Pop Urls

Here’s a great site that just resuced my number of home tabs by about 3.  It’s sort of like all the good RSS feeds really nicely presented.  popurls.com

Wii Don’t Hate Wii. Do Wii?

As everybody on earth knows in what has to be the fastest spreading news ever to spread in the history of the earth, Nintendo has announced that the name of the here-to-fore called revolution is to be: Wii (pronounced “we”). And everyone seems to hate it. Of all of the editorials I’ve seen on game sites most say Wii is a bad idea while others say it’s stupid. Of comments on stories about the name change 90% of them are negative (not a formal %–an estimation). Ever since I first saw the Wii controller I’ve believed Nintendo has a big winner on their hands, and the more I read about people’s experience with the controller the better I think they’re going to do. The insane amount of publicity that this name change has generated is also a bit of a coup for Nintendo–yeah, it’s mostly people saying that Nintendo has gone nuts, but it’s publicity none the less. Additionally, I like the name.

Along with the name change Nintendo published the following in their site:

Introducing … Wii.
As in “we.”
While the code-name “Revolution” expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer.
Wii will break down that wall that separates video game players from everybody else.
Wii will put people more in touch with their games … and each other. But you’re probably asking: What does the name mean?
Wii sounds like “we,” which emphasizes this console is for everyone.
Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.
Wii has a distinctive “ii” spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play.
And Wii, as a name and console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video games that sets it apart from the crowd.
So that’s Wii. But now Nintendo needs you.
Because, it’s really not about you or me.
It’s about Wii.
And together, Wii will change everything.

That’s what Nintendo had to say and I buy it. I think Wii will change everything. I also think its going to outsell the 360 within a year and PS3 will have trouble keeping up with it (even in America). I don’t expect Nintendo’s initial sales burst to maintain a market lead because I expect MS and Sony to adapt and catch up pretty effectively (the 360’s announcement about a depth sensitive camera for mo-cap is already a concession to Nintendo).

So welcome to the next great console (the last one was the DS (get brain age if you haven’t)) it’s name is Wii and it’s going to be more fun than wii’ve had playing video games in a very long time.

What is the sound of a million fanboys creaming their pants simultaneously? I don’t know either, but a Battlestar Galactica prequel sounds pretty cool to me, too.

What is the sound of a million fanboys creaming their pants simultaneously? I don’t know either, but a Battlestar Galactica prequel sounds pretty cool nonetheless

Yamipod

Here’s an alternative to iTunes for anyone else out there who hates it. YamiPod

Flaming Heterosexual!

Recently a federal appeals court in San Fransisco has ruled that a school may ban students from wearing certain t-shirts. This case stemmed from an incident where some students were kicked out of school for wearing t-shirts that say “www.godhatesfags.com” of course my first instinct was to get to that site and see what might be interesting or inflammatory enough to get students to wear not just an offensive slogan but actually do some advertising for an anti-gay website.

I was truly surprised by what awaited me and honestly I found it pretty entertaining. Www.godhatesfags.com is the website for the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. The church was established in 1955 by the, in-my-opinion, bat-shit crazy Pastor Fred Phelps. The thing about his anti-gay philosophy is how completely obsessive he is about it. It’s apparently the only sin that he really cares about and he associates every other sin with it.

He seems to believe that not only should every “fag” be killed but that everybody in America should be killed because they are not actively killing the “fags”. His anti-homosexuality stance is so pervasive that it has become an anti-America stance. He goes as far as thanking god for soldiers dieing in Iraq because the army is infested with sodomites (news to me, but that might not be a bad recruiting message to try to boost enrollment–I’d consider signing up for sure, I’ve always found sodomites to be really entertaining to hang about with).

I want to be clear that I could not disagree with a person to a greater degree than I do with Pastor Phelps and the following quotes are in no way the opinion of myself or any member of 8&5. I’m putting them here because… well… in a way their pretty funny.

Some of my favorite quotes from www.godhatesfags.com:

“God loves everyone, the greatest lie ever told”

“Conversations on a daily basis ought to include conversations about Sodom!”

“You have got to tell your children all there is about Sodom” (same link as above)

“Going after anal-copulating fags” (also same link)

“Take a good look, America. Here are your typical fag-ass American soldiers”

“Thank God for Katrina”

“Thank God for three more dead troops.”

And my favorite headline “Scarborough Country = Brokeback Mountain“. Now I’ve seen Brokeback Mountain and when I want to hear some lies I watch Scarborough Country and although I do think Joe Scarborough could be a closeted homosexual I am sure he’s not a cowboy. I do, however, relish in the idea of him being attacked by what can only be called an extreme conservative.

Some people may find what I’ve posted here offensive, and I think they should. But we (everybody on earth) need to be aware of what a crazy guy who claims to be preaching the word of God is capable of. The beauty of Pastor Phelps is that even if you truly believe homosexuality is a sin you have to disagree with the rest of the crap he says. Thus it allows people who consider themselves fundamentalists to take an assessment of their beliefs and realize that where they thought was a solid line between right and wrong is actually just something some dude made up and perhaps they need to put some thought into why they believe what they believe.

P. S. The way Pastor Phelps seems to be limited to preaching about homosexuality and nothing else leads me suspect that he’s actually gay.

The South Carolina bill, proposed by Republican Rep. Ralph Davenport to ban sex toys

South Carolina Republican Representative Ralph Davenport has introduced a bill in South Carolina to ban sex toys… considers ban on phallic phruit as well.

Canadian Scams - Reader’s Digest

This is a true story about cross-border scams.  In this scam, my aunt fell victim to a predator from Montreal and sent him every dime she has saved over the past forty years before she asked us for help.  There is an MP3 of my call to the perpetrator at the bottom of this posting.

To sum it all up…my aunt sent over $150k to this guy who now claims if should could just send $1k more, then Customs would send her her checks for $450k.

* * * * *
Sometime in October of 2005 my aunt was contacted by telephone from someone claiming to be Barbara Morgan with Reader’s Digest Canada.  She informed my aunt that she had won $250,000 and needed to pay insurance and taxes to claim the money.

After my aunt started paying the money, they advised her she became eligible for an additional $200,000 prize but she would need to send more money.

The final scam was a $1.13 million payout claim. This payment went to Colin (last name unknown, we could not find a receipt).  It may have been the payment to Barry Foster.  Upon hearing of this payment, Paul Forest called my aunt and yelled at her, telling her that Colin was a scam artist and that she could only trust him: Paul Forest.  She believed him.

My aunt sent the money through bank transfer, Western Union and MoneyGram. She sent amounts of $2000 or $3000 dollars.  We have all of the Western Union and MoneyGram receipts.  We have currently advised my aunt to let all phone calls go to the answering machine.  Her phone still rings several times an hour but no messages are left unless the caller is a family member.

My aunt has had the most contact with Paul Forest since October 2005 and his phone number has recently been most active at:  514-568-5110.  No phone call has been longer than 5 minutes with most calls lasting 1 minute.  A reverse-lookup seems to indicate the phone is from Fido communications, a subsidiary of Rogers Communications INC.  Use of the phone for fraud violates the terms and conditions of the Fido service policy. Section 3 “Service Agreement”, subsection 16. “Fair Use”. http://www.fido.ca/portal/en/home/legal.shtml#agreement

My aunt sincerely believed that she was going to get this money.  Even though she was alerted several times by Western Union, her bank, and Moneygram that things seemed fishy - she was convinced by her “friend  Paul Forest” that she would collect the winnings if she only would send in what she “owed.”  She believed them when they told her that her payments would be returned if she wasn’t able to pay what they wanted.

We have alerted the FBI and turned over copies off all receipts.

The transfers went to:

Montreal, Quebec
LaSalle, Quebec
Lachine, Quebec

The money was wired to the following people:

Barbara Morgan
Paul Forest – 514-578-3814, 514-568-5110 (Fido Communications)
Colin (Day??) – 514-920-4121 (Bell Mobility)
Barry Foster
Curtis Cundiff
Margaret Florence
Margret Florence
Mary Landow
John Walters
Marc Henry Gauthier
Andrew Tater
Caroline Arnold
Thomas Waters
Jack Rambish
Barry Foster

Phone provider data retrieved from:

http://www.reversephonedirectory.com

 

20 April 2006
12:39pm (approx.)

(Click below to launch the MP3)

As the call progresses, it is obvious he is trying to make sure his lies he is telling will mesh with the lies he has already told. Especially after I let him know my aunt is actually on the line. I can’t believe he spoke to me for as long as he did since I called him out as a scam artist within the first 60 seconds. The call is just over 3 minutes long.

I called “Paul Forest” at 514-568-5110 with my aunt and others all listening in on a conference call.  I used a pre-paid calling card to prevent the perpetrator from getting my phone number.  We recorded the conversation with a tape recorder.  Paul claimed to work for a company named “Customs Canada” at 5321 Park Ave, Suite 302 in Montreal, Quebec.  He said he was not able to provide any proof of the existence of any checks.  He said he had already explained everything to Helen and there was nothing he could add to convince her family that he was legit and everything was true.  Paul claimed he could only speak to Helen about the transaction.  I informed him that Helen was on the line and I had her make her presence known.  He claimed his boss was named “Peter Carter” and had the same phone number.  When I pressed him as to why he and his boss share a phone he claimed it was simply an office line.  When I told him I believed he was running a scam, he hung up on the call.

None of the information supplied by “Paul” can be cross-referenced using typical internet directories and search engines.  “Canada Customs” general information is readily available using Google:  http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=canada+customs.

No address information can be found using the address supplied by “Paul”.

I hope Paul (surely not his real name) and all of his fellow scam artists burn in hell.

You had me at “all of space jiggles like a bowl of Jell-O”.

You had me at “all of space jiggles like a bowl of Jell-O“. Check out this animation.

Don’t want! Don’t want! No Short Dick Man!

Guess who has an inferior television?

YOU!

Wouldn’t it be better to just project the images onto your wall? If this requires a massive wall (103 inches is 8 feet, 6 inches for you lazy people) then wouldn’t a projector be better?

Who REALLY wants a 400 lb. TV?

I guess HDTV porn might be a draw.

It would be better if someone could just develop a brand of paint that can automagically receive TV signals. Then when you go to Home Despot or Menard’s or Target even, you could just get a couple of gallons of HDTV-paint. Then you would be able to turn any wall into a high-def TV.

I don’t want the hardware…I just want the results.

We Digress, Feminism!

This is just a bit of a conversation Sarah and I had a couple of day’s ago regarding feminism. Nothing too profound, but there are some good observations. Sarah is nearly complete with her MFA in theatre and has approached her art from a feminist perspective ever since I’ve known her so she has become a bit of an expert on the subject and I consider myself a strong feminist as well. We talk alot about theatre and mention some plays including “Third” by Wendy Wasserstein and two by Martin McDonagh, “Six Shooter” (an Oscar winning short available from iTunes) and his great play “The Lieutenant of Inishmore”. We also touch on Shakespeare and a bit of Tarintino. We spoke while we walked through the beautiful and poor East Missoula where every house has a fence and a dog behind it, thus the barking.

We Digress, Feminism!

The picture is from the Rythym Method Actors production of Lysistrata done here in Missoula last summer.