise me. "Normalcy" is evil.

(via Follow Me Here...)

CEOs say how you treat a waiter can predict a lot about character

Very interesting!

(via Follow Me Here...)

14 year-old protest organizer commits suicide after threats from school faculty

I am often asked why I am no longer a teacher. Every school system I have dealt with is filled with these small evil fuckers. I couldn't take it.

(via Metafilter)

Flow

This is a relaxing and highly-addictive little game.
Both online and downloadable versions are available.

Holding Pattern Screensaver

"Holding Pattern turns your idle computer screen into an airplane window, complete with a moving aerial view."

I have this on my Mac at work. A lot of people have have asked me where I got it. Here it is. For Mac and Windows.

Desktop Earth 2.0

"Desktop Earth is a wallpaper generator for Windows. It runs whenever you're logged on and updates your wallpaper with an accurate representation of the Earth as it would be seen from space at that precise moment."

(via Lifehacker)

WORD SANDWICH !

This is a fun and challenging online word game.

DIY Mods: Lighten your keychain

This is an excellent idea!

The 14 Defining Characteristics Of Fascism

madison.com discussion

(via MonkeyFilter)

Where Is Our Zappa?


(via Crooks & Liars)

Video shows Bush, Chertoff warned before Katrina
That fucking evil liar. I'm pissed, but not surprised.

(via Pharyngula)

An interesting proclamation from the mayor of Lawrence, KS.

(via Metafilter)

NEW "MONTY PYTHON" SPECIALS SLATED TO PREMIERE IN 2006 ONLY ON PBS
YES!!!!

New Orleans Public Library seeks book donations

Here is a good way to get rid of those books you have been hoarding.

(via Boing Boing)

Spider vs. Snake

Here is another story from the gentle world of nature. See my earlier post featuring Mantis vs. Hummingbird for more soothing images from the natural world.

(Via Cynical-C)

Future American lawyers protest Attorney General's speech

Fuck, Yeah!!!
That's all I can say.

(Via Boing Boing)

Lines - Joined & Otherwise

Pete Joison over at Blurburger has some really excellent desktops.

But , I just discovered his cartoon, Lines - Joined & Otherwise.
I love them.

18 Tricks to Teach Your Body

I have had this link for a while, and finally have gotten around to posting it.
These are pretty cool and useful, as well.

From Men's Health, but most apply to anyone.

Japan Tobacco "Smoking Manners" advertisements

I first saw these a while ago. They are poetic and a bit surreal.

Click here for a free "Smoking Manners" screensaver. (Mac & PC)

(via J-Walk)

Dangerous Ideas

119 original essays by top scientists and thinkers
written in response to the 2006 Edge Question —
"What is your dangerous idea?"

Do you dare read them all?

(via *.*)