In an echo of the Great Depression, local currencies with their own special flavors are popping up all over in attempts to give commerce and communities a lift.
Last year, two Detroit businessmen were bemoaning the local economy—no one in the city had cash, and when they did, they spent it in the suburbs. Then the pair hit on a solution: Print their own money. Thus was born the “Detroit Cheer,” a local scrip accepted by a handful of city businesses, including a pizzeria, an electrician, a few local pubs and a doggy day care center.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
She did everything right except...
Sometimes the people hired to protect us demonstrate, for all to see, that they are so pathetically incompetent, so cowardly in their actions, and so void of any social conscience, that we finally understand our safety and the safety of our children rests SOLELY in our hands and we cannot rely on anyone else!
Here is yet another, UNBELIEVABLE video that should be a wake up call to you and your family. Folks, you must adopt the mindset that you are on your own when it comes to your personal safety.
Watch this teenage girl, who could be anyone’s daughter, do everything right except…
watch video
Here is yet another, UNBELIEVABLE video that should be a wake up call to you and your family. Folks, you must adopt the mindset that you are on your own when it comes to your personal safety.
Watch this teenage girl, who could be anyone’s daughter, do everything right except…
watch video
Monday, February 8, 2010
The Who Sing to the Obama Faithful
I must admit that as soon as I heard that The Who would be the halftime entertainment at the Super Bowl, the timeliness of what would likely be their last song immediately crossed my mind. However, that didn't lessen the impact of seeing the aging rockers belt out their classic, "Won't Get Fooled Again," although this time with more significance for America than at any time since the song was written. The enthusiastic crowd -- thousands of whom undoubtedly sport Obama/Biden bumper stickers on their vehicles -- joined Townshend and Daltrey in thunderous unison each time the line "We don't get fooled again" was sung. Ironically, the extent to which the song indicts Obama was probably lost on all, save the venerable old Englishmen themselves, who hail from a bygone era when the left was actually anti-establishment.
The U.S. Constitution: The 18th Century Patriot Act
At some point in the past, the American ethos was centered on suspicion of government –whether liberal, conservative, or otherwise. For most of America’s first two centuries, Americans were taxed less, regulated less, and left more alone by their government than any other people in the world. These conditions resulted in an explosion of innovation, wealth, and culture unsurpassed at any time in human history.
As that trend seems to have reversed, Americans look to their past to try to establish where we have gone wrong and what we can do to solve our problems. Increasingly, some Americans point to the U.S. Constitution and our abandonment of its “limits on government” as the reason for our downfall. It is generally argued by “strict constitutionalists” that the purpose of the U.S. Constitution was to limit the power of the government. Nothing could be further from the truth.
As that trend seems to have reversed, Americans look to their past to try to establish where we have gone wrong and what we can do to solve our problems. Increasingly, some Americans point to the U.S. Constitution and our abandonment of its “limits on government” as the reason for our downfall. It is generally argued by “strict constitutionalists” that the purpose of the U.S. Constitution was to limit the power of the government. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Rice Fields of Japan
Stunning crop art has sprung up across rice fields in Japan, but this is no alien creation. The designs have been cleverly planted.
Farmers creating the huge displays use no ink or dye.
Instead, different color rice plants have been precisely and strategically arranged and grown in the paddy fields.
As summer progresses and the plants shoot up, the detailed artwork begins to emerge.
The farmers create the murals by planting little purple and yellow-leafed Kodaimai rice along with their local green-leafed Tsugaru, a Roman variety, to create the colored patterns in the time between planting and harvesting in September. The different varieties of rice plants grow alongside each other to create the masterpieces.
A Sengoku warrior on horseback has been created from hundreds of thousands of rice plants. The colors are created by using different varieties. This photo was taken in Inakadate, Japan.
From ground level, the designs are invisible, and viewers have to climb the mock castle tower of the village office to get a glimpse of the work. Closer to the image, the careful placement of the thousands of rice plants in the paddy fields can be seen.
Napoleon on horseback can be seen from the skies. This was created by precision planting and months of planning by villagers and farmers located in Inkadate, Japan.
Fictional warrior Naoe Kanetsugu and his wife, Osen, whose lives are featured on the television series Tenchijin, appear in fields in the town of Yonezawa in the Yamagata prefecture of Japan.
This year, various artwork has popped up in other rice-farming areas of Japan, including designs of deer dancers. Smaller works of crop art can be seen in other rice-farming areas of Japan such as this image of Doraemon and deer dancers.
The murals in Inakadate cover 15,000 square meters of paddy fields.
Rice-paddy art was started there in 1993 as a local revitalization project, an idea that grew from meetings of the village committees.
In the first nine years, the village office workers and local farmers grew a simple design of Mount Iwaki every year. But their ideas grew more complicated and attracted more attention.
In 2005, agreements between landowners allowed the creation of enormous rice paddy art. A year later, organizers used computers to precisely plot planting of the four differently colored rice varieties that bring the images to life.
Farmers creating the huge displays use no ink or dye.
Instead, different color rice plants have been precisely and strategically arranged and grown in the paddy fields.
As summer progresses and the plants shoot up, the detailed artwork begins to emerge.
The farmers create the murals by planting little purple and yellow-leafed Kodaimai rice along with their local green-leafed Tsugaru, a Roman variety, to create the colored patterns in the time between planting and harvesting in September. The different varieties of rice plants grow alongside each other to create the masterpieces.
A Sengoku warrior on horseback has been created from hundreds of thousands of rice plants. The colors are created by using different varieties. This photo was taken in Inakadate, Japan.
From ground level, the designs are invisible, and viewers have to climb the mock castle tower of the village office to get a glimpse of the work. Closer to the image, the careful placement of the thousands of rice plants in the paddy fields can be seen.
Napoleon on horseback can be seen from the skies. This was created by precision planting and months of planning by villagers and farmers located in Inkadate, Japan.
Fictional warrior Naoe Kanetsugu and his wife, Osen, whose lives are featured on the television series Tenchijin, appear in fields in the town of Yonezawa in the Yamagata prefecture of Japan.
This year, various artwork has popped up in other rice-farming areas of Japan, including designs of deer dancers. Smaller works of crop art can be seen in other rice-farming areas of Japan such as this image of Doraemon and deer dancers.
The murals in Inakadate cover 15,000 square meters of paddy fields.
Rice-paddy art was started there in 1993 as a local revitalization project, an idea that grew from meetings of the village committees.
In the first nine years, the village office workers and local farmers grew a simple design of Mount Iwaki every year. But their ideas grew more complicated and attracted more attention.
In 2005, agreements between landowners allowed the creation of enormous rice paddy art. A year later, organizers used computers to precisely plot planting of the four differently colored rice varieties that bring the images to life.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Herschel Walker: I’m Going To Become A Fighter
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Herschel Walker could have rested easy after his football career – the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner locked up a got a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame and owned multi-million dollar meat company. But he’s taking the opposite route, choosing to compete in a sport that didn’t exist two decades ago when the 47-year-old former running back was in his athletic prime.
On Jan. 30, Walker will step into the Strikeforce cage in Sunrise, Fla. to face Greg Nagy (1-1). To prepare for his MMA debut the Georgia Bulldog immersed himself in training at the American Kickboxing Academy for nearly three months. A lifelong martial artist, Walker has always challenged himself athletically, like when he made the 1992 Olympic bobsled team mid-way through his NFL career, but men his age tend to focus more on how good they used to be than how much they still have left to achieve.
On Jan. 30, Walker will step into the Strikeforce cage in Sunrise, Fla. to face Greg Nagy (1-1). To prepare for his MMA debut the Georgia Bulldog immersed himself in training at the American Kickboxing Academy for nearly three months. A lifelong martial artist, Walker has always challenged himself athletically, like when he made the 1992 Olympic bobsled team mid-way through his NFL career, but men his age tend to focus more on how good they used to be than how much they still have left to achieve.
The Danger behind the Fed's Exceptional Profits
...one thing is certain: from the market point of view the Fed is a bankrupt institution. History provides an example of a currency backed by a phony real-estate market: French assignats, which ended up being completely devalued.
The only thing keeping the Fed alive is the protective umbrella of the American state and its legal-tender laws. This is not a parasitic relationship but a symbiotic one. What remains to be seen is how strong this symbiotic bond is and how long it will take to succumb to unavoidable decay.
The only thing keeping the Fed alive is the protective umbrella of the American state and its legal-tender laws. This is not a parasitic relationship but a symbiotic one. What remains to be seen is how strong this symbiotic bond is and how long it will take to succumb to unavoidable decay.
The Man Who Cured Heart Disease With a Natural Molecule, 20 Years Before Cholesterol Drugs!
In 1982 Dr. Morrison wrote: "I am Lester Morrison MD, and I have been a doctor for over 50 years. Much of that time has been devoted to finding a way to stop heart disease, which killed my mother, my father and several other members of my family and remains the number one killer in the U.S. and other developed countries."
Dr. Morrison provided compelling evidence in the 1960s that heart and blood vessel disease could be reversed and prevented with natural molecules, particularly chondroitin sulfate. This was over 20 years prior to the advent of the first cholesterol-reducing statin drug, Mevacor (1987).
Friday, January 22, 2010
What you learn raising daughters
And as my ladies grow up, I’m sure I’ll learn many more things from them along the way -- like knock before ever entering a door in my own house, or how to purchase tampons while still keeping a shred of my dignity (clue: drive to another city and wear a disguise) -- but for now, I feel like it’s time to share what I have learned from raising my daughters so far. Here’s hoping karma will cut me a little slack.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Life is a Sport
Life is a Sport! 7 Homes With Amazing Sports Amenities
No matter what game you fancy, these abodes will satisfy your athletic side.
No matter what game you fancy, these abodes will satisfy your athletic side.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
You will believe what we tell you to believe
Recent paper by Obama adviser Cass Sunstein proposes bizarre methods to stamp out "false conspiracy theories," including taxing the people who engage in them.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Why You Don't Want to Rely on Fortified Foods
It should be clear by now that fortified processed foods will never be equal to fresh whole foods. Similarly, synthetic vitamin supplements cannot compare to whole food supplements that contain naturally occurring vitamins in their unadulterated form.
With all the focus on getting enough of certain essential nutrients, many have been fooled into thinking they can supplement their way to good health, using fortified foods and vitamin supplements as an easy way out of having to make significant dietary changes.
More often than not, this simply will not lead to the healthy results you’re looking for.
With all the focus on getting enough of certain essential nutrients, many have been fooled into thinking they can supplement their way to good health, using fortified foods and vitamin supplements as an easy way out of having to make significant dietary changes.
More often than not, this simply will not lead to the healthy results you’re looking for.
Who watches the watchers?
This city's afraid of me. I've seen it's true face. The streets are extended gutters, and the gutters are full of blood. And when the drains finally scab over, all of the vermin will drown. The accumulated filth of all their their sex and murder will foam up around their waist, and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout,
"Save us!"
And I'll whisper,
"No".
Now the whole world stands on the brink, staring down into bloody hell. All of those liberals and intellectuals, and smooth talkers, and all of a sudden no one can think of anything to say. Beneath me, this awful city. It screams like an abottoir full of retarded children. And the night reeks of fornication and bad consciences...
From my favorite character from any comic book-based movie ever.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Alt Text: Wilderness Survival, iPhone-Style
If you scan the list of top iPhone apps, you might be forgiven for thinking that the device, like adolescence, is mostly for playing videogames, making rude noises and connecting to Facebook.
However, a more thorough examination of the digital delectables on offer in the app store will reveal that, far from being merely a plaything that receives phone calls — as long as you don’t live in rural Montana or my neighborhood — the iPhone is actually a hard-core survival tool.
However, a more thorough examination of the digital delectables on offer in the app store will reveal that, far from being merely a plaything that receives phone calls — as long as you don’t live in rural Montana or my neighborhood — the iPhone is actually a hard-core survival tool.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
This is War
This is a call to arms, gather soldiers
Time to go to war
This is a battle song, brothers and sisters
Time to go to war
Did you ever believe?
Were you ever a dreamer?
Ever imagine heart open and free?
Did you ever deny?
Were you ever a traitor?
Ever in love with your bloodless disease?
This is a call to arms, gather soldiers
Time to go to war
This is a battle song, brothers and sisters
Time to go to war
Ever want to be free?
Do you even remember?
Want to be god and devil like me?
Ever want to just stop?
Do you want to surrender?
Or fight for victory?
Here we are at the start, I can feel the beating of our hearts
Here we are at the start...
Darkness falls, here comes the rain to wash away the past and the names
Darkness falls, here comes the rain to end it all, the blood and the game
Far, far away in a land that time can't change
Long, long ago in a place of hearts and gold
Far, far away in a land that time can't change
Long, long ago in a place of hearts and gold
This is a call to arms, gather soliders
Time to go to war (Far, far away...)
This is a battle song, brothers and sisters
Time to go to war (Long, long ago...)
This is a call to arms, gather soliders
Time to go to war (Far, far away...)
This is a battle song, brothers and sisters
Time to go to war
This is a call to arms, way of the night
This is a battle song, way of the night
Monday, January 11, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Fog of War Demystified by Financial 'Power Law'
War is hell, but scientists are learning more about the devil that governs major conflicts.
Attacks and casualties as a result of modern warfare can now be predicted using a mathematical model developed by scientists in the United States, the United Kingdom and Colombia. The research could save the lives of soldiers in the field or prevent future attacks.
"When you hear about these attacks on the news at night, they just sound haphazard," said Neil Johnson, a scientist at the University of Miami in Florida and a co-author on a recent paper in the journal Nature. "But when we looked at them, we found that there were universal relationships across conflicts."
____________________________________________
Occupation, territories occupied, civilian casualties caused by occupying forces, world policing, treaty violations, geography, demographics, prominent religion, broken promises, and motive. Boom. I got all the information I need for an accurate model, and I just saved you millions in funding and man-hours.
Attacks and casualties as a result of modern warfare can now be predicted using a mathematical model developed by scientists in the United States, the United Kingdom and Colombia. The research could save the lives of soldiers in the field or prevent future attacks.
"When you hear about these attacks on the news at night, they just sound haphazard," said Neil Johnson, a scientist at the University of Miami in Florida and a co-author on a recent paper in the journal Nature. "But when we looked at them, we found that there were universal relationships across conflicts."
____________________________________________
Occupation, territories occupied, civilian casualties caused by occupying forces, world policing, treaty violations, geography, demographics, prominent religion, broken promises, and motive. Boom. I got all the information I need for an accurate model, and I just saved you millions in funding and man-hours.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The U.S. Is In Deep Doodoo
The following article was first written in 1998. I am relinking it here not so much as to say "I told you so", but to point out that the long term economic future of the United States was obvious, or should have been obvious, to the people who are awarded lofty degrees and paid huge salaries to comprehend such things. Instead, the economists persisted in explaining away the visible signs of gathering troubles and earned their salaries by justifying why the policies that robbed the poor to give to the rich should continue unabated.
Always losing your phone? Put a leash on it.
Laurie Penix, co-founder and president of Zomm, came up with the idea for the gadget earlier this year after a friend's husband lost his third iPhone. She started the company with her husband, Henry Penix, who is also its CEO.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Travis' New Year's Eve Jump
CG rendering of Pastrana's New Year's Eve jump from Nitro Circus on Vimeo.
Travis takes his first visit to the site of his upcoming world record jump attempt for a healthy dose of holy-sh*t-this-is-going-to-be-huge. Also in the clip is a first-look at a CGI animation of how the jump will look when it's televised live on ESPN.
This New Year's Eve, action sports icon Travis Pastrana will star in Red Bull: New Year. No Limits., live on ESPN. Travis will attempt to shatter the world record for distance jumping in a car at the Pine Street Pier in Long Beach's Rainbow Harbor.
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UPDATE:
In Defense of Titties
Now, I know what you’re saying: “Ryan, why do you have to defend titties? Who could hate titties? I love them!” I’m not talking about those wonderful delights that have caused men to spend crazy amounts of money on dinners at the Olive Garden. I’m talking about those wonderful MMA fighters who may not be in the best possible shape. The ones who look as if they just got done with a workout of 12-ounce curls. They may have a little junk in the trunk, if you will. They’re husky. Big boned. Yep, use pretty much every line a mother uses to make her son feel better for loving to eat Cheetos for every meal. (They’re so tasty, though!)
Let’s face it: You have moobs. Man boobs. If you’ve been watching this season’s The Ultimate Fighter (and if you haven’t, what’s wrong with you? Rampage, Rashad, Kimbo!?!?), then you’ve seen Rampage continue to make fun of Darrill Schoonover by calling him “titties,” since Big D may not be the best physical specimen on Earth. But having an amazing physique doesn’t make you a good fighter. As Kenny Powers says in Eastbound and Down on HBO, “I play real sports … not trying to be the best at exercising.” So even though these guys may not have beautifully etched abs, cannonball delts, cobra-like lats, muscular thighs, and a firm bottom, it doesn’t mean they can’t scrap. (Did I really just write that sentence? Holy hell! I need to go look at pictures of hot chicks ASAP.)
Read more...
Let’s face it: You have moobs. Man boobs. If you’ve been watching this season’s The Ultimate Fighter (and if you haven’t, what’s wrong with you? Rampage, Rashad, Kimbo!?!?), then you’ve seen Rampage continue to make fun of Darrill Schoonover by calling him “titties,” since Big D may not be the best physical specimen on Earth. But having an amazing physique doesn’t make you a good fighter. As Kenny Powers says in Eastbound and Down on HBO, “I play real sports … not trying to be the best at exercising.” So even though these guys may not have beautifully etched abs, cannonball delts, cobra-like lats, muscular thighs, and a firm bottom, it doesn’t mean they can’t scrap. (Did I really just write that sentence? Holy hell! I need to go look at pictures of hot chicks ASAP.)
Read more...
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