Kinetic cell phone chargers

Here's an idea that was long enough in coming -- a way to power your cell phone by dancing at your summer music festival of choice. It is not specified if the manufacturers would really prefer that you dance, or if you'll be allowed to charge your phone simply by waving your arms in the air like you just don't care, but either way I think it's pretty nifty. It apparently weighs the same as "a phone" and is the size of a deck of cards, and wraps around your arm:

Seems like putting it on your ankle and grabbing the energy from each step between the beer tent to the mosh pit to the bathroom and back again might be more efficient, but then people might think you had escaped your house arrest or something and you would no longer be cool. Or cooler, depending on the festival (Ozzfest loves the felon on the lam).

Rebate checks

If you were planning on blowing your rebate check on coke and whores, may I suggest the Bunny Ranch? They are offering a 2-for-1 deal:

"According to Bunny Ranch owner Dennis Hof, "You bring your $600 check in, and we give you the $1,200 George Bush party--three girls and a bottle of champagne." "

Bring your own coke though, I guess. Though it's probably on sale somewhere back there.

Speaking of water bottles

You can buy $40 bottles of water from Bling H2O -- they are made of frosted glass and encrusted with Swarovski crystals.

And, um, they're reusable! Though not so much practical for tossing in your bag and bringing along. But just think how cool you'll be!

We Can Solve It ads

I kind of like these Unlikely Alliance ads:



You can watch more and suggest another unlikely alliance here, as well as sign up for the all-important updates.

I also just bought a nifty water bottle from SIGG brought to my attention by the good folks at stopglobalwarming.org -- stupid expensive for an aluminum bottle, but it is a good replacement for the plastic bottles that are always getting thrown out by the cleaning people at the office so I can't reuse them no matter how hard I fucking try. I don't even have drawers to hide them in anymore!

Anyway, the bottle simply states "I am not plastic", reminiscent of that "I'm not a plastic bag" tote that sold out like crazy and was also stupid expensive, but hey, people are excited about reusing stuff. Who knew! There's also a coffee cup, theoretically available now. So go on, people, consume so you can stop consuming so damn much!

The lighter side of total lack of respect for women

This is pretty funny:




My favorite line: "I can't put my penis in your college degree/I can't shove my fist in your childhood dreams".

Also, stellar breakdancing.

Honor killing mom dead too

In case you missed it, this is what happened to the girl, Rand:

"She died on 16 March after her father discovered she had been seen in public talking to Paul, [a British soldier serving in Iraq,] considered to be the enemy, the invader and a Christian. Though her horrified mother, Leila Hussein, called Rand's two brothers, Hassan, 23, and Haydar, 21, to restrain Abdel-Qader as he choked her with his foot on her throat, they joined in. Her shrouded corpse was then tossed into a makeshift grave without ceremony as her uncles spat on it in disgust.

"'Death was the least she deserved,' said Abdel-Qader. 'I don't regret it. I had the support of all my friends who are fathers, like me, and know what she did was unacceptable to any Muslim that honours his religion,' he said.

"Sitting on a chair by his front door and surrounded by the gerberas and white daisies he had planted in the family garden, Abel-Qader attempted to justify his actions.

"'I don't have a daughter now, and I prefer to say that I never had one. That girl humiliated me in front of my family and friends. Speaking with a foreign solider, she lost what is the most precious thing for any woman. 'People from western countries might be shocked, but our girls are not like their daughters that can sleep with any man they want and sometimes even get pregnant without marrying. Our girls should respect their religion, their family and their bodies.

"'I have only two boys from now on. That girl was a mistake in my life. I know God is blessing me for what I did,' he said, his voice swelling with pride. 'My sons are by my side, and they were men enough to help me finish the life of someone who just brought shame to ours.'

"Abdel-Qader, a Shia, says he was released from the police station 'because everyone knows that honour killings sometimes are impossible not to commit'. Chillingly, he said: 'The officers were by my side during all the time I was there, congratulating me on what I had done.' "

He also said of his daughter "If I had realized what she would become, I would have killed her the instant her mother delivered her." As "what she would become" was a girl who talked to a British guy.

And then this is what happened to her mom:

"It was two weeks after Rand's death on 16 March that a grief-stricken Leila, unable to bear living under the same roof as her husband, found the strength to leave him. She had been beaten and had had her arm broken. It was a courageous move. Few women in Iraq would contemplate such a step. Leila told The Observer in April: 'No man can accept being left by a woman in Iraq. But I would prefer to be killed than sleep in the same bed as a man who was able to do what he did to his own daughter.'

"Her words were to prove prescient. Leila turned to the only place she could, a small organisation in Basra campaigning for the rights of women and against 'honour' killings. Almost immediately she began receiving threats - notes calling her a 'prostitute' and saying she deserved to die like her daughter.

"Even her sons Hassan, 23, and Haydar, 21, whom she claimed aided their father in their sister's killing, disowned her. Meanwhile, her husband, a former government employee, escaped any charges, and even told The Observer that police had congratulated him on what he had done.

"It is not known who killed Leila. All that is known is that she was staying at the house of 'Mariam', one of the women's rights campaigners, whose identity The Observer has agreed not to reveal. On the morning of 17 May, they were joined by another volunteer worker and set off to meet 'a contact' who was to help Leila travel to Amman, where she would be taken in by an Iraqi family."

Then a car drove up with three men in it, who shot and killed her, injuring the two volunteers as well.

This story just sucks, in all its ways, and I don't have a lot to say about it except that if it makes you mad or sad and you wanted to do something about it, there are some places you could go, like the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation, which has a link on it to "hide this website" in case your husband or father catches you thinking women should have rights, or Stop-Stoning.org, and you can always just give money to AI. They're good people.

Quote of the Day

From a highly scientific report showing that men like boobies and things that wrap boobies, and boobie-wrappers change male behavior (entitled "Bikini-clad Women Make Men Impatient")

“It seems that sexual appetite causes a greater urgency to consume anything rewarding,” the authors suggest. Thus, the activation of sexual desire appears to spill over into other brain systems involved in reward-seeking behaviors, even the cognitive desire for money. "After they touched a bra, men are more likely to be content with a smaller immediate monetary reward,” writes Bram Van den Bergh, one of the study’s authors. “Prior exposure to sexy stimuli may influence the choice between chocolate cake or fruit for dessert.”

Sexy stimuli is my new favorite phrase. Also, hey, chocolate: not just for chicks on the rag anymore. But don't worry, there's a fix:

"In fact, doing a task designed to inspire financial satisfaction reduced the bikini-inspired impatience, just as feeling full reduces food cravings. Men may want to be aware of bikinis’ effects on their bank accounts and waistlines."

Since they are currently only aware of their effects on their dicks? Also, can someone please point me at a task designed to inspire financial satisfaction? Sounds awesome.