Slothrop's Dream
Magazine AddictionMagazine Addiction (moblogging post) I am a complete magazine addict. Part or all of thirty magazines a month is not unheard of in my binging, all without shame. From this vast reading I have decided to compile a list of some of my favorites. For those that have better things to do, read deeper material, and you illiterate trolls that avoid even gazing too long at the cereal box, this list may point out a periodical or two that might of slipped your radar. They are in no particular order. Mental Floss A collection of the inane, this magazine compiles strange facts and best/worst of lists on random categories that at once make you feel smart while requiring absolutely no cognitive effort. An example: Hound of the Baskervilles and Other Terrible Pets Koala - While few animals are as cute as the sleepy koala, as pets they wouldn't be much fun. Koalas sleep up to 20 hours a day and aren't all that peppy when they're awake. Maybe thats because stressed-out koalas are particularly prone to Chlamydia. Yes, that Chlamydia. Modern Drunkard This against the grain publication takes its motto from Charles Bukowski: "When you were drunk, the world was still out there, but at least it didn't have you by the throat." With articles advising how to get thrown out of a bar and how to successfully diffuse an intervention ("If one of them smokes, point out the dangers of second hand smoke, and remark that at least when you're drinking you don't go around spitting bourbon in people's mouths.") the surprisingly literate magazine is an unapologetic paean to the practice of getting smashed. Amusing, if a bit over the top, and definitely not for the those with a penchant for taking offense. The Robb Report The nouveau rich and masses of wannabes all delight in this lifestyle magazine for the well-to-do. If your buying a corporate jet or just looking for the perfect single malt this journal considers all the tough aspects of living the luxury lifestyle. Beyond Bentley reviews however, are the true joy, the advertisements. The ads are from a litany of chronograph companies, sculptors, and fashion lines you've never heard of with models trying their best to look at once beautiful, young(er), and old money. Unfortunately, the classifieds, where one could score a second hand island or river, or buy the home of a celebrity, have been removed. It still is a good time killer none the less. 12:54:31 PM |
Onion fools many"Is this.. real?" For anyone who lacked forwarning, this is the most common utterance following a first read of the online parody paper the Onion. Stories like the Burundi Beef Council can anger people so quickly that they often miss the joke, at first. Although the hillarious journal has been out for years people continue to confuse the paper with an actual newspaper, as this Wired story explains:
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The deadly camel spiderPerhaps the scariest site to any GI serving in Iraq is the camel spider.
A soldier recently returned from the front has described the fiends as "the real weapons of mass destruction". Large, wicked fast, and able to leap to heights well beyond expectations, these creatures are not in fact a spider or a scorpion but belong to an order all its own, the solifugid. Usually docile, the camel spider will at times turn to a soldier, raise its two hairy front legs, and charge. This blitz has been known to send the doughtiest of troops into a full on retreat. If your not faint of heart, check out this video of the nasty buggers.
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Daft PunksRecently, a travel agent I know (www.perfect-journeys.com) was contacted via TTY-- the telephone system for the deaf-- in an attempt by a Nigerian to purchase plane tickets from Nigeria to Spain. The buyer claimed to be a deaf priest who had no mailing address or contact information. Operators facilitating such conversations are required by federal law to keep them private and never refuse to make a call. Fortunately, she was able to detect something nefarious afoot and declined to sell the tickets before contacting the proper authorities. Unfortunately, as Workbench's most recent article notes, this has become an extremely common tactic employed by criminals not only to acquire plane tickets but many other large purchases as well. While a change in the law may be necessary to stop this, significant action needs to be taken now by federal law enforcement to stop criminals abusing this service. The times we live in do not afford us the luxury of inaction.9:49:59 PM |
No Man's CandidateDemocrats have been biting their tongues for sometime now over the nomination of Kerry but that may be ending. Sen. Kerry, while rated one of the most liberal of the hundred has taken many positions that place him far from off from the average Democrat. Beyond his never once having caved to labor's isolationist schemes, Kerry's now well known flip-flopping has him facing the disgust of the anti-war Phish crowd. Whiskey Bar, a devout Bush bashing blog recently published a post that may signal the first cracks in the dam. Billmon, as the author has dubbed himself, writes acerbically of Kerry's "cowardice" and "shameless war whoring" before explaining his biggest grievance; the irony he perceives in a man who became famous protesting war who now as a senator votes to support it. In brutal honesty the author confesses "I guess irony is one of those things you can't afford to recognize about yourself if you want to be president. And I'll still vote for Kerry, even though I do recognize it. My reasons for supporting him have always been, and still are, independent of my feelings about him." Has Bush bashing gone so far as to bring men to vote for a candidate unto whom so much disgust is piled? 4:14:45 AM |