G4: Morgan Webb or Olivia Munn?

I've been privy to the joys of the G4 channel for only about 8 months, but oh, joys there are. My two favorite shows on the deliciously hip/techie/nerdy channel are X-Play (although I preferred the simplicity of the old, game-core, version before the G4 powers that be decided that is should be a mini-AOTS) and Attack of the Show.

Some (stereotypical) men love Pamela Anderson or are hot on Catherine Zeta Jones. As far as movies go, I'm enamored with Christina Ricci. But we're talking about G4, and I don't think anyone, stereotypical or not, can argue with the delicious gamer and tech intellect paired with smokin' hot looks of Morgan Webb and Olivia Munn.



And I can't even remotely decide.

Could I have left the Webb/Munn question alone? Could I have posted images that were respectable as opposed to the FHM/Maxim/Whatever layouts? Sure. But then it wouldn't be as hot.

As the construct of my sentences reflects, the hottest thing about these women is their brains. Their penchant for tech. But being easy on the eyes doesn't hurt either.

What're your thoughts?

UPDATE: Taking into account a level of respect for these women, here they are sans exploitation, avec their respective co-hosts (see comments for full 'splainin'):






Ladies, please allow me to make some sort of amends for this phallocentric post: My eye candy and yours, David Duchovny.



...and for Frieda Bee: it's pretty difficult to find David Duchovny in his skivvies. Actually, damn near impossible. This is about as close as it gets.

Emo Wars in Mexico: Triste y Enojado

(Triste y Enojado = "sad and angry")



No, this is not a joke, although it is being treated like one because it deserves to be. From G4tv:

The frightening image above is from the front lines of the Emo Wars currently being waged across Mexico. Brave flat-iron brigades and elite moping squadrons have been deployed.

The war began in March when several hundred punks,metal-heads and rockabillies went on an emo-beating rampage in Querétaro, 160 miles north of Mexico City. The emos are fighting back with marches and an alliance with riot police.

Although some say Emo is regarded as homosexual in Mexico, others (like me) think kids always do this kind of dumb thing to each other, whether it's the mods v. rocker "wars" of the 60s or the punks v. skinhead wars of the 80s. I'd also like to note that the music of metalheads, punks and emos sounds almost exactly alike, so beating someone up over the razor thin distinction in styles and affectation is depressing evidence of the violent nature of humanity.

I couldn't even try to put it better. And if that's not enough, we've got a YouTube. It's in Spanish, and I don't know Spanish, but the visuals of the angry Emo mob are priceless:

Mark Levin is a Tremendous Douchebag

No, that's all.

He is. But he mentioned horrible, left-wing blogs today and I was hoping to make the cut.

Praise Jeebus!

Debbie Shank: Yes, Wal-Mart is the Villain

I love getting comments for my posts; it's like getting a present in the mail every time my email tells me that I got a comment. And for the most part, I simply reply (because I pretty much reply to all comments).

However, this one stuck with me on the issue of Debbie Shank and Wal-Mart:

Why is Wal-mart the villian? Three months after their employee enrolled in the health insurance they provide a semi-truck hits her and when she recovers a million $ they ask to be repaid their expenses. Ms Shank's accident is unfortunate but not Wal-marts fault. I haven't read anywhere if she recovered funds from her auto insurance...only that she can no longer afford a full time nurse and may have to move to a semi-private room.

My Response:

anonymous-

Wal-Mart provided health care. That health care provided Debbie Shank with the care she needed to recover to the point that she was before the settlement.

The settlement - which, because of costs, she got less than half of - was a court's decision that she needed/deserved that money to maintain proper care of her because of the injuries she incurred.

Wal-Mart, because of their insurance small-print, was well within their rights to recoup expenses. But there is business and there is good business; there is small print and there is over-reaching past morality and humanity to make a buck. Corporation, business, or human: this is wrong.

For fucking Christ's Sake! The woman can't remember her son died in Iraq from day to day and weeps like it's the first time every time. Throw her a fucking bone by not raping her for the money that might take care of her that she won't even realize anyway! "Hallelujah. Holy shit. Where's the Tylenol? "

Wal-Mart will always be the villain because of how they strongarm producers to produce overseas (see: China) to increase their profit margin and kill American jobs in order to give us lower prices and lower standard-of-living jobs.

20% of China's product goes to Wal-Mart. 80% of what Wal-Mart purchases is from China, lead paint and all. Wal-Mart is the villain because it is hurting America and Americans. Nothing less.

Capital F You

I've recently changed "Cause for Concern" to "Cause For Concern." (The F is capitalized now.) This was a rash decision that will cost me in hundreds of man hours to append the title across the internets. Actually, after I watermarked the Hillary Sniper Photoshop below, I realized I capitalized the F. And it looked good. And I don't care if it doesn't match across the internets.

So welcome to my new same blog Cause For Concern. Enjoy!

Political Snypa: Intimidation, Under Fire

I am troubled.

I'm all for either Hillary or Obama over Maddog McCain, but the back-and-forth insanity of negative campaigning and which Democratic candidate is less desirable is starting to grate on my nerves. In my opinion, attacks on Clinton and Obama by the right wing and each other have been blown out of proportion.

And then this happened:

In a March 17 speech, Clinton said, "I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base."

That account was still posted on her campaign Web site yesterday.
Clinton told CNN last week, "There was no greeting ceremony, and we basically were told to run to our cars. Now, that is what happened."

WTF? I'm not by any means trying to push an agenda, but I find this disheartening. There is a HUGE fucking difference between the-

Story: Under sniper fire and at the risk of my own an my daughter's life, we ran from the plane, ducked down, and hurried into the armored vehicles.

and the Reality: We waltzed off the plane, sans body armor, with motherfucking Sinbad, and listened to a little girl recite a poem.

I cannot reconcile the two. I cannot believe that is mis-remembering - two separate times misremembering and misremembering again when she authorized that it go up on the website. I do believe when she talks about sleep deprivation clouding her judgment, it was not her memory that was clouded, but the thought process that would have censored her and said in her head "Um, don't you think they have video of this? Do you really think you can get away with this story?"

And then this happened:

20 "top fundraisers" for Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign yesterday "upbraided" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for suggesting last week that Democratic superdelegates "should back the candidate with the most pledged delegates and urged her to respect the right of those delegates to back whomever they choose at the end of the primary season." The AP reports that in a letter to Pelosi, Clinton's supporters "said superdelegates 'must look to not one criterion but to the full panoply of factors that will help them assess who will be the party's strongest nominee in the general election.'"

The New York Times adds that the letter, "which carried threatening overtones in noting that many signatories were major Democratic donors, highlighted the deepening rift inside the party among supporters for Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama." Roll Call reports the "donors also pointedly noted their own contributions to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. 'We have been strong supporters of the DCCC. We therefore urge you to clarify your position on super-delegates and reflect in your comments a more open view to the optional independent actions of each of the delegates at the National Convention in August.'"

The theories abound on the right about the crazy strong-arm, knife-fight tactics the Clintons will use to - under any circumstances - secure the nomination. I would like to believe the best candidate, the majority candidate (or Al Gore) will win the nomination. Then her supporters decide to play political meathooks and knock Pelosi around a little bit.

And Hillary Clinton distances herself from the letter while allowing the threat to remain attached to her name.

For this week, I'm a little down on Hillary. And when it's starting to become clear that Obama is like Teflon on the pastor issue (foreshadowing future Teflon...ism), disillusionment of my "support both until the convention" idealism is slowly being revealed like the gummy center of a Blow Pop.

But, for the record, even if the selection rapes the process all to hell, while I'll be angry and rant swear to abundance, either Democratic candidate is better for our country than John McCain. Unless, of course, you fancy a row with Iran?

New Tower of London?

From DVICE:

Apparently, by 2015 London will need to provide housing for a million more people. That's no easy task, but as we told you a few weeks ago, the UK company of Popularchitecture is proposing a completely insane 5,000-foot-high tower that'll be able to house all million people in one go, and we recently snagged some more shots of it.

Coolest building that will never be.

A Cyber-Security Czar With No Cyber-Security Experience?

From BoingBoing:

The Bush Administration has finally filled the long-vacant "cyber-security czar" -- with a guy who has no experience with cyber-security (though he seems a decent sort).

By all accounts, Beckstrom is neither a cyber-security expert nor a Washington insider. But his private-sector background and published writings emphasize a decentralized approach to managing large organizations.

Good show, Bushie!

Frisky Dingo

You've heard of Frisky Dingo, haven't you? The Adult Swim animated series that just might be the funniest thing ever on television? You haven't? Well Christ in a Cardigan, you better get on the stick then.

Seriously, I haven't seen an animated series that I can (and have) watched over and over and over again and laugh as hard or harder every single time. It's post-modern speculative fiction dark comedy in the sense of the classic "Never apologize. Never explain" vein (Where is Killface from? What did Awesome X do before? Who cares a wit?). And you simply must see it. I'm not advocating downloading a torrent or anything, but only Season 1 is available on DVD. Season 2 wraps this weekend.

Okay, okay, here's a taste:



I'm giddy like a monkey finding the last lump of tossable poo on Monkey Island. Get it. Love it. Yum.

2008 Scion Hako Coupe

From MSN Autos:



I don't usually get all excited about cars, but I think I just tinkled in my pants a little.

Reminder: Me. In Your Box.

You know you're special to me. Yes. I'm talking to you.

And while you may have been here from the beginning, you may also be very, very new to this sexy, sultry place I like to call home.

You see, my first thoughts are of you, and I would hate for you to miss even one, single second.

So over there on the left, just below that little Hellbox avatar, it says "Enter Your Email." You know what that does? It will slide every little thing I write straight into your box every morning. And if you haven't tried Ricky Shambles in the morning, well, let's just say it's better'n an Egg McMuffin. Speaking of muffins...

So sign up, brace yourself, ...and release.

Now. Put your pants back on. What kind of place do you think this is?

(...and just because it fits...)

Jobs Cut, Unemployment Drops?

Draft from a couple weeks back, but still relevant.



From the AP on Yahoo:

For the second straight month, nervous employers got rid of jobs nationwide. In February, they sliced payrolls by 63,000, even deeper than the 22,000 cut in January, the Labor Department reported Friday.
...
The unemployment rate actually dipped slightly from 4.9 percent to 4.8 percent, as 450,000 people left the labor force for any number of reasons. Economists thought many people probably gave up looking for work.

Granted, the unemployment numbers reported in America are about as valid as Nielson Ratings, but this odd, cold shift in statistics at least captures the level of despair in America over the economy and the state of lower employment and making less than our parents, etc.

They just gave up.

Wal-Mart and Debbie Shank: Tragedy, Horror

Oh yeah, and Wal-Mart is the fucking Devil. Have your heard the story of Debbie Shank?

Debbie Shank breaks down in tears every time she's told that her 18-year-old son, Jeremy, was killed in Iraq.

Even though the 52-year-old mother of three attended her son's funeral -- she continues to ask how he's doing. When her family reminds her that he's dead -- she weeps as if hearing the news for the first time.

Shank suffered severe brain damage after a traffic accident nearly eight years ago that robbed her of much of her short-term memory and left her in a wheelchair and living in a nursing home.

It was the beginning of a series of battles -- both personal and legal -- that loomed for Shank and her family. One of their biggest was with Wal-Mart's health plan.

Eight years ago, Shank was stocking shelves for the retail giant and signed up for Wal-Mart's health and benefits plan.

Two years after the accident, Shank and her husband, Jim, were awarded about $1 million in a lawsuit against the trucking company involved in the crash. After legal fees were paid, $417,000 was placed in a trust to pay for Debbie Shank's long-term care.

Wal-Mart had paid out about $470,000 for Shank's medical expenses, but in 2005, Wal-Mart's health plan sued the Shanks for the same amount.

The Shanks didn't notice in the fine print of Wal-Mart's health plan policy that the company has the right to recoup medical expenses if an employee collects damages in a lawsuit.

The family's attorney, Maurice Graham, said he informed Wal-Mart about the settlement and believed the Shanks would be allowed to keep the money. Video Watch this couple's story »

"We assumed after three years, they [Wal-Mart] had made a decision to let Debbie Shank use this money for what it was intended to," Graham said.

The Shanks lost their suit to Wal-Mart. Last summer, the couple appealed the ruling -- but also lost it. One week later, their son was killed in Iraq.

"They are quite within their rights. But I just wonder if they need it that bad," Jim Shank said.

In 2007, the retail giant reported net sales in the third quarter of $90 billion.

No, that doesn't really need any further commentary.

Wake Up Wal Mart Video: Are You Living Better Yet?

Wal Mart is the devil. Another video from Wake Up Wal Mart:

In Brief: Who Ordered the Global Warming?

For anyone who has heard Rush or Savage or any other ignorant douchebag shout that Global Warming is junk science, liberal scare tactics, because someone had to put on a jacket in Florida in winter, and wanted to punch them in the dick, here's your fist:



From CNN:

A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk, scientists said Tuesday.

Satellite images show the runaway disintegration of a 160-square-mile chunk in western Antarctica, which started February 28. It was the edge of the Wilkins ice shelf and has been there for hundreds, maybe 1,500 years.

160 square miles. Gone. Just in case there was any fucking question.

Updates: Insane McCain and Dead Soldiers

Two quickies to mention:

1. I've added a counter to the left column to keep track of the confirmed American Soldiers who have died since we illegally invaded Iraq in 2003. When we hit five years and then we hit 4000 and the media made a little hiccup and a fart - just slightly offset - and then continued on with their Britney lobotomy monotone drone, I figured bright yellow was appropriate.

2. How Insane is John McCain? I really enjoy this blog. Welcome to Linktastica! my friend!

(UPDATE: Now ultra-alphabetized! After a brief foray into mental ineptitude that had me convinced "How" began with a W, we now have HIIJM in the H's.)

LifeGem: I Always Said Grandma Was a Gem

Caught this over at Angry Ballerina's Place, and according to the LifeGem website, those beauties you see above were once people.

The LifeGem® is a certified, high-quality diamond created from the carbon of your loved one as a memorial to their unique life.

Love. Life’s single greatest risk. Life’s single greatest reward. Love captures your heart in a second and holds it for eternity.

You have experienced a love without equal. You have had someone truly special in your life and mere words simply will not do.

Yes, you can send them your loved one's ashes and they'll make it into a diamond. Ooh, and not to leave out the buried folks, they also accept human hair. So technically you can grow out your own hair, have a diamond made of you and wear it yourself. I guess if you put it that way, it's kind of hot.

As far as the dead bodies into gems, I think it's kind of sad (read the testimonials). When we lose loved ones, it is the memories, the stories that carry on their legacy long after they're dead; to turn loss into a "thing" - in my opinion - is to miss the point, to covet the uncovetable, and hopelessly grasp at the intangible through a false attempt at manifestation.

Now the LifeGem for pets -- no, that's.... I'm going to crawl up in a corner for a while.