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Knitting Pattern Hall of Shame This site appears to be where all the really bad patterns get held up to all the ridicule they deserve. I’ll be kind and say that these designers must have meant well. After all, there must be a certain demand for that perfect pattern to make for the gay pride parade or your favourite knitting fetish bar or to get one through those days of abject self-hatred. Every designer has trouble remembering that not every woman is 5’10 and 115 pounds. And it’s really kind of heartwarming that they try so damn hard to sex up knitting. But knitters, before you make any of these, please remember a few basic rules: one’s knitting project should not land one on an endangered species list, give one retina burn or a heightened cholesterol level, or house more than six people. And if your boyfriend dumps you when you give him this for Christmas, rest assured that you’ll get custody of it. (via MonkeyFilter, courtesy Melinika).
comment posted at 10:55 PM on Oct-27-05

Newsfilter: Miers withdraws herself
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The American Civil Liberties Union today made public an analysis of new and previously released autopsy and death reports of detainees held in U.S. facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, many of whom died while being interrogated. The documents show that detainees were hooded, gagged, strangled, beaten with blunt objects, subjected to sleep deprivation and to hot and cold environmental conditions. The documents released today are available online...
U.S. Operatives Killed Detainees During Interrogations in Afghanistan and Iraq
The Bush administration has proposed exempting employees of the Central Intelligence Agency from a legislative measure endorsed earlier this month by 90 members of the Senate that would bar cruel and degrading treatment of any prisoners in U.S. custody... "This is the first time they've said explicitly that the intelligence community should be allowed to treat prisoners inhumanely," said Tom Malinowski, the Washington advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. "In the past, they've only said that the law does not forbid inhumane treatment." Now, he said, the administration is saying more concretely that it cannot be forbidden.
Cheney Plan Exempts CIA From Bill Barring Abuse of Detainees
comment posted at 3:40 PM on Oct-26-05

If Fox News had Been Around Throughout History... We've learned that Greeks are in fact hiding *inside* the horse and will be attempting to infiltrate the city of Troy after nighfall... via essays & effluvia
comment posted at 3:45 PM on Oct-26-05

Critical to Attend London Critical Mass this Friday. 11-year-old London Critical Mass is under threat thanks to the new SOCA laws - that's the Serious Organised Crime Act, which we all realise was drafted for precisely this kind of thing. The Metropolitan Police distributed letters at last months ride and threaten to turn a peaceful, non-political non-demonstration into exactly the opposite. Inevitably this month's ride is set to be the biggest yet. It is reminscent of the on-going Manhattan farce (mefi) and also Milwaukee.
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The Starbucks Cup. An icon of taste and excess. On one hand, it's honored by the National Recycling Coalition for adding post-consumer recycled content (wow, 10%!). On the other hand, it's announced that the cups will soon feature religious nuggets from Rick Warren, author of the Purpose-Driven Publishing Empire. What gives?
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comment posted at 11:21 PM on Oct-27-05

No surprise: Warmest September (globally) since record keeping began, according to NOAA, 1.13 degrees above the 1880-2004 long term mean, with land temperatures more than 5 degrees F above normal across large parts of Asia and North America. Ocean temperatures were third highest on record.
comment posted at 8:44 PM on Oct-25-05

"Because I publicly humiliated this lick-spittle senator Norman Coleman..." Storming Norm Coleman just doesn't know when to stop. He has aired new claims against George Galloway. Galloway, not surprisingly, has fought back, begging to be charged with perjury. Earlier was certainly entertaining, get some popcorn for this round. And get ready for even more uses of the word lickspittle.
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The Animated Gif Strikes Back
comment posted at 7:55 AM on Oct-25-05

The machine that makes you a savant. (NY Times, No registration copy here) Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation sounds sketchy at first, but there is growing evidence this device developed for brain mapping can change and maybe even enhance mental functions, and may (or may not) be especially useful against depression. The results of the first major US trials will come out in 2006, as discussed in this MIT Tech Review article (PDF). Are you ready for one at home?
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Rosa Parks, RIP
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Characterizing a Fogbank. A prominent analytic philosopher discusses whether postmodernism is worth taking seriously.
comment posted at 8:34 PM on Oct-24-05

America is now $8 trillion dollars in debt. That's nearly $27,000 per citizen, or almost $61,000 per taxpayer. A little over three years ago the total stood at $6 trillion.
comment posted at 8:42 PM on Oct-24-05

Brent Scowcroft "Breaks Ranks" with George W. Bush
Longish excerpts from Jeffrey Goldberg's forthcoming article in The New Yorker.
comment posted at 8:55 PM on Oct-23-05

The Barrison Sisters, a vaudeville act of double entendres, would raise their puffy dresses to their knees and ask the audience, “Would you like to see my pussy?” They would reveal a kitten positioned in a pouch in their underwear. Here is a script from one of their performances. Lona Barrison, the group’s sultry leader, was involved in many affairs in Europe, including such auspices as Kaiser Wilhelm II, and also posed for mild erotica and a Toulouse-Lautrec painting. The Machinson Sisters were imitators from England.
comment posted at 9:03 PM on Oct-23-05

Where'd the remaining 27% go. Researchers in Germany have finished a survey that tells them how people spend their time. With an average life-span of 78 years most time is spent sleeping with the least time spent making new people. Number crunching this research [direct image link] reveals:

5.12% 4 years housework | 0.96% 9 months washing and ironing | 1.71% 16 months cleaning | 2.78% 26 months cooking | 6.41% 5 years eating and drinking | 7.05% 66 months watching television | 0.53% 5 months diy | 8.97% 7 years at work | 0.96% 9 months commuting, plus | 0.64% 6 months traffic jams | 2.14% 20 months in school | 1.71% 16 hours orgasms | 0.05% 2 weeks kissing | 32.20% 24 years 4 months sleeping | 0.64% 6 months sitting on the lavatory | 0.05% 2 weeks praying | 1.92% 18 months shopping

So where does the rest of the time go.
comment posted at 9:06 PM on Oct-23-05

Erection Photographs. What it says. "This site contains research information on penile erections. It also contains photos of erect penises. The text information is not sensational and the pictures are not pornographic. They are provided to allow anyone who feels they need this information (or is just curious) to see the natural variation that exists in male erections." Of particular (or prurient) interest is the Hard-Soft Gallery. Big-time NSFW (or rather: smallish, average and very occasionally big).
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James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, calculated that on this day in 4004 BC the Universe was created by God. His magnum opus, Annals of the World, has recently been republished. An overview of Ussher's methodology and an account of the man by Larry Pierce, who prepared the new edition with his wife Marion. Bishop Ussher also figured in the Scopes Monkey Trial. Some people dispute Ussher's adherence to what the Bible says.

But let's not listen to the partypoopers and instead wish the Universe a Happy Birthday!
comment posted at 9:34 PM on Oct-23-05

Kansas Supreme Court ruled on Friday that homosexuals cannot be treated differently. In what conservative homophobes decry as another instance of judicual activism, the Kansas Supreme Court unanimously struck down a state law that punished underage sex more severely if it involved homosexual acts, saying "moral disapproval" of such conduct is not enough to justify the different treatment. In the decision the court ruled: 1. K.S.A. 2004 Supp. 21-3522 violates the equal protection provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and § 1 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights. 2. The equal protection violation inherent in K.S.A. 2004 Supp. 21-3522 is cured by the severance of the words "and are members of the opposite sex" from the statute.
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comment posted at 9:37 PM on Oct-23-05

First hand report and photos as Hurricane Wilma smacks the holy bejesus out of the Cancun/Cozumel area.

"The Mexican government did a great job in evacuating thousands of tourists in a small span of 10 to 12 hours. For tourists the evacuations were mandatory. Though the shelters may be uncomfortable, they are safe. I wouldn't worry to much if you have friends or relatives here, they may not be able to communicate for the next few days, but they are safe. The winds are now EXTREMELY powerful, the noise is loud, the building is shaking, and the storm seems to be very angry. This building is built to code, and is probably one of the safest in the hotel zone, so we are not to worried, but small family homes must be in shambles. I will try and keep these updates coming as long as I can."

comment posted at 10:01 AM on Oct-22-05

Okie Noodling... why not take it straight to the fishies! Noodling, aka tribbling, hogging, or hand fishing is the art of catching catfish using your hand as bait (or your arm for the big ones). These guys root around river banks like muskrats in search of their quarry, but sometimes encounter snakes, snapping turtles, or beavers. Imagine having a 30 to 60 pound catfish chomp on your arm! If you are ever inclined to get in touch with your animal side, this is a pretty good place to start.
comment posted at 12:34 PM on Oct-22-05

"A quoi ça sert l’amour?" 28m quicktime, because it's a worthy successor to the cake-bearing bunny. (via)
comment posted at 12:40 PM on Oct-22-05

OPB: The mother of all beers. Says artist Toi Sennhauser, "By adding a trace amount of my vaginal yeast to regular brewer's yeast, my 'Original Pussy Beer' pays homage to beer's ancient creators from 'the cradle of civilization.'" [more inside (heh)]
comment posted at 9:40 PM on Oct-20-05

World's 2nd Conference on Dominionism "Dominionism is an influential form of fundamentalist religion that believes that in order to fulfill biblical prophecy, "godly Christians" must take control of the levers of political and judicial power in America in the near future....The goal of this seminar is to examine the power and influence of a religious and political movement that questions the separation of church and state, and that aims to establish a biblical society governed by biblical laws." NYC's CUNY Open Center holds the 2nd ever conference of Domionism this weekend, Friday Oct. 21 through Saturday Oct. 22. Be there or be, well, dominated !
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