flickering pictures

In response to international condemnation of its unilateral invasion of Georgia, Russia has given notice that it will suspend all military cooperation with NATO and its 26 member states. Standing up for nations’ rights everywhere, Russia has taken the position that the world has no business interfering in the affairs of a sovereign nation just [...]

[Read more →]

One of the many the many wonderful things about living in Montreal is that stuff like this makes news here. Following a poll of 5.6 million board gamers around the world, the latest version of Hasbro’s time-honoured Monopoly game will feature Montreal in place of Boardwalk, the most fancypants property in the game. Montreal narrowly [...]

[Read more →]

I know I got back from Asia a month ago, but I’ve finally had a few moments to get my photos together, Photoshop them until they don’t suck, and put them up here for general consumption. Have a look see at the new listings under South Korea and Japan on the photography page. And by [...]

[Read more →]

From Harper’s Weekly, because I couldn’t write it better myself: Penguin Nils Olav, the Norwegian King’s Guard mascot since 1972, was knighted in front of a crowd of several hundred people and 130 guardsmen. Nils, who shat himself during the ceremony, was, read the proclamation from King Harald the Fifth, “in every way qualified to [...]

[Read more →]

Researchers in Idaho have created inexpensive photovoltaic plastic sheets with nanoantennas that collect waste energy from factories and power plants as well as the sun. They store energy 24 hours a day — whether the sun is shining or not. This could be a huge breakthrough for clean, green solar power, since critics have long [...]

[Read more →]

As of August 25, elementary and high school teachers in the Harrold school district in Texas will have the right to carry concealed handguns in the classroom. From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Superintendent David Thweatt said a main concern was that the small community is a 30-minute drive from the sheriff’s office, leaving students and [...]

[Read more →]

While the RIAA conjures up images of sinister high-tech pirates slaving day and night to crack the latest DRM copy protections, some guy walking by Bono’s house managed to record four tracks off U2′s upcoming album. From the Telegraph: The first studio album by Irish rock band U2 in four years has been leaked onto [...]

[Read more →]

Between tax, duties, shipping from Japan and the cost of the actual album, I just spent a little over ¥5700 on this CD. If you know how many dollars that is — and how “frugal” I tend to be — you know it’s very likely the most expensive record I’ve ever bought, and it was [...]

[Read more →]

While the world looks China-ward, mesmerized by Beijing’s Olympic flash and dash, Russia has quietly mobilized its powerful military and invaded a neighbouring country. Russia insists it stepped in to protect its citizens living in the separatist Georgian region of South Ossetia, who have faced harassment and bombings by Georgian troops. Russian officials say they [...]

[Read more →]

A new study apparently shows that the birth control pill messes with a woman’s pheromone recognition process, making her more likely to be attracted to men who are genetically similar to her. That’s a bad thing — broad genetic diversity minimizes nature’s “mistakes,” and children resulting from parents with similar genes are more likely to [...]

[Read more →]