I guess it was inevitable

Can I even pretend to be surprised by this little blurb in today's Chronicle?

"Universal Pictures is releasing a sing-along edition of its hit movie "Mamma Mia!" at selected theaters beginning today. This special version will be showing, in a limited engagement, at the Century 9 in San Francisco and other Bay Area theaters."

World's Greatest WHAT?

This lovely Ozymandias trophy is available from Topatoco, seller of such novelty T-shirts as "I'm made of meat!" and "Building a Fake Future in hopes that the real future will show up to mate with it," and (in a font mimicking a movie trailer announcement) "The following PERSON has been approved for ALL AUDIENCES so don't worry it's okay you can talk to me."

They also sell another shirt with a drawing of the "PED XING" man in a top hat riding a penny-farthing with the caption, "NOT A CRIME." The catalog page bears the following description: "FACE IT! As part of the top-hat wearing intellectual elite, you find yourself the constant target of mockery and derision for your chosen mode of transport! Stick it to the Man with a shirt that says, 'Hey world, I bite my thumb at thee.'"

Novelty T- shirts made by people who assume their target audience actually remembers things they learned in English class. What a concept!

Another warm and toasty night

It was still 80 degrees outside when I got home from work shortly after 6:00 tonight. It's now nearly 9:30, and it's still over 70 out there.

If you aren't familiar with the San Francisco's weather, this is unusually warm for us. We have about four nights every year where you can comfortably go outside without a jacket after the sun is down. And tonight was one of those nights. You can't plan for nights like this, because you never have any warning that they're coming. You just have to recognize the opportunity when it arrives, and jump on it before it gets away.

So I suggested that we go out for dinner. Chip asked if I wanted to drive or walk. I asked if he wanted to look for parking in the Haight and then look for parking here when we got back.

We walked.

We went to (in case you couldn't guess by the photo) Memphis Minnie's, possibly the worst place in San Francisco for anyone on a diet. It's a barbecue jernt. The sign over the exit reads, "Low Fat = Low Taste." We last went there about six months ago, so it felt like enough time had elapsed for us to visit in good conscience.

Memphis Minnie's was featured this past weekend on "Check, Please, Bay Area" on KQED (a rerun from a couple of years ago). Both of us watched the spot quietly -- all three guests waxed poetic about it (it's rare that all three people on this show agree on a restaurant review, but these three were absolutely unanimous in their praise). After the segment ended, Chip said, "That just makes me want to go there." I said, "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing."

So what if we didn't rush right out? It's better that we waited, because the weather tonight was perfect for hiking up to Haight Street.

The decor of Memphis Minnie's is appropriate to its menu (plenty o' pictures here). The tables are all draped with red and white checkered plastic tablecloths covered in clear plastic covers. Sandwiched in between the two are various things you can study while you eat -- drawings of pigs made by some very talented visitors to the restaurant, literature about Sake, a ticket given to the restaurant because "the food is so good that it's criminal". The walls are completely plastered with signs from all over the world, reviews of the restaurant, slogans, posters for movies and albums, and everyone's favorite, "DON'T NEED NO KNIFE! / DON'T NEED NO FORK! / JUST WRAP YOUR LIPS / AROUND OUR PORK!"

By the time we left, the sun had set and the wind had died down. We walked back down to Market and, instead of going directly home, headed down to Castro Street to get grossly overpriced ice cream -- excuse me, gelato -- at Naia (or should that be "naia"?). It's good, but is it $5 good? As long as people (self included) continue to pay that, I guess it is.

So that's what we do to rattle our routines when the weather suddenly turns nice -- we throw caution to the wind, throw our diets into the closet for the evening, leave our iPods and other media at home, and just get out and walk and appreciate the weather.

And appreciate the varying tempos of the city itself. The streets were almost empty between Duboce and Haight. Haight Street had its little clumps of hippies and hipsters and teensters scattered along the sidewalk. In contrast, the Castro was much brighter, busier (both on the street and on the sidewalks) and noisier -- which is not necessarily better or worse, just different.

I'm glad that nights like tonight happen. But I'm also glad that they don't happen very often.

"War for the White House"

Every once in a while, Onion News Network nails it.

"I never thought I'd see the day when an old white millionaire is viewed as having more in common with working folks than a black man. It's a proud day for America."

"You really have to give credit to the American people for being able to look past Obama's skin color to see the Harvard-educated smart-ass underneath."

"Coming up next, John McCain gave another speech today attempting to distance himself from his policies."

Sad news

The National Center for Lesbian Rights has reported that Del Martin (87) has passed away. A less detailed AP version of the story can be found here. The San Francisco Chronicle's article is also worth a look.

Quoting from her obituary:

It is difficult to separate Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon and write about only one of them. Their lives and their work have intertwined and their enduring dedication to social justice has been recognized many times. In 1979, local health care providers established a clinic to give lesbians in the San Francisco Bay area access to nonjudgmental, affordable health care and named it Lyon-Martin Health Services in their honor. In 1990, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California awarded the couple with its highest honor, the Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award. In 1995, Senator Dianne Feinstein named Martin, and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi named Lyon, as delegates to the White House Conference on Aging, where they made headlines by using their moment at the podium to remind the 125,000 attendees that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people grow old, too, and must be included explicitly in aging policies. The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality gave Martin and Lyon their Outstanding Public Service Award in 1996. They are among the most beloved figures in the LGBT community and have served as Grand Marshals at Pride marches across the nation and been honored by every major LGBT organization in the country.

Del Martin identified her own legacy in 1984 when she said that her most important contribution was "being able to help make changes in the way lesbians and gay men view themselves and how the larger society views lesbians and gay men." She had the courage to be true to herself when the world offered only condemnation for lesbians. Martin showed all of us how to have what she called “self-acceptance and a good sense of my own self-worth.” Del Martin never backed down from her insistence on full equality for all people and, even at 87 years old, she kept moving all of us closer to her ideal.

Gifts in lieu of flowers can be made to honor Del’s life and commitment and to defeat the California marriage ban through NCLR’s No On 8 PAC at www.nclrights.org/NoOn8.

A public memorial and tribute celebrating the life of Del Martin will be planned in the next several weeks.


Mayor Newsom has issued the following statement:

MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM'S STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF DEL MARTIN

Today, San Francisco lost a local and national leader, Del Martin.

For over half a century, Del Martin, along with her loving spouse, Phyllis Lyon, served as an activist for women's rights and the LGBT community. The marriage of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon on June 16, 2008, marked an historic milestone on our country's road to true freedom and equality. Del laid the groundwork for all those who want a life of dignity, and we are forever in her debt. The greatest way we can honor the life work of Del Martin, is to continue to fight and never give up, until we have achieved equality for all.

Our deepest sympathies go out to Del's family, her spouse, Phyllis, her daughter, Kendra, and all those who mourn the loss of this great and pioneering woman.

As a mark of respect for Del Martin, I have ordered the flags at City Hall and the LGBT Pride Flag on Market and Castro Streets to be flown at half-staff from now until sunset, on Thursday, August 28, 2008.

I Home Am Alone Legend

I have to admit it's more clever than I would have thought if I just heard a description of it.

(Link)

Shrek: the Musical

The idea of a stage musical of Shrek does not sound like anything that would make me rush out and arrange a vacation to New York to see it, although I bet it will attract enough families (the "Lion King"/"Little Mermaid"/other Disney stuff crowd) that it will probably recoup its investment pretty quickly.

But even if it's not something that excites me personally, I have to say that their putting outstanding talent behind it makes me more interested than I might be otherwise. The list of artists involved is intriguing:

Music by Jeanine Tesori (whose score for "Caroline, Or Change" is one of my personal favorites -- her involvement alone is enough to convince me to give the cast recording a chance when it becomes available, because Jeanine Tesori is, simply, a goddess).

Book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire (Pulitzer Prize winner for "Rabbit Hole").

Directed by Jason Moore (director of "Avenue Q" and the recent Carnegie Hall concert of "Jerry Springer: The Opera").

Starring Brian D'Arcy James (pictured here), Sutton Foster and Chester Gregory in the three main roles.

Shrek is doing its out-of-town tryout in Seattle until September 21. Broadway previews are scheduled to begin November 8.

A/V Geek TV Cover

Sadly, sold out.

Gizmodo's Olympics Photoshopping Contest Winners

Gizmodo held a contest through this past weekend -- alter photos from the Olympics.

The winners were announced today in a posting headed, "135 Ways to Ruin the Olympics Using Technology."

The only caveat given is this: "If your entry didn't make it into the following gallery, it's probably because you included a lightsaber in there somehow. I got about 30 entries of fencing with lightsabers, so don't feel bad that yours didn't make it in."

Some very funny stuff there, and some excellent Photoshop skills at work. Check it out.

More candles

First I told you about the candles that smell like Jesus.

Now let me introduce you to Manly Man Candles (aka "Mandles").

Here's a sample list of available fragrances:

Hunting Lodge ("a strong, woody outdoor scent accented by cedar");

Yardwork ("smells like fresh cut grass");

Sports Injury (smells like "a cream that gets ICY cold and then HOT, if you get my drift");

Wild Alaska ("true pine accented with earthy undertones");

and, of course,

Leather (do I really have to describe it? Okay, it smells like leather.)

New Ricky Gervais Podcast

The "most downloaded podcast of all time" is coming back for more.

I'm having trouble finding specific references online, even at RickyGervais.com. However, Ricky Gervais has been doing a sporadic podcast for some months now. This past weekend, there was an eight-minute free clip from the upcoming "Series 5" podcast with Ricky, Steve Merchant and Karl Pilkington.

Now, the "Series 5" reference is slightly confusing to me, because I only ever knew of three series of podcasts. In late 2006, they released what the podcast page of rickygervais.com refers to as "Three special free podcasts - The Podfather Parts I, II and III," so perhaps they are counting those as Series 4? Or perhaps the "5" was just a typo?

Whatever.

Anyway, the long and short of it is that the podcast description says that the new series will be available starting Tuesday, September 16.

The Guardian was the official distributor of the original podcasts, so perhaps checking in with the Guardian's "Ricky Gervais Podcast" page over the next three weeks might reveal more information (right now, it just says "Sorry, you're too late. The Ricky Gervais podcasts on Guardian Unlimited are now finished," and refers you to rickygervais.com).

The Wrong Door

First seen by me on Gizmodo.

This clip is from a new BBC Three sketch comedy show called "The Wrong Door," which they describe as "a new sketch show set in a parallel universe where the special effects you see in the movies and on TV are part of everyday life." They've put a lot of short clips (14 seconds to around 2 minutes) on YouTube. Some of the clips are pretty violent, and some of the ideas are pretty sick, but the special effects aren't good enough to make you think it's real.

And the BBC has made the first episode available on the show's website.

Another portmanteau sport

First there surfaced the portmanteau sport of Chessboxing (alternating boxing rounds with ronds of speed chess).

Now there's Swimhiking. Basically, if your hiking route runs you into a lake, you change into trunks, shove your belongings into a waterproof rucksack (a "Swimsac(tm)").

The rucksack and the sport were both invented by Peter Hayes, a university lecturer. The Guardian has run a story about Hayes, and the BBC has two video stories on him and his unorthodox method of navigating the Lake District ("'Swimhiker' takes the plunge" and "River deep mountain high"). So I won't get into repeating what has been said elsewhere.

No comment.

YouTube video. I can't think of anything that else needs to be said about that.

And if that's not your cup of tea, then go watch Cazwell's "I Seen Beyonce at Burger King" (which I do like, but not enough to post here).

Typo vigilantes

see more pwn and owned pictures

Courtesy of PK, who pointed out an article in The Arizona Republic:

Two men who went around the country correcting typos on public signs are now banned from national parks.

Apparently, they are suspected of using correction fluid and a permanent marker to correct a sign that was a "unique and irreplaceable" sign painted by artist Mary Colter.

"An affidavit by National Park Service agent Christopher A. Smith says investigators learned of the vandalism from an Internet site operated by (Jeff Michael) Deck on behalf of the Typo Eradication Advancement League, or TEAL. Smith identified four members, but only Deck and (Benjamin Douglas) Herson faced charges."

Deck recorded the having done the deed in his diary. "After correcting a misplaced apostrophe and comma, Deck reported, he was aghast to discover what he described as a made-up word: 'emense.'

"'I was reluctant to disfigure the sign any further, so we had to let the other typo stand. Still, I think I shall be haunted by that perversity.'"

The Chicago Tribune has a long and interesting article, including this entertaining interchange:

"We started down Milwaukee Avenue.

"Immediately, Herson spotted an offense—a second-floor awning outside a tarot shop that advertised 'Energy Stone's.' They climbed the stairs to the second floor and approached a middle-age woman with a quizzical expression. 'We happened to notice the sign for energy stones,' Deck said, 'and there happens to be an extra apostrophe. "Stone's" doesn't need the apostrophe.'

"'And?' she asked, her voice flat with annoyance.

"'And we wanted to bring it to your attention,' Deck said.

"As they spoke, the woman's daughter stepped into the room and shouted: 'Oh my God! I saw you guys on "Good Morning America." Tell me, tell me—what did we get wrong?" She sounded genuinely thrilled. (Actually, they were on 'The Today Show.') Herson explained the typo on the awning. Deck said he understood that the mistake is out of the way and not easy to fix, but he asked them to promise that they would fix it—soon.

"'Don't know if we can ...' the woman said.

"Deck said they've heard that a lot."

According to NPR, "Deck even found a misspelling on his doctor's business cards — which read "referal" instead of "referral." He mentioned it to the clerk, saying, "There's no way this is going to get fixed, is there?" And indeed, there was not."

The TEAL website currently only displays a message, "Statement on the signage of our National Parks and public lands to come" (which is, ironically, a sentence fragment with no period at its end). Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Universal's motion to dismiss denied

This video resulted in a lawsuit.

In February 2007, Stephanie Lenz posted on YouTube a thirty-second-long video of her infant dancing to Prince's song, "Let's Go Crazy."

In June 2007, Universal Music issued YouTube a takedown order, saying that the video infringed on their (and Prince's) copyright.

In July 2007, Lenz sued Universal, saying that her video fell under "Fair Use."

Universal moved to dismiss her suit, claiming, in effect, that there is no such thing as "Fair Use," and all unauthorized uses, regardless of length or how far in the background, constitutes a copyright infringement.

Today (August 20, 2008), a district court in San Jose denied Universal's motion to dismiss. Here's an article about the case from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who is working on behalf of Stephanie Lenz in this matter. And here is the court order denying the motion to dismiss.

It might not sound like much, but it's the first time that a court has told a music corporation that they do, indeed, need to consider "Fair Use" when deciding whether to intimidate, prosecute or persecute individual citizens.

Darwin Award Winner In Training

I hope he's not driving while filming this video.

SFFS picks up Film Arts services

The San Francisco Film Society is picking up where Film Arts Foundation left off.

In a press release issued today, they announced:

"The San Francisco Film Society announced today the immediate launch of a full suite of filmmaker services programs in the areas of professional education, career development, membership services, fiscal sponsorship, grantmaking and information resources. The Film Society launches these programs, designed to foster the creativity and further the careers of independent filmmakers, after signing an agreement with Film Arts Foundation, effectively assuming the stewardship of activities provided by Film Arts over its 32-year history. "

Film Arts Foundation has issued this statement on their website:

"After thirty-two years of working hand-in-glove with independent filmmakers, Film Arts Foundation has reached a point at which it is no longer able to provide a number of filmmaker services that have been crucially important to all of us.

"The FAF Board and Staff have been working hard to determine how best to sustain these filmmaker services that have been such an important part of Film Arts’ mission, and we strongly believe that the San Francisco Film Society is the organization best equipped to carry on the FAF legacy.

"Knowing that FAF, itself, cannot continue this work, we sincerely hope that you will be excited at the new energy, broader programming, organizational strength and increased reach within the funding community and the film industry that the Film Society can offer.

"Now it’s time to let you know what’s coming next.

"SFFS is launching a full slate of filmmaker services programs, effective noon today. These include most of the programs you’ve enjoyed as a member of Film Arts—in fact the Film Society has engaged key Film Arts staff to run them. These include professional-level filmmaking courses, fiscal sponsorship and grantmaking, publications and information resources, career-development and networking events."

For further information, please see both referenced websites.

Red State Update meets Westboro Baptist Church

This video is available only on Salon, not on Red State's own website (not yet, anyway).

"I think my definition of crap and yours might be a little different."

[UPDATE 8/21/08: They have now added the video to their site and their YouTube channel.]

Spray-on condoms

According to an article in Time Magazine, it turns out that there are a few problems with the spray-on condom.

First, there's the delivery system. "The prototype ... consists of a hard plastic tube with nozzles that spray liquid latex from all directions, much like the water jets in the tunnel of a car wash. ... Some (of the men testing the product) were 'a little bit afraid to use the tube' and would only try it on their fingers."

Second, there's the noise: "Others worried that the mechanism, which hisses as it sprays, might ruin the mood."

But the biggest problem of all is the waiting time. "Liquid latex currently takes two to three minutes to vulcanize, making it impractical. 'For people to buy it,' (inventor Jan Vinzenz) Krause says, 'it needs to be ready in five to 10 seconds.'"

In the meantime, manufacturers of traditional condoms have expanded the number of sizes available. But again, there's one problem: "men aren't very eager to buy a small size."

See? I did the whole posting without succumbing to the temptation to point out the "Hard Sell" pun in the article's headline.

Couldn't resist posting this

From FAIL Blog comes this news clip about a police officer who confiscated marijuana from some suspects, took the marijuana home and made some brownies.

Copycat Auction

Last week I posted about the Australian woman selling an opened condom packet and a photo of the knickers that she found under her bedsheets.

Well, it looks like someone has decided to try to cash in on this auction by diverting people who search eBay for terms related to that auction.

This auction is entitled, "Empty CONDOM Packet KNICKERS Tart's PHOTO." The seller is selling four items:

(1) a photo of "a fat tart's knickers";
(2) a photo of some key lime tarts;
(3) a photo of the Knicks; and
(4) a photo of an empty condom packet.

There is a long and rambling narrative about how the bad economy has kicked the seller's butt, so he's just trying to scrounge some money together by selling odd things.

Call me cynical, but if you name an eBay auction "Empty CONDOM Packet KNICKERS Tart's PHOTO" less than a week after the world press has run a story about an eBay auction entitled, "EMPTY CONDOM PACKET & A PHOTO OF 'THE TART'S' KNICKERS," you'll have a difficult time convincing me that it's purely a coincidence.

Lost whale calf

According to the Associated Press, a humpback whale calf, lost from its mother off the coast of Australia, bonded with a yacht.

Apparently, the whale thinks the yacht is its mother. The whale followed the yacht out to sea and attempted to suckle it. According to the AP story, "The calf appears exhausted but rescuers hope it will continue out to sea and search for its mother or another pod of whales."

Dar Williams - Promised Land

Speaking of new and upcoming albums, Dar Williams' album, "Promised Land," will be released on September 9.

Musicspace.com is taking pre-orders for two copies of the CD plus a DVD of "making of the album" videos for $15 (such a bargain, a bargain for you). [UPDATE 9/9/08: since the CD is now released, this obviously can no longer be pre-ordered, and the special offer seems to be no longer valid. I just checked their site, and they sell the CD, but they do not offer the CD-DVD combo pack now.]

Also, Dar Williams will be touring to promote the album. She will be performing at The Great American Music Hall on Wednesday, October 22.

David Byrne ... Happens Today

David Byrne and Brian Eno's new album, "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today," is available . . . well, . . . today.

Digital download only - $8.99
Digital download plus CD (shipped in November) - $11.99
Deluxe edition (also shipped in November) - $69.99

Deluxe edition (custom package) includes: Bonus songs, A short film about the album; screensaver app; miniature hardbound book. The deluxe edition is available only through the album's website (and probably eBay, eventually).

For clarity -- the physical CDs (and other bits and pieces) ship in November, but the digital files (mp3s, FLACs and screensaver) can be downloaded immediately upon purchase.

Also, notice on the embedded video player above that if you click "Show Playlist," you can select any track from the album. You can listen to the whole album for free this way, not just thirty-second clips from each track.

The reason for the delay?

The Huffington Post has an article this morning saying that they think they know the real reason that the release of "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" is being delayed by six months (NOTE: I say "they think they know" because the article does not offer any direct quotes from anyone at Warner Bros. stating that this is actual fact).

It's because if Warner Bros. released it in November or December, it would coincide with Daniel Radcliffe's Broadway debut in "Equus." And everyone who knows that play knows that his character appears onstage completely nude, and his character is interested in sex.

Shock! Horror! Harry Potter is naked under his clothes!

Apparently Warner is delaying the film so that Daniel Radcliffe will have ended his run in "Equus," and the earth-shattering, plague-of-locusts-inducing controversy that they expect over Daniel Radcliffe appearing on Broadway naked and in sexual situations will have had time to die down.

What a bunch of weenies.

Headline of the day

More than that -- headline of the week.

Headline of the month.

Heck. This story just produces the best headlines ever. With headlines like these, is there any point in reading the stories that follow them?

"Cloned Puppies May Have Exposed 31-Year Mystery"

"A cloned dog, a Mormon in mink-lined handcuffs and a tantalising mystery"

"Dog cloner suspected to be kidnapper of Mormon missionary sex slave in 1978"

"Bernann McKinney, Joyce McKinney: Cloned puppies and a mormon sex slave? Is the woman who cloned her puppies the same one who held a mormon missionary hostage 31 years ago?"

"Dog cloner Joyce McKinney sought over burglary to fund horse's wooden leg"

Blogger Hiccups

Well, that was strange. I have no idea what caused it, but Blogger seems to have done it all by its own self.

When I got home from work and dinner, I logged in to check the blog. Lo and behold, there were six articles at the top of the page. Articles that I hadn't posted.

Well, actually, literally speaking, I did post them, but I posted them over two weeks ago (not between 6 and 7 pm today, like they were stamped). For some reason, Blogger picked them up and re-posted them as if they were new today -- and it posted one of them three times.

Sorry for the confusion. Let's hope whatever caused the hiccup has been cured.

Simon's Cat

This is the most recent "Simon's Cat" cartoon.

The other two cartoons (and future ones) can be found here.

You probably need to own a cat to appreciate these fully.

It was a dark and stormy night...

This year's Bulwer-Lytton contest winners have been announced.

The top honors went to Garrison Spik (pronounced "Speak"):

Theirs was a New York love, a checkered taxi ride burning rubber, and like the city their passion was open 24/7, steam rising from their bodies like slick streets exhaling warm, moist, white breath through manhole covers stamped "Forged by DeLaney Bros., Piscataway, N.J."

Michael L. VanBlaricum of Santa Barbara, CA got runner-up in the "Vile Puns" category:

The Jones family held their annual family reunion on Easter going through over six dozen spiral-cut, hickory-smoked hams and several bottles of a fine Australian shiraz, before Farmer Jones, the head of the family, took the leavings back to Manor Farm to slop Napoleon and his other champion hogs but the seventy-six ham bones fed the pig's tirade.

Check 'em all out.

Half Blood Prince delayed

The movie of "Harry Potter And the Half Blood Prince" will not be released this Thanksgiving / Christmas.

Warner Bros. has delayed the release of the movie until July 17, 2009.

The reason for the delay seems to be two-fold:

(1) They've had better success with summer releases than winter releases; and

(2) "The writers' strike affected scripts for other films which changed the 'competitive landscape' for 2009."

According the AP story, Warner president and COO, Alan Horn, says, "The picture is completely, absolutely, 100 percent on schedule, on time. There were no delays. I've seen the movie. It is fabulous. We would have been perfectly able to have it out in November."

The two films of "Harry Potter And the Deathly Hallows" are tentatively set for release in November 2010 and summer 2011.

Saving pennies

A seventy-year-old man in Cincinnati paid for a truck by paying half the price in coins and writing a check for the balance.

According to a BBC story, the man dislikes and distrusts paper money: "Paper money will burn, but it is hard to damage coins," he says.

After his son convinced him to get rid of his 1981 pick-up, the man walked into the car dealership, said, "I want that Chevy truck" and produced 16 coffee cans full of "dimes, quarters, half dollars, silver and Susan B. Anthony dollars."

An hour and a half later, after the staff had counted all the coins, they told him how much the balance was, and he wrote a check for the balance.

His son told a reporter, “I am amazed that we were able to talk him into buying a new truck, because he is pretty tight with his money.”

Revenge is a dish best served on eBay

[UPDATE 8/15: A handful of people have hit this story by searching with terms like "urban legend" and "hoax." The Courier Mail story seems to be a source of the Reuters news story, which makes direct reference to the Courier Mail. I also searched Snopes for "annastella007," "tart's knickers" and "knickers," which failed to turn up this story (as of 10 pm PDT tonight). After reading the Courier Mail story, I personally found the eBay listing by going to eBay's home page and searching "tart's knickers," and not by following any links. So it's definitely a real eBay listing. Whether the story underlying it is real, well, there's no good way to test that without flying to Australia and talking to her.]

According to Reuters and the Courier Mail, a woman in Australia received a text message from her husband that read, "Where are you darling, I'm waiting."

The message did not seem to be addressed to her.

So she went home and found her husband watching a DVD. When she tried to go into the bedroom, he told her to lie on the couch instead.

When she went into the bedroom, she found an empty condom package under his pillow and a pair of panties at the foot of the bed under the sheets.

She tried to sell the items on eBay, but they have a rule against selling "secondhand underwear." So instead she using eBay to sell the condom package and a photo of the panties under the heading, "EMPTY CONDOM PACKET & A PHOTO OF 'THE TART'S' KNICKERS FOUND IN OUR BED AFTER A TWO TIMING LOW LIFE'S AFFAIR"

[UPDATE 8/15: Current bid, $25,500 ($US)]
[UPDATE 8/18: Winning bid, US$303 (AU$349.24) -- so I guess the $25K bid wasn't serious or was rejected for some reason.]

Ordinarily, I wouldn't quote this extensively, but since this is an eBay listing that will expire and be removed in future, I'm going to quote her entire product description here:

Item Specifics
Weirdness : Really Weird, unique, unusual
Condition: Used - BUT ONLY ONCE
Subject Area: Adult, immature
Type: Weak Type - IQ of a cabbage
Year: Knowing him, under 20 years

UP FOR AUCTION ARE

ONE EMPTY ANSELL CONDOM PACKET (SIZE small)

AND A PHOTO OF THE PAIR OF 'THE TART'S' BLACK LACEY KNICKERS (SIZE HUMONGOUS)

IT SEEMS I HAD VIOLATED EBAY'S SECONDHAND CLOTHES POLICY BY OFFERING 'THE TART'S' (HER NAME'S KYLIE i HAVE SINCE FOUND OUT) ACTUAL KNICKERS UP FOR AUCTION PREVIOUSLY

I CAN ONLY NOW OFFER A PHOTO OF THE SAID KNICKERS AND HAVE ADJUSTED THE STARTING PRICE ACCORDINGLY........ PERSONALLY, I DID THINK .99c WAS A BIT AMBITIOUS BUT, AS THEY ARE SO HUGE, I THOUGHT THEY MAY MAKE SOMEONE A NICE SHAWL OR EVEN BETTER, SOMETHING FOR HALLOWEEN PERHAPS,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

SO HERE'S THE STORY SO FAR.........

Once upon a time there was a women [sic] who, after 22 years of marriage, found evidence that the soon to be ex-husband, had had 'The Tart' in their marital bed this very afternoon. This low life deceitful son-of-a-person ( I'm all for political correctness) blatently [sic] denied that this event took place even though the evidence is irrefutable and is now up for auction on e-bay.

The first tiny warning bells started ringing around about the same time a text message was received by the wife stating 'Where are you darling, I'm waiting'. As the wife had left the soon to be ex-husband at home only a couple of hours earlier to go to work, she thought it somewhat strange getting a message of that ilk from him. After a while curiosity got the better of her and with some trepidation, she decided to go home after telling her boss she had an upset stomach, which was no lie. When she arrived home an hour or so later, everything seemed normal but she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right. His car was parked in the drive-way where she had seen it earlier on and when she got inside, there he was infront [sic] of the T.V. watching a DVD as usual. She explained she wasn't feeling too well and said she was going to lie down for a while. His re-action to this was a bit odd to say the least. 'Why don't you lie down here on the couch for a while and I'll get you a cup of tea', he said. That was her first clue that something really was amiss here. Call him chauvinistic if you want and you would be right because this low-life had never made her a cup of tea in over 22 years of marriage.... so why offer now. Yep, you guessed it, he didn't want her going into the bedroom.... now why was that you may ask. She concluded later that 'The 'Tart' must have been in the process of getting her ass dressed and out of there pronto when she had unexpectedly arrived home. Of course she made a bee line for the bedroom then, with soon to be ex-hubby on her heels and apart from an unmistakable aroma of some cheap perfume resembling nail polish remover hanging in the air, nothing seemed to be different - except for one thing. Oh, you men, you will never understand why we have those, annoying to you though they may be, throw pillows and cushions on a bed and what they mean to us women. They are aesthetically important to our decor and when you see them piled up on a chair in a corner of the room, instead of on the bed where you arranged them a few hours ago, those tiny warning bells you heard earlier were now starting to sound like 'Big Ben'. Walking over to the bed, she started slowly taking it apart whilst the soon to be ex-husband stood in the doorway watching. Initially, when she first took the doona cover off, she was sure he just thought she was going to have a lie down but he was oh so very wrong. After the doona was deposited on the floor, she picked up her pillow, turned it over, checked under where it had been and then threw it on the floor. Then came his pillow, she picked it up and here was where she found the first of the two items up for auction - an empty condom packet. With forefinger and thumb, it was gently lifted from the bed and dangled in front of the soon to be ex-husband's nose. He had, by then, turned a lovely shade of red and you could see his mind was racing,... 'how the hell am I going to get out of this'. He then said the only inane thing he could come up with at the time which was, 'What's that?'. As a couple, they had not used condoms for many years, or at least she hadn't, but surely that didn't mean he could have forgotten what one looked like! For some reason, she continued to strip the bed and when the top sheet was removed the location of the 2nd item up for auction, 'The Tart's' knickers, were discovered at the foot of the bed.

Explanations were needed pronto and would you beleive [sic] it, he actually came up with some. They were all a pack of lies and instead of admitting it, apologizing and starting to grovel, this is what he came up with. 'I dropped my phone down the toilet, I didn't want to put my hands down there and I could't [sic] get it out with the toilet brush so I used a condom because I couldn't find any rubber gloves'. Well, well, well, that was thinking on your feet eh! She thought she had heard it all now but figured she would see how big a hole he really was keen to dig for himself so she then asked. ' When was that then and where did you get the condom from?'. He replied, 'It happened just after you left for work and I rummaged around and found one in the pocket of an old jacket in the wardrobe'. 'So how is your phone then, is it working?' she asked... 'No, it's stuffed', he replied. 'So how do you explain sending me a text message a couple of hours after I was at work then'. 'What message? It wasn't from me, my phone's not working', he replied but noticed he had gone a funny shade of green as it began to sink in that he had actually sent the text to her by mistake. 'What about these knickers then, what are they doing in our bed and whose are they', she asked thinking to herself, this will be good. She wasn't disappointed, as blatant as lies go, it was a classic. 'Sorry love, I've been meaning to tell you for years but I am a closet transvestite and they are mine'.

10 out of 10 for trying buddy but your [sic] out of here........ systematically his clothes were gathered up and thrown out the front door along with 'The 'Tart's' knickers which, after second thoughts, were scooped up and retrieved. YES, there really is a God for it started to rain then. Not just that fine rain which gets on your damn nerves but bucket loads of torrential rain which the soon to be ex-husband found himself standing in whilst calling the soon to be ex-missus all the names under the sun. He was gathering up his wet soggy clothes and the photo she had thrown at him of them outside the church on their wedding day (she thought that maybe [sic] a nice touch) when he screamed out for his car keys and wallet. Off she went to get them and with no hesitation, handed them over and told him to get lost in no uncertain terms then watched as he drove away. Dangling in her hand was the key she had slipped off his keyring, to the soon to be ex-husband's 'Harley Hog', his pride and joy - which brings me nicely to the next item that will probably be sold on Ebay at a start price of.99c and of course, with no reserve!

AND THATS [sic] THE STORY SO FAR...... HAPPY BIDDING

Aug-08-08
Q: Hi annastella007 Now he's gone will u go out with me,i wont play up on u !!!!

A: Thanks but do you really think you can handle a women in the middle of a 'Hell hath no Fury like a women scorned' vendetta...... me thinks not but nice of you to ask all the same and I hope you find someone. Cheers.

Aug-08-08
Q: Hi. I'm wondering if rubber gloves were used in handling of the mentioned tarts knickers, and if the bed was completely stripped and sterilized after the event. Also can you tell me what size they are because the 'photo' might be a good one to send to someone as an example of fine underwear...

A: Hi, Rubber gloves were not involved in the removal of 'The Tart's' knickers from the bed. However, as an avid movie buff, I took a leaf out of 'Basic Instinct' and gave em a boil up on the stove.... they shrunk a bit so I don't think they would even fit a bunny now! I did a 'Midnight Oil' on the bed the follwing day fueled by a nice little collection of 'Phantom' comics which the soon to be ex-husband had been collecting for a while but they looked pretty old to me so I figured he probably would'nt want them anyway. Cheers, Anna

[UPDATE 8/18: Final closed auction shows this addition:

On Aug-15-08 at 19:41:51 PDT, seller added the following information:

Hi everyone and my sincere thanks for the humongous amount of support, comments and questions you have sent and must apologise for not being able to answer many of them. However, I have selected a few of the more common ones to answer so here goes:

NO, sorry, you cannot have Kylie's phone number.

NO, the Harley will not be cut in half to give him his share, far too much respect for the bike to do that!

NO, 'The Tart's' knickers are not suitable for use as sails for your boats, 2 man tents or parachutes etc.

YES, you could have used the missing condom as a back pack for your Hamster Andy.....

YES, the winning bidder will receive a new (one off) photo of 'The Tart's Knickers' - not the one displayed here.

As for the questions pertaining to if, when and what was said to the soon to be ex husband the last time he was seen..... well as it turns out, that was fairly recently. Arrived on the doorstep holding flowers, a box of chocolates and wearing an expression that would certainly have won Gold in the 'Poor Me' event at the Olympics if they had one. His apologies were nothing that had not been heard before and a heated discussion (oh, alright then, a row) broke out. His last words were, 'my God woman, does that mouth of yours come with it's own postcode' - must admit that for a nano second there, a fleeting thought of 'good comeback' was recorded but it wasn't over yet. He was then told in no uncertain terms, not to try and battle wits with someone when he was unarmed and that now, all he was doing now was shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic..... he was going down. The chocolates were snatched out of his hands (we women know our priorities) before the door was closed firmly (oh alright, slammed then) in his face.]

Graphical Waterfall

This "graphical waterfall" or "water printer" is in Japan.

It is similar to ones created by Pevnick Design in Milwaukee. Pevnick has a photo gallery and a video gallery of their many creations.

It's interesting. I wonder how long before this kind of things becomes old hat.

Jacqueline Du Pre - Elgar

Due to an article in today's NY Times, I got me a hankerin' fer some Elgar.

And if you've got a hankerin' fer some Elgar, you can't go wrong with Jacqueline Du Pre playing Elgar's Cello Concerto, conducted by Daniel Barenboim.

The other movements are out there, too.

The article also has a link to a video of Elgar conducting Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in 1931 at the opening of Abbey Road recording studios.

Brian Greene on the Multiverse

I previously mentioned WNYC's show Radiolab.

I mentioned the fact that Radiolab comes in sets of five episodes. What I failed to mention is that they often post mini-episode podcasts during the radio show's down time. These can be as short as ten minutes or as long as an hour.

This week, available only as a download, they have a 50+ minute discussion that Robert Krulwich had at the 92nd Street Y with Brian Greene, author of "The Elegant Universe" and "The Fabric of the Cosmos." In their own description of the show, "Robert and Brian discuss what’s beyond the horizon of our universe, what you might wear in infinite universes with finite pairs of designer shoes, and why the Universe and swiss cheese have more in common than you think."

No fancy audio editing, just a straightforward discussion in front of a live audience. The comments currently posted on the episode's page indicates that Mr. Greene seems to have touched a nerve -- "I find it totally absurd to suggest that free-will is just a useful, comforting and necessary component that helps us get through the day," and "Brian, I find your particular solution to be extremely pessimistic and limited."

While listening to it, there came a moment when all I could think of was the title of David Byrne and Brian Eno's new album, "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today."

IT Crowd Series 3 looking for viewer input

"The IT Crowd" is getting ready to start filming its third series.

On his blog, Graham Linehan has asked for input from viewers on how to dress the set. [UPDATE 9/10/08: Mr. Linehan's blog indicates that they are now filming series 3, so one would guess that input is no longer desired.]

If you've seen the show, you know that the IT office is littered with all kinds of in-jokes, like pictures of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, computers from the 1970s, posters, bumper stickers, dolls, toys.

To quote directly from Mr. Linehan's blog post:

"How would you like to help in designing the look of series 3? Specifically, you’d be helping us choose the stuff that litters the main set. I’m talking about posters, comics, fanzines, T-shirts… anything you’ve seen in the last few months that you think is pretty cool or captures the spirit of the show or a particular character. By now, most of you know the kind of things I like…weird toys, indie comics, sci-fi, geek references, internet memes, boardgames…normally I’d delight in tracking down the stuff myself, but as I say, it’s just not going to happen this time round.

"In the very first draft of the show I described the set as looking like 'a cross between a comics shop and the batcave'. I wanted it to feel like a geek Shangri-La, and in each series I’ve felt we nearly got there. Maybe this time, with you guys involved, we’ll finally nail it.

"Please send your suggestions to ben.capel@talkbackthames.tv" [UPDATE 9/10/08: Mr. Linehan's blog indicates that they are now filming series 3, so one would guess that input is no longer desired.]

For the A/V geek in your life....

First seen by me on Gizmodo:

Yes, just like our TV, you, too, can have two HDMI inputs on your back.

Sold by Threadless.

It's a bouncy-castle! No, it's a church!

You heard about it on "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me," this past weekend -- the inflatable churches that are being used on Italian beaches to boost church attendance.

Reuters and the BBC both have video stories about these churches (with a lot of footage in common between the two stories).

According to the Reuters wire (print) story, the churches are 30 meters long, and the first attempt was a failure due to high winds.

Truely, it's a matter of judgement

see more pwn and owned pictures

A criminology lecturer at Bucks New University recommends that common spelling errors like "truely," "arguement" and "wierd" should be accepted as "spelling variants."

According to an article at BBC News, Ken Smith says that he has been correcting the same errors over and over again for so many years that he feels that the most common misspellings should just be accepted. "Twelth" should be an acceptable variant of "twelfth." Words that break the "i before e" rule should be made to conform to the rule.

"'The spelling of the word "judgement", for example, is now widely accepted as a variant of "judgment", so why can't "truely" be accepted as a variant spelling of "truly"?' . . . 'All I am suggesting is that we might well put 20 or so of the most commonly misspelt words in the English language on the same footing as those other words that have a widely accepted variant spelling'"

Goatee Saver

Seen on both Gizmodo and Boing Boing.

I guess it's not necessary to describe what it's for.

It's for doing imitations of Hannibal Lecter.

Or for shaping your goatee.

One or the other.

I forget.

At least it only costs $20.

How much would you pay (Pt 2)?

First there was the $4,700 audio cable.

So now it shouldn't be too much of a stretch for you to imagine the $150 block of wood (on sale now, usually $200).

Oops. I'm sorry, did I say "block of wood" I meant "Acoustic System Phase Corrector."

According to Pure Music Group, this item "may look like a simple instrument grade maple block," and it does! At least you can't say they're not honest.

Oh, wait. That wasn't the whole sentence. "The Acoustic System Phase Corrector may look like a simple instrument grade maple block but its inner workings are more complex." It corrects blurring of phase coherency "by disrupting the energy pocket near the floor/front wall interface through a combination of resonance and diffusion."

I'm just sorry they don't have a link to the owner's manual.

[UPDATE: This one gets better. They no longer sell the wood block one at a time. They now sell them in sets only. Starting at $2,450.]