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2008-08-20T21:54:00.000-07:00

It's hard to be amazed by anything you see online, when you know any teenager with a computer and a pirated copy of Photoshop can cobble together a fake photograph in minutes.

Unfortunately this means there's a whole bunch of jaw-dropping pics that the internet declared "FAKE!" the moment they appeared. But as it turns out, some of the most baffling of them are, in fact, real.

#15.

The Machine Apparently Made to Saw the World in Half

What appears to be some normal-sized machine cropped and pasted onto a skyline is actually a gigantic machinized monstrosity designed for excavation by some Germans. Those things that look like saw teeth big enough to cut down the Empire State Building are actually buckets, each of which could pretty much scoop up your whole house.

If this thing's secretly a transformer, we're screwed.

#14.

Macaroni Push-Pop

Yes, this push-pop made of "Macaroni & Cheese in Chili Sauce With Beef" is very real, part of a "convenience meets nausea" movement to provide your favorite foods on the go in a microwaveable, cardboard tube. Scrambled eggs are also available.

Here's a tip for all you potential consumers: if you want macaroni and cheese so badly that you're willing to eat it in a push pop, you have an illness and need to reach out to a professional.

#13.

"AAAAARRGGHH! EDDIE MURPHY HEAD!"

This giant, terrifying Eddie Murphy head that looks like a badly photoshopped and probably racist 4chan meme, was actually part of an enormous bust they were building to promote the movie, Meet Dave.

Incidentally, the only thing that would scare us more than driving next to Axl Foley's humongous noggin on the highway is being forced to see the movie.

#12.

Giant Table or Tiny Bicyclist?

This humongous table and chair is a sculpture in England. The artist wanted to build a monument to the privacy and loneliness of writing. And by that we assume he means the loneliness of being a writer who is also a giant that eats passing bicyclists.

#11.

"Do You See Those Letters, Uh, Floating There?"

Yes, if you stand in this spot in the parking garage shown in the photo, the word "DOWN" is just floating there. The sign was designed by an artist who won an award for it, because there are apparently awards for making innovative signage in parking garages.

He created the effect of continuous letters by adjusting the angles for appropriate perspective as they reached walls, just like in those incredible chalk sidewalk drawings that are all over the web.

These sorts of illusions are great when they appear on sidewalks, and probably much less entertaining when you ram straight into the wall of this Wile E. Coyote-inspired parking garage after swerving to avoid the giant DOWN sign that materialized in midair in front of your car.

#10.

If You Look Past The Unsettlingly Tiny Speedo, You'll See a Huge Freaking Airliner

This apparent disaster-waiting-to-happen is on the Island of St. Maarten. The airport has a particularly short runway that ends just 40 feet from beach, leaving large planes just barely enough room to land. So they have to come in low, directly over the beach, making it a prime destination for an afternoon of quiet, relaxing sunbathing.

Cracked Travel Tip: In St. Maarten you should always give a nice gratuity to the guy driving the boat before he takes you parasailing.

#9.

"We're Moving. It's the Crab's House, Now."

Holy crap, look at that thing. We were hoping that was just a tiny trash can but, no, it's a coconut crab, which is the biggest arthropod that lives on land.

We like how they chose the innocuous name "coconut crab" to describe something that can only be killed with a flamethrower. If these things were called "Skull Crabs" or "Under Your Bed Crabs" mankind would have declared war on them long ago.

#8.

A Splotch From God's Paintbrush

This Mark Rothko-looking blotch of color is the Grand Prismatic Spring, which supposedly gets its colors from bacteria that grow around the water.

Since this explanation seems far too simple for something so brilliant, we'll go ahead and assume it's really an alien spacecraft landing site being covered up by the government.

#7.

If Dogs Played Major League Baseball

This cartoonish muscle-dog is Wendy, a whippet with a genetic disorder causing ridiculous muscular growth.

While Wendy's condition is sure to have many medical applications to various muscle development disorders, we're still hoping Disney casts her as the bad guy in Air Bud 4.

#6.

"Damn Kids!"

Taken by Kevin O'Mara

At first sight, this appears to be a home improvement project that accidentally tapped into Stephen Hawkings' most abstract theories on space and time. But then you notice that the kid who is right next to the portal to another dimension isn't disintegrating into millions of pieces, or even looking up from his goddamn cellphone.

So it must be a photoshop right? Wrong again. The Inversion House is an art project that answers the pressing question: what would your neighbor's place look like if it was sucked through a straw in the Looney Tunes universe? The answer is pretty cool, though apparently not nearly as cool as whatever 13 year-olds are texting each other these days.

#5.

Body Builder, With Flesh Puppet

Yes, the proportions are correct. The tiny man is Aditya "Romeo" Dev, the world's smallest bodybuilder. He stands a towering 2 feet 9 inches tall and weighing in at a whopping 20 pounds.

We'd love to see him and Vern Troyer go at it in a no holds barred cage match. Or, see two huge men get into a cage match using this guy and Vern Troyer as weapons.

#4.

Freudian Gummy Candy

As you can see from the package, these are supposed to be lighthouses but may in fact be the most unfortunately shaped product of all time.

#3.

"Looks Like Another Neighborhood Got Sucked Into the Vortex Yesterday."

It looks like a city about to get drained out of a giant's bath tub, but it's actually a picture of the world's largest diamond mine outside of Mirny, Russia.

This mine is actually so large that air currents prevent helicopters from flying over it. By the way, the title of World's Second Largest Hole still belongs to your mom.

#2.

The "Everything We Could Find" Pizza

This seems to be a Photoshop with some Japanese text thrown on, to mock a culture whose major export seems to be insanity. But the product is real and oh by the way, it's from Pizza Hut.

It's the Double Roll Pizza and comes with a pigs-in-blankets crust. The only thing it's missing is some pork rinds. Maybe sprinkle some tiny cans of beer on there.

#1.

A Scene From a Michael Bay Movie About Tennis?

This mile-high tennis match looks like some cheesy special effect from a Nike commercial. But no, it's just Dubai, whose entire economy seems to be based on building enormous things that exist only for the purpose of not making any goddamn sense. In that spirit they hosted this tennis match between Andre Agassi and Roger Federer on a helipad located on top of the Burj Al Arab skyscraper.

Hopefully they brought more than just that one ball.

http://www.cracked.com/article_16556_p2.html

Tiger Woods 09 - Walk on Water

2008-08-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

As a response to a fan video from Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 08, Tiger Woods and EA SPORTS demonstrate that the "glitch" Levinator25 thought he found in the game, is not a glitch at all.

Samsung Omnia (i900) Unboxing

2008-08-20T21:28:00.000-07:00

Schwarzenegger Jumps on Obama’s ‘Proper Tire Inflation’ Bandwagon

2008-08-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, the presumptive Democratic candidate for President of the United States, Barack Obama had the gall to suggest that proper tire inflation could actually reduce national gasoline consumption, thereby lowering our carbon emissions and reducing our demand for oil.

GOP strategists saw an opportunity to pounce on this bold claim by Senator Obama. And they, along with their friend Rush Limbaugh, lampooned and ridiculed Obama’s tire pressure assertion as a joke. The McCain campaign even went so far as handing out tire gauges branded with the slogan “Obama’s Energy Plan” to reporters traveling with Senator Obama. Let me just say this, whomever was in charge of that “brilliant” move at McCain HQ should be canned.

Today several more groups were added to the growing list of organizations that stand behind Senator Obama’s claim that properly inflated tires can indeed reduce gasoline consumption. Speaking on behalf of these groups, and helping to launch the EcoDriving initiative were the Republican Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the Democratic Governor of Colorado Bill Ritter.

The pair were on hand in Denver on Monday (Schwarzenegger spoke via satellite link) to announce a new initiative from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the American Automobile Dealers Association called EcoDriving (EcoDrivingUSA.com), a comprehensive, nationwide effort to save consumers money at the gas pump, reduce fuel use and cut carbon dioxide emissions. The Environmental Defense Fund also participated in the launch.

By following a set of subtle and easy-to-use best practices, including proper tire inflation, for driving and vehicle maintenance, the group says a typical driver can improve mileage by about 15 percent. In addition, officials at EcoDriving claim that if just half of all drivers nationwide practiced moderate levels of EcoDriving, annual CO2 emissions could be reduced by about 100 million tons, or the equivalent of heating and powering 8.5 million households.

As part of their national campaign, automakers pledged to reach out to government, business, educators and more. Alliance members hope to engage all 50 states, as well as major consumer organizations, in EcoDriving. “We’re all in this together, so there’s a role for each one of us to play in being a part of the solution to these critical issues,” said said Dave McCurdy, president and CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.

“Automakers are aggressively developing and introducing new technologies, but it takes 15 years or more for these technologies to become widespread on the road. EcoDriving helps consumers reduce carbon dioxide emissions today,” said McCurdy.

The World's Most Elusive Human Being (COMIC)

2008-08-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

tailsteak.com — You know someone would be signing this baby to a 9-figure contract right out of the gate.

Please Be Safe!

2008-08-18T22:28:00.000-07:00

http://flickr.com/photos/tenioman/2771903123/

7 "Eccentric" Geniuses Who Were Clearly Just Insane

2008-08-18T22:23:00.000-07:00

Is it possible to be too smart? Maybe. History is full of insane geniuses, humans who mentally put the pedal to the metal--and sometimes through the floor.

Here are seven brilliant men who seemingly over-revved the neurological engine, who watched as the gearbox and chassis of their brains flew off onto the roadside...and kept on accelerating.

#7.Pythagoras, Greek Mathematician, around 575 -500 B.C.

The Genius:

Yes, this is the guy who came up with the Pythagorean theorem we all learned in school ("The square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the square of the other two sides").

Apart from this pillar of trigonometry, Pythagoras was the first high-profile academic to insist that natural phenomena could be explained mathematically (paving the way for the study of Physics) and was even a major inspiration for Plato's theories of democracy. So, yeah, we can thank him for, like, half of the good things ever invented.

The Insanity:

Much like L. Ron Hubbard and David Koresh, Pythagoras founded his own religion. Much like L. Ron Hubbard and David Koresh, Pythagoreanism was totally insane. How insane? To put it concisely, the square of the insanity of Pythagoreanism is equal to the sum of the square of the insanity of other religions.

Pythagoras' religion had two primary tenets: souls are reincarnated, and beans are evil. Not metaphorical beans, or metaphysical beans, but just plain, edible beans.

"Aaaaaahhhhh!"

Amongst other absurdities, Pythagoreanism's greatest commandments include:

-Do not, under any circumstances, eat beans

-Smooth out all bodily indents on pillows and/or beds

-Do not step over a crossbar

-Do not sit on a quart

-Do not walk on highways

-Do not leave the pot's impression in the ashes after removing it from the fire

-Do not stir a fire without iron

-Do not let swallows nest under the roof

Pythagoras' sect had more understandable rules, such as vegetarianism and pacifism, but he tended to break those. The vegetarianism rules were bent when, upon discovering his famous theorem, he celebrated by slaughtering an ox. His message of pacifism suffered greatly from his dying in a fight.

#6.

Lord Byron, English Poet, 1788-1824

The Genius:

Widely considered second only to Shakespeare in English poetry, Lord Byron published his first poetic work at 14, an age when our most profound thought was that girls might possibly be more awesome than video games. Renowned for his wit and versatility, Byron's Don Juan remains one of the few poems most of us can name when trying to seduce drunk English majors.

The Insanity:

It began when Byron arrived at Cambridge, where he was ordered to send his dog back home as keeping one was against school rules. Desperate for a pet, Byron scoured college policies for an animal not expressly forbidden. He found no reference to bears.

The bear stayed with Byron in his dorm room. Being a responsible pet owner, Byron took it on regular leashed walks through the university, terrifying fellow students and lecturers. When asked by administration what purpose the bear served on campus, the poet tried in vain to get his beast a fellowship.

Above: Lord Byron and his bear on their 4X4 ATV.

And where most people mellow out after they leave school, Byron decided to take his crazy to a whole new level. We'll let this quote from one of his friends tell the story:

"Lord B's establishment consists, besides servants, of ten horses, eight enormous dogs, three monkeys, five cats, an eagle, a crow, and a falcon; and all of these, except the horses, walk about the house, which every now and then resounds with their unarbitrated quarrels, as if they were the masters of it."

(later)

"...I find that my enumeration of the animals in this Circean Palace was defective, and that in a material point. I have just met on the grand staircase five peacocks, two guinea hens, and an Egyptian Crane"

That's from Percy Shelley (a fellow poet and husband of Frankenstein author Mary Shelley). If you're not seeing the problem with turning your house into Noah's Ark, then you're not imagining the sheer amount of shit these animals produce.

Later on in life, Byron's tendencies for playing zoo keeper switched to tendencies for playing war admiral. He constructed two small stone forts on the edge of his lake and launched a fleet of toy ships, which he would spend whole days directing while crouched in his fort. At Byron's insistence his servant, Joe Murray, would lie prone on a small boat in the lake and "command the ships" which we're guessing consisted of pushing them around and making cannon noises with his mouth.

Records concerning how much Joe Murray was paid to put up with this sort of shit are unavailable.

#5.

Tycho Brahe, Danish Astronomer, 1546-1601

The Genius:

Tycho Brahe is renowned for the magnificent precision of his astronomical measurements. At a time when telescopic astronomy was young and crude, Tycho assembled an array of data whose accuracy facilitated numerous discoveries, including the laws of planetary motion by his assistant, Johannes Kepler.

Also, check out the 'stache.

The Insanity:

Let's suppose you were high up in social circles and often compelled to give dinner parties. Let's also say you wanted to impress your high-profile friends and reassure them that their good faith and finances were in safe hands. What would you do?

How about hiring a dwarf, dressing him up as a clown, and without any explanation having him sit silently underneath the dining table for the duration of the dinner? Tycho Brahe did it, and he was a lot richer than you.

In order to protect journalistic integrity, it's worth explaining that the above may misrepresent Tycho. "Hiring" can suggest a casual, occasional employment. Tycho's dwarf was full-time. His tasks included sitting underneath the table when Tycho (and sometimes friends) ate, and just hanging around the house.

Tycho was renowned as a heavy drinker, so maybe he hired the dwarf in a drunken stupor and just never had the heart to tell him to leave once he sobered up. Otherwise it's safe to say the man was a few planets short of a solar system.

#4.

Michelangelo, Italian Renaissance Painter, 1475-1564

The Genius:

In all of art history, only four artists have ever warranted a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Michelangelo was one of them. His painting of God Creates Adam on the Sistine Chapel remains the most celebrated wallpaper of all time. Despite his place among the historical elite of painters, he had little respect for paint as a medium and branched to other arts including sculpture (The Statue of David) and architecture (St Peter's Basilica).

The Insanity:

Michelangelo ignored even the most basic tasks of self-maintenance. Not only did he bathe "very rarely" (by 15th century Italian standards, no less), he rarely even changed clothes, sleeping in full regalia--shoes included. His assistant once complained that, "He has sometimes gone so long without taking (his shoes) off that then the skin came away, like a snake's, with the boots."

Ew.

That sort of thing has caused some to speculate that he suffered from autism. He showed all of the signs, including struggling with social interactions (though it probably didn't help that he was covered in filth all the time). He would rarely speak to others, hated doing so, and had a tendency to end encounters by walking away mid-conversation. When his brother died, Michelangelo skipped the funeral.

The artist who made this smelled like poop.

If true, it was also his autism that let him focus on his work obsessively, to the sacrifice of absolutely everything else in his life. So it was the kind of autism that allowed him to become world famous in his field. As mental illnesses go, you could do worse.

#3.

Nikola Tesla, Physicist & Engineer, 1856-1943

The Genius:

Finally getting the posthumous credit his work deserves, Nikola Tesla offered an astonishing number of contributions to science. Our personal support of Tesla is already well documented. And again. But, you don't have to take our word for it. Labeled by Robert Lomas as "the man who invented the 20th century", Nikola Tesla played a major part in the discovery of:

-Radio

-A/C Electricity

-Computers

-Robotics

-Radar

-Ballistics

-Nuclear Physics

The Insanity:

Tesla suffered from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. So, for instance, where Michelangelo's personal hygiene was appallingly bad, Tesla's was appallingly good--cripplingly so. Tesla was a severe germophobe and refused to touch anything bearing the slightest hint of dirt. Tesla also refused to touch anything round, which makes some quite obvious hurdles for an engineer.

Apart from dodging germs and round objects, Tesla's OCD manifested itself in threes. Before entering a building, he would walk three times around the block. When staying in hotels, he insisted on a room number divisible by three. At each meal, he would use 18 napkins: three stacks of six.

Why he needed 18 napkins instead of, say, three, indicates that he apparently was not afraid of a nice rack of barbecue ribs.

#2.

Empedocles, Greek Scientist & Philosopher, 490-430 B.C.

The Genius:

Empedocles may have been among the most renowned geniuses in history if not for the fact that his stunning contributions to science are offset by his even more stunning contributions to bullshit. Some 450 years before Jesus, Empedocles discovered:

-That light travels at a speed

-That Earth is a sphere

-Centrifugal force

-That air is a substance, not an absence of substance.

-An (admittedly very crude) theory of evolution

-The Italian school of medicine

The Insanity:

Empedocles believed he was a god. Not in the 80's hair-band sense or the guy who can beat Mario Bros 3 in 11 minutes sense, but in the literal thunderbolts-from-the-sky and immortality sense. To prove his immortality to his understandably skeptical peers, Empedocles announced that he would jump into a volcano--Mt Etna--and pop back out unscathed.

From the words of none-too-impressed poet Richard Osborne:

"Great Empedocles, that ardent soul;

Leapt into Etna, and was roasted whole"

#1.

Yukio Mishima, Japanese Author, 1925-1970

The Genius:

By age 12, Yukio Mishima had acquired a comprehensive knowledge of Oscar Wilde. At 24, he published Confessions of a Mask, which hoisted him to the top of Japanese literary circles. Over the next 20 years he published another 20 major works, was nominated for three Nobel prizes, and solidified his status as the most recognized novelist in Japanese history.

The Insanity:

The image you see up there is the cover of Mishima's essay, "Sun and Steel", featuring the author himself in his samurai sword/jockstrap combo. We've included text below for posterity, but any further argument for his insanity is probably redundant after having seen that picture.

In 1968, Mishima founded the cult Tatenokai, or Shield Society. The cult consisted exclusively of himself and homo-erotically well-physiqued teenage boys. They spent their time lifting weights, practicing martial arts, and swearing their unconditional devotion, not to Mishima, but to the Emperor of Japan.

On November 26, 1970, Mishima stormed the Japanese defense headquarters with the intention of overthrowing the country by coup. His forces consisted of:

-Four homo-erotically well-physiqued teenage boys

-A sword

With tremendous foresight, he soon realized he was a little under-equipped, and took to the balcony to recruit defense force personnel.

In a fervent speech, he asked a group of bewildered gawkers to hand up their lives for the Emperor, do whatever the Emperor asked of them, and accept the Emperor as divinity. There were two problems with his message:

1. It was 1970. The Emperor held zero political influence over Japan. He existed for people to wave at once a year and was in no peril whatsoever. The idea of dedicating one's life to his protection was the Japanese equivalent of asking people to give their life for Punxsutawney Phil.

2. The Emperor himself was nothing but embarrassed by the cult, publicly refuted his own divinity, and asked only that Mishima and his chiseled cabaret act leave him alone.

Unsurprisingly, Mishima's speech yielded a total of 0 recruits. Mishima stepped down from the balcony, returned to the room which he had barricaded, and committed Seppuku--ritual suicide. We're assuming this was most people's first clue that he was actually serious.

http://www.cracked.com/article_16559_7-eccentric-geniuses-who-were-clearly-just-insane.html

Toddler 'starved to death by religious cult because he wouldn't say amen'

2008-08-18T22:20:00.000-07:00

A toddler whose remains were found inside a suitcase was starved to death by religious cult members - including his mother - because he refused to say 'amen' after meals, police said today.

Ria Ramkissoon and three other members of the group have been charged with the first-degree murder of her son Javon Thompson, whose body was found in April.

U.S. police and the family of Ramkissoon say that the group, based in Baltimore and called 1 Mind Ministries, is a cult.

Members of the religious group, based in Baltimore, above, are alleged to have dumped the child's body in a suitcase

Javon's food was stopped in December 2006 - when he was about 15 months old - partly because he refused to say 'amen' after dinner, investigators were told by two children who had been taken away from the cult by Philadelphia police.

Members viewed Javon as 'a demon', the children said.

No medical care was sought for the toddler when he stopped breathing, and he died in his mother's arms, according to court records of police interviews with the two children and another informant.

The anonymous informant told police that cult member Queen Antoinette then left the boy's body in a room for more than a week, claiming 'God was going to raise Javon from the dead,' court documents show.

Afterwards, Antoinette burned the clothing and mattress and placed his body in a green suitcase, which she would periodically open and spray with disinfectant to mask the stench, police say.

The group members allegedly left Baltimore early last year for Philadelphia, stowing the green suitcase and other luggage in a shed belonging to a man they had befriended.

Officers found the suitcase, containing the remains of a small child, in April after a tip-off. They are now waiting for DNA tests to confirm the boy's identity.

Ramkissoon, 21, was awaiting a bail review today while being held in custody in a psychiatric ward.

The three other people charged over Javon's death - Antoinette, 40, also known as Toni Ellsberry or Toni Sloan; Marcus Cobbs, 21; and Trevia Williams, who turns 21 on Tuesday - are already in custody.

They were arrested in May in New York on warrants charging them with failure to appear in court after a scuffle with police in a child custody dispute.

A fifth alleged cult member, Steven Bynum, has also been charged with first-degree murder but remains at large, police say. He is believed to be in New York.

Ramkissoon's family said she should not be held responsible for her son's death.

'She had no control over that situation at all,' said her stepfather Craig Newton.

Her mother Seeta Khadan-Newton says Ramkissoon was not behind the decision to stop feeding the boy.

'My daughter was a victim, just like my grandson,' Ms Khadan-Newton said.

'Somebody made that decision to not feed that child, and my daughter had to follow instructions.'

According to court documents, Ramkissoon joined 1 Mind Ministries after Javon was born.

Ms Khadan-Newton last saw her in April 2006; she later sued for custody of her grandson, writing in a letter to a judge that 'the cult leaders' were preventing her from contacting her daughter.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1043972/Toddler-starved-death-religious-cult-wouldnt-say-amen.html

10 Reasons To Switch To Gmail

2008-08-18T22:19:00.000-07:00

Do you still use Microsoft Outlook or Eudora for your emails, or maybe something else? If you do, you probably are not having the most productive and user friendly experience that you could be having.

Up until about a month ago I had been using Outlook entirely for my emails, then I trialled Gmail (Google’s Free Email service) for 2 weeks and since getting to know Gmail, I have not turned back… there are just so many more features that make Outlook (and other similar email programs) seem just unworthy. Even Darren Rowse from Problogger has made the switch.

Although it may take a week or two to get used to gmail, over the many years to come, it will literally save you weeks of your time. I highly recommend to switch to Gmail and below I give 10 reasons why.

10 Reasons To Switch To Gmail

Gmail spam filters block 99% of the spam that usually makes it to your inbox. Although Outlook 2007 had a good spam filter, I still usually got around 2 or 3 emails a week sneaking into my inbox… not with Gmail.
With Gmail you get to keep your old email account, and all incoming emails will be forwarded to your new Gmail account . Also, emails that you send from your new account will have your old email account in the from area.
You can create Word docs, PDF’s and spread sheets with Gmail via the use of GoogleDocs.
Gmail allows you to schedule events with the Google Calendar that will notify you by email to remind you of an appointment or meeting. It can also send a reminder to the person or persons that you will be meeting with.
Gmail has something called ‘Stars’ and which allows you to tag emails you find important. You can actually do a search for ‘Starred‘ emails and they all pop up, and as quick as a normal google search!
Your emails are tabbed into a thread, which means you no longer have to look for old emails… it is more like a conversation window.
You can archive old emails or whole conversations so that you can keep your Inbox clear.
You can set up filters and labels to keep your Inbox organised and clutter free.
It has a fast, easy search function which means you will never lose an email again. The search is as fast a normal google search which is ace.
All your emails are online which means that you access your emails from anywhere, not just one computer.
Update: Forgot to mention how much space there is with Gmail… you will never have to delete an email again.

Learn About Gmail

Below are some great videos to get you started with Gmail. If you have a website and an email related with your website you should be using Google Apps to set up your Gmail Account… the videos below will explain.

Using Gmail - Part 1 (5m 38s)- Learn about the basic features of gmail in this video.

Using Gmail - Part 2 (7m 50s)- Learn about how to retrieve other (ie. your old email address) email into Gmail, setup labels and filters, explain the Archive function and Gmail conversation.

Using Gmail - Part 3 (4m 39s)- Explore the more advanced settings options and some of the features coming out of Google Labs

http://justcreativedesign.com/2008/08/18/what-is-the-best-free-email-account-googles-gmail/

At JFK Airport, Denying Basic Rights Is Just Another Day at the Office

2008-08-18T22:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.alternet.org/rights/95351

I was recently stopped by Homeland Security as I was returning from a trip to Syria. What I saw in the hours that followed shocked and disturbed me.

I arrived at JFK Airport two weeks ago after a short vacation to Syria and presented my American passport for re-entry to the United States. After 28 hours of traveling, I had settled into a hazy awareness that this was the last, most familiar leg of a long journey. I exchanged friendly words with the Homeland Security official who was recording my name in his computer. He scrolled through my passport, and when his thumb rested on my Syrian visa, he paused. Jerking toward the door of his glass-enclosed booth, he slid my passport into a dingy green plastic folder and walked down the hallway, motioning for me to follow with a flick of his wrist. Where was he taking me, I asked him. "You'll find out," he said.

We got to an enclosed holding area in the arrivals section of the airport. He shoved the folder into my hand and gestured toward four sets of Homeland Security guards sitting at large desks. Attached to each desk were metal poles capped with red, white and blue siren lights. I approached two guards carrying weapons and wearing uniforms similar to New York City police officers, but they shook their heads, laughed and said, "Over there," pointing in the direction of four overflowing holding pens. I approached different desks until I found an official who nodded and shoved my green folder in a crowded metal file holder. When I asked him why I was there, he glared at me, took a sip from his water bottle, bit into a sandwich, and began to dig between his molars with his forefinger. I found a seat next to a man who looked about my age -- in his late 20s -- and waited.

Omar (not his real name) finished his fifth year in biomedical engineering at City College in June. He had just arrived from Beirut, where he visited his family and was waiting to go home to the apartment he shared with his brother in Harlem. Despite his near-perfect English and designer jeans, Omar looked scared. He rubbed his hands and rocked softly in his seat. He had been waiting for hours already, and, as he pointed out, a number of people -- some sick, elderly, pregnant or holding sobbing babies -- had too. There were approximately 70 people detained in our cordoned-off section: All were Arab (with the exception of me and the friend I traveled with), and almost all had arrived from Dubai, Amman or Damascus. Many were U.S. citizens.

We were in the front row, sitting a few feet from two guards' desks. They sneered at each bewildered arrival, told jokes in whispers, swiveled in their office chairs and greeted passing guards who stopped to talk -- guards who had a habit of looping their fingers into their holsters. One asked his friend how many nationalities were represented in the room. "About 20. Some of everything today."

No one who had been detained knew precisely why they were there. A few people were led into private rooms; others were questioned out in the open at desks a few feet from the crowd and then allowed to pass through customs. Some were sent to another section of the holding area with large computer screens and cameras, and then brought back. The uninformed consensus among the detainees was that some people would be fingerprinted, have their irises scanned and be sent back to the countries from which they had disembarked, regardless of citizenship status; others would be fingerprinted and allowed to stay; and the unlucky ones would be detained indefinitely and moved to a more permanent facility.

There was one British tourist in the group. Paul (also not his real name) was traveling with three friends who had passed through customs soon after their plane landed and were waiting for him on the other side of the metal barrier; he suspected he had been detained because of his dark skin. When he asked if he could go to the bathroom, one of the guards said, "I wouldn't." "What if someone has to?" I asked. "They will just have to hold it," the guard responded with a smile. Paul began to cry. I watched as he, over the course of four hours, went from feeling exuberant about his trip to New York to despising the entire country. "I speak the Queen's English," he said to me. "I'm third-generation British. I came to America because I've always wanted to come here, and now they've got me so scared that all I want to do is go home. We're paying for your stupid war anyway."

To be powerless and mocked at the same time makes one feel ashamed, which leads quickly to rage. Within a few hours of my arrival, I saw at least 10 people denied the right to use the bathroom or buy food and water. I watched my traveling companion duck under a barrier, run to the bathroom and slip back into the holding section -- which, of course, someone of another ethnicity in a state of panic would be very reluctant to do. The United States is good at naming enemies, but apparently we are even better at making them, especially of individuals. I don't know if it's worse for national security -- and more embarrassing for Americans -- that this is the first experience tourists have of our country, or that some U.S. citizens get treated this way upon entering their own country.

Google Maps

2008-08-12T02:04:00.000-07:00

Olympics: Spain's eye-catching faux pas

2008-08-12T02:02:00.000-07:00

The Spanish basketball team pose for an advertisement. Photograph: Public domain

Spain's Olympic basketball teams have risked upsetting their Chinese hosts by posing for a pre-Games advert making slit-eyed gestures. The advert for a courier company, which is an official sponsor of the Spanish Basketball Federation, occupied a full page in the sports daily Marca, the country's best-selling newspaper.

The advert features two large photographs, one of the men's basketball team, above, and one of the women's team. Both squads pose in full Olympic kit on a basketball court decorated with a picture of a Chinese dragon. Every single player appears pulling back the skin on either side of their eyes. The advert carries the symbol of the sport's governing body.

No one involved in the advert appears to have considered it inappropriate nor contemplated the manner in which it could be interpreted in China and elsewhere. No offence was intended by the advert, but whether the Chinese see it that way is a different matter and it is likely to provoke more criticism at a delicate time for Spanish sport. The failure to recognise the potential consequences is striking in the light of the problems Spain has had with issues of race and the Spanish Olympic committee's continued desire to host the Games in Madrid in 2016 or 2020.

In the past the Spanish have been left in no doubt as to the sensitivity of racial issues internationally, especially since Spain's football manager, Luis Aragonés, made his infamous remark about Thierry Henry, monkey chants greeted England's football players in a friendly game in Madrid and the formula one driver Lewis Hamilton was subjected to abuse in Barcelona.

Did McCain Plagiarize His Speech on the Georgia Crisis?

2008-08-12T01:59:00.000-07:00

A Wikipedia editor emailed Political Wire to point out some similarities between Sen. John McCain's speech today on the crisis in Georgia and the Wikipedia article on the country Georgia. Given the closeness of the words and sentence structure, most would consider parts of McCain's speech to be derived directly from Wikipedia.

First instance:

one of the first countries in the world to adopt Christianity as an official religion (Wikipedia)

vs.

one of the world's first nations to adopt Christianity as an official religion (McCain)

Second instance:

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Georgia had a brief period of independence as a Democratic Republic (1918-1921), which was terminated by the Red Army invasion of Georgia. Georgia became part of the Soviet Union in 1922 and regained its independence in 1991. Early post-Soviet years was marked by a civil unrest and economic crisis. (Wikipedia)

vs.

After a brief period of independence following the Russian revolution, the Red Army forced Georgia to join the Soviet Union in 1922. As the Soviet Union crumbled at the end of the Cold War, Georgia regained its independence in 1991, but its early years were marked by instability, corruption, and economic crises. (McCain)

Third instance:

In 2003, Shevardnadze (who won reelection in 2000) was deposed by the Rose Revolution, after Georgian opposition and international monitors asserted that the 2 November parliamentary elections were marred by fraud. The revolution was led by Mikheil Saakashvili, Zurab Zhvania and Nino Burjanadze, former members and leaders of Shavarnadze's ruling party. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as President of Georgia in 2004. Following the Rose Revolution, a series of reforms was launched to strengthen the country's military and economic capabilities. (Wikipedia)

vs.

Following fraudulent parliamentary elections in 2003, a peaceful, democratic revolution took place, led by the U.S.-educated lawyer Mikheil Saakashvili. The Rose Revolution changed things dramatically and, following his election, President Saakashvili embarked on a series of wide-ranging and successful reforms. (McCain)

Granted the third instance isn't as close as the first two, which seem quite obviously taken from Wikipedia.

It should be noted that Wikipedia material can be freely used but always requires attribution under its terms of use. Whether a presidential candidate should base policy speeches on material from Wikipedia is another question entirely.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/politicalinsider/2008/08/did-mccain-plagarize-his-speec.html

Scientists stop the ageing process

2008-08-12T01:58:00.001-07:00

Scientists have stopped the ageing process in an entire organ for the first time, a study released today says.

Published in today's online edition of Nature Medicine, researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York City also say the older organs function as well as they did when the host animal was younger.

The researchers, led by Associate Professor Ana Maria Cuervo, blocked the ageing process in mice livers by stopping the build-up of harmful proteins inside the organ's cells.

As people age their cells become less efficient at getting rid of damaged protein resulting in a build-up of toxic material that is especially pronounced in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative disorders.

The researchers say the findings suggest that therapies for boosting protein clearance might help stave off some of the declines in function that accompanies old age.

In experiments, livers in genetically modified mice 22 to 26 months old, the equivalent of octogenarians in human years, cleaned blood as efficiently as those in animals a quarter their age.

By contrast, the livers of normal mice in a control group began to fail.

The benefits of restoring the cleaning mechanisms found inside all cells could extend far beyond a single organ, says Cuervo.

"Our findings are particularly relevant for neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's," she says.

'Misbehaving proteins'

"Many of these diseases are due to 'misbehaving' or damaged proteins that accumulate in neurons. By preventing this decline in protein clearance, we may be able to keep these people free of symptoms for a longer time."

If the body's ability to dispose of cell debris within the cell were enhanced across a wider range of tissues, she says, it could extend life as well.

In healthy organisms, a surveillance system inside cells called chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) locates, digests and destroys damaged proteins.

Specialised molecules, the "chaperones", ferry the harmful material to membrane-bound sacs of enzymes within the cells known as lysosomes.

Once the cargo has been "docked", a receptor molecule transfers the protein into the sac, where it is rapidly digested.

With age, these receptors stop working as well, resulting in a dangerous build-up of faulty proteins that has been linked, in the liver, to insulin resistance as well as the inability to metabolise sugar, fats or alcohol.

The same breakdown of the cell's cleaning machinery can also impair the liver's ability to remove the toxic build-up of drugs at a stage in life when medication is often part of daily diet.

In genetically modified mice, Cuervo compensated for the loss of the receptors in the animals by adding extra copies.

"That was enough to maintain a clean liver and to prove that if you keep your cells clean they work better," she says.

Settles debate

The study goes a long way towards settling a sharp debate in the field of ageing research.

Leading Australian ageing researcher David le Couteur, Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Sydney, says the paper is a major breakthrough.

"She has single-handedly shown that lysosome function is a crucial part of the ageing process," he says.

Cuervo has also shown, he says, the critical role the lysosomal receptor molecules play in keeping the liver clean of damaged proteins.

While her paper does not show increased survival rates among the mice, le Couteur, who has advised her recently on the research, says Cuervo does have data on improved survival rates which she intends to publish.

He also says she is now working with pharmaceutical companies to identify drugs that will turn the receptors on, or make them more active.

Cuervo believes maintaining efficient protein clearance may improve longevity and function in all the body's tissues.

It is also possible that the same kind of "cellular clearance" can be achieved through diet, she says.

Research over the past decade has shown that restricted calorie intake in animals, including mammals, significantly enhances longevity.

"My ideal intervention in the future would be a better diet rather than a pill," she says.

Tags: alzheimers-and-dementia, parkinsons-disease, medical-research, neuroscience, liver-and-kidneys

Scary Moments that Made for a Jaw-Ripping Good Time!

2008-08-12T01:52:00.000-07:00

http://my.spill.com/profiles/blog/show?id=947994%3ABlogPost%3A480453

I can’t stop watching the red band trailer for Mirrors. That jaw-ripping thing is one of the most brutal things I’ve seen…and it’s JUST a trailer. I’m a little unhinged, I know, but watching that scene pleases me and scares the living daylights out of me at the same time. I might actually cave and see the movie just to see that scene on a giant screen. While slightly obsessing over it earlier today, I tried to think of movie moments that made me just plain uncomfortable and/or scared shitless. Being the horror film connoisseur I am, I was surprised to see the list I compiled was actually quite long. I’m warning you now: there is a crap-ton of spoilers in this post, so if you haven’t seen a lot of horror movies, stop now, rent some flicks and start scaring yourself! Tell me your favorite terrifying moments when you’re done reading mine!

20. Scanners

The ending scene was just so long and drawn out that it made me uncomfortable. Once Cameron’s veins started popping, I knew I was in for it, so the suspense of what was going to happen next totally took over my body. Needless to say, I wasn’t disappointed when he eventually caught on fire.

19. Saw

When Jigsaw gets up off the ground after Dr. Gordon “leaves” to get help, shuts off the lights, does his whole “Game over” bit and closes the door...pretty much made me say, “WHAAAAAT?!” out loud. It wasn’t scary, but it was pretty damn bizarre.

18. Maniac

I’m so upset more people don’t know about this movie because honestly, it’s pretty genius, especially the ending. The main character, Frank, is obsessed with girls…well, more so than most guys. He stalks the shit out of them and kills them, putting the victim-of-the-week’s hair on one of several mannequins in his apartment. In the end though, during his uber schizoid breakdown, the mannequins come to life and kill him. Totally creeptastic.

17. Suspiria

The opening scene has this girl freaking out, seeing eyeballs, getting attacked from something behind the window (I’m not telling you what it is) and in the end leads to one brutal stabbing/hanging. As if that’s not terrifying enough, her friend, who’s trying to help her the entire time, gets turned into sushi (aka hacked up) by the window the first girl falls through. In-friggin’-tense.

16. Misery

I literally just got pain in my ankles thinking about this movie. What a rough way to find out what “hobbling” means. I, along with half the planet, can no longer look at a sledgehammer the same way.

15. Cabin Fever

I’m sure part of it is because I’m female and have to shave my legs on weekly (sometimes daily) basis, but the leg shaving scene is by far the best thing Eli Roth has put on film. I still have to make sure my legs are flesh-eating-virus-free before shaving.

14. Tenebre

Definitely making the most of the whole loud-noise-then-action horror movie formula, the end of Tenebre is just shocking. It would be cruel for me to tell you exactly what happens without you seeing it, mostly because the reason why it’s so insane is because of the movie’s backstory. It was a shock not only because of what happened, but also because of who it happened to. Hitchcock homage, anyone?

13. Zombie

Here’s the deal: you KNOW it’s going to happen, but it takes so long to actually happen, the suspense almost kills you. At least that’s how it was for me. I didn’t breathe throughout the entire scene and I must say this is the first (and hopefully only) case when I’m glad someone’s eye got gouged out.

12. The Orphanage

One scene in this movie just made me want to vomit and perhaps may be the reason why I’m attracted to the Mirrors trailer so much. A mysterious woman, Benigna, comes to Laura’s house (she’s the main character). After a series of events, Benigna is hit by a car. When they show her TOTALLY FUCKING MUTILATED FACE I sobbed a little on the inside out of sheer terror.

11. Freaks

Being attacked and turned into a freak by other fellow freaks is not my idea of a good time. That bitch Cleopatra had it coming though. Either way though, watching those freaks eerily walk (or roll, in The Torso’s case) toward the girl actually made me feel bad for her for a split second. And I thought rednecks were bad…

10. The Thing

If aliens really look like the aliens in this movie, I’m checking out now. I mean, that poor dog! That fucking runaway head?! I still have a hard time sleeping at night after watching that and I’ve seen it a few dozen times. Yes, I’m aware I’m a masochist.

9. Oldboy

There are so many screwed up things that happen in this movie that it’s really hard to pick just one moment, but of course, the ending literally shocked the boots off everyone who’s seen it. Between cutting off his tongue and finding out he’s been banging his daughter (and maybe even knocking her up), this guy messed himself up BAD!

8. Tideland

Watching a little girl prepare AND inject her own dad with heroin was pretty hardcore, but when he dies, she uses him as a giant doll. HE’S FILLED WITH MAGGOTS AND GAS BECAUSE HE’S DECAYING AND SHE JUMPS ON HIS STOMACH, MAKING HIM FART AND SHE LAUGHS?! Jeebus fuckballs that’s so fucked…

7. Gozu

Between the tanned human skins and breast-feeding, I thought it couldn’t get any worse. That was until I saw a grown woman give birth to a grown man. I’m sure watching this movie at 3 a.m. didn’t make things easier, but come on, that’s just outright scarring.

6. Full Metal Jacket

It’s official: Vincent D’Onofrio is the most chilling fucker alive. DID YOU SEE THAT LOOK ON HIS FACE?! I was literally so uncomfortable when I saw it that I immediately started laughing. Private Pyle and his crazy talk totally scared the bejesus out of me.

5. The Exorcist

I had such horrible sympathy pains after watching that vagina-meets-crucifix scene that I got rid of my Ouija board, stopped going to church and remained a virgin until I was 18. Quite an impact, don’t you think?

4. Un Chien Andalou

Hands down, watching this movie was the weirdest 16 minutes of my life. I couldn’t believe I just saw a REAL EYE get cut open. Sure, it wasn’t a human eye, but that’s not the point. It’s close enough to cause projectile vomit, therefore it works for me.

3. Irreversible

I worked at a video store in college. A friend of mine, Mark, told me to watch this movie because it was one of his favorite movies and I’d totally love it. When I came into work the next day, I chucked the movie at his head and screamed as loud as I could, “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” You want to know why? The 9-minute anal-raping scene. As if rape scenes aren’t horrible enough! It takes a lot (and I mean A LOT) to offend me, and this totally did. **NOTE: EVEN YOUTUBE DIDN'T HAVE A CLIP OF IT. THAT SAYS SOMETHING**

2. Cannibal Holocaust

This film is fucked up on epic proportions. He literally kills a handful of animals in this movie, but nothing worse than that helpless turtle. The poor thing was kicking (and I’m sure it would’ve screamed too if it could) even after it got its cute little head hacked off. That shit was brutal but not that good, brutal way (it’s a Metal thing, you wouldn’t understand).

1. Sleepaway Camp

I will NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER forgive my friends for making me watch this movie. EVER. The movie starts off being this totally harmless, typical psycho killer 80s horror flick then does a total 180 and travels to Crazyville. Nothing in my entire life has scared me more than the end of this movie. Not only does the look on Angela’s face scare the crap out of me…but that SOUND SHE MAKES?! It’s so ridiculously animalistic and savage that it just sent a chill down my spine. In fact, to this day I can’t watch it without feeling totally sick.

Liquid Nitrogen Into A Swimming Pool

2008-07-29T23:15:00.000-07:00

At Penguicon 4 in 2006, Nifty Guest Howard Tayler of www.SchlockMercenary.com took this video of Penguicon co-founder Rob Landley throwing a bowl of liquid nitrogen in the swimming pool, and the resulting billow of fog.

Hilarious new viral video on McCain, absolutely brilliant

2008-07-29T23:13:00.000-07:00

youtube.com — "The Commander in Chief Test," from Humanitainment, the folks who brought you "The Empire Strikes Barack." It's the funniest McCain video I've seen. (Resubmitted because the McCain bury brigade sunk first submission despite 180 diggs in the first 2 hours.)

If you can dream It..You can do It..

2008-07-29T23:10:00.000-07:00

Hello boss... er, it's about your Ferrari

2008-07-26T05:46:00.000-07:00

Hot wheels ... Fiorano in flames

SHOCKED showroom driver Martin Bullen faced a tricky phone call to his boss after this £250,000 Ferrari went up in smoke.

Martin, 43, was at the wheel as the 599 GTB Fiorano burst into flames at traffic lights.

Firefighters were quickly on the scene and doused the blaze – but the car was wrecked.

And shaken Martin was left to break the news to Paul Jaconelli, owner of supercar garage Romans International in Banstead, Surrey.

Paul, who had asked Martin to drive the motor to repairers, said yesterday:

“He rang me and said, ‘Your car’s just gone up in flames’.

“At first I hoped he was joking, but I soon realised he was serious.

Fire-ari ... firefighter battles blaze

“I asked him why it had happened and he said he had no idea.

“Martin’s worked here since he was 15 and he’s a great guy. It’s obviously not his fault – so I’m not going to hold it against him.”

The amazing blaze was caught on camera by a stunned passer-by.

Paul, 58, added: “Martin said the car made a noise at the lights, then just went up in smoke. It should be covered under warranty – but it wasn’t great news.”

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1175191.ece

The Original Pelican Eats Pigeon

2008-07-26T05:45:00.000-07:00

Hearing on Limits of Executive Power: Vincent Bugliosi

2008-07-26T05:43:00.000-07:00

BUSH Impeachement HEARING Vincent Bugliosi Hammers BUSH!

youtube.com — This guy lets it loose........They try to shut him up.....several times. A must see!!!!

Never mess with Gordon Freeman!

2008-07-26T05:41:00.000-07:00

Pick up the can? No.

WeGame.com - Half-Life 2 Videos

FACT: There's something wrong with the banana of George Bush

2008-07-22T07:30:00.001-07:00

2008-07-22T07:28:00.000-07:00

A brief history of the Joker

2008-07-22T07:26:00.000-07:00

By Patrick Kevin Day, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Where did the Joker come from?

Christopher Nolan's film, "The Dark Knight," certainly doesn't give us any clues. But though the character has many versions of his origin in the fictional world, his actual history is a multimedia mash-up of drawing, voice-overs and visual performance. He's gone from evil clown to annoying clown, to dark, evil, murderous clown that gives you nightmares. And if the buzz continues into the spring, the latest man in the makeup, Heath Ledger, may win a posthumous Oscar for his Joker performance.

But to understand where Ledger came from in his acting, you have to go back to see the characters development over the last 68 years.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-joker-2008-pg,0,664720.photogallery