The Humor Impaired Strike Again

Hat tip to Anne, head of research for the forthcoming monthly Chippy Awards.

I thought the episode was funny.

Swearing and random death and destruction are staples of the cartoon, which has been broadcast since 1997. Irwin, killed by a stingray's barb while snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef in September is the latest celebrity to be lampooned by the show.

The episode, aired in the U.S. earlier this week, shows Satan preparing to host a Halloween fancy dress party. Other guests include Princess Diana, Hitler and rapper Notorious B.I.G. Critics have been appalled by the Irwin character's depiction in a bloodstained shirt and with a stingray still attached to his chest.

I will admit I had an "I can't believe they're doing this" moment, but then I remembered who the writers are. Plus, it was genuinely funny.

Basically, at a costume party Satan is holding at the "W" in Vegas, Satan tries to eject someone wearing a "Croc Hunter" costume, complete with sting-ray in the chest, basically saying "Dude, it's just too soon for that". When he discovers that it actually is Steve Irwin (the dead have been invited to the party as well, there's Hitler, Gacey, George Burns, etc...), Satan looks nonplussed for second and then says "No costume. You have to leave."

Priceless.

I find it interesting that more people seem upset by this than by the fact that some of the Catholic priests in the episode had naked pre-teens on dog-leashes.

Whatever. People need to lighten up and get a sense of humor. And yes if it had been my dad or brother or whatever that was being lampooned, I would have laughed as well. Because they both have the same wicked sense of humor I do and would have appreciated it for what it was.

Something funny.

There Is But One True God, And Mohammed Is His Bitch

Really, why is this even news.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) -- A Danish court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed by Muslim organizations against the newspaper that first published the Prophet Mohammed cartoons that touched off protests in the Islamic world.

The City Court in Aarhus said it could not be ruled out that some Muslims had been offended by the 12 drawings printed in Jyllands-Posten, but said there was no reason to assume that the cartoons were meant to "belittle Muslims."

Who cares whether the cartoons were meant to belittle Muslims. That's not exactly the point. The point is whether I can express my opinion about any topic I want. Whether it's my favorite color, political statements, or criticism of a cult of violence and death. Granted, it's harder to express yourself in Europe than in the US, because you can be successfully prosecuted for offensive speech in some countries. Fortunately, based on this dismissal, Denmark isn't one of them.

If this had been an issue involving a depiction of Jesus, Moses, or one of the many incarnations of Buddha, this would have largely been a non-issue. Sure there would have been some people upset. But I can guarantee that there would be few, if any, calling for death and/or dismemberment. The worst would be people saying it was in bad taste. There definitely would not be world-wide riots and outrage as a result.

The seven Muslim groups filed the defamation lawsuit against the paper in March, after Denmark's top prosecutor declined to press criminal charges, saying the drawings did not violate laws against racism or blasphemy.

There are laws against blasphemy? What the hell? How can it be blasphemy if you don't even believe their tripe? And last I looked, Denmark was not part of the Caliphate.

The lawsuit said the cartoons depict Mohammed "as belligerent, oppressing women, criminal, crazy and unintelligent, and a connection is made between the Prophet and war and terror."

Oh, this is rich. Could the depiction possibly be a result of the fact that Islam itself is belligerent, oppresses women, and is composed insane asshats who embrace death and chaos? Who can blame people for assuming your "Prophet" is part of the whole deal? I mean, you obviously put a lot of stock into what he has said. It's not such a far leap to figure that he must espouse these ideas. Look at how Islamics in the Middle East act. You get judged on actions, not intentions. Although, in this case I think that Islams actions truly do reflect its intentions.

Islam, it's time to act like an adult member of the world's religions. These tantrums don't solve anything. If anything it just pisses people off. Even Europeans, who are known for tolerating and accommodating almost anything in the name of multi-culturalism, are getting a little irritated.

The Ride Of The Pedantic Ranger

This is disturbing enough.

Authorities in northern New Mexico have stumbled onto what appears to be classified information from Los Alamos National Laboratory while arresting a man suspected of domestic violence and dealing methamphetamine from his mobile home.

Sgt. Chuck Ney of the Los Alamos Police Department said the information was discovered during a search last Friday of the man's records for evidence of his drug business.

Police alerted the FBI to the secret documents, which agents traced back to a woman linked to the drug dealer, officials said. The woman is a contract employee at Los Alamos National Laboratory, according to an FBI official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the case.

You know after the Schroedinger's Hard Drive incident (first they were lost/stolen, then determined to never have existed), the ease of wandering into the facility, and other security gaffs, I'm no longer surprised at anything that happens at Los Alamos. Well, I take that back. I would be surprised if the only news that came out of there was actually science related and not about yet another security breach.

But this... this is what bothers me.

"Los Alamos has always seemed to be rewarded for its screw-ups," Brian said. "We're waiting with baited breath to see if anything has changed."

What is it you ask? Is it that I disagree with this statement? That I agree with this statement?

Neither.

Look at the quote again. Now read this site.

It's bated! Bated, you illiterate mockery of a journalist! Not baited. What, did he eat a worm, hence getting worm breath, hence baiting his breath to attract birds?

I thought if you were a journalist, you were required to have at least a passing familiarity with the English language. Thanks for making everyone who read your article just a little bit dumber.

God, I hate journalists almost as much as I do politicians.

UPDATE:

CNN, which is carrying the same AP article has the correct usage. But the FOX article, which is linked above, still has the incorrect usage. It looks like CNN had access to a dictionary.

Technology Tuesday

Just a quick roundup of tech news.

New Releases

Firefox 2.0 is scheduled for release later today. Not sure on the exact time, but keep checking the site.

Fedora Core 6 (Zod) was released today. It appears the Fedora Project site is down for the count right now. I'm guessing it got hammered by everyone trying to be the first to download the installation image.

Ubunutu Linux 6.10 (Edgy Eft) is scheduled for release on October 26, 2006.


Expect An Uptick In Epileptic Seizures

Here's a raincoat that has flickering lights activated by rain hitting sensors embedded in the nylon.


Quantum Malware

It appears people are already thinking about ways to infect the new breed of computers. Still conceptual, but hell, so are quantum computers.

I'm Ahead Of The Curve

I've held this idiot in contempt for years...

In a worst-case scenario for Thompson, the outspoken attorney could be jailed by Judge Friedman if he were ruled in contempt.

However, a knowledgeable legal source has told GamePolitics that options such as fines, judicial admonishment or censure are more likely.

Take special care to read his email rant quoted at the link above. I can just imagine him frothing at the mouth as he pounded this barely coherent missive out on his keyboard.

This loon needs to be disbarred.

The Chippies

After reading crap like this, and this, I'm seriously considering going on a fifty state tour with the ol' wood-chipper.

I'd chronicle the despicable actions of these aberrant shit-bags, but it seems this kind of shit happens at a remarkably, and infuriatingly, high frequency. I'd run out of space and time.

So I've decided to come up with a monthly award entry. I'll call them The Chippies. The winner is the most deserving to be fed feet first into a wood-chipper.

The trophy will be a small bag of sawdust.

Pirates Linked To Global Warming

Have you been touched by His Noodly Appendage?

The Mallard Duck of Freedom

So, I'm watching the World Series on FOX (because nothing else is on). As part of the pre-game, they brought John Mellencamp out to shill his new album by singing a song from it. It's that sickly saccharine Our Country song he already whored to Chevy (in fact the commercial ran right after). The performance was... meh.

However, what was priceless was the FOX cameras panning for reaction shots. Almost every person they focused on had an expression that is best described as bored disinterest. Some even looked downright hostile -- as in "start the damn game, already!" hostile.

It also had this weird montage that lasted all of 5 seconds before FOX pulled the stoned control board operator out of the trailer. The typical "Yay, America" pictures complete with the Amber Waves, Golden Gate Bridge... and a close up of a mallard duck at sunset (sunrise?). WTF? Of all the things that represent this country, a mallard duck is probably number 10,452 on the list. It was surreal. And I wish the montage would have gone on. It was much better than the closeups of the "we're f-ing cold, get this goon off the field and start the game" people in the stands.

Now, I've got nothing against John Mellencamp. But I've really got nothing for him either. I will extend my appreciation to him for giving me a good chuckle.

Anita Baker did a bang-up job National Anthem. That's a difficult song to do with instrumentation, but she pulled it off a capella. She was visibly excited at the end, and that was kinda cool.