Here is a link to a few spoofed images of biblical events as if they were in Google Earth – what the artists call a God’s eye view. They are very well done so it makes for an interesting effect.
Here is the Crucifixion – I would have thought there would be more people around.
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden – look carefully, they’re in there.
Moses and company escaping through the Red Sea.
I have an unhealthy fascination with Mount Everest. For some reason (which I can’t really explain) I am really drawn to it. I have literally dreamed of climbing it on several occasions. I would just love to go there. Maybe it has something to do with a drive to achieve something so amazing.
However, Everest is an extremely dangerous place. Extreme cold, lack of oxygen, unpredictable weather, dangerous terrain, avalanches, falling rocks – it is easy to die on Everest. My wise fiancé has already told me that any attempt to climb Everest will result in immediate divorce. It is just too expensive and risky to actually do.
For instance, last year (2007) was a pretty good year on Everest: 600+ people made it up and only 6 died. That is a 1% death-summit ratio which is well below the historic 10% ratio. If someone made me an offer – you can spend $60,000 and several months, you might make it to the top, but there is a 1% chance you will die… I just don’t think a rational person can really take that.
Anyway, another largely unknown thing about Everest is that the dead normally stay up there. The effort to get the bodies down is not feasible so apparently there are several corpses along the way which climbers must move past. National Geographic have this little video about an Australian climber and photographer who got the picture above.
Worth a look – especially for those of us who feel strongly drawn to Everest.
National Geographic has this article on several strange amphibians which have been added to an endangered list. They are weird creatures.
This is a Chinese giant salamander which can grow to be man sized. So this is a small one!
The (hopefully former) head of police in South Africa is a crook. As the Economist reports he has “admitted to being a friend of Glen Agliotti, a drug trafficker who was implicated in the murder in 2005 of a shady mining magnate”. Now there are new (well-founded) allegations that “as well as handing out bags of cash to Mr Selebi, Mr Agliotti also paid for some of the police chief’s shopping. In return, Mr Selebi protected Mr Agliotti’s friends and shared confidential documents with him”.
Unfortunately out of loyalty Thabo Mbeki has been protecting Selebi from prosecution – I always complain about the ANC being more concerned with loyalty than competence.
We are now left in a crazy situation:
This stuff is crazy. We need a new government. The ANC have done some things well, but at the moment they are doing a lot of things particularly badly. This is the last paragraph from the Economist:
This murky sort of business would scandalise any country. But in one plagued by some of the highest levels of violent crime in the world, it is tragic that South Africa’s law-enforcement officials should expend so much energy fighting each other rather than the criminals. The police judged that they needed no fewer than 20 armed officers to arrest Mr Nel at his home. On the hopeful side, the charges against Mr Selebi show that no one yet is above the law. But if they turn out to be true, it will further reduce confidence in a police force that is often perceived, at best, as merely incompetent.
Simple one from xkcd today:
Here is a link to some more of these scientology videos about and from Tom Cruise. From what I can make out, they are deadly serious clips from the Scientology awards where Tom Cruise was awarded the “IAS Freedom Medal of Valor”. I can see why he likes this stuff so much. Basically, he believes that he above all others sees the world for what it really is and is going to save us all.
In the first clip there is some ramble from the presenter who then introduces Tom Cruise. He talks about how the world is going down hill because the masses are so deluded. How the government is covering all this up to keep the masses down. And then: “But there’s someone on the other side of the global arena. Someone advancing Scientology on a truly epic scale – to a very different future. And he is Class 4, OT7, Platinum Meritorious and IAS Freedom Medal of Valor winner – Tom Cruise, the greatest movie star in the world.”
Thank God for Tom Cruise!
Part 2 talks about how Tom Cruise personally saved firefighters and police at ground zero after 9-11. He realized that there was a “deadly toxin” in the air (which the government was covering up). So he personally organized a “purification program” which saved the lives of those exposed to the toxin. From the video it looks like the “victims” got free saunas.
Thank you Tom. You are a true hero.
From clip 3: “Night after night, city by city, through 18 and 20 hour days, Tom Cruise travels this world meeting with ministers, ambassadors and the American State Department. Advancing LRH technology straight into the corridors of power. His presence alone opens the door for [Scientology’s] expansion.”
We love you Tom.
Then there is a clip of him accepting his Freedon Medal of Valor: “I think you know that I am there for you. And I do care so very, very much! So what do you say? Do you want to clean this place up?”
Thank you for caring Tom. Please clean this world up for us with your superior knowledge and abilities. Katie must be so proud.
Seriously though – I was left thinking that although completely deluded, Cruise really thinks he is helping people. The thing is that he is actually just selling Scientology to the world. I’m not sure if he does any real good – he just sells his crazy cult.
Scientology is a strange and secretive cult/religion/business invented by a science fiction writer, L. Ron Hubbard, in the 50’s. These guys have some seriously wacky beliefs about spirits, psychiatry, medicine, etc. They are also very rich and they play hardball with their critics.
The cult also makes a lot of money. You have to pay to get the different “courses” (which can cost more than $20,000). You have to pay for your membership. Worse than that – you get paid to recruit more members. It’s basically a pyramid scheme.
In fact, there are several witnesses and people who knew Hubbard who claim that he stated on several occasions that the best way to make money is to start a religion.
Anyway, this stuff is crazy and the most famous of the nuts is Tom Cruise. An “indoctrination” video featuring Tom Cruise has been leaked onto the net in which he basically rambles on about how:
Basically he, Tom Cruise, is going to use is power to save the rest of us. He would love to go on holiday – but there is so much to do
Just watch his expressions. The way he laughs and rambles so intensely. You can see that he believes these things – and that he is nuts.
This is one of the best YouTube videos that I have ever seen. It shows a guy throwing a paper plan from a skyscraper in New York. There is something about the way that the little plane flies over the busy city without anyone noticing which is beautiful. The accompanying music is also perfectly chosen to leave you with a great feeling.
I have watched it a few times already and more than 234,000 other people have seen it. I really recommend watching this if you can.
Oscar Pistorius is a South African disabled athlete who has just been banned from competing against able-bodied athletes. He lost both legs below the knees as a child and runs with carbon fibre prosthetics known as “Cheetahs”. Oscar was in with a chance of qualifying for the Beijing Olympics when the IAAF banned him.
There has been a lot of interest in the issue (here, here) but I agree with the decision. Here is my reasoning:
Oscar should get into swimming. Instead of the “Cheetahs” he should attach flippers to his legs – he could call them “Dolphins”. He could then power along and kick some serious ass in the pool. If you think that would be unfair then you agree with point 1 – advantageous prosthetics should not be allowed.
Now, my intuition tells me that the Cheetahs do offer an advantage over able-bodied athletes. But don’t rely on that – a pretty detailed study by a lab has concluded just that – the Cheetahs do offer an advantage over normal feet.
So we agree, Oscar should not be allowed to compete. Sorry Oscar, but it just wouldn’t be fair.
The Darwin Awards are true stories (they verify them) about people killing themselves in stupid ways. They are said to “commemorate those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it.”
The best of 2007 here and as usual they make for pretty funny reading.
Here are a couple of examples: