Mortal Sins: Tired and Wired

Posted 10 Mar, 2008 under Religion by Chris Baskind | 4 Comments

Moses and the Tablets

Good news! There are now 7 more mortal sins.

Yes, just in time for Lent, the Vatican has issued a list of all-new and exciting sins. The new infractions join the list of mortal sins defined by Pope Gregory the Great and etched in public memory by Dante’s Inferno.

As a public service, Snarfd has gathered up all 14 of the mortal sins for your penitent pleasure. How many have you committed today?

Tired

Pride
Envy
Gluttony
Lust
Anger
Greed
Sloth

Wired

Taking or dealing illegal drugs
Polluting the environment
Manipulative genetic research
Pedophilia
Abortion
Social injustices which cause poverty
Excessive accumulation of wealth

If you’re an obese genetic scientist with a big stock portfolio, you’re screwed. Sorry.

Link: The Age (via Truemors)

When Recycling Goes Terribly Wrong: Meet Gene Pool, the Can Man

Posted 10 Mar, 2008 under Culture by Chris Baskind | Leave a Comment

Only in New York.

Meet Gene Pool, recycling enthusiast and performance artist. In his 35-pound aluminum can suit, Pool inhabits what the New York Times calls “the space between the vast unnoticed populace and the dark forest of the outright lunatics.” And that’s before he whips out the unicycle.

Pool’s can outfit is carefully stitched together with fishing line and some 500 discarded empties. But it’s not his only recycled getup. You might also see him around town in jumpsuits covered with plastic forks or wine corks. Pool says his recycled outfits are designed to remind people just how wasteful we are.

A quick Snarfd shout-out to the site where we originally spotted Pool: the snarky new Earth First. It’s snarky, in part, because it’s edited by Snarfd’s very own Shea Gunther.

Link: New York Times (via Earth First)

China’s Freakshow Haicang Zoo

Posted 9 Mar, 2008 under Culture by Chris Baskind | 6 Comments

A cruel lion and horse act at China’s Haicang zoo

At first glance, this picture looks like a Photoshop job.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Welcome to China’s notorious Haicang Zoo, where modern animal keeping is unknown, and the facility’s inmates are treated more like circus acts than wild creatures.

Not that this distinction seems to matter to the zoo’s visitors, who flock to see spectacles such as human-lion wrestling and this unfortunate pair.

The lion is made to jump on the horse’s back. A trainer with a whip compels them to circle the cage while spectators cheer. There’s a tiger on hand to repeat the trick.

A cruel lion and horse act at China’s Haicang zoo

The zoo, which is located in Xiamen, in southeastern Fujian province, has been the subject of international criticism for its exploitive animal handling. While China boasts some world-class modern facilities, including the massive Beijing Zoo, circus-like attractions remain popular in the country. There are no immediate prospects for reform.

Link: Times Online

Why Daylight Saving Time Is Wasting Yours

Posted 8 Mar, 2008 under Culture by Chris Baskind | 4 Comments

Is Daylight Savings Time wasting yours?

You’ve got to get up pretty early in the morning to beat the United States to Daylight Savings Time.

That’s certainly the case again this year, when Daylight Savings Time kicks in at 2:00 a.m. local time, Sunday, March 8th. You can thank the Energy Policy Act of 2005 for the change, which extended Daylight Savings by four weeks, beginning last year. It’s “spring forward, fall back,” so if your local sunrise was around 6:00 a.m. local on Standard Time, it will rise after 7:00 and set an hour later under the DST scheme.

Europe joins the United States on Summer Time the last Sunday in March.

So what’s the big idea behind Daylight Savings Time, other than giving us twice-annual cues to change our smoke detector batteries? Theoretically, at least, it’s about saving energy. In practice, it’s mostly wishful thinking.

Wrap that Rascal! Asia’s Cellphone Condoms

Posted 7 Mar, 2008 under Tech by Chris Baskind | 5 Comments

Cellphone condom

Travel anywhere in Asia, and one thing will become immediately clear: it’s the cellphone capital of the world.

In Beijing or Tokyo, practically everyone is carrying. And not just the candaybar and flip phones familiar to most Americans: Asia is the home of the hottest and most expensive smartphones on the planet. Millions of them.

So perhaps its no surprise that cellphone condoms have become common sights in the restaurants of the East. Seat yourself at the table, and you’ll find these handly little plastic bags beside your water glass. Slip your cellphone inside, and it’s a lot less likely to go home covered with Mu Shu Pork. Perfect.

With Treos, Blackberries, and iPhones going for $400 or $500 a pop, you’d think cellphone condoms will eventually find their way to Stateside dinnner tables — especially when someone figures out you can print ads on them. It can pay to practice safe cellphone.

Link: Thomas Crampton

This is What Democracy Looks Like

Posted 25 Feb, 2008 under Video by Shea Gunther | 5 Comments

Wow.

Prairie View A&M in Prairie View, Texas is a historically black university that is home to about 8,000 students who heavily skews towards the Democrats. Texas Republicans gerrymandered the crap out their district and then placed the early voting stations seven miles from campus. I don’t know if you remember being carless on campus, but a seven mile trip is tough to swing if the bus doesn’t go there.

So what did the students at Prairie View A&M do?

They walked. They set out in a group of hundreds of students, took over a highway, and walked the seven miles from campus to the polling station.

FSM bless America.

Via [Huffington Post]

Very Stupid Man Escaped from Prison Calls His Old Job to Get Paycheck Forwarded

Posted 21 Feb, 2008 under Stupid by Shea Gunther | 3 Comments

There was a fine case of Dumbassery right down the coast from here in Portsmouth, NH the other day. 20 year old Eric Livers called his old boss back in Wyoming and gave him his new address to forward his paycheck on to.

Sounds innocent enough, except when you consider that Mr. Livers escaped from prison and was officially on the run. His boss called the cops and he got arrested by the friendly New Hampshire State Police.

Here’s a snip:

Portsmouth police meanwhile got a tip from the city bus depot that a man resembling Livers had bought a bus ticket to Florida and had signed “Eric Livers” on the paperwork. The bus was scheduled to leave at noon.

“We put some undercover detectives in the bus kiosk to wait for the bus at noontime,” Warchol said. “Mr. Livers sat down next to one of our undercover officers and he was subsequently arrested.”

Portsmouth police said during the arrest, Livers gave a false name and was found with a knife and marijuana. He was being held on no bail on a fugitive from justice charge, and $20,000 for charges of false report to law enforcement, felon in possession of a weapon and possession of a controlled drug.

According to Brazzale, a judge in Torrington sentenced Livers in 2006 to 3-6 years in prison for buying or receiving stolen property. She said a judge in Gillette sentenced Boyer last year to 2-4 years on a violation of probation for being an accessory to burglary.

Link [Sea Coast Online]

Amy Winehouse’s Husband Trading Her Autographs for Jailhouse Heroin

Posted 20 Feb, 2008 under Music by Shea Gunther | Leave a Comment

Isn’t this just the cutest news you’ve ever heard. Amy Winehouse’s jailed husband Blake Fielder-Civil is allegedly trading her autograph for heroin. PopCrunch has it:

Blake Fielder-Civil has been swapping his wife Amy Winehouse’s autograph in exchange for heroin while incarcerated at London’s Pentonville Prison.

According to The Sun: Blake has traded autographed pictures of his Grammy Award-winning spouse to fellow inmates who hope to sell them on eBay. He receives a “joey” - British slang for a hit of heroin- for the flicks.

That guy is one class act. Then again, if it were me, I think I’d rather pawn autographed pictures of my famous wife than to have to get pounded in the ass for my fix. I’m so very glad I’m not a heroin junkie jailed rockstar with a hyphenated name. Praise His Noodly Appendage.

Link [PopCrunch]

Germany and Mexico Battle over Finger in the Butt Song

Posted 20 Feb, 2008 under Music by Shea Gunther | 1 Comment

Germany and Mexico are going to war over a song by a German Musician called “Finger in the Butt, Mexico”. Way too funny.

Speigel Online has it:

Mexico’s ambassador to Germany has voiced his displeasure over a popular German song that allegedly disparages the North American country.

The song, which has been on the German charts for 10 weeks, features as its chorus the charming refrain “Finger in the butt, Mexico.” (The German version, “Finger im Po, Mexiko,” rhymes.)

Germany’s mass-circulation daily Bild reported Thursday that Ambassador Jorge Castro-Valle Kuehne has written a letter of complaint to EMI, the record company which publishes the song.

The newspaper quotes the ambassador as writing: “As I’m sure you can understand, the lyric has aroused great outrage among the members of the Mexican community living in Germany, who have a right to be angry that Mexico’s name is being used in this kind of disrespectful and disgusting way.”

Link [Speigel]