Fit to be Clicked

Celebrity reality check! I normally let the celebs do their own publicity, but I'll make an exception for Snoop. That's right, that hip hop/rapper/entertainment train wreck Snoop Dog was recently denied a Visa into the UK. Snoops rep is reportedly "mystified" by the news. Say wha? The man was arrested for violent disorder at Heathrow Airport and is facing several weapon and drug charges in the U.S. These people really are living in an alternate reality if they think that little things like that won't stop you dead in your tracks at the border. Newsflash, Snoop. Celebrity entitlement only gets one so far.

On the topic of celebrities, most of us are far to young to remember Frankie Howerd. We was an incredibly popular English comic that died back in '92. Dennis Heymer, his lover, partner and manager, took some time to talk to the BBC about their secret life together in an age when homosexuality was taboo. While neither were activist at all and Howerd even loathed himself for it, I must say that I am glad that we have come far enough so that our loves needn't be so bittersweet.

I have noticed this pattern of whenever the powers that be have something they would like to distract us from, such as say, the sudden mobilization of U.S. military resources in the Persian gulf, the news feeds are inundated with inane animal stories. Take for instance PETA's sudden outrage at Kansas State students for throwing Chickens onto the court when playing against Kansas U. Sure it's been going on for years, but it's very convenient that just now PETA is rising to the defence of what they describe as "very intelligent and inquisitive animals". Are they talking about the Basketball players or the chickens?

Of course, the nature and scale of the intelligence of animals has been a hotly debated subject for years. PBS's Nature put together a fascinating mini series on the topic that I highly recommend. Eager to test these theories, our friends at The Onion found that Dolphins may not be as smart as we give them credit for.

Things just get stranger from here. Talk about pocket lizards, this lady was positively infested with crocodiles when she was stopped at the border. And on the other side of the world, Panda sperm flies first class. What I want to know is how did they get this cryo-canister on the plane when I can't even fly with Gatorade?

Flee for your lives, it's Toadzilla!

Scientists sure do have some strange fetishes! Chinese researchers have come up with a creative solution for disposing of and abundance Panda poop, they want to make paper with it. Talk about recycling! On the other side of the world, another team of researchers is very excited about what mites in ancient Llama poo can tell them about pre-incan populations in South America.

Speaking of fetishes, what would you do with 1500 undergarments?

You thought your pet was talented? Not yet an Olympic sport, it's Goldfish synchronized swimming.

Citizens in Portugal have penned a letter the Pope asking that the Vatican slow down a priest speeding in his pimped Fiesta. That's right, a Ford Fiesta. Who the heck tricks out a Fiesta?

There are some very nifty pics in this homage to interesting trees from around the world. My favorite is the stump left when a scientist inadvertently cut down the oldest tree in the world.

Oh this is horrible. On the topic of undignified deaths, 3 people are confirmed dead after a sewage tsunami hit a neighborhood in Gaza. What a way to go.

Sci/Tech has had some interesting headlines over the past bit, Scientists have retrieved about 20 years worth of mission data from Pioneer 11 from the depths of JPLs Archives. They are hoping this will allow them to get a better grasp on the Pioneer Anomaly,(the spacecraft aren't nearly as far away as they should be), and perhaps explain it away for good.

Leave it to the Spaniards to come up with Jurassic porn.

Forget hydrogen! The future of fuel cells is looking sweet.

Not content with merely being Persons of the Year, Youtube has wrapped up its first annual YouAwards. Check out the winners and losers on...well Youtube of course.

Bits and Bites

Can you believe that I actually had to work while I was at work this week? Unheard of! Which makes this the perfect time to clear out my, 'Mixed Bag O' Links' that I just couldn't seem to weave into my normal ranting monologues.

Kansas just can seem to make up it's mind about what to teach kids about the origin of life and has reacted to international ridicule by once again rewriting the guidelines of it's science curriculum to strike out the recently added references to the theory of intelligent design. Of course, just up and outlawing the practice of evolution would solve the problem nicely. My views on the subject are complex to say the least, however considering how many genes much of life on earth share, if god did do it he was very very lazy.

Former NBA all star Tim Hardaway says he hates gay people. So he hates gays, there are people that don't like him for things he can't change too. Granted the majority of them aren't gay, most gay people loooooove black men, or at the very least are extremely curious. What I find interesting is that he didn't apologize for being homophobic but just regretted expressing it so publicly. Any bets on when this celeb is announcing a stint in Rehab?

Who'd a thunk it! It turns out girls really are gross.

Serial vs. Parallel Dating. Rewire your relationships today!

I just love comics that deal with 'issues'. It's like Reefer Madness only with pictures.

Experts have come out saying that the trend of sexualizing women in the media is harming young girls. Come on, we live in the age where they are giving Viagra to babies, what harm could a little makeup do?

Take one tour bus full of vacationing seniors, add 3 muggers and what do you get? Seniors gone wild!

Poverty, genocides and starvation aside there's been a lot of weird shit going down in Africa lately. For instance...

Throw away those nasty anti-virals. Green tea and Bananas are all it takes to slay HIV, at least according to Gambia's president.

WTF?! Whoever thought cargo cults would have turned out to be so popular? The gods must still be crazy.

Popo is in the news again! That wacky lascivious bat demon, Popo Bawa, just can't keep it in his pants. A creature with a supernatural sex drive and a monster member that sneaks into peoples rooms and sodomizes them for hours. In my neighborhood that's considered a tourist attraction not a curse. I wonder if he looks like any of these newly classified batty beasts.

Flooding in Mozambique, civil war in Darfur, islamist unrest in Mogadishu, drought in Ethiopia. Pick an African country (any one will do), and chances are good 15,000 brown people have died there recently.

On the international scene, the deadline set by the UN for Iran to stop enriching uranium has come and past and Iran shows no signs of slowing down. The US has responded to Iran's request for unconditional and most likely very frank talks, by moving a great deal of military might into the region and expressing a fond desire to bomb them. Of course they are still accusing the Iranians of destabilizing Iraq by quoting ambiguous intelligence from anonymous sources which may be ever so slightly exaggerated. Hmm...sound familiar? Take a look at what other people have to say on the topic at this BBC forum.

Once again life imitates art (or at least sarcasm), as someone must have read my previous suggestion on how the Palestinian Authority can stabilize its economy. Because now they really are opening call centres! Any bets on how long it takes the Israelis to bomb these too?

In a bizarre attempt to unify the Anglican communion, the house of bishops has decided to fracture it even further. It seems sort of odd until you check this handy Faith vs. Science flow chart and then you'd be surprised at how much sense it makes.

There are a few tricks that will come in handy if you want to survive the inevitable rise of the machines.

Extreme car security! Fun with Tesla coils or fun with Flame throwers. Pick your package because I'm sure that these won't be standard features any time soon.