antinomian.com

It turns out iPod users (in Britain at least) are more likely to be mugged than the population at large. Theives are IDing members of “The Pod” community by their distinctive headphones and targetting them due to the device’s (relatively) high value and users’ percieved affluence. Police have suggested that potential victims may want to swap their earbuds for some less recognzable headphones, but many users are unwilling to part with their little, white status symbols. Even an Apple spokesperson scoffs at the idea, saying some iPod-ers would “rather be robbed” than use less trendy headphones. The “coolness” issue was hashed out on MetaFilter recently. Predictably, the discussion soon turned into a pissing match about who had the most CDs/MP3s/etc. and why “compressed” audio formats were of insufficient quality for some dude’s vast collection of Dead bootlegs or whatever. Anyway, the moral of the story, I guess, is that Beamers get keyed more than Hyundais, mansions get robbed more often than studio apartments and the Gucci set are more likely to be pick-pocketed than folks wearing the latest from Martha Stewart. All things considered, it’s F-ing tough for rich people today! You know, maybe we should give them some kind of breaks on their taxes to make up for all their stuff that gets pilfered. Seriously!

What would you call this style of illustration??? I’m seeing more and more of it on the el, in banner ads, even on TV. For lack of a better term, I’ve been referring to it (when I talk to myself) as “US Anime,” since it seems to draw on the more subtle, yet characteristic, elements of that genre (huge eyes/head… physiologically implausible bodies… etc.) without indulging more Japanese-centric fascinations, such as huge blue hair or schoolgirl outfits. Okay, so that one guy has blue hair, but it’s not huge and spiky!

An amateur inventor in Japan has created a motor that can output more electricity than is input. This is accomplished through the use of precisely aimed and sequenced magnets. Luckily he has already patented this device, before the auto industry had a chance to kill him, wreck his shop and shove the blueprints into the fiery pit of hell (which is located somewhere inside Ford Motor Company, I believe… =) (Thanks to momus for the link)

On the bus today, I looked out the window and saw a man in the back of a cab reading the Sun Times. I could make out the headline cause it’s the Sun Times and they print their headlines in 114-point, boldface fonts, and so anyway, this particular headline (no pun intended) read: “The New Third Base.” So I looked up the article when I got to work, and it turns out some teens have oral sex. Who would have guessed? Anyway, if you’re still interested, you can read all the juicy details here. My favorite quote from the article?

“At the back of the bus, in classrooms, in gyms when no one’s around — all over the schools it’s happening”

Just because it’s sounds like one of those bits in the middle of a Pulp song where Jarvis starts talking instead of singing and the music gets all dramatic and stuff.

Scorsese pal Paul Schrader weighs in on The Passion and he says it’s “disturbing.” Or, at least, that’s the impression you’d get from reading the headline of the above article. Looking at the quote it’s based on, however, you would learn that in fact, it’s the film’s audience that Schrader describes as, “an interesting and disturbing phenomenon.” My interest piqued by this bit of wordplay, I did what all good Americans do when they want the real story. I visited the website of a foreign newspaper. The UK’s Guardian ran a story about Schrader’s remarks, and I think you’ll find their account a bit more enlightening.