try before you buy

Have you had a hard time getting the guts to plaster on that body tattoo of Zeus challenging the vile Cerberus in Hades, wait no more. If you have an inkjet printer and time to design you too can temporarily deface your body in the comfort of your own home with printable tattoos. Why spend five painful years to complete that Irezumi when you could get the whole family in on the fun?

hell on earth

Uzbekistan is the home to what some people might say is "the Door to Hell" and they might very well be right since the fires have been burning for over 35 years. What I hear is that geologists were digging their noses into some gassy holes near Darvaz. During the dig they had found a cave that was filled with harmful gas so in attempt to remove the gas they had ignited it. So since 1973 it's rich gasses have been ablaze, wasting away, without pause. But wouldn't it be the perfect place to roast the worlds largest marshmallow? Mmm

made a list, checked it twice

I don't think it was wrong, or a mistake that Canada's foreign minister Maxime Bernier had added the United States and Israel to a manual stating them as countries military prisoners are at risk of torture. The torture awareness course in which this manual was offered started because of the criticism Ottawa received for a blundered case where the United States deported a Canadian to Syria for 10 months in 2002. Maher Arar had been accused of being apart of the suicidal Islamic organization, sent to a prison in Damascus and said that he had been tortured while he was there. Eventually Canada granted him $10.5 million Canadian cash in a settlement while the US has offered no type of compensation and refuses to remove him and his family from a terrorist watch list. Maher is working on that though.

The manual says that US interrogation methods consist of isolation, sleep deprivation, blindfolding and nudity. Check, check, check and check! So on the behalf of the US and Israel, David Wilkins cuts in and finds it offensive to be on the same list as China and Iran. Sure China and Iran have some pretty screwed up modern methods of torture, but Mr. Bernier had spelled out how we differ and our country had tortured prisoners, no matter if it is prohibited.

In the end Maxime Bernier removed the US and Israel saying that the manual be reviewed and rewritten because it included some of Canada's closest alies. He also added that the manual was not a policy, but to bring awareness.

fat ass chance

What are people thinking when they think like Mr. Ken Hutcherson thinks anyway? He's trying to ensure that gay people who love and care about each other, some who have children and perhaps even with the same dreams of owning lots of Microsoft stock, have benefits taken away from them by buying out Microsoft stock. Some history says a guy named Jesus walked the Earth, right, and that this guy was a person who never, as I recall, took anything away from someone but sin and blindness. Now all of the sudden this trinity has changed their mind a couple thousand years later and want Hutch to remove individuals from equality. Why didn't anyone else think of this?

The gay populous that work at Microsoft probably own more stock than he'll ever rally up anyhow. That's why I think he's a sham. If his plan doesn't work out is he going to give the stock back to every donor? I think that he's getting worried that he may not have the cushiest retirement and doesn't want to let down the wife. I mean come on, ex football player from the 70's. Doesn't being a football player also mean that he's seen more naked men than most people. Anyway, why not take advantage of some of your devoted congregation who consist of, I would only guess, the older and same of his generation in a time of worry in future economics. I also imagine before he goes to sleep he prays, I'm gonna be rich beeatch. Amen.

I think his message is if God is going to take care of you buy a few shares of Microsoft stock, give Hutch one for giving you the idea then screw everyone else. Oh and It's alright for police officers and the law to protect gay individuals, but health insurance and the right to see your dying love is wrong and sending a bad message.

Him and Gary Simmons should have lunch and talk about their whoas. Besides he's another powerful white guy.

Reverend Ken Hutcherson is a mockery to freedom and to those who have paved his way for claiming a worthy cause to drive for the suppression of a choice for another human being because they are different.

010000100101001100111111

Dan Brown's novel, The Da Vinci Code, has been working Leonardo DaVinci's name back into the common household for a few years now. However, Giovanni Maria Pala has discovered a true da Vinci code taking on the shape of a song, according to his new book "La Musica Celata" which translates into "The Hidden Music". Pala, a musician, not only found what could possibly be the hymn of the year, but some sacred text and a three-dimensional chalice.

To get a closer look at the Last Supper and I mean close, take a gander at the haltadefinizione site. They specialize in the preservation of art in the midst of extinction while offering other restorative services. I love this site! Not only are the 9 gigapixel images amazing to navigate, but the music that accompanies them is wonderful, fitting and fun.

Pala performed the placements of bread in numerous configurations, but not until he considered the relation of the breads and the apostles hands did he unlock the true score. What he's done with this discovery is wrote a book that has recently been published in Italy. It also includes a CD with the requiem in which he has discovered.

So either find the music yourself, or take a break and buy the book and CD. Although it wouldn't hurt to speak Italian.

put on a couple coats

Lancome has introduced a new kind of attraction. Nail polish that utilizes magnetism to create a magnificent star effect. Tis the season and it could be a real smart gift for your lady or the lady in you.

Even though it's only come in the limited edition color Bordeaux Esmee, basically burgundy, the idea behind it is something both guys and ladies can enjoy. Beauty and magnetism. You could even go as far as making a romantic evening out of it in an open aired, flame free room.

It works by containing what Lancome describes as "enigmatic, magnetic properties and pigments" that are attracted to the magnet embeded in the casing of the lacquer. In other words, you slap some of this stuff on and stick a magnet next to it to bedazzle the finish. Pretty rad.

Onto what's not rad is that this is limited edition and is a bit more pricey than normal polish. I found it on sale at Nordstrom, but it's no longer available and may never be again. The place to find this rare one is on stinkin eBay.

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it never hurts to give a cool gift.

ballistic your back and make it till june

If you're living in America you're apart of a nation in which about 198 people have fallen victim to school shootings since, I can only assume, 1966. Getting statistics about this was not easy, but thanks to some students at Platte Canyon High School and the School Violence Resource Center I was able to find a little info.

Many people have theories as to why school shootings started and what the causes are. In our land of opportunity a company called Back Pack Shield are capitalizing off of it. The folks at BPS have made a plate that stops "higher velocity 9 mm Full Metal Jacket (copper) and 44 Magnum (SWC) rounds flat in their tracks" for a mere $195. They also offer easy to inspect baggage for future generations to get used to having their privacy invaded by authorities on daily basis. If covering our children's backs in bulletproof material is a solution for pride to own weapons of smaller destruction then I think we need to get on a different track.

If you happen to disagree with the idea of sending children into lead rain with an umbrella, send a message to your senator and and find out what they are doing about controlling the guns being found in your public schools.

We may never be perfect, but doesn't the solution seem obvious?

don't burn it all for fashion

The photographer Oliviero Toscani is at it again, this time taking pictures of 15 year anorexic Isabelle Caro for an ad campaign delivered for the clothing brand, Nolita. Nolita actually means "No Anorexia" which is an Italian clothing line brought to you by the fashion group Flash & Partners.

These shocking billboards were first posted for fashion week in Milan, Italy. At first people were tossing their pasta because they were forced to see a woman in such an ill state, but quickly saw what kind of an impact eating disorders have on our youth. Like his other work at first glance, Mr Toscani has a deeper message than exploiting a woman with the serious illness of anorexia. He is sending a message about a big problem in our world that neither he nor Isabelle want to cover up anymore: What it's like for young women who fall victim to the stereotypes that are sold to them.

About half the women in America right now are on a diet and about half the amount of women that are dieting are men. Models usually average in at an Olive Oyl 5'11'', 117 lbs, whereas women who aren't cartoons average at 5'4'' and 140 lbs. The cherry on this empty sunday is that kids in the first through third grades feel they could be thinner. WTF ever happened to paint sets and telescopes?

So people, remember that you're beautiful, even with the mole or however you were born. Although, if you do find yourself making bad choices because of someone you saw in a magazine, watch this. Now eat and be merry.

pony up, tear it down

If I've bummed you out you may be seeking an uplifting experience. For a limited time only there are plenty to be found at your local Pony. Featuring face kicking drinks and all the air hockey you can shake a paddle at, Marcus Wilson's Pony offers punky gay scenesters a place to come together and unleash their inner stallion.

If you'd like to find yourself getting tequila shots from a squirt gun and playing Ms Pac-Man while the go-go dancers prance around hit up 506 E Pine St. Do it while you can because it will be torn down at the end of November.

Mind you, Pony is like most things, its good in moderation. You don't want to be on holiday and wind up with Mr. Ed do you?

choose your own tradition

Gary Simmons, pastor of the non-denom-religicorp known as High Point Church located in Arlington, TX canceled the United States veteran, Cecil Sinclair's memorial service with 24 hours notice because he was gay as the hills. However, in Chicago, IL the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America announced that clergy members who are homosexual can now serve as pastors. Confused?

Going back to Cecil Sinclair. He served in the first Gulf War and died age 46 from an infection that occurred after prep work done for a heart transplant. His brother Lee Sinclair is an employee of High Point Church, but how Cecil got into the mix was that Lee requested the church pray for his brother Cecil when he first fell ill. From what I read on High Point's site is when a minister of the church showed up to the hospital to find that Cecil Sinclair had just past away he "reached out to the family" and offered free use of the facilities. It wasn't until the day before the service that the church was going to put together a video tribute and found photos of Cecil -gasp- "engaging in clear affection, kissing and embracing."

The church quickly calls off the memorial service, without "hate or discrimination", because they cannot condone the memory of a United States veteran who lived in sin his whole life. Soon after cracker Gary Simmons kindly shit on the family he then offered "acts of kindness" like a stranger with candy, such as food and another location for the family to remember their sinful Cecil. The family declines and the proud church seems upset because they worked so hard to stay on every ones good side. Wipe your nose High Point, ya have some brown on it.

On August 11, 2007, the U.S. Lutheran body announced that not only are gays allowed as members to serve and burn since '91, but will now be able to serve as pastors who violate the celibacy rule that are in "faithful committed same-gender relationships". If you're into this kind of lifestyle this is a great thing to be celebrated. It's nice to hear in a world of so many things that are so tit-for-tat that an organized religion can spread a wake of tolerance.

R.eally F.*cked I.D.entification

Radio-frequency identification has been a technology used for many years now in animal tagging and for big sell outs like Wal-Mart to keep track of their inventory. You might recognize them most from the price tag stuck on cd's or larger items. Kind of look like circuits, but that's actually the antenna and the center is where the integrated circuit holds all the data. However, the RFID chip comes in a variety of "flavors" not just the kind you see in stores. RFID is used in passports, payment facilities, vehicles, libraries and humans.

The main function of these devices are to keep track of whatever it's attached to. So this can mean a lot of good things like keeping track of how many trees there are in a dying forest, or your stolen car. This can also mean bad things such as when our states starts putting them in our licenses. This is a problem because anyone with the technology to read the RFID and within 20 feet has the access to take record of our personal information, instantly.

What can you do about it? The solution is as basic as the iPhone tool. Wrap the chip in tin foil. So for all you teenage inmates or the immigrated, anything on you that's a personal identifying chip can be wrapped for your protection and unwrapped for the authorities.

das llamas spit and sing

Rooted right here in Seattle is the one and only Das Llamas. They have just released a record last month titled World War and it sounds simply delightful. So far this is the third album in their musical adventures, each album laced with growth and steadfast energy.

One of my favorite new tracks is "the Others" featured on, yes, mySpace. It's a swingin kind of beat like a sneaky taste of grandmas apple pie complments of the amazing Thomas Burke on drums. He should be sent to jail for beating the drums like he does. Aaron Everett makes the guitar sing while Kerry Zettel and Shawn Kock do some singing of their own and in the same breath putting on a bass, guitar and keyboarding.

Give them your tender ears and maybe your cash. They'll also be playing as soon as July 28th at the Comet then Bumbershoot coming up in September!!

wii can fit in our pants again

Nintendo just recently announced that they will be putting a new Wii accessory on the market. It's something like that old NES power pad, but much more sophisticated and promotes interActive video gaming.

The board will come with Wii Fit, a game that includes activities to stretch your muscles with aerobics and yoga, apparently in a fun way. A lot of what I saw were movements that were slow which makes me wonder if that's because of the hardware's responsiveness. We'll see.

What I see as being a really cool potential for the Wii board is to play a game while really walking to move around and using the remote to interact with environments.

So keep your eyes open for this one, that is if you can get a hold of a Wii in the first place.

american apparently

I'm all about supporting our country, well, when we do the right thing and American Apparel is a profitable company with a name that gives them big shoes to fill. Although they don't make sneakers, they do make all sorts of clothing constructed in USA. That however isn't true about the origins of all of the fabrics used in production, at least 30% of the time. C is a passing grade in America and that's no exception when it comes to the products that allow them to make their garments and sell them to us with hardly anything on.

9 out of 31 fabrics are shown in the fabrics faq are shown as being imported, but without origin as to where that imports came from. The most common people poisoning textile manufactures and exporters are China and India. I couldn't find where American Apparel got their imports so I asked an employee. They said "I think it's China. That's what I heard somewhere."

I appreciate a company that is 100% up front with its employees and customers. Made in America doesn't always mean that the supplies and tools didn't come from another country. 5 of the 9 imported materials aren't organic which would lead me to believe that China made the bulk of those. Must not be sexy to work in a nylon with polyurethane coating textile factory. Not that China isn't beautiful, but with all those chemicals around, they sure won't be in a little while.

The models. They're as young as their target demographic with desires seemingly bigger than the 2XL and 3XL sections of the site, displaying themselves scandalously clad in a generous showcase of American Apparels inventory. Here is one of the mens collared shirts and the same collared shirt on a woman. This particular item is unisex which to me equates into guys-clothes-girls-like. I begun to understand American Apparels "mothers, don't let your sons grow up to be cowboys" message once I bought a pair of underwear. The models are really trying to show how the clothing resists cramming itself in your unmentionables.

Oh yeah, they have baby clothes too. For the next generation of cowboys and cowgirls.