That's it for kilts



Generally speaking, kilts and those who wear them always struck me as a bit, well, phony. In his book The Language of Genes, Steve Jones makes the case that the suspicion is well-founded:

"The Scots scarcely existed until they were invented by King George IV, who in 1822 visited Edinburgh and, dressed in a Stuart kilt and a pair of flesh-colored tights, gave the Scots a national identity they never knew they possessed. It took only the imagination of Sir Walter Scott in devising a native culture to produce a new and potent ethnic myth. Much of it was based on the kilt, which, as Macaulay said, 'before the Union, was considered by nine Scotchmen out of ten as the dress of a thief.'"

More robot music



Klevay's brother apparently likes Captured! By Robots:

"So what's the deal with C!BR??

"Let me (DRMBOT 0110) tell you. JBOT played in a couple of ska bands, Skankin' Pickle and the Blue Meanies for years and was very unlikable. Everybody got sick of him (I don't blame them). JBOT thought that if he made a band of robots to play with everything would be okay. HE WAS WRONG! He built GTRBOT666 and myself and the idiotic Ape Which Hath No Name. After he built us, I decided that he was the antibot and must be punished. We installed a Biocerebral Chip in his CPU and now force him to humiliate himself in front of his peers. It makes me so happy to see him suffer. So after the takeover, he secretly made the Ape. The stupid ape robot loves everyone and everything; HOW REVOLTING! Unfortunately, I cannot do anything to rid my circuits of that ape. For it states in the ROBOTIC RESISTANCE handbook, 'Thee bot shall never harm another bot.' So what choice do I have? The rare joy I can receive is when GTRBOT666 and myself humiliate JBOT all over the country. The other happiness I have is to see my self-replication 'AUTOMATOM' humiliate jbutt to tears. You will come to witness! Coast to coast, his humiliation will be legendary. Keep checking in for updates."

Presumption of guilt



Sure, there is plenty of nice scenery in Big Sky country, but thankfully state officials in Montana are doing their best to distract your attention away from all that nature:

"Leading the Meth Project effort is research-validated, nationally recognized, high-impact advertising that communicates graphically the risks of Meth use.

"The hazardous and life-threatening product features and consequences of Methamphetamine are clear, compelling, and undeniable. We are communicating these product features and consequences to the young people of Montana on a massive scale."

I wonder if they've factored into their safety plan the increase in people driving off the road upon seeing one of these in billboard size.

In any case, after having to show my driver's license twice today simply to purchase a small box of Sudafed, it occurs to me that one conclusion to draw from such tactics is that from the perspective of helpful government officials, we all may be potential meth addicts barring their intervention. More likely, however, is that ad campaigns and legal restrictions serve to (theoretically) dissuade and limit consumption among the targeted population most likely to become addicts while at the same time (and more importantly) proving to the rest of us that "they're on top of the problem." So, I have to look at gross ads and enter my name in a drug user database for little more than my own piece of mind about the nation's progress on the drug war.

Awesome.

Big Spanish Castle Optical Illusion

Neato.

The most important Public Service Announcement you'll see today.

You really ought to check out the June 8 PennFreeFM radio interview with Patrick Moore, one-time founding member of Greenpeace. I don't think an hour of radio has ever left me feeling so truly uninformed. Good stuff.

Gallery of Hair Tragedy

Someone Tell Sam Jackson He's My Bro

via The Movie Blog

Happy 3-Year PoF Blogiversary!

Yes, it's been three solid years of time-wasting zaniness. Here's a helpful chart showing the influence this blog has on the world-wide-interwebs:



Let's keep on truckin'.

Artistic Interpretations of Literary Figures - exactly what it sounds like, just a nice collection.

Animator v. Animation

Finnish Disco + Musical Garbage = Love My Tender Humps

The original video is pretty fun too.

Zack v. Slater

I know it's stupid, but I still laughed.

6-6-6 National Emo Kid Beatdown Day

(via Cruel)

So at work there’s this email listserv that occasionally (ok, frequently) gets a little out of control re: content. As we just acquired 2 new clerks in the last week, they are getting quite the initiation into how our world works via the listserv. Take, for instance, this email sent out randomly around noon today:

Subject: open letter

Dear everyone,

I accidentally pooped my pants this morning. Please steer clear of [our] chambers.

Some Unnamed Clerk


It subsequently came to light that the email was sent as a prank when Some Unnamed Clerk left his PC unattended when he went to lunch. Nonetheless, I think there’s a whole new academic field of poop jokes jurisprudence to be explored.

Mr. Pibb + Red Vines = Got Nuthin' on Diet Coke + Mentos

In a desperate grab for ratings, Donald Trump enlists Charles Manson on The Apprentice.

Victor once questioned why I harbored any animosity towards Scott Stapp Sack... I think "Scott Stapp: Behind the Douchebag" pretty much sums it up.

For Excellence in Facial Hair...



2006 World Beard Championships

Of all the weird crap that gets posted here, I think this freaky robotic mule is the most likely to give me nightmares. Built by the fine folks at Boston Dynamics (and it also needs a decent soundtrack).