Antinous,
Half my family are Jehovah's Witnesses. While I am not and don't agree with their beliefs, I find Takuan's comment the most offensive here. Would it have been any different if he had implied that he had been bitten by a Muslim? I think most educated people would find that highly offensive. So why is Jehovah's Witness not offensive?

If that's stirring up trouble, then fine. I find the pseudo morality of many posters and the moderators quite questionable.

-J

"that was a Jehova's witness"

Political Correctness of Postings as defined by BoingBoing:

Insulting artists: Not ok, you well have hell to pay from high-and-mighty moderator.

Insulting an entire religion: Fire away!

h.. th drm!!! Buddy, where did "life-threatening" come into play?

"It is estimated that less than three deaths per year occur from spider bites. However, most deaths are children."

http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site1628/mainpageS1628P0.html

"Unfortunately all of this came at the very end of a rather long down in my career"

Huh, the guy is 24, but from this you'd think he was much much older... ah... th drm!

"Try talking to bartenders, waiters and artists in any major US city."

What's funny (and I am dickishly generalizing here) is that many of said people can afford all kinds of un-needed expenses, iphones, recreational drugs, etc, but don't get insurance. It is often a matter of priorities, not ability to pay.

... and yes, his art is really very cool.

Sorry to be the cynic, but Mark, if you don't know the artist, how do you know he actually has a spider bite? Maybe this is just a desperate marketing ploy? Maybe he just needs his meth fix? Should we believe every sad story we see on the web and donate money?

... I want to see pictures.

umm... I know I'm being dickish, but don't most people get health insurance to handle this kind of situation?

Umm.. not sure why someone thought we needed to see that. Was amusing that flickr has the "balls stuffed in holes" set marked as falling "outside (my) current SafeSearch filter".

Xeni wrote:
"This is a directory of wonderful things. If we no longer think something is wonderful"

Maybe the problem is simply with your tagline! This statement implies that everything posted here is a "wonderful thing", however his doesn't seem to always be the case.. at least by the standard definition of "wonderful".

Are airplane pilots falling asleep during flight a "wonderful thing"? Is watching a monkey yanked around on a chain while ridding a small cycle a wonderful thing? I could go on, but you get the point.

Your argument centers is that:
1) all things boingboing are wonderful
2) Violet Blue is not wonderful
3) therefore, Violet Blue should not be on boingbong.
But upon review of the archives, one will find many not so wonderful, and some downright rotten things.

So maybe the simple solution is to change the tagline to "A directory of wonderful and sometimes rotten things" and republish Violet Blue's post.

Problem solved!

Gerbils vs. Hamsters
why gerbils make nicer, easier, more engaging pets...

* Gerbils switch off between napping and playing 24/7.
* Gerbils are energetic and athletic and fun to watch.
* Gerbils are social and live in pairs. Gerbils bond tightly and are great parents.
* Tamed gerbils rarely nip. It is important to get gerbils that have been handled from a young age.
* Gerbils are desert animals that produce little waste.
* Gerbils have beautiful, long furry tails with a tuft.

* Hamsters are nocturnal: they sleep all day.
* Hamsters waddle around and run the wheel.
* Hamsters are solitary and live alone. Hamsters will fight and are more likely to cannibalize young.
* Hamsters are more easily alarmed and more likely to nip when alarmed, e.g., when awakened in the day.
* Hamster tanks get very stinky very quickly.
* Hamsters have short, stubby bare tails.

Do all products running Mobile Windows take shitty pictures?

ok... place your bets now on how long it will be until M$ moves to buy out BoingBoing.