American Apparel

I don't care if it's vegan, organic and 'sweat free'... I'm sick of seeing the bums and crotches of 14 year old girls in magazines, on websites and on billboards. I don't care if the images are not airbrushed and the women are completely 'au naturel'... If this CEO can get away with sexual harassment and borderline paedophilia then there is no justice in this world.

I for one will NEVER shop there.

So there.

Men

Which 'man' do you consider yourself to be?



















Found here.

How to be a Bike Punk

According to WikiHow these are the steps to follow:

1. Buy a bike. Of course, you can borrow one from a friend, but how will you be able to call it your own? A bike punk values their bicycle almost as much as their own life. Do not steal a bike. Only go out and buy a really expensive bicycle if you are serious about this. Lock it up. You earn extreme credibility if you find one in the trash or at a thrift store/flea market and do something unique to make it your own. You can paint it and add accessories (baskets, flowers, horns (literal animal horns), fake fur, bells, etc.). If you are talented with welding and inventing contraptions, use these skills to create out-of-the-ordinary tandem, tall, oblong, and unique bikes.

2. Get Committed. Sell, give, or burn your car away. If you don't have one already even better. Bike punks don't drive internal combustion engines without extreme guilt and malice.

3. Learn bicycle safety. This cannot be stressed enough. A helmet is optional, but do be careful of driver doors swinging open, "right hooks", cars turning at intersections, and being visible at night. The bicycle is your primary form of transportation. Even if your destination is 10 miles away, bike there. Some of the most hardcore of bike punks have ridden across the county, state, and even country.

4. Bicycle rain or shine. While it is desirable to bicycle in the warmth and sunshine, a bike punk will move through rain, sleet, and snow.

5. Critical Mass. Every last Friday of every month, the Critical Mass ritual occurs in cities all over the world. Find out when your city has it and where people convene. There, you will meet fellow bicycle enthusiasts. If you live in a small town, ride to the nearest city to participate. If this is not possible, then create your own form of bicycle activism and bicycle communities.

6. Clothing. Well, clothing is optional. Bike punks consider themselves to be persons of different subcultures, mostly left of the dial. This includes: nudists, hippies, hipsters, punks, homeless people, utterly insane, etc. You can see that these all overlap at one point or another. Tight pants are recommended, usually rolled up past the ankles displaying socks and shoes. Unique hair is a must, be it dreadlocks, spunky colors, or fun hats/helmets.

Did you get that? UNIQUE HAIR IS A MUST.

For your information...

Sir David Attenborough on social events

"I'm not very good at cocktail parties. At gatherings of 50 people, most of whom you don't know...I mean, anthropologically I know what people are doing. But dinner with friends, really. We went to the theatre with Dick last Saturday, and so on."

Danish wind turbine in a gale with faulty brakes

A rare sight to see and the first of its kind since the introduction of wind turbines and yet it's almost guaranteed to add fuel to the fire for anti-windturbinites. But they couldn't deny the proof that there's certainly enough wind power to be utilised.

Tite Kubo - Some facts about Bleach characters

In an interview in 2004 issue 42 of JUMP, Kubo Tite gives very random tidbits about several Bleach characters.

"Kurosaki Ichigo - When Ichigo goes to the hair dresser, people ask him about his hair color and since he hates that, he doesn't go to the hair dresser. Normally, Yuzu cuts it.

Kuchiki Rukia - Sometimes people ask me this, in book 5 they announced the semester's final exam scores and regarding Rukia's rank, out of 322 people in the 1st grade, she's 302nd. Besides Japanese, she flunked most of it.

Kon - The plushie body of his is the fake copy of the main character of the popular TV show, "Carnivor Kingdom" named "Ponkichi". It was a prize from the shooting game in the Karakura Town Festival.

Inoue Orihime - Tied with Ichigo, her face is the hardest to draw. She's going to be a very important character later on so, I want to get used to drawing her faster.

Sado Yasutora - He likes music so he rarely watches TV, but the only program he likes the "Carnivor Kingdom" that starts at 8 AM on Sundays. He likes it so much that he bought the DVDs for it.

Ishida Uryuu - The TV program he likes is Don Kanonji's "Bura-Rei". It's not mentioned in the comic, but in chapter 29, the shadow that tried to jump in before Ichigo was Uryuu.

Urahara Kisuke - The rare candy sold only in Urahara shouten, "Space candy". From the name, it sounds like it'll have some strange taste, but inside is only a coca cola tasting candy.

Shihouin Yoruichi - Yoruichi-san cannot drink so much alcohol. She likes milk the most. When she's tired, first she starts with milk. As long as there's milk, she's in a good mood.

Zangetsu - Zangetsu was the most difficult to decide for the appearance. After nitpicking on his hair style and his clothes, the only thing that remained from the original sketch were his shades.

Shiba Ganjyu - He looks good with goggles, so every time he came out with new clothes, I put a new goggle hanging from his neck, but by the next week I forget to draw it.

Ichimaru Gin - In my opinion, I was trying to draw him all creepy since his first appearance, but for some reason he is a man who is very popular amongst women. I envy him.

Kuchiki Byakuya - Within the seireitei, there're only four major noble families including the Kuchiki family that are considered high class noble men. Besides them, the life style of the other nobles are not much different from normal city people.

Zaraki Kenpachi - Tied with Tousen Kaname, out of the BLEACH characters, he has the hardest hair style to draw. I think I'll continue to regret eternally for giving him that hair style.

Hitsugaya Toushirou - He's from the West Rukongai 1st area "Jyunrinan". He is actually friends with Jidanbou and was the one who taught him the "city rules".

Abarai Renji - All his sunglasses are from Seireitei's popular glasses store "Silver dragon fly glasses store" (megane no gin tonbo). Every time he wears it, he gets it broken, but that costs half a year worth his paycheck.

Kira Izuru - All of Seireitei's shinigami are all considered "nobles", but it also has a high, middle, and low class and Izuru is from a low class noble family. He's had a pretty tough time.

Hinamori Momo - I had a tough time trying to decide her name. The name "Hinamori Momo" was decided right before drawing the official comic. During the sketch stage, she had a totally different name.

Yamada Hanatarou - A rather pitiful Hanatarou whose birthday lies on April Fools. Every year, on his birthday a bunch of people keep tricking him the entire day."

Sk8r Bird

*** SPOILERS*** Soul Society - A History

Having just finished updating myself with the Bleach manga I decided to create an overview of Soul Society, incorporating the flash backs regarding the origins of the Vizard. If you haven't read the manga yet don't look at this...




















I am a massive nerd.

Divine Judgement

Menos Grande

Perfect. Right down to the shoes.

Metal Gear Labeouf

Found this on 4chan. Metal Gear Solid starring Shia Labeouf
as.....everyone! My life is so much more nicer after seeing this!

MacBook Earth, Water and Fire

MacBook Earth: Greenest laptop ever. The MacBook Earth has no electrical cord — save the planet with this wind- and solar-powered notebook. The phosphorescent screen consumes mere nanowatts, and the fireflies it attracts will impress your friends. Best of all, the chassis is a durable clay, making it 100% biodegradable. Bury the MacBook Earth when it’s time to upgrade. Your garden will thank you.

MacBook Water: You don't turn on the MacBook Water — you pour it on. Just unscrew the carrying case and splash the iFluid onto any handy flat surface… instant mobile computing. The iFluid immediately takes the shape of a keyboard and monitor, with less boot time than a cellphone. When it's time to pack up, simply wipe up your notebook with the included sponge and wring back into the case. Warning: Storing the MacBook Water at temperatures below 0°C will void the warranty.

MacBook Fire: The processing speed of the MacBook Fire is hellishly fast. The chips are so powerful, in fact, that the insides glow, eliminating the need for a keyboard backlight. But don't worry — the casing's heat-resistant material ensures you never have a meltdown, and the monitor is made of durable welding glass. When things get too hot to handle, just slip on the supplied asbestos gloves. Consider the tan you get a bonus.

Exclusive found here.

Office Speak

33. "I once had a boss who said, 'You can't have your cake and eat it, so you have to step up to the plate and face the music.' It was in that moment I knew I had to resign before somebody got badly hurt by a pencil."Tim, Durban

40. "At a large media company where I once worked, the head of human resources - itself a weaselly neologism for personnel - told us that she would be cascading down new information to staff. What she meant was she was going to send them a memo. It was one of the reasons I resigned - that, and the fact that the chief exec persisted on referring to the company as a really cool train set."Andrew, London

7-8. "We used to collect the jargon used in a list and award the person with the most at the end of the year. The winner was a client manager with the classic you can't turn a tanker around with a speed boat change. What? Second was we need a holistic, cradle-to-grave approach, whatever that is."Turner, Manchester

Taken from the top 50 office speak phrases here.

Some of these were definitely coined by Chris Morris. Or at least it sounds like they were.

"I'm running at them now with my trousers down"...

Onion News - 'Warcraft' Sequel Lets Gamers Play A Character Playing 'Warcraft'

'Warcraft' Sequel Lets Gamers Play A Character Playing 'Warcraft'

Eco Vending Machines

Reduced energy consumption vending machines are standard and fluorocarbon free ones are in the works, but how about a solar powered vending machine covered in moss! Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. displayed a prototype of what might be the vending machine of the future: Solar panels supply the energy used for cooling and heating the beverages, while the moss covering helps improve insulation. The green décor would also give our grey city streets a more natural look and help vending machines in scenic locales blend into the environment!




Find the original article and more Japanese vending machines here.

Gentlemen! Please!

Old pic of moody kitties...

I was sorting through all the pictures on my camera today and found this sweet ickle pic of "the girls". Thought I would share it, since its sort of cute.

*Ahem* Excuse the pants in the background!

Give chase

When Kula met Pudding (through glass)

Indoor cat met outdoor cat. Oh how they hissed...

And then I found this...

I am never cosplaying again.

The High Cost of Living - movie?

Curious about any possible plans for a Sandman movie, I consulted the internets and found this on Wikipedia:

"Throughout the late 1990s, a movie adaptation of the comic was periodically planned by Warner Bros, parent company of DC Comics. Roger Avery was originally attached to direct after the success of Pulp Fiction collaborating with Pirates of the Caribbean screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio in 1996 on a revision of their first script draft, which merged the Preludes and Nocturnes storyline with that of The Doll's House. Avary intended the film to be in part visually inspired by animator Jan Svankmajer's work. Avary was fired after disagreements over the creative direction with executive producer Jon Peters, best known for Batman (1989) and Superman Lives. It was due to their meeting on the Sandman movie project that Avary and Gaiman collaborated one year later on the script for Beowulf. The project carried on through several more writers and scripts. A later draft by William Farmer, reviewed on the Internet at Aint it Cool News, was met with scorn from fans. Gaiman called the last screenplay that Warner Brothers would send him "...not only the worst Sandman script I've ever seen, but quite easily the worst script I've ever read."Gaiman also has said that his dissatisfaction with how his characters were being treated had dissuaded him from writing any more stories involving the Endless, although he has since written Endless Nights. By 2001 the project had become stranded in development hell. In a Q&A panel at Comic-Con 2007, Gaiman remarked: "I'd rather see no Sandman movie made than a bad Sandman movie. But I feel like the time for a Sandman movie is coming soon. We need someone who has the same obsession with the source material as Peter Jackson had with Lord of the Rings or Sam Raimi had with Spider-Man."

Gaiman is currently working on a movie adaptation of The High Cost of Living." - Wikipedia 'The Sandman (Vertigo).

What, what?! I agree with Gaiman and thank the lord he's using more sense with The Sandman Series than he did with Stardust (cringe).

Just found more:

"Death and Me is a film in development based upon Death: The High Cost of Living. The concept is that, once every century, the embodiment of Death is incarnated as a mortal woman for a single day to experience what she takes from others. Gaiman wrote the screenplay himself, and will also be making his directorial debut. Guillermo del Toro will serve as executive producer. Gaiman spent several days on the set of del Toro's film Hellboy II: The Golden Army to get pointers on how to direct.

Other than two additional scenes at the beginning (set in a Tibetan monastery and Alaska), and a move from New York City to London for the main setting, the screenplay is relatively unchanged from the comic script.

After being in development hell for several years, work on it was renewed in 2007, but quickly derailed again due to the WGA strikes. According to Gaiman, the studio "may still be New Line, but Warner Independant is keen on it too." Shia LaBeouf may have a role in the film, possibly as the lead character Sexton, due to his role in helping the movie come about.^"

Shia LaBeouf?! Not him again... Is he going to consistently plaster himself over every eagerly anticipated nerdy/reminiscent film that comes out over the next twenty years or so? Transformers, Indiana Jones, now a Sandman film... Maybe I'm being hard on the guy. Maybe it's because I don't like him.

David Attenborough launches £25m scheme to protect butterfies in huge dome

It will be a paradise for butterflies and nature lovers alike.

Plans for a vast glass dome housing more than 10,000 butterflies were unveiled yesterday in the biggest conservation project of its kind seen in Britain.

When it opens in three years, the £25million Butterfly World will be the world's biggest "walk-through butterfly experience".

As well as colourful tropical species, equal importance will be placed on their threatened British counterparts at the dome just off the M25 in St Albans, Hertfordshire.

More than 100 yards across and 50ft high, the butterfly dome will be larger than the giant greenhouses which have bewitched visitors at the Eden Project in Cornwall.

The centrepiece of the 26-acre site, the dome will be home to a mini-tropical rain-forest and a series of underground caverns.

Inside, in addition to the butterflies, visitors will see hundreds of humming birds and collections of spiders and scorpions.

Land around the dome will be planted with meadows and gardens to encourage native butterflies and moths.

At the launch of the project, Sir David Attenborough said it would reverse the "silent natural disaster" threatening the creatures around the world.

The initiative follows shocking new figures which show that more than three-quarters of British butterfly species have declined in the last 20 years because of habitat loss and changes in farming.

"That is worrying, not least because these declines indicate an underlying deterioration of the environment as a whole," said Sir David.

"For the sake of future generations we must take action now.

"Butterfly World is doing just that. It is putting the issues on the agenda and is seeking to help reverse this environmental catastrophe."

Work will start within the next few weeks and organisers believe it will attract one million visitors every year.

Butterfly World is being backed by the conservationist David Bellamy, along with other famous names such as actress Emilia Fox, and leading lawyer Baroness Helena Kennedy.

Article found here.

George Monbiot: Vigilante

"I realise now that I didn't have a hope. I had almost reached the stage when two of the biggest gorillas I have ever seen swept me up and carried me out of the tent. It was humiliating, but it could have been worse. The guard on the other side of the stage, half hidden in the curtains, had spent the lecture touching something under his left armpit. Perhaps he had bubos.

I had no intention of arresting John Bolton, the former under-secretary of state at the US state department, when I arrived at the Hay festival. But during a panel discussion about the Iraq war, I remarked that the greatest crime of the 21st century had become so normalised that one of its authors was due to visit the festival to promote his book. I proposed that someone should attempt a citizens' arrest, in the hope of instilling a fear of punishment among those who plan illegal wars. After the session I realised that I couldn't call on other people to do something I wasn't prepared to do myself.

I knew that I was more likely to be arrested and charged than Mr Bolton. I had no intention of harming him, or of acting in any way that could be interpreted as aggressive, but had I sought only to steer him gently towards the police I might have faced a range of exotic charges, from false imprisonment to aggravated assault. I was prepared to take this risk. It is not enough to demand that other people act, knowing that they will not. If the police, the courts and the state fail to prosecute what the Nuremberg tribunal described as "the supreme international crime", I believe we have a duty to seek to advance the process.

The Nuremberg principles, which arose from the prosecution of Nazi war criminals, define as an international crime the "planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances". Bolton appears to have "participated in a common plan" to prepare for the war (also defined by the principles as a crime) by inserting the false claim that Iraq was seeking to procure uranium from Niger into a state department factsheet. He also organised the sacking of José Bustani, the head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, accusing him of bad management. Bustani had tried to broker a peaceful resolution of the dispute over Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction."

I urge you to read on here.

In fact read his entire blog here.