Reporters Sans Frontiers, among the most prominent advocates for a free press, writes that Wikileaks' recent disclosures–which inadvertently exposed the names of Afghan collaborators–offer democratic governments "good grounds for putting the Internet under closer surveillance." Wikileaks, writes secretary-general Jean-François Julliard, should behave more journalistically: "Wikileaks is an information outlet and, as such, is subject to the same rules of publishing responsibility as any other media."
Fayeteville State University biologist Phil Senter is a born again atheist. According to New Scientist, Senter was a creationist until he studied evolution in high school. Now, he's a professor of dinosaur paleontology who attempts to gently persuade creation scientists by using their own favorite research techniques. — Read the rest
24 Sextanis is a subgiant star, located in the constellation Sextans, orbited by two recently identified planets. They are called Sex b and Sex c. One of the discoverers of planet Sex c is a Caltech professor named John Johnson. — Read the rest
A road crew painted the above near Southern Guilford High School in North Carolina. According to the LA Times, the issue has been resolved. This has happened elsewhere before.
From our friends at Imaginary Foundation comes this hyperdelic vision of the singularity, on a t-shirt. Science fiction, science fact, or just another religion? You decide. Singularity t-shirt
Photo: Josh "CuriousJosh" Reiss/LA Weekly, Labyrinth of Jareth 2010
Labyrinth of Jareth is an annual two-day masquerade ball in Los Angeles. The theme revolves around faeries and goblins. Costumes, or formalwear and a mask, are required. I wrote about Shawn Strider, who organizes LOJ, for LA Weekly's LA People issue, and have blogged about the event on Style Council a few times (most recently, today). — Read the rest
"Whatever weird instrument your great-grandson will be playing, the Sony TC-377 will capture it." From National Geographic, April 1973. (Via Vintage Ads)
ASARO formed as a collective, no individual artist's names are used, working in a variety of mediums to commemorate public actions and critique political responses.
Pusher says: "Many American cities once passed laws outlawing pinball machines. Who knew? The city of Beacon, NY, still has its own law on the books and recently decided to enforce it, closing down a beloved retro arcade museum which had seen nothing but positive press in its all-too-short 18-month life span. — Read the rest
JVP says: "Best Asian shopping center ever, near Seattle. From their website: 'For thousands of years, the Great Wall of China was known to have been created to fend off the nomads and barbarians of Outer Mongolia. Today, we find the Great Wall Shopping Mall as a relic of not defense, but of gathering.'" — Read the rest
My last book, Bonk, has a chapter about penis transplants and
reattachments. It includes the story of an epidemic of penile
dismemberments in Thailand during the 1970s. In the wake of a
well-publicized case, more than 100 angry Thai women hacked off the
penises of their adulterous husbands while they slept. — Read the rest
Last month, I posted about Urban Outfitters' new New York City store opening with a facade that reportedly was meant to look like four faux storefronts. The creative director of Pompei AD, designers of the store, said "The whole idea was to do this kind of ironic statement of lining the building with storefronts that would be reminiscent of independent businesses. — Read the rest
To mark the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, a 
ASARO formed as a collective, no individual artist's names are used, working in a variety of mediums to commemorate public actions and critique political responses.
