27.2.06

Protesting Censorship

Today, I feel like being a bit of an activist. Now, I know that very few people read my blog, but I figure I can do my part by participating in a bit of a protest against a company called "SmartFilter". You can do a little reading about the protest here, and some more here.

But for now, I present you with some tasteful nudity. Art, if you will.
















A penis and breasts on the same page! It must be pornography! Shield your eyes!! Or don't... whatever.

26.2.06

Desktop Of the Week

Here's my desktop this week:

I'm really impressed with this new background... what do you think?

25.2.06

Aaahh.... (contented, not a scream)

I just had a bath. I haven't had a bath in years (but I have bathed, believe it or not!). It felt absolutely great... I feel very good about not having done a whole lot today.

How do baths make you feel? Why is it that is it so relaxing to stew in your own filth?

14.2.06

Anyone else want to help make some of these?

LED Throwies What's a "LED throwie" you ask? Well, I'll give you a hint... you throw it. And it has an LED attached. Yes, that's all there is to it. Click the link and you'll get some idea!
I love Firefox. Since the last format of the computer about a month ago I've neglected to run Spybot S&D and Ad-Aware (yes, bad Gord). I just finished running Spybot and it gave me exactly one hit for malware. Nice.

Oh, and I'm being a geek and found a geek dating site just in time for VD. (Do you really think that it's a coincidence that the acronymn for Valentine's Day is "VD"? I don't.)

13.2.06

Monday

Am I the only one who feels that Monday the 13th is probably a heck of a lot more appropriate for being a bad-luck-day than Friday the 13th? I mean, Mondays suck to begin with, so it would follow that adding the number 13 would make it worse. I think it's generally accepted that Mondays stink, no?

12.2.06

Canada Rules!

Not only did we get a gold medal in the moguls event, we even have our very own photoshop contest!

Am I the only one seeing this?

It seems to me that something is afoot in the world.
Lately the news has been flooded with stories of muslims rioting, protesting, burning down embassies, burning flags... supposedly all because of a cartoon. Perhaps I'm the only one who thinks there is a heck of a lot more behind all of this. The network news isn't going to go into the detail of why people would be so angry about a drawing, which was in poor taste to begin with, which was published in a small newspaper over 4 months ago would enflame such a large group of people to such violent heights. First, let me say that publishing something which flagrantly insults another group is wrong. That's not the question here, though. The question is, why is this violence occuring now, out of the blue?
If I go to google and type in 'image of Mohammed' we find out from this page that drawings of Mohammed have existed for centuries without any general outcry. What does that tell us? The Muslim world doesn't flip out every time an image is published any more than the Christian world does. In the Old Testament, Moses was not even able to look at God because he'd have died from sheer amazement... yet we still see images of God in flattering an not-so-flattering variations all the time.

Reading a little further on from my first link, it's mentioned that three extra cartoons seem to have arisen from the original twelve that were published in the Danish (and Egyptian) newspapers. It seems a little much to me. The first twelve images aren't all that spectacular, in my opinion... but the three extras are quite vile. (here, here and here). Now those, deserve some sort of reaction. If a reasonable person were to see this garbage for what it is, I don't see why this reaction would be happening. I can't help but wonder if this is all being stirred up by an outside source for some reason. Whether it's Islamist Extremists or by a local or foreign government, I'm sure we won't be allowed to know. I would suggest that all of this violence is not originating from a few common-folk, though. This is all being organised by an outside force, and it is just that, organised. Not random. There are greater forces at play here, and I feel that the media is doing no one any favours by not looking in depth at the causes of it all.
The unwillingness of the media to look into the depths of this issue makes them guilty of the demonisation of the Muslim faith.
For those folks who say, "Well, shouldn't the muslims be speaking out against this violence? why do they remain silent?" First, I tell you that you're wrong, and there are numerous leaders who are speaking about this issue, and are also encouraging non-violent methods of dissent.
I also ask you a question in return: Why don't the leaders of Christian churches need to assure the world that when one nutcase blows up an abortion clinic that not all Christians are violent and desire to destroy anything against their narrow idea of "right".
If the only things you know about the world come from the network news (CNN, Fox, CBC, NBC... whatever) you're not really informed. A person can't learn a whole heck of a lot from infotainment... the old phrase, "If it bleeds, it leads" still holds true today, and a boring old man who is explaining the history of these incidents beyond "They're angry about a cartoon" just isn't enough to keep the average joe interested anymore.

8.2.06

Quote

The world is too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love.
-William Sloane Coffin

In literature, as in love, we are astonished at what is chosen by others.
-André Maurois




Thoughts?

6.2.06

Speaking of birthdays...

Did someone say something? Oh! You wanted to get me a birthday present? Well gee... I don't know what I'd want... maybe something cool. Yeah. But light.

Damn. My birthday's not for another six months! :(

3.2.06

Awwwwww...

What's cuter than a lion cub? A lion cub with a puppy.

SuitSat

Ok, I'm sure most of you haven't even heard about this. The astronauts on the ISS (International Space Station) were supposed to throw an old spacesuit overboard today and turn it into a satellite. If that isn't the neatest idea ever, I don't know what is. Check out this article on it!

2.2.06

A classic video

Yeah, this is old. So sue me. There's a little bit of language in this one... most of it in acronym form. (WTF?)

Enjoy.

1.2.06

I don't enjoy Bill O'Reilly

I have no love for Fox News or Bill O'Reilly, who both spread misinformation along with turning news into 'infotainment'.
So it wasn't a surprise that this video made me giggle like a schoolgirl. Yes, a schoolgirl.

Black Box Records Last 90 Minutes Of Hot-Air Balloon Crash

Be sure to read the article about this terrifying ordeal. It makes me afraid to try ballooning. Awful. Just awful.

Emergency crews arrived on the scene 40 minutes before the crash, responding to calls from area residents reporting a low-flying hot-air balloon. Said Officer Jason Cheyenne: "We got stuck in traffic, so the wait for the balloon to crash wasn't too bad."