Coming to a Mall Near You...

I saw this yesterday while out and about running some errands. Thought it would amuse.

Alright, picture this:

You go down to your local indoor mall... as you are strolling past all the stores you spot something - odd - in front of one of the larger storefronts.

Step right up folks! A crawl-through display of the COLON. That's right, there is a larger than life representation of the colon, apparently in an effort to bring knowledge of the colon to all of us. How it works, what it looks like, (from both the outside and the inside - ignore the little windows, those don't really exist) important diseases that affect this area... Off to the side there is a huge posterboard filled with pictures and information about the colon. I'm not sure, but there could've been tour guides too.

And to top off the experience you can get your picture taken with... ::drum rolls:: ENEMA MAN! complete with a dashing cape and tights. That's right, the "common" enema has been transformed into a super hero. Yes, there were people actually getting their pictures taken with him. There was a girl's soccer team (young teenagers) cleats in hand, standing around with evidence that they were just finishing up a tour inside the colon.

I couldn't stop laughing. I wish I had pictures... although not of myself with Enema Man.

Fascinating...

Though if you try and use the line "time doesn't actually exist - rather discrete slices of time don't exist" - won't get you out of being late for work.

Toward the very end of the article I saw something familiar: the Maori describe the past: "That which is in front of us." At one point I was made to understand (I believe it may have been in the movie Whale Rider) that the reason the Maori see the past in this way is because they see themselved traveling like a person walking backwards through life, you can only see (in 'front' of you) what you have already passed. Passed = Past.

OH: Update on Enema Man and the Colon display at my local mall. I received a request from someone (who obviously read my post but didn't comment) through my S/O to please go back and get pictures... Since I have a bit of time on my hands, I shall. Eventually, later today, they may appear either here or on crabbyolbastard's site.

The following article, brought to you by Wired:


Time's Up, Einstein
By Josh McHugh

His paper rocked the physics world - and the space-time continuum. Not bad for a college dropout who critics say may not even exist.

Peter Lynds was having a rotten summer. He had quit a dead-end job at an insurance agency to go to college, but his first semester of physics and philosophy classes at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, was kicking his butt. He was still haunted by the memory of watching a friend drown eight years earlier (Lynds had nearly died trying to save him). So he spent the better part of August 1999 sitting on his mother's couch watching television.
( Read more... )

An Extremely Brief History of Time

1687: Isaac Newton

The universe has one absolute clock:
• Time and space are independant of the observer.
• Time's arrow points forward; events move ahead from the now.

1905: Albert Einstein

every observer has his or her own (accurate) clock:
• The universe exists in a space-time manifold.
• Everyone's "now" is different.
• Acceleration affects time.

2003: Peter Lynds

There is no clock; "time" is an illusion:
• Time has no indivisible unit.
• There is no "now," only sequences of events.

Way to go Rowling!

Arrests 'in Potter leak attempt'LONDON, England -- Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has won a court order to stop two men leaking details of her latest work after they were arrested in a dramatic operation to recover two copies of the book.

( Read more... )

Hmmmmn, what major character could she be referring to? Interestingly enough, there has already been a major death of someone close to HP in the fifth book (Sirius) and the traumatic death of (the boyfriend of Cho Chang, the girl HP has a crush on) Cedric during the Tri-Wizard tournament by Voldemort in Book 4. So, it isn't like death is new to us in the HP universe... Is it because it will be someone near and dear to our hearts? Someone we have grown to love and expect to be there throughout the (propoesed) seven book series?

Well, I can admit that the death of a favored character is something I've experience twice in the last month. One I cannot mention. The other Cate/Catelin on NCIS in the series finale. Of course my S/O applauded C's death... Said she wasn't up to par for someone who was former secret service, especially one who did a tour with the presidential protection duty team.

I am partially amazed (but alson not surprised in the least) at the level of mania surrounding this latest release in the Harry Potter series. I myself have, unabashedly, pre-ordered the book and expect the USPS or UPS to deliver, promptly on the day of release, my copy. I have not so fond memories of going to three bookstores last time before finding a copy - never discount the Uconn Co-op Bookstore as a source for first day releases.

I also am not surprised nor amazed by the recently elected pope's opinion of the Harry Potter series. It is something that has been talked about by the right-wing fundamentalists in this country since the series began. I for one, know it's a bunch of phoohey. Mainly because it is the forces of GOOD that are dominant in these novels. That those forces are viewed as more powerful for the accepted to exist powers of EVIL. You would think he would APPLAUD Rowling for bringing a good/moral/ethical example to the masses. What's to get upset about here?

ATTENTION!

Tonight:

OILSTORM a movie about what could happen if we run out of oil or something happens to cut off our source of oil... Looks to be very interesting. It will air on FX tonight at 8 PM Eastern Standard Time.

Let me know if you watch it and what you think of it.

In other news:

Went to see Cinderella Man today. Wow. Totally awesome movie. Inspiring heartwarming tear jerking type of movie, the kind where at the end, every one is silent in appreciation. This guy was amazing. Go see it. You won't be disappointed.

Alert! Alert! Danger Wil Robinson! Danger!

June 5, 2005

Richest Are Leaving Even the Rich Far Behind
By DAVID CAY JOHNSTON

When F. Scott Fitzgerald pronounced that the very rich "are different from you and me," Ernest Hemingway's famously dismissive response was: "Yes, they have more money." Today he might well add: much, much, much more money.

The people at the top of America's money pyramid have so prospered in recent years that they have pulled far ahead of the rest of the population, an analysis of tax records and other government data by The New York Times shows. They have even left behind people making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

Call them the hyper-rich.

( Read more... )

Anyone who is interested in more shocking information about this subject can go here. It provides a bit more detail about the AMT and shows where those most affected by this reside - can you guess where? It also gives many links to other sources and interesting tidbits.

Frightening... That's what I think this trend is. Of course, right now I am being hyper-shocked by a mockumentary called Oilstorm so I may be a little touchy about extremes. For the most part, I am against taking things to extremes. Too much of anything isn't good for you. Okay, I have nurtured and still hold onto a dream that I can someday live not quite off the grid, using a majority of alternative energy sources with my own garden & livestock sources. Unfortunately, it takes a certain amount of wealth accumulation in order to make these kinds of dream a reality. Some day.

I like the way that some hyper-rich people (the ones who have proven themselves as philanthropists and such) are speaking against this destabilizing polarization of the dichotomy of wealth and poverty. They're right. The majority of inherited wealth is taken for granted by those that inherit... or would that be me reinforcing stereotypes about the rich??

The middle class is being pushed into poverty - all the while those already poor are becoming destitute in what is supposed/purported to be the wealthiest of nations, the only remaining super-power. Hrmmm. Illusions again. And I just saw a movie today that highlighted what people went through to survive in the depression. Today there is a higher percentage of people who believe they are entitled to a certain lifestyle - how many of those people, if driven to desperate poverty, would refrain from violence in order to survive? Maybe S. and Gibson are right and we'll end up with super-powerful families and Zaibatsus ruling the world. Okay. I'll stop supposing and only looking for the worst and open up the floor to any and all commenters. Say something already! ;-)