I'll be surprised if we see this in the news in the US...rest of the world? Who knows. Big news? Should be. I'm not sure that Constitutionality is a big deal anymore, sadly.

jake0748 and Jeff had posts long enough to capture my interest, but not so long I neglected to read them. [pause]

I went back and glanced over loquacious' post after I wrote the previous paragraph, mainly because it was so long there had to be something heartfelt in it, thus I felt like a bad registered user if I neglected it.

I have to agree full-bore with loquacious that proper criticism is becoming a lost art, and I think those who're afraid of enduring it suffer, and thus, those who blindly endorse their work. I agree to an extent with jake0748 that "if you can't say something nice..," but have to make an exception if the opinion is well-stated and served in a palatable manner (this is probably an over-statement--I have YouTube comments in mind right now).

Jeff's post cracked me up with its candor and correctness. I see people wearing special clothes and adornments who fulfill special societal requirements get all enthused about garbage and eye-rolling good stuff all the time, from old money to new money to "Harley people" to the myriad types of rockers, etc.

I'll be the first to tell you crap is crap, and I know it when I see it, and that my opinion is crap too, yet sometimes crap is manipulated; nuances and micro-nuances make crap gold in the eyes of a specific segment. When that happens, it's "gold enough."

Once something is "gold enough" no one can tell its admirers elsewise. Those I-don't-get-it appeals create defenses which when stimulated make objectivity is impossible. NASCAR is the best thing ever to those who like it; others will fist-fight you for dissing their favorite rapper. And so it goes.

I'm not of the opinion that steampunk is crap; I think steampunk is some pretty cool stuff, and in addition to being some pretty intricate work sometimes brings a new idea or two about in relation to object function.

With that in mind, Steampunk is a "scene" much the same as furryism. Don't fight it, just enjoy the stuff you like and leave the yiffing to the devotees.

I have never been so stoned that I couldn't be 100% back to reality and completely level-headed instantly if a situation demanded it. I have however, been drunk enough to screw up something serious if it had occurred. The difference was in the physical ability to react in the manner my brain demanded, not in processing power or its timeliness .

With that in mind, I have always had some small part of my consciousness remain sober and vigilant, no matter how inebriated I've been--my impression is that this is pretty common, based on the nature of the reactions of friends whom I've asked about that perception.

I think what we're seeing here is more shell shock than stoniness.

This looks like a real-world version of an excellent Adobe brand Photoshop alteration of an actual photo, created by a skiilled technician. Tasteless, horrifying, yet undeniably hilarious. Great find.

The George Bush and Waco stuff refers to the portion of Americans who fail to realize what they're seeing happening to this group is happening to them too, and they're just as oblivious.

I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I am at least conscious of the changes in the attitude of Americans in general, as well as the change in the nature of law enforcement since 9/11 (resultant IMO from the political and media psychosis and shareholder demand for profit). No one I know seems to have a different attitude, but polls & stuff seem to say that the collective we are kinda chicken and happy to suck government dick, and personal experience with law enforcement personnel seems to say they feel more empowered, or more correctly, more free to screw ever-more-severely with people over trivial stuff. I say that as a person who chats with officers from time to time and as a chance observer of police dealings with a wide array of individuals over 20+ years, not as a target.

The later post above this one about the banana prank is a great example. Submission is being trained into Americans, be it right or wrong. Scale and relevance of "offenses" are being forgotten in favor of black-and-white compliance.

I think a certain level or irreverence is healthy--there needs to be some level of "okay, you got me," along with a nod, an eyeroll, and some mutual respect between the good guys and the bad guys--that seems to have dissipated (I'm not referring to actual crime type crimes here). In other words, cops need to remember the phrase, "gee whiz you guys" and employ it as they used to.

With that in mind, realize I've not endorsed, justified, or accepted the stuff the religious group from the link was into. I think it's pretty icky, and it fails to comply with the morals of our society in general on some rather serious points, which bear serious review, which I trust the courts to deal with as instructed by the Constitution, of which I am an enthusiast.

Also realize that this is just some song put together by some people who found some catchy soundbites--and that not all art is dead serious stuff, or if it is, even accurate, no matter the material from which it's rendered.

For example, Judas Priest's song "Electric Eye."

I find the result of this prank pathetic. These students should have received a standard-issue bitching-at and some token slave labor.

Even worse is the reaction of one of the students:

"We think this is a just punishment," said Brendon Epker, one of the students who dressed as bananas. "We broke rules we shouldn't have broken."

If this technology proves successful and is widely adopted, it will likely prove the most effective strategy for converting me to vegetarianism.

I'm sending this one out and about.

Uh oh...they're getting organized. The big question: will Diggers embrace or despise? HILLARY

@#139

3) I worked for eight years as a nightclub doorman and dealt with truly desperate people both while at work (who weren't customers--that's a different kind of desperate, usually) and on my walk to and from work. I can relate to you, but only in a large male kind of way; I was never seriously threatened by anyone, but I had a often interacted with them to the extent that their plight was real for me, rather than an something to tease or mock.

Desperate people take on myriad personas (personae?), but when confronting a guy bigger than them who acts nice, tend to revert to their more typical self rather quickly, unless they're super-high or genuinely mentally ill. Most were just screwed up, devastated people who needed someone to talk to in the short term, and serious support in the long term.

I'm empathetic as heck by nature, and trying to help these people ended up making me kind of nuts. Until I see your smug photo associated with a story about how awesomely kind you are, don't mind your ego.

I had my doubts from the word go with Julio's story, but I'm trying to be positive in my BoingBoing comments. I think Boombotz has laid down the gauntlet (in a friendly way) and someone should go meet him (with an open mind) and see what they think.

Personally, I'd be happy to tell my mom and leave it at that. Why anyone other than Julio, his mom, and the mugger know what occurred is a problem for me. If a story like that involving me was put on the internet along with my picture I'd go into hiding. I'm not saying anything is fishy, just that I personally can't relate to the publicity part.

Whatever--I want it to be true, and I still think Bill & Ted's outlook is something everyone should embrace.

This is the philosophy of Bill & Ted in action.

I'm happy to read of it, and hope it becomes more universal.

Have a great night, all of you.

@ #14 antinous--it's a figurative for "confront with the truth," not a literal punch to the penis--consider it equivalent to when someone thinks they know the answer to a crossword you're working on, and you're like, "If you say the answer, I'll kill you!"

The same way I'd never actually kill someone who tried to give me a crossword answer I was trying to figure out on my own, I'd never actually punch anyone in the dick rather than tell them maybe they needed to look at him-or-herself a bit more objectively.

To clarify--don't ever punch anyone, especially not in the cock. Just be like all "hey, man...you should like maybe" or whatever.

So anyway no, I don't think it's some other kind of thing. I'm not sure what you mean.

I haven't crinkled anyone's anything; these allegations are false. I don't even know what "to crinkle" is. I would never hurt anyone.

dculberson, I see what you are saying. I am speak as good as you once I figure out how; you are right. Yes. Then grow as a person.

I've had a good look at Roger's site previously, and today also, and will enthuse that he makes neat stuff that should be appreciated. I know that solely due to Cory's posts here, and I mean no ill-will to Roger--or to Cory.

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Cry's psts bt hw h wn th 7th grd pplrty cntst nd ws vtd Mst wsm Dd n Crtv Wrtng Clss shld prbbly g n hs " wn th 7th grd pplrty cntst nd ws vtd Mst wsm Dd n Crtv Wrtng Clss"/nws-bt-hm st, crphnd.

mn n ffns, nd s sd lk Cry. Bt 'm mr thn hppy t cckpnch my bdds whn thy ct lk dts, nd bsclly t sms lk Cry s ttl gmnc f n knws hm nly frm ths st s d (wht? >M rd scnc fctn? >bwhhh!)

Anyway, great site, and best wishes to all.

That would make the best RV ever. When I have unlimited money I will find or recreate that bus, outfit it like one of those Marathon coaches, then spend years driving all over the continent.

I sincerely wish that something like putting humans on the moon again will become a priority again. I don't care if it seems wasteful--I have confidence that the problems posed will motivate quality discovery as it has before.

In Kennedy's moon speech the simple statement that we do these things "because they are hard" is something that remains true among the curious and is something I hold as a self-evident truth; that given a seemingly impossible challenge possessing some hope of success, the best and brightest appear in droves and kick ass.

The best and brightest are a class of people who deserve to be rediscovered and appreciated. Race and social class be damned, the overall goal here is to improve humanity. Terrestrial goals fail to inspire, because we're a single society mired in relative neighborhood bickering about retarded, simple crap courtesy of the colossal majority of dumbasses.

I'm not excluding myself from the dumbass group, just appreciating it objectively. That said, give those/us dumbasses something shiny to look at, and those neighborhood problems become more obviously petty. Give us a shot at being part of the shiny thing and neighborhood troubles may disappear.

I can't remember where I was going with tis.

Where are these people's children?

I'd just as soon saw my own leg off as abandon my parents to be amused by some balloon guy.

I almost gave up something great here, but with Ape Lad in mind, I realized, "No...I need to eat."

I bet LOLcats' pwners are just going ape over the money money money money GIANT MONEY from LOLcats they've missed out on, just the same as this PUG OWNER is being denied the HUGE $$$ via the one in a million opportunity to have his "all the responsibilities of a cat, plus all those of a dog" charming canine half-wit featured on national TV without being a pitbull.

If my cat was on national or even regional TV, I'd cherish it, slap my knee and have a good chuckle. If I paid out the ass for TiVo, I'd save it. THANKS TIVO. Since I don't have TV-cock-sucking TiVo I'd give a chuckle, tell my kitty he was nationwide, and forget it.

Other than that, don't post pictures of your dog where they're readily available to the rest of the planet and then whine when the appear elsewhere.

Did HappyCat (supposedly from Russian cat food pics) submit to becoming I Can Haz Cheezburger cat via his original contract? Probably, as Russian contracts go, but perhaps he didn't understand the language and was taken advantage of. Where's the fallout (no pun intended)?

But let's be honest--beyond the initial cuteness, snorting, and "cinnamon roll" tail, a pug's most prominent calling card is it's anus. And even considering that...they all look the same.

I'd be more concerned with Ape Lad...wait..the phrases Ape Lad uses are far more recognizable than any animal...but Ape Lad is cool, right? So if he rips off stuff by people who don't bother to copyright their work and makes $12,000 worth or "comix" based on a fake story it's cool and the whole "copyfight" thing

Just something to consider.

@ baconwrapped:

Speaking of valid opinions...

I find the whole Ape Lad thing pretty manufactured and tiresome. Using an internet meme as inspiration had potential as a one-time thing. Glomming onto an internet meme and shamelessly connecting one's name to it, then beating it to death, seems desperate.

Okay, it's been nigh unto 24 hours--I don't see a list yet.

I don't even see a suggestion of a single piece to view.

What a bunch of artists you are.

For all the over-analyzing and "concern" I see not a single suggestion of "approved" artists to check out.