Clipmarks | Kelika's Pops

Bitterroot Fire

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:02:33 GMT

clipped by: swampfoxz
clipper's remarks: we feel the picture is a once-in-a-lifetime shot

Bitterroot Fire

"This awesome picture was taken in Bitterroot National Forest in Montana on August 6, 2000.
The photographer, John McColgan, is a fire behavior analyst from Fairbanks, Alaska. He took the picture
with a digital camera. Because he was working at the time he took the picture he cannot profit from it;
however, we feel the picture is a once-in-a-lifetime shot and should be shared."

Tags: bitterroot fire

Virtual worlds carve out new path

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:42:25 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: "The first step is to have virtual worlds as a common medium for ordinary people. It has to become far more ubiquitous, more like a toaster than a DVR,"
What virtual worlds do well is contextualise social encounters in a way that social networking cannot do, he thinks.

"Without places it is hard to have activities. The bowling alley or the alcohol does not matter as much as the people but if you do not have the bowling alley or the alcohol it's just an empty room and no-one comes,"

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Virtual worlds carve out new path

If you are walking with orcs in the World of Warcraft or setting up a business on planet Calypso, the real world is probably very far from your mind.

There is a sharp divide between so-called Massively Multi-player Online games (MMOs) which aspire to draw from the real world, such as Second Life, and those, like World of Warcraft, which proudly inhabit a land of pure fantasy.

Cityscape

Hoping to change that is Twinity, one of a growing number of games determined to make a link between the virtual world and the real.

allows users to hang out in some of the world's most famous cities

Twinity is a virtual world from Metaversum with avatars that walk around real cities. Metaversum chief executive Jochen Hummel says people can feel as though they have been to a city.

Networking avatars

"Virtual worlds are about experimenting and doing something different," she said.

Going one step farther, Myrl has created a social network exclusively for avatars.

Anonymity

Tags: virtual, reality

how to be annoying online

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:58:53 GMT

clipped by: swampfoxz
clipper's remarks: 5. Upload text files with Bible passages about sin or guilt and give them names like "SexyHousewivesI," then see how many people download it. Challenge your friends to come up with the most popular come-ons.

Clip Source: www.chiprowe.com

how to be annoying online

1. Make up fake acronyms. Online veterans like to use abbreviations like IMHO (in my humble opinion) or RTFM (read the fucking manual) to show that they're "hep" to the lingo. Make up your own that don't stand for anything (SETO, BARL, CP30), use them liberally, and then refuse to explain what they stand for ("You don't know that? RTFM").

2. WRITE YOUR MESSAGES IN ALL CAPS AND DON'T USE RETURNS SO THAT EVERYONE HAS TO SCROLL ACROSS THEIR SCREENS TO READ EVERY LINE. ALSO USE A LOT OF !!!!! TO SHOW THAT YOU'RE EXCITED ABOUT BEING HERE!

3. When replying to your mail, correct everyone's grammar and spelling and point out their typos, but don't otherwise respond to the content of their messages. when they respond testily to your "creative criticism," do it again. Continue until they go away.

Buy a compression program and compress everything you send, including one-word e-mail responses like "Thanks."

Tags: annoying online

death by noise

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:38:02 GMT

clipped by: mona

Clip Source: afp.google.com

'Acoustic smog' is major threat to whales, say researchers

Underwater cacophony caused by commercial and military ships has become so intense that it is killing whales, scientists at the World Conservation Congress here say.

Just as air pollution reduces one's field of vision, "noise pollution in the sea reduces the zone in which whales can feed and hampers their ability to communicate

Recent research on a population of some 300 sperm whales living around the Canary Islands provide an unique window onto the problem.

Sperm whales normally migrate, but the squid upon which they feast are so plentiful in these waters that this group has made the region their permanent home

Some forms of noise pollution are so powerful that "a whale can be killed outright by the shock,"

Sonars used by the military and the oil industry can exceed 230 decibels in volume, and can be deadly within a one- or two-kilometer

radius

Eighty-five decibels

can cause permanent damage to the human ear

Why People Need To Be In Love

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 04:55:39 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: A woman is like a pack of cards ...

... You need a heart to love her

... A diamond to marry her

... A club to smash her head in

... And a spade to bury the bitch

Ok, that was a little rude, I admit, but FUNNY

Clip Source: www.globusz.com

People need to be in love because it’s a good thing. But not everyone will be in love.

Being in love with someone gives you internal happiness. You know you are not alone. There’s someone out there who wants the same things as you and who enjoys the same things as you and who supports you and takes care of you and loves you and sleeps with you.

If being in love is rushed, it crushes. You need to really know the person before you commit to them and totally open up to them. Unfortunately we live in a cruel world where some people don’t have honest intentions. Something like being in love can be manipulated for their own benefit, which would not benefit you but bring you misery. If someone loves you that means they are saying that they are not going anywhere. Thus there is no need to rush for anything.

Being in love should not be used as means to take advantage of someone neither should it be used to ruin someone’s life.

Being in love should be enjoyed, appreciated and looked forward to.

Women Test Limits

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:08:02 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "Now, women are taking courses run by nongovernmental organizations, getting educated and learning ways to improve their family incomes. Most important, the women have won over the men, she said.

“Their minds have changed,” Najiba said. “They want to share decisions, not too far, but they want to give us some share.”

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

BAMIAN, Afghanistan — Far away from the Taliban insurgency, in this most peaceful corner of Afghanistan, a quiet revolution is gaining pace.

Women are driving cars — a rarity in Afghanistan — working in public offices and police stations, and sitting on local councils. There is even a female governor, the first and only one in Afghanistan.

In a country with low rankings on many indicators of social progress, women and girls are the most disadvantaged.

More than 80 percent of Afghan women are illiterate. Women’s life expectancy is only 45 years, lower than that of men, mostly because of the very high rates of death during pregnancy.

The cult of war left women particularly vulnerable. For years now they have been the victims of abduction and rape.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The quiet work being done by women on the councils and in other jobs has helped turn things around for many in Bamian.

Sarah Palin: Poet of the Northern Tundra

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:34:20 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: blog.newhumanist.org.uk

I wrote the other day about Palin's steady (but often nonsensical) platitudes, but that was before I realised she was actually reciting her own poetry. Thankfully, Slate have put me right on that one

"Challenge to a Cynic"
You are a cynic.
Because show me where
I have ever said
That there's absolute proof
That nothing that man
Has ever conducted
Or engaged in,
Has had any effect,
Or no effect,
On climate change.
(To C. Gibson, ABC News, Sept. 11, 2008)

See. She's actually a poetic genius

speak directly to fans through her intensely personal verses, spoken poems that drill into the vagaries of modern life as if they were oil deposits beneath a government-protected tundra

Let's have another example:

"Haiku"

These corporations.
Today it was AIG,
Important call, there.

(To S. Hannity, Fox News, Sept. 18, 2008)

As if this wasn't enough, Slate's Kitty Burns Florey also takes a look at Palin's grammar, and needless to say it's amusing.

The real Americans

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:58:31 GMT

clipped by: lifecyce1898
clipper's remarks: It seems her #1 job is to continue the illusion that the ultimate elitist party, the party of CEO and wall street fat cats is really the party of average America disparagingly cast as Joe and Jane six pack, too ignorant and uneducated to notice the phoniness. Ignore the 100000000 bank account, 10 homes and 13 cars, McCain represents the working American. What a crock of sh**!!

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

As Sarah Palin "aw-shucks-ed" her way through Thursday's debate, she repeatedly played the one card that has become her stock in trade: She is a real American. Her rural roots, her lack of sophistication and worldliness, her bare bones education, her plain-spokenness, her moose hunting -- all of these seemed to brand her as a typical American, one of us us. She has even taken to calling herself Jane Sixpack.

This characterization, ludicrous as it may be in a country as diverse as ours, is more than a matter of political aesthetics. One of the most important components of our recent presidential elections is the redefinition -- actually the narrowing of the definition -- of what constitutes an American.

One of the first national icons was Daniel Boone -- uneducated, adventurous, a man of action rather than intellect who, in his buckskins, couldn't have been more different from the typical Englishman

S&M Porn Illegal-Real Life Torture-OK!

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:39:16 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: But for our highest government officials, including the ones responsible for this prosecution, we have a different story altogether. In 2002, the Bush DOJ radically re-defined "torture" and illegal treatment of detainees to exclude anything that falls short of "the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death." The DOJ's John Yoo even decreed that the President could legally order "'scalding water, corrosive acid or caustic substance' thrown on a prisoner" and possibly even "slitting an ear, nose or lip, or disabling a tongue or limb."

Clip Source: www.salon.com

In seeking a more lenient sentence, one of Little's attorneys argued that the videos were not sadomasochistic. "Urine and vomit, our argument is, isn't sadistic or masochistic," James Benjamin said.
"What about humiliation?" the judge asked.

That, Benjamin replied, isn't in the legal definition of sadomasochistic.

"Clearly, there seemed to be pain," Bucklew said.

That was acting, Benjamin said. "The person that was involved in the conduct sat [in court] with a smile on her face and wrote your honor a letter saying, 'Judge, this was a beautiful part of my life.'"

"I don't even think this is a close call," the judge said. The videos portrayed "sadistic conduct . . . This is clearly degrading, clearly humiliating and intended to be so."

UPDATE: Put another way, top Bush administration officials have been immunized and protected despite -- according to a former U.S. Army Major General -- being responsible for real sadistic obscenities (i.e., "war crimes") as illustrated by these:

Tags: hypocrisy, law, crime, torture, stupidity, morality, police

Too many calories send the brain off kilter

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:40:08 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: The researchers report that that increased activity of the IKKß/NF-?B pathway can be divorced from obesity itself -- infusions of either glucose or fat into the brains of mice alone led to this inflammatory brain reaction.

Further studies revealed that this activity in the brain leads to insulin and leptin resistance. Insulin lowers blood sugar by causing cells of the body to take it up from the bloodstream. Leptin is a fat hormone important for appetite control.

Moreover, the researchers found that treatments preventing the activity of IKKß/NF-?B in the animals' brains protected them from obesity.

Clip Source: www.brainmysteries.com

An overload of calories throws critical portions of the brain out of whack, reveals a study in the October 3rd issue of the journal Cell

That response in the brain's hypothalamus-the "headquarters" for maintaining energy balance-can happen even in the absence of any weight gain, according to the new studies in mice.

The brain response involves a molecular player, called IKKß/NF-?B, which is known to drive metabolic inflammation in other body tissues. The discovery suggests that treatments designed to block this pathway in the brain might fight the ever-increasing spread of obesity and related diseases, including diabetes and heart disease.

He speculates it may have been an important element for innate immunity, the body's first line of defense against pathogenic invaders, at some time in the distant past.

In today's society, this pathway is mobilized by a different environmental challenge-overnutrition

Tags: brain, metabolism, obesity

BBC: Israeli settlers terrorize Palestinians

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:50:41 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Prime Minister speaks of "an evil wind of extremism" threatening Israel's democracy - meaning Israeli settlers, not Palestinians. Illegal settlers attack both Palestinians in their homes and Israeli soldiers who defend the Palestinians.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Hundreds of settlers are engaged in violence against Palestinians and Israeli soldiers, the senior Israeli commander in the West Bank has said.

About 500,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, among a population of about 2.5 million Palestinians.

The general said that in some cases Israeli soldiers who had intervened to stop settlers from attacking Palestinians had themselves been attacked by settlers.

Israeli political leaders have made comments along similar lines recently.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has spoken of an "evil wind of extremism" threatening Israel's democracy.

This was in reaction to a pipe bomb attack on a leading Israeli academic and critic of the occupation of Palestinian land by presumed hard-line right-wingers.

Mr Olmert has also described a mass attack by settlers on the West Bank village of Asira al-Qabiliya as a "pogrom".

All settlements are consider illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

Tags: israel, palestinians, terrorism

Violence erupts between Facebook factions

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:44:36 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Daily Mash reports:

Clip Source: www.thedailymash.co.uk

CARNAGE AS FACEBOOK MOVES EVERYTHING SLIGHTLY TO THE LEFT

HOSPITALS were struggling to cope last night as rival Facebook gangs fought running battles across a dozen British towns and cities.

Violence erupted as Facebook ignored the warnings of more than one million protesters and moved everything very slightly to the left.

Martin Bishop, commander of the Lyme Regis brigade of Keep the Old Facebook, said: "I was waiting for my page to load, looking directly at the centre of the screen, when suddenly my life became a storm-tossed fishing boat in a sea of confusion.

"Everything that mattered to me was now three centimetres to the left of where it normally is. And a little bit wider. And the blue-grey panel on the right was a bit wider too."

Roy Hobbs, from Dorchester, who makes weapons for We Like the New Facebook, said: "This is a motorcycle chain

You have to wear gloves when you're swinging it

He added: "That blue-grey panel was always far too narrow. Don't you think?"

Tags: humor, techology, internet

New Brunswick Veterinarians To Stop Cropping & Docking

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:22:47 GMT

clipped by: gingembre
clipper's remarks: Good news for dogs! Too bad the breeders are so heartless and self-centered.

vet: "People say it doesn't really hurt them, but they scream when you do it"

Hopefully it will be illegal for anyone to crop or dock to discourage breeders from mutilating dogs, causing unnecessary pain and risking infection.

Clip Source: www.cbc.ca

New Brunswick veterinarians will soon no longer perform cosmetic surgery on dogs, docking tails or cropping ears to make them stand at point.

Members of the New Brunswick Veterinary Medical Association made the decision because they say it's not in a puppy's best interest to have its ears and tail trimmed just for a certain look.

Cathy Adams, a vet practising in Rothesay, near Saint John, said she cringes whenever dogs come in for these procedures because she believes they are painful.

"Usually, when it's done, it's done between three and five days old. It's done without the benefit of anesthesia. People say it doesn't really hurt them, but they scream when you do it," she said.

The decision to stop cropping and docking in animal hospitals is drawing criticism from some dog breeders and kennel clubs.

a judge at Canadian Kennel Club competitions

said the province-wide policy is unfair to breeders, and may even put dogs at risk if owners try to do the procedures themselves

Tags: dogs, cosmetic surgery, veterinarians, new brunswick, canada, pets and pet care

Ryohei Hase’s Fantasy Art

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:54:29 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: paintalicious.org

Ryohei Hase’s words of wisdom “My strongest area is realistic fantasy art…trying to express feelings which difficult to show in words.“

These disturbingly beautiful illustrations of feral animal-headed people were made by the freakishly talented Tokyo-based Illustrator/Designer, Ryohei Hase. His portfolio comprises of very dark and ‘polished’ (photoshoped) artworks, each with meticulous structure hidden inside what are seemingly chaotic images that aren’t random by any means. Most of his works are fantasy art, which he says is his strongest area of artistry. Although his work does have a fantasy art feel to it, I would say he brings his art to fruition with a bit more style than most fantasy artists, plus he has a few very nice commercial pieces weaved into his gallery.

Left: “Bound” Right: “Melancholy”

“Their feelings 04”

Make sure to check out his deviantART page for high resolution images.

“Loss of Speech Stage”

“Bound”

“fatal Stage”

“Not knowing why can’t see”

“Can not prevent it”

Biden v. Palin

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:02:45 GMT

clipped by: oscarrob
clipper's remarks: On CNN someone said that she would be a candidate in four or eight years. I have no doubt that’s true. She reminds me of a talented sixth round pick in the NFL. She needs some development but with some time on the practice squad she will be a contributor to the Republican Party. Gone is the impression left from the Couric interviews that she is just a dope.

The verdict Biden wins. Palin holds her own and improves.

Clip Source: aplagueonbothyourhouses.typepad.com

Biden didn’t screw it up. In fact he was masterful. He did nothing that allowed anyone to accuse him of anything but being respectful of Governor Palin.

Good lawyers know when to stop questioning a witness and let what they have said stand. They know when to trust that the jury doesn’t need to have what they can see with their own two eyes forced down their throats.

He also did a great job of exhibiting that he knows John McCain well and you felt that you wanted to trust his judgment on “John.” You knew, by the end of the debate, that they were in the most exclusive club in the world together and you felt Biden gave you insight into McCain. Strategically this is excellent because Biden made credible hits on McCain’s maverick status and on his similarities to Bush. If McCain attacks Biden he will just look petulant because Biden isn’t his enemy.

Palin didn’t lose this either. Biden won, but she held her own.

Tags: politics, republicans, democrats, debate, obama, mccain, palin, biden