NSFW: Archive

NSFW

August 2008

65 posts

Tribune Co. Comes to Rescue of Gay Republican... →

The L.A. Times, a Tribune Company paper, defends Jonathan Crutchley, a gay man and founder of Manhunt.com, for his support of the mostly anti-gay Republican Party and its candidate for president, John McCain. The paper decries that many gay men are boycotting Manhunt.com.

Don't Ask, Do Kill: Gays Persecuted in Iraq →

Gays in Iraq live tortured lives under the constant spector of death. (Newsweek via Towleroad)

Boom Times for Construction Site Thieves →

Home burglary before the house is even finished (N.Y. Times)

Industry Rethinks Moneymaking Software Practice →

PC builders are considering not bloating up their computers with crapware — but only because consumers are forcing them to. Retailers like Best Buy are making good money removing unwanted software from PC’s. (N.Y. Times)

The Other Extreme - Low-Alcohol Beers →

I’m such a lightweight that these beers are perfect for me. (N.Y. Times)

Home Prices Still Falling, but the Pace Is Slowing →

Home sales are beginning to stabilize. Prices are still dropping but more slowly. (N.Y. Times)

Start-Up Offers a Way to Pay Workers Abroad →

Start-up company, Payoneer, is looking to streamline international, business-to-employee money transfers by using a pre-paid MasterCard. This is ideal for freelancers. (N.Y. Times)

Leader of Opposition Wins Seat in Malaysia →

Anwar Ibrahim, leader of Malaysia’s oppositon party is back in power despite being arrested for alleged sodomy twice. This is a sign that Malaysia is feed up with authoritarian rule and wants to become a more open country. (N.Y. Times) I visited there in 2002, and if the country liberalizes, I would love to go back.

Some Britons Too Unruly for Resorts in Europe →

I’ve had great times hanging out with Britons “on holiday,” as they say — sometimes even seeking them out. Apparently, some of them are having too much fun and ending up dead. (N.Y. Times)

Décor Watch →

Despite our energy crisis and global climate change, 40% of homeowners associations forbid the use of clotheslines. (N.Y. Times)

New TV Show Based on Altered States, Others →

Creator J.J. Abrams drops hints that Fringe, Fox’s upcoming sci-fi series, is based in part on Altered States, Twin Peaks, and the X-Files. (Sci-Fi Wire) I wonder what influence, if any, this show will have on the floatation industry considering that floating appears to play a big role in the show.

“A lot of architecture has begun to look like a sophisticated form of marketing.”

– Nicolai Ouroussoff in “Lebbeus Woods Remains an Architect Unbounded by the Status Quo” (N.Y. Times)

A Marathon Long Before China Began a Mad Dash →

John Burns shares what it’s like to watch the Olympics 35 years after running the Beijing Marathon — and being imprisoned by the China for alleged spying. (N.Y. Times)

“Three years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans still needs the military to...”

– Three Years After Hurricane, the Backup Is a Fixture - Series (N.Y. Times)

Socially Responsible, With Egg on Its Face →

A socially responsible fund company fails to follow the rules. (N.Y. Times)

Bartering Expands in the Internet Age →

The little, big business of bartering (N.Y. Times)

Pentagon Employee Goes to War With KBR Over Iraq... →

…and he — and we all — lose. (N.Y. Times)

The Big Pander to Big Oil →

Bush has started the pandering by opening up America’s continental shelf to Big Oil, and McCain seeks to continue it by opening up Alaska. What does the consumer get? Nothing. This will have little or no impact until 25 years from now - if ever. (N.Y. Times)

“Those who failed to take annual vacations had a 21 percent higher risk of death...”

– Results of a 2000 study as cited in “Vacations Are Good for You, Medically Speaking” (N.Y. Times) The bad news is that Americans are reportedly taking fewer vacations — presumably because of the poor economy. ”The number of Americans who said in April that they were going to...

StupidFilter →

Soon you will be able to filter out stupid comments based on the writer’s grasp of standard written English. (Rarefied Technologies)

Do Red-Light Cameras Make Us Safer? →

Check out the article and comments in this Ridelust entry about red-light cameras (via Big Contrarian). Some argue that the cameras make intersections more efficient and safer by discouraging illegal crossings. Others argue that the cameras cause sudden stops and consequent rear collisions thereby reducing safety. Yet another group is a bunch of nuts who think the man is out to get them! Down...

Sex and the Olympic City →

Once the competition ends, the games begin! (Times of London)

Finger (Lakes) Food →

I’d forgotten about spiedie sandwiches, a Binghamton, N.Y. specialty, from my 9 months at Binghamton U. The New York Times brings back the memories and some dishes I’ve never heard of — like Cornell Chicken — despite attending Cornell for four years.

“China’s propaganda authorities issued an order forbidding the country’s news...”

– According to a Chinese journalist as paraphrased in “Hurdler Apologizes to China for Withdrawal From Race” (N.Y. Times)

Stephen Colbert’s ThreatDown was particularly funny on 8/15.

Moving Mountains on Your Desk →

How to keep your desk clean (N.Y. Times)

Malcontents Need Not Apply →

Journalist Nicholas Kristof applies to protest in Beijing. What he didn’t realize at the time, was that the police have arrested at least a half-dozen people who applied for protest permits.

“The New York Times’s Andrew Jacobs followed one citizen who decided to take up...”

– Bill Keller in “Cold Friends, Wrapped in Mink and Medals” (N.Y. Times)

Who's on First in Olympic Medals Race? →

History of national medal counts and what they say about the Olympics — No method is official. In 1908, for example, the organizers of the London Games awarded five points for gold, three for silver and one for bronze and ranked based on point totals. The New York Times proposes a similar method. (Wall St. Journal)

Jim Provenzano, a gay, former wrestler who’s written a novel about wrestling, provides his uniquely-qualified analysis of the controversial eviction of two wrestlers from the University of Nebraska team after each of them appeared in solo masturbation porn. (Cyclizen, Provenzano’s blog)

“The Bushies can hardly tell Russia to stop doing what they themselves did in...”

– Maureen Dowd in a highly recommended op-ed column, “Russia Is Not Jamaica” (N. Y. Times)

At School, Technology Starts to Turn a Corner →

After 25 years in the classroom, computers are starting to make a real difference when they’re used to enable collaboration between students and between school and parents. (N.Y. Times)

Wii Boxing Workout Compares to Real Thing →

Cleveland State University researchers find that in terms of calories a Wii boxing video game is about equal to a real boxing workout. (Cleveland Plain Dealer via Jockohomo Datapanik)

Deaths of Motorcyclists Rise Again →

This is why I quit riding 10 years ago. I highly recommend a riding course taught by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. (N.Y. Times)

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no point in...”

– W. C. Fields as cited in the N.Y. Times.

Gauging the Worth of a Frequent-Flier Credit Card →

It’s time to reevaluate your frequent-flier credit card. (N.Y. Times)

Behind Pomp of Games, a Dancer’s Tragedy →

A renowned professional dancer was paralyzed in an accident that happened in a rehesarsal for the Olympics Opening Ceremony. (N.Y. Times)

Want a Face-Lift? Better Stop Smoking First →

Many plastic surgeons require patients who smoke to quit — at least temporarily — so that they will heal better from elective surgery involving skin flaps. (N.Y. Times)