I had this idea last year. Of course, I had no money to spend on it, so I would have been blown out of the water anyway, but… damn. I wish I’d gotten something going anyway, because it would’ve been cool. And maybe they’d have given me a job. Ah well. Back to the drawing board. Oh, wait… on closer analysis, this has much less likelihood than my idea of achieving cult status. Hoo hoo heh heh. I betcha I could get a job with them sometime. Hmmm. Better get that project done up, then. Maybe in February. Okay. Project. …

Wanted to write about this before I forget it. Lime’s been working at the Psychiatric department in the hospital, as part of her medical internship. So anyway, last night, we were walking downtown and some guy came past us, declaring that we must all accept Jesus. Well, as he walked past I misheard him, and anyway, during the ensuing discussion, Lime observed that religious fanatics are hated; among all the patients, everyone—including both the interns and the other mental patients—dislikes the religious fanatic patients. It was amusing.

At Simon World there’s a post about this bit of news: China’s annual pen production now totals 29 billion, accounting for 80 percent of the global market share. Simon notes that You never see a pen in the picture of the desperate and impoverished. Flies, malnurished kids and dust. But no pens. And that’s true. When I traveled in India, kids asked me for all kinds of things: candy, chocolate bars, money (of course) but the most stunningly common request was for pens, ballpoint or otherwise. I was shocked. So I suppose eschewing the pen would be an effective form …

The following links are of interest only to the sane and semi-sane. Marmot’s got a couple of good links on, one about the newest trend in Korean plastic surgery and other assery; and another on the Taiwanese government’s idea of intelligent discourse… via food-fight. John, if you’re reading this, well, I am feeling even more strongly what I said about democracy last night: there has got to be a better system than this. Build the computers that are smarter than us. Engineer the supermen who can sort us out. Something, something… please. Finally, I’ve posted a comment after this very …

There’s a bar in Winnipeg for people like me! Yes, a nightclub for the nerd in you, with servers wearing glasses instead of contacts and “go-go dancers dressed as sexy librarians.” Okay, it sounds a little cheesy, but it certainly sounds a step (even a short step) up from Hooters and the like. Though, of course, the real test of the place is what a server says when asked to give her opinion on, oh, Canadian reliance on American muscle or whether Ezra Pound was outright insane or a product of the 19th century trying to survive into the 20th. …

ALL LOOK SAME is a game where you try and see whether you can tell the difference between Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people by photographs. Some Koreans claim this is easy as ddeok, but it’s not. It’s a worthwhile game, though. Lime showed me this, and I’m crediting her even if she disagrees with a rule that won me 9 points out of 18, which is 2 points above the average scored by 1.3 million people. There’s also an essay about the concept of the game, here. I must say that I could pick out the Koreans while traveling in …

Okay, this is the second time I’ve heard about a fake flushing-sound device installed in womens’ toilets in Japan.. You push the button when you’re having a bowel movement, and nobody hears the sound of what happens when you do what you’re doing. The reporter comments: Such gadgets might seem a dainty, modern excess of a shame-obsessed society, but the Sound Princess has deep roots in Japanese culture. The Japanese are notoriously fastidious: the daily bath is practiced with near-religious fervor, and walking inside with your shoes on is considered filthy. The Japanese word for clean —”kirei”—also means beautiful. And …

Whether or not you like the band Polyphonic Spree, this flash puzzle-game that is supposed to promote their most recent album is a good little distraction my friend Charlie passed over to me.

I wrote recently about the French approach to workplace resistance; here’s a rather different form, Texan style, called The Mad Shitter. I bet the Big Hairy Hominid‘s gonna love this. I found the link through Adam, who’s also mad… but it’s his crossbows you need to watch, not his rectum.

Hey! JPG Magazine, a new publication which showcases the work of photographers who fall between the amateur and professional levels, is accepting photographic submissions for its premiere issue, themed “Origin.” Click the link for more info.