Scary photo of an Edwardian ventriloquist and his dummy

I've always been freaked out by ventriloquist's dummies. They are bizarre and downright scary. If it were up to me, I would round them all up, along with the clowns, as ship them to Somalia, where they have even scarier things to worry about. The history of this image is unknown, so I'll let it speak for itself.

 See more dummies here.

First ever Gaza Marathon - watch for Hamas snipers

The Gaza strip happens to be almost exactly the length of a marathon – 42 kilometers from north to south. In what has to be one of the craziest ideas I've ever heard, they are actually holding a marathon there on May 5.

“The idea is that it’s a fundraising for the Gaza summer games. We supply these games each summer for up to 250,000 children – we have sporting activities, cultural activities and remedial activities for children there because the situation is so terrible for them in Gaza,“ United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees spokesman Chris Gunness told the Jerusalem Post.

The marathon will pass areas such as “Wadi Gaza,” where large amounts of raw sewage sits in the open air – posing what Gunness calls “a serious health risk“ that “really does stink.” He goes on to say that there are "no other war-related risks".

The Cry Baby is not a marathoner, but I have to think this would be the very, very last marathon on my list if I was. No word on how the Hamas feels about this sport, but they could always lob and missile or two into the mix to pick up the speed.

Related articles

• "Justin Bieber Disputes Reports About Meeting With Israeli Prime Minister" and related posts (wnyc.org)

Video: How Steven Sasson invented the digital camera in 1975

Steven Sasson invented the digital camera in 1975. His invention began as very broad assignment from the Eastman Kodak Company : "Could a camera be built using solid state electronics, solid state imagers, and an electronic sensor that gathers optical information?" The 8-pound, toaster-size prototype captured an image of a lab technician, at a resolution of .01 megapixels, took 23 seconds to record onto digital cassette tape and another 23 seconds to read off a playback unit onto a television.  We can thank these modest beginnings for the modern digital cameras we have today. 

Photographer David Friedman created this mini-documentary about Sasson and his invention.


Inventor Portrait: Steven Sasson from David Friedman on Vimeo.

Video: Justin Bieber hits paparazzi with scooter on Israel trip - barely

Image via Wikipedia

Justin Bieber just can't buy a break on his trip to the Holy Land. The president of Israel is refusing to meet the Biebs after Bieber refused to meet up with some kids who escaped a bus bomb blast. My guess is that the Bieber's handlers were just trying to keep him away from any situation that might be political.

He's been hounded  non-stop by paparazzi, and now he gets a little vengeance (perhaps) when he slightly hits one of the lensmen with his scooter. Fame has its price I suppose. Oh Ward, don't be to hard on the Bieber.

Video: President of Czech Republic Václav Klaus "steals" pen

President of Czech Republic Václav Klaus has been accused of stealing a pen during his official visit in Chile. The President's spokesman Radim Ochvata said it was a gift. "We at the Prague Castle always give such a pen to delegations, along with a notepad," presidential spokesman Radim Ochvat told Reuters. Maybe, but that doesn't quite explain the sneaky hand action involved in pocketing the pen. CNN is reporting that a Facebook page has been created in the Czech Republic dedicated to raising money to by Václav Klaus pens, who evidently finds them in short supply. Watch the video and see for yourself.

Japanese mafia supply earthquake aid in time-honoured tradition

Image via Wikipedia

Inagawa-kai crest

Hours after the 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit Japan, twenty-five trucks filled with diapers, instant noodles, flashlights, drinks, and other goods arrived in the Tohoku region and were distributed to people in need. The people behind this charity were the Inagawa-kai, one of the largest organized crime groups in the country.

The Japanese mafia, known in the country as the "yakuza", have a long history of supplying aid in times of need. After the Kobe earthquake in 1995, the Yamaguchi-gumi crime organization was one of the first groups supplying aid to local people affected by the quake. They seek no credit for their humanitarian actions, and there is an unspoken agreement with police that they will be unmolested during these activities.

There are about 80,000 members in the various yakuza organizations in Japan. They derive their income chiefly protection payoffs, security services, financial fraud, stock manipulations, gambling, blackmail, prostitution, and loan sharking.

Read more on this fascinating crime culture on the Daily Beast, in this great article by Jake Adelstein.

Muppets breaking bad – Jim Henson made violent Muppet commercials before Sesame Street

We all know the Muppets as those lovable creatures, but they had a history before Sesame Street; a violent history. Between 1957 and 1961 Muppet creator Jim Henson produced commercials for Wilkins, a coffee company, featuring  Muppets named Wilkins, looking like a malformed Kermit, and Wontkins, a deformed Telly monster.

In the commercials, Wilkins pitches Wilkins Coffee to Wontkins and then murders him. An interesting combo of Itchy & Scratchy meets Sesame Street.

Very funny video: That "crazy nastyass Honey Badger" doesn't give a ...

Maybe you've seen this, maybe not. It has 4,575,657 views on YouTube, and is the funniest thing the Cry Baby has watched in a long time. Enjoy. "There is no other animal in the kingdom of all animals, as fearless as the crazyass Honey Badger. Nasty as hell, it eats practically whatever it wants. Randall is disgusted."

Safes, cash wash up on shore in Japan after tsunami - earthquake

Credit: U.S. Navy Imagery

In a problem that is certainly unique to Japan, safes and wads of cash are washing up on shore, after the tsunami swept them away in March. Many elderly people in Japan keep their savings in cash at home. The Japanese even have a word for this: : "tansu yokin," or "wardrobe savings." It's estimated that the hoarding has taken  $350 billion yen out of circulation.

In most places, if people found wads of cash they would consider it a gift from heaven. In Japan, people finding the cash and safes are turning the booty over to police, who are trying to find the rightful owners.


"At first we put all the safes in the station," said Noriyoshi Goto, head of the Ofunato Police Department's financial affairs department. "But then there were too many, so we had to move them."

"I spent my career trying to convince them to deposit their money in a bank," said Yasuo Kimura, a former bank employee. "They always thought it was safer to keep it at home."

Related articles

• Safes, Cash Wash Up On Japan Shores After Tsunami (huffingtonpost.com)
• Japanese citizens turning in cash found in tsunami zone (cnn.com)

The hottest chillies in the world

A farm in Australia is growing what appears to be the hottest chillies peppers in the world. Chili potency is measured on the Scoville scale. A jalapeno pepper, contains about 5,000 Scoville heat units – the "Trinidad Scorpion Butch T" clocks in at a whopping 1.46 million units. Make no mistake, this is a vegetable that should be labeled a lethal weapon.

Asked for advice on how to use the chillies, grower Marcel de Wit advised,''Very sparingly.''

Read more here.

Watch the "Trinidad Scorpion Butch T" being consumed:

Tasering animals outlawed in Alaska - still Ok to shoot them I guess

Image by Al_HikesAZ via Flickr

Under the category of "who knew":  The Alaska Board of Game just passed a law making it illegal to Taser wildlife, except in cases of self-defence.

“The department recognized the lack of authority to regulate the use of [Tasers] on wildlife and brought the concern to the Board of Game,” the press release for the Game Board stated. “Restricting the use of [Tasers] will reduce the risk of improper or unethical use on wildlife by the public or other agency personnel who are unfamiliar with the potential effects and hazards.”

“Conceivably someone could Tase a moose or bear, go up and get a picture taken with it, shut the [Taser] off and then release the animal,” biologist Larry Lewis said.

Well, I guess I'll just have to use an old fashioned rifle if I make up to Alaska.

Video: Canadian soldier show how to make coffee under combat conditions in Afghanistan

"Making Coffee101 in the F-ing Field." Canadian soldiers show what to do when there is no Tim Hortons in sight ....

Newsreel of the 1940 Tacoma Narrows suspension bridge dramatic collapse

On November 7, 1940 the Tacoma Narrows suspension bridge dramatically crashed into Puget Sound. after swaying and twisting in the wind.  At the time of its construction (and its destruction) the bridge was the third longest suspension bridge in the world in terms of main span length, behind the Golden Gate Bridge and the George Washington Bridge. The collapse was attributed to the matching frequencies of the wind and the bridge, and became a standard example in physics textbooks of elementary forced resonance, with the wind providing an external frequency that matched the natural structural frequency. I've seen the newsreel before and am always mesmerized by it. The only victim of the disaster was a dog named Tubby.

Graphic: Government debt across the world is out of control

From graphic.is: Government debt as a percentage of GDP. Scary numbers and the U.S. is 6th from the top of the list. How did the entire developed world get itself into such a mess? It's simple – too much spending. Is it sustainable? Here's the top ten:

1. Japan at 226%
2. Greece at 130%
3. Italy at 118%
4. Belgium at 100%
5. Ireland at 94%
6. The United States at 93%
7. France at 84%
8. Portugal at 83%
9. Canada at 82%
10. Hungary at 78%

Nude House – a software company – is looking for a few, good and naked female web coders

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Thirty great creative ad campaigns

Compiled by BuzzFeed, this is a great visual look at some really creative advertising. Here's a few,  go to BuzzFeeed to see the rest. 

 

See the rest of the ads .... 

Woman lives in 90 square foot apartment in New York

Felice Cohen lives in a 90 square foot apartment in Manhattan. That's not a typo with a missing zero. She pays $700 a month to live one block from Central Park – one hell of a deal –  but she does have to live in what is effectively a walk-in closet. Watch this video and see how Felice manages to live in this tight space.

Turn your house into a billboard and Adzookie will pay your mortgage

Digital illustration of what a painted house will look like

This idea is as novel as they come. Start-up advertising company Adzookie was looking for a novel way to get publicity an it did: Paint entire houses as billboards. In exchange, Adzookie pays the mortgage on the house for as long as the advertising stays up. They launched offer on Tuesday and by late afternoon, they received more than 1,000 applications, one from a church.


"It really blew my mind," Adzookie CEO Romeo Mendoza said. "I knew the economy was tough, but it's sad to see how many homeowners are really struggling."

Houses must remain painted for at least three months, and the agreement may be extended up to one year.

Talk about a win,win situation; The homeowner's mortgage is payed for and they get an ugly-as-sin house; Adzookie gets its advertising at a fraction of what it would otherwise cost.The genius in this is not in the face value of the advertising, but in the priceless PR buzz. 

Researchers say: Let some species go extinct

Image via Wikipedia

Species of animals have been coming and going for millions of years, on their own, without any help from man. Now that we're here and changing the game, we feel the need to intervene. Researchers in Australia have come up with a tool to help decide which species are worth saving. The tool – a mathematical model – helps prioritise which species have the greatest likelihood of continuing to exist. Australia's hairy-nosed wombat and dibbler are among the vulnerable considered to be not worth saving.

Professor Corey Bradshaw, from the University of Adelaide, says the tool can help governments prioritise funding for conservation. "We wanted to come up with an index that was really based around theory that we have developed over the last 20 years about what constitutes the best chance for a species to persist over time."

Looks like it's all over for the hairy-nosed wombat.

Related articles

• The 10 Rarest Animals in the World (minxmx.wordpress.com)
• Scientists have new measure for species threat (eurekalert.org)

Perhaps the U.S and Belgium should combine tactics: No government and no budget

Image by Brooklyn Museum via Flickr

With the budget, or lack of a budget, crisis looming in the U.S. it's interesting to note that Belgium has been operating without a government for close to a year, without any noticeable harmful effects on daily life in the country. It is difficult to compare the two crisis and countries; Belgium being a parliamentary crisis with a King to intervene; the U.S. a republic whose politicians refuse to sign a budget bill. Belgium is noted for its heavy bureaucratic government, and the U.S. for its massive government deficits.

The point is this: In a strange way the two countries might just be getting the strangleholds they deserve. Eventually Belgium will get a government, and needs one for many obvious reasons, an the U.S. will get a budget, but their certainly a message buried in their somewhere. "We, the people ... "

Related articles

• John W. Miller: A House Long Divided (online.wsj.com)