Pentrix. I’ve never been able to master the 360 degree normal—that annoyingly absent-minded trick where somebody (we’ll call him “Ace”) spins a pen effortlessly around his thumb. Then again, I’ve never really been good with pen tricks in general. But now there’s a web site that can help. Well, maybe it can’t help me, but […]
Crazy Apes and Damaged Bananas (and Pens)
Posted by Ben on July 18, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/crazy-apes-and-damaged-bananas-and-pens/
La Cité des enfants perdus (****)
(City of Lost Children) (1995) dirs. Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet – Ron Perlman, Daniel Emilfork, Judith Vittet, Mireille Mossé, Joseph Lucien, etc., and The City Synopsis: The core story, maybe, is that there’s a mad scientist (of sorts) who, has… well, problems, as mad scientists are wont to have. Unable to dream, said mad […]
Posted by Ben on July 17, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/city-of-lost-children/
Top Ten George W. Bush Complaints About “Fahrenheit 9/11”
(from the Late Show with David Letterman, June 29, 2004) 10. That actor who played the President was totally unconvincing 9. It oversimplified the way I stole the election 8. Too many of them fancy college-boy words 7. If Michael Moore had waited a few months, he could have included the part where I get […]
Posted by Ben on July 16, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/top-10-gw-complaints-on-letterman/
‘squitoville
They kill humans, and from a more balanced perspective, that’s a good thing. I’m not saying that I’m gonna start wearing a t-shirt reading I [heart] mosquitoes anytime soon, but it (the above-linked article) does raise an interesting thought, one that you may not often have occasion to consider. (The point, for those of you […]
Posted by Ben on July 15, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/mo-squitoville/
Pseudoscience, Death By Cards, and Aliens
Numerous Lines about 106 Claims. Popular Science has an interesting article wherein the writer lists all the science claims he hears in a day—from cereal boxes to e-mail spam to radio natter—and then looks at the foundations for the claims. Not surprisingly, most of the claims are outright hooey, which simply makes the article that […]
Posted by Ben on July 14, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/pseudoscience-and-other-fun-stuff/
To your health
Superkid. One of the best lead sentences ever: “Somewhere in Germany is a baby Superman, born in Berlin with bulging arm and leg muscles.” So crazy you know it’s true, the article is a neat trip through the land of genetic mutations an internet-only bodybuilder supplements. (AP: “Doctors discover a toddler muscle man” by Linda […]
Posted by Ben on July 12, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/to-your-health/
Reason #34 why Canada’s pretty swell
It’s the 2004 Canada Day Quarter. (originally via BoingBoing, but I’d like to think I would’ve stumbled across it sooner or later)
Posted by Ben on July 12, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/reason-34-why-canadas-pretty-swell/
Free Science!
The survey’s asinine and you’ve gotta “register,” but once you do, everything on [email protected] (note: [email protected] is not the actual address) is free until August 31st, including premium content. Plus, you could (emphasis: could) win a digital camera.
Posted by Ben on July 11, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/free-science/
Bubba Ho-Tep (***1/2)
(2002) Don Coscarelli – with Bruce Campbell as Elvis, Ossie Davis as JFK, Bob Ivy as Bubba Ho-tep (not that you’d know), Larry Pennell as Kemosabe; also starring Ella Joyce, Heidi Marnhout, and Daniels Roebuck and Schweiger as incompetent Hearse Drivers Synopsis: ‘Bubba Ho-Tep’ finds Elvis resting in a nursing home in Mud Creek, Texas, […]
Posted by Ben on July 11, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/bubba-ho-tep-12/
If you’re brilliant and you know it, clap your hands
Robert Cringely of PBS’s I, Cringely directs your attention to an interesting APA article on self-perception of skill (or, as some would say, on the burden of stupidity). Cringely’s column is relatively interesting, though the APA article is actually more interesting. It’s fairly wide-ranging, looking at incompetence in humor, logical reasoning, grammar, and so on. […]
Posted by Ben on July 10, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/if-youre-brilliant-and-you-know-it-clap-your-hands/