chrysler5thavenue

DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENTS OF THE WORLD

2011-12-11T02:46:00.000-05:00

Governments self identified as democracies.

Governments not self identified as democratic. (Vatican, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, Fiji, Tonga and Brunei)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Democracy_claims.svg

HUGE EARTHQUAKE IN JAPAN!! CHAT WITH A SURVIVOR IN JAPAN!

2011-03-11T03:23:00.007-05:00

Just IMed someone who is in Japan during this massive 8.9 earthquake and tsunami. (Specified time is Eastern Daylight Time.)

(3:01:26 AM) c5a: r u alive?
(3:01:34 AM) shakingmyhead: glug glug glug
(3:01:46 AM) shakingmyhead: my tv died
(3:01:52 AM) shakingmyhead: got thrown across the room
(3:01:57 AM) c5a: really?
(3:01:58 AM) shakingmyhead: by the earth
(3:01:59 AM) shakingmyhead: yup
(3:02:01 AM) c5a: wow
(3:02:06 AM) c5a: r u in ne japan?
(3:02:09 AM) shakingmyhead: the phone poles
(3:02:15 AM) shakingmyhead: were swaying back and forth like rubber
(3:02:19 AM) shakingmyhead: still shaking hours later
(3:02:29 AM) shakingmyhead: theres a giant constructrion crane nearby
(3:02:34 AM) shakingmyhead: some skyscraper they are building
(3:02:37 AM) shakingmyhead: that thing was going crazy
(3:02:43 AM) shakingmyhead: i was sure it was going to fall but it didnt
(3:02:57 AM) shakingmyhead: im in tokyo.
(3:03:05 AM) c5a: idk where tokyo is
(3:03:11 AM) shakingmyhead: there are sirens and announcements but i cant hear what they're saying
(3:03:13 AM) shakingmyhead: i think its for the cars
(3:03:15 AM) shakingmyhead: they shut down the highway
(3:03:26 AM) shakingmyhead: east, middleish
(3:03:40 AM) shakingmyhead: i was walking outside when it hit
(3:03:41 AM) shakingmyhead: felt crazy
(3:03:41 AM) c5a: is there flooding where ur at?
(3:03:45 AM) shakingmyhead: ground was like boiling
(3:03:49 AM) shakingmyhead: no not as of now
(3:03:52 AM) c5a: what'd you do?
(3:03:58 AM) shakingmyhead: if water gets this far then japan is fucked
(3:04:10 AM) shakingmyhead: i just kind of looked up and ralized i was next to a glass skyscraper
(3:04:17 AM) shakingmyhead: and surrounded on all sides by glass skyscrapers
(3:04:31 AM) shakingmyhead: and decided i was going to be cool on the way out
(3:04:33 AM) shakingmyhead: and kept walking
(3:04:36 AM) shakingmyhead: like it wasnt a thang
(3:04:54 AM) c5a: how'd u get thrown across the room then?
(3:04:58 AM) c5a: if u were outside?
(3:05:08 AM) shakingmyhead: my TV did not me
(3:05:16 AM) shakingmyhead: i got home and it was on the other side of the room
(3:05:18 AM) shakingmyhead: all broken
(3:05:21 AM) shakingmyhead: its' a very large tv so
(3:05:24 AM) shakingmyhead: it must have been quite a scene
(3:05:33 AM) c5a: lucky u weren't watching it
(3:05:40 AM) shakingmyhead: if i was i probably could have caught it
(3:05:42 AM) shakingmyhead: but yeah
(3:05:46 AM) shakingmyhead: wouldnt have wanted to be on the 10th floor when it hit
(3:05:51 AM) shakingmyhead: it was shaking enough on the ground
(3:12:52 AM) shakingmyhead: a bridge fell in souther japan
(3:12:53 AM) shakingmyhead: some ppl died
(3:13:08 AM) shakingmyhead: anotehr earthquake
(3:13:14 AM) shakingmyhead: shaking now
(3:13:40 AM) shakingmyhead: the fuckers on the news
(3:13:48 AM) shakingmyhead: one guy said "get to the top of a tall building"
(3:13:52 AM) shakingmyhead: after which the other guy said
(3:13:54 AM) shakingmyhead: "stay out of tall buildings"
(3:13:59 AM) shakingmyhead: and they just went on to the next thing
(3:14:13 AM) c5a: flooding + earthquake = catch-22
(3:14:34 AM) shakingmyhead: my building is iron and concrete
(3:14:47 AM) shakingmyhead: ill get wroried when the surrounding glass buildings start shattering

(3:17:20 AM) shakingmyhead: hehe
(3:17:22 AM) shakingmyhead: i feel drunk
(3:17:26 AM) shakingmyhead: been shaking back and forth all day
(3:19:10 AM) shakingmyhead: chiba is on fire
(3:19:18 AM) shakingmyhead: damn
(3:19:24 AM) shakingmyhead: i have no water
(3:19:28 AM) shakingmyhead: i was suposed to have a date today
(3:19:29 AM) shakingmyhead: with a hot girl
(3:19:31 AM) shakingmyhead: damnit

(4:08:46 AM) shakingmyhead: whoaaa
(4:08:50 AM) shakingmyhead: the station next to my house is on TV
(4:08:54 AM) shakingmyhead: it is a riot zone
(4:09:01 AM) shakingmyhead: everyone trying ot get on the train

(5:44:19 AM) shakingmyhead: shit is not stopppiong

(6:39:19 AM) shakingmyhead: its still quaking big time
(6:39:28 AM) shakingmyhead: every 20 minutes or so a big quake hits
(6:43:12 AM) shakingmyhead: people in refugee areas are apparently screaming
(6:43:14 AM) shakingmyhead: with each new quake
(7:07:44 AM) shakingmyhead: a boat with 100+ people in it got caught in the tsunami
(7:08:10 AM) shakingmyhead: 6 year old kid died when a store roof collapsed

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=39d6138556" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Livechat w/ Japan Earthquake Victim&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

LIVEBLOG!: New England Patriots vs. New York Jets

2011-01-16T16:15:00.001-05:00

The liveblog is now archived for your enjoyment.

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=a25b609069" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;New England PatrioStts vs. New York Jets&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

LIVEBLOG!: Seattle Seahawks vs. Chicago Bears

2011-01-16T11:40:00.002-05:00

The liveblog is now archived for your enjoyment.

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=450f40ec08" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Seattle Seahawks vs. Chicago Bears&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

LIVEBLOGGING THE NFL PLAYOFFS TOMORROW!

2011-01-15T15:22:00.002-05:00

Join us tomorrow for the liveblogging of the NFL playoffs. Check http://chrysler5thavenue.blogspot.com around kickoff to read/participate. Anyone can take part during a game by commenting in the liveblog window.

The Bears are favored by 10 over the Seahawks. The Patriots are favored by about 9 over the Jets. Check here for updated spreads. Live streams of the game available at atdhe.net if you don't have a TV.

Chrysler5thavenue predictions:

Seahawks over the Bears. You are going to win money for sure if you bet on the Seahawks with the 10 points.
Patriots over the Jets. Jets will beat the spread.

FAV MIX

2010-12-15T01:15:00.000-05:00

C-sick - Rootsy Collins VIP Redux by dj c-sick

NEW VIRAL FOUR LOKO GRAPHIC DEBUTS ON THE INTERNET

2010-12-05T13:14:00.003-05:00

CHRYSLER5THAVENUE PREDICTED JEGGINGS CRAZE

2010-12-04T03:53:00.003-05:00

Source: http://twitter.com/#!/c5a/status/10014337458

http://chrysler5thavenue.blogspot.com photo gallery

2010-12-04T01:37:00.003-05:00

from http://imgur.com

TSA'S TRUE ROLE IS TO CIRCUMVENT CONSTITUTION IN WAR ON DRUGS

2010-11-20T06:49:00.000-05:00

Re:Correct me if I'm wrong (seriously) (Score:5, Interesting)

by Anonymous Cowardon Friday November 19, @05:40PM (#34286548)

John Pistole (head of TSA) tipped his hand when bragging about the effectiveness of the screening.

His brag is that he has thwarted terrorists, by siezing terror tools such as marijuana and a heroin needle.

Now, marijuana and a heroin needle will not bring down a plane, so what's really happening here?

A DEA agent, or police officer, cant run around shoving his hand down everyones pants looking for drugs. Without cause, that would be an illegal search, and the evidence obtained would be useful.

However, when the illegal search is made privately (I shove my hand down a strangers pants, then call the cops when i find a baggie of weed), the evidence is admissable. I may be charged with assault or something, but the point is the DEA has now made an end run around the 4rth amendment.

That is what this is. The TSA are *not* police, the search is obstensibly for security purposes, but when they find that baggie of weed, it's turned over to the cops and DEA who do their whole civil forfeiture routine.

You might remember a scheme to have postal employees 'on the lookout for terror' right after 9/11. Same thing there. The dumb old constitution limits police power, and they fucking hate it.

The country is bankrupt. They need to sieze more houses, cars, and boats. This is just a loophole through the constitution, and a brand new (illegal) battlefield for the War on Drugs, which is much more profitable than the War on Terror. More people die in a day crossing the road than have ever died of terrorism in the USA. They know there's no real threat.

So, once this is accepted, the TSA will move the road show to train and subway stations, and then start random roadside searches of cars. Look to see more bullshit agencies created by executive order, to illegally search - i mean safety screen - you in other venues as well. After all, a Phish concert certainly is a decent terrorist target, right? We want all those people to be safe, after all.

IANAL, and perhaps a real one could clarify what I'm saying, or tell me why I'm wrong.

Source: http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1876316&cid=34286548

TSA WASTING THE EQUIVALENT OF 1000 LIVES PER YEAR

2010-11-20T06:42:00.001-05:00

Searches are a net loss (Score:5, Interesting)

by redelm (54142)on Friday November 19, @05:44PM (#34286600) Homepage

The TSA searches are causing greater loss of useable lifetime than terrorists ever could. Each year, about 800 million people have to arrive one hour earlier at the airport to wait in lines and now suffer increased humiliation. Human beings only live for 700,000 hours. The TSA is wasting over 1000 lifetimes each year.

Source: http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1876316&cid=34286600

TODAY IN NYC: MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR FOUR LOKO

2010-11-17T04:05:00.004-05:00

Today, Wednesday, November 17 at 7pm, a moment of silence and candlelight vigil will be observed on the steps of Union Square in Manhattan to protest New York City's ban of the Four Loko beverage. Local NYC band Anamanaguchi will be performing an acoustic set.

Links:
Facebook event page (Facebook login required)
Screen capture of Facebook event page

ALL THE CURRENT IMAGES ON DRUDGEREPORT.COM

2010-09-07T00:45:00.002-04:00

HOW TO ALLOW FANS TO TAG YOUR FAN PAGE PHOTOS ON FACEBOOK

2010-08-31T18:46:00.000-04:00

Go to your Facebook Page.
Directly below your Page's Profile photo, click on "Edit Page".
In your browser's URL, note the number that comes AFTER 'edit/?id=' That number is your Page ID.
Go to this URL, but change REPLACEME to your Page ID from step 3: http://www.facebook.com/pages/edit/app_settings.php?id=REPLACEME&aid=2305272732
Click the setting for "Allow All Fans to Tag Photos"
Save your settings.

In case anyone wants to know why this works, all it is doing is accessing the "Photo Application" settings by using the Application ID (the Facebook Photos Application ID is '2305272732').

(Source: Nick Coleman on http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=10381469571&topic=3794#topic_top)

THOUGHTS ON WRITING + A "'SHOP JOB" "DISASTER"

2010-08-03T06:07:00.004-04:00

Economy of words is important in written communication. The point of writing is to transfer as many ideas with as much depth and as broad an application to the reader as quickly as possible. People that lack the most understanding are also going to be the ones who have the shortest attention span. Busy people are only going to skim what you write, and only read if they have to. People who are smarter than you are going to stop reading shortly after you start to come across as pedantic to them.

Thanks to Frederick's of Hollywood customer L.R. in MI.

STILL LIFE PHOTO

2010-07-29T01:05:00.005-04:00

photo by Ginger Elizabeth

WILSON VAN DE MOORTELE AND DEMI-DEMI

2010-07-02T09:43:00.005-04:00

I just read this interview with Wilson van de Moortele, mostly about his Demi-Demi fashion concept: http://www.viceland.com/blogs/en/2010/07/01/demi-demi/#more-17105.

I was inspired to do some research and found the video referred to in the interview and his own Demi Demi website. The video is in a foreign language. It's worth watching to see the clothes he models.

His website is demi-demi.tk (English translation).

I also came across an article reporting on mugging he was victim to in 2007: original / English translation. In it, he is described as an ex-accordionist, singer and miniature builder and is said to ride a moped wearing a distinctive helmet.

This 2006 article from the same site is about his Demi-Demi clothing concept and also mentions his helmet: original / English translation.

This blog from 2008 mentions that he is a professional electrician: original / English translation.

There are two facebook pages dedicated to Demi-Demi: Demi Demi (Wilson) and De officieuze Demi-Demi Fanclub!

The Carlocks

2010-06-21T07:37:00.004-04:00

At 5 minutes after 5, Odum Carlock cranked down the driver's & passenger's side windows to get some relief from the sweltering hot air trapped inside his late 80s model chevrolet and pulled out of his space at the ancillary gravel parking lot at United Engineering. He gently guided his car over the insufficiently sloped curb onto the street and took a left two blocks down where he usually goes straight to the highway. He was going to stop at a flower shop before coming home to get a bouquet of flowers for his wife to celebrate the promotion he was offered at a meeting with his supervisor earlier that day.

Odum arrived at his house and pulled the car into his driveway, avoiding his neighbor's empty garbage can that had been thrown there and left laying on it's side, halfway on his driveway after the usual Friday morning trash pickup. He put the car in park and looked up when he heard the garage door starting to open. He could see his wife's feet step up behind the the rising door and wait for a second until it was low enough for her to duck under.

"You goddamn son of a bitch!" she screamed, striding towards him, glaring at him, as he stepped out of his car. "What the hell is wrong with you? How many times did I remind you last night to take the trash out? How many?"

"HOW MANY?!" she repeated as she rapped three times on the bald spot just above his forehead with her knuckles, adding extra force to the last one, before he pulled his head away.

Odum took a step back and lifted his left forearm to defend himself while rubbing the pink mark on his forehead with his right, uselessly trying to disperse the stinging sensation. "This is the third fucking week in a row! It's not going to fucking walk itself out of the garage! I've fucking had it!" she kept on.

Odum remembered the flowers and reached into his car to get them. "Here, Bonnie," he said. "I got these for you." He held the flowers out towards here.

She stared straight into his eyes and he could see tears welling up in hers, the fierceness in them beginning a slow lapse into sorrow. She looked down at the flowers and for a quick instance he saw her brow gather into a confused expression. Odum noticed the the flowers had partially wilted in the heat inside his car.

"You son of a bitch," she said, crying. "It's too late. It's too late, Odum."

"Bonnie, you know I . . . love . . .," he stammered, wondering how hollow those words sounded. "You know I . . ."

"I can smell it . . . in the kitchen." She sobbed softly, finding it more difficult to force her words out until her voice reached a broken whisper. "The garbage, Odum, . . . the garbage."

PIGEON ON A BIKE

2010-06-13T10:38:00.000-04:00

photo by Bucky Turco

FREE THONG!!!

2010-06-01T19:54:00.002-04:00

American Apparel is offering a free thong if you sign up for their email updates.

~~http://www.americanapparel.net/storefront/free-thong/~~

This is a no-brainer if you're into thongs.

EDIT: No more free thongs.

JIM JOE

2010-05-22T02:52:00.003-04:00

NEW POSTS COMING SOON

2010-05-14T03:48:00.000-04:00

Just a heads up to let you know that some new entries will be posted on this blog soon.

EMINEM ENGAGES IN KOOKY HIJINKS

2010-04-22T06:15:00.003-04:00

From http://www.xmradio.com/shade45:

Haven't had a chance to listen to this, but it seems like Eminem is still doing crazy, hilarious stuff.

PETA's 2010 State of the Union - 18+ only!

2010-03-16T21:13:00.000-04:00

PETA's 2010 State of the Union Undress

UBISOFT CENSORS RUSSIAN CUSTOMERS

2010-03-08T19:21:00.002-05:00

Following yesterday's Assassin's Creed 2/DRM disaster, Ubisoft this morning deleted a discussion by their Russian customers in the Assassin's Creed General Discussion forum. The first four pages of the thread are archived here:

Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4

There seems to be a pattern of discrimination against Russian users by Ubisoft.

DIGG / REDDIT

INTERVIEW WITH AN EXTREME CRAPPER

2010-03-05T18:30:00.001-05:00

chrysler5thavenue: why is it again that you crapped in bags?
crapper: Because I lived in a motel full of crack heads and only had a public bathroom and the door didn't lock
crapper: You can't defend yourself if you're shitting
chrysler5thavenue: did you also say you crapped into your cereal bowl?
crapper: No o_O
crapper: I only had one bowl
crapper: It was for FOOD
chrysler5thavenue: i thought you said you crapped into that bowl, then put the turds in a bag, and then washed the bowl & ate oatmeal out of it
crapper: Nooooo
crapper: Steamer I never used
crapper: I did that sometimes
chrysler5thavenue: you crapped into a steamer?
crapper: Until I figured out the correct way to shit in the bag without it touching me
crapper: Yeah
crapper: I never used it!
crapper: I had gotten it for broccoli
crapper: But the broccoli smelled weird
crapper: Chemicalish
crapper: It shouldn't smell like chemicals
chrysler5thavenue: did you steam your crap?
crapper: -.-
crapper: No
chrysler5thavenue: why do i remember you telling me you crapped into your breakfast bowl? i would've remembered if you told me you crapped into a steamer.
crapper: I just called the steamer a bowl
crapper: It's bowl shaped
crapper: And I didn't have a breakfast bowl
crapper: I had a small little campfire bowl thing
chrysler5thavenue: did you eat breakfast out of it?
crapper: I don't think I ever really ATE breakfast
crapper: I lived on ramen, pasta, etc
chrysler5thavenue: oatmeal
chrysler5thavenue: you ate oatmeal
crapper: Not for breakfast usually
chrysler5thavenue: you ate ramen for breakfast and oatmeal for dinner?
crapper: I didn't really eat breakfast
crapper: I ate later in the day
chrysler5thavenue: just because you're asleep in the morning when everyone eats breakfast doesn't mean you don't eat breakfast
crapper: I DID NOT SHIT IN THE BOWL I ATE OUT OF
crapper: Kthnx

RAT SHOOTING HOOPS

2010-03-03T06:01:00.001-05:00

DIE ANTWOORD WERE COOL

2010-02-28T04:52:00.002-05:00

but the new thing now is luvstep:

Check out the comments for the history of luvstep.

http://luvstep.com/
http://www.percussionlab.com/sets/praveen/lovestep_mix
http://percussionlab.com/sets/praveen/lovestep_mix_vol_2

CNN REQUESTED PERMISSION TO GO HOGWILD ON MY PC TODAY

2010-02-24T22:02:00.002-05:00

Today I followed a link to a live video stream on CNN.com. To watch it, I had to give permission to have "Octoshape" installed on my computer. Here's how Octoshape defines itself:

The Octoshape software utilizes a grid streaming technology. With grid streaming technology, parts of the video and audio stream you watch may be delivered to your personal computer system via the personal computer systems of other end users of the software, and the personal computer system on which you install the Software may also be used to deliver parts of the video and audio stream to other end users of the Software only while you are viewing the same respective stream.

This basically means that I'll download the stream at the same time upload the downloaded data to someone else that is requesting it. That way CNN doesn't have to upload it to everyone that wants to see it. The people that download the content will pass it on to other people. It's similar to the concept behind bit torrent software.

Here's all it said about the licensing terms on that same informational page that was offered before installing the software:

By installing the Octoshape software you are granting permission for Octoshape, the website and other end users of the software to utilize and share the processor and bandwidth of your personal computer system for the limited purpose of facilitating the communication between you and other end users of the software, including Octoshape and the website, and improving bandwidth efficiency in order to provide you the content.

I didn't install it because it didn't specify that my computer would only be used to serve the data that I had specifically requested and that I would have control of how much of their data my computer would serve. It seemed like these terms are so broad as to allow them to use my computer as a server at will. I was only willing to pass on the content of theirs that I knowingly downloaded and only using the same amount of bandwidth as I used to download it, no more. I decided not to install it.

I told someone about this and they linked me to a list of criticisms of this software from Wikipedia:

Octoshape has been criticized ^[7] for its "ludicrous license terms". Octoshape's EULA, amongst other things, for protection against reverse engineering the Octoshape software prohibits the user utilizing the records that their firewall or anti-virus software may record .

Other points of criticism:

Being closed source software prevents the internal functions of the software from being publicly examined for hidden functions and other security problems.

Shifts the broadcaster's share of the cost of bandwidth to the listeners instead by running servers on the listeners' machines.

Octoshape reserves the right to expand the scope of what its software does on listeners' computers. ^[8]

This seems to be a common problem with software provided by large media content providers like CNN. Having a large audience, they can afford to alienate technologically savvy visitors to take advantage of the vast majority who do not understand the technology. Content providers that built their business on the internet are generally better about having fair and clear terms of service because their initial rise in popularity depends on acceptance by people who are more familiar with the internet. Be on the lookout for mass media content providers trying to screw you over.

GAWKER.COM INADVERTENTLY OUTS SECRET CELEBRITY PARTY PAD

2010-02-23T15:48:00.018-05:00

Today gawker.com published a post profiling a secret NYC party pad where celebrities hang out with strippers and smoke indoors, while saying "we're not mentioning [the owner's] full name, or the location, or running any pictures that might give away either, so as not to ruin perhaps the last refuge for New York debauchery in the era of smoking bans and wealthy neighbors who expect perfect quiet downtown."

Commenter exifhunter pointed out that the GPS coordinates (+40° 43.64′ -73° 59.62′) in the embedded EXIF data on the iPhone photo of a pickle cabinet within the apartment that the author, Ravi Somaiya, published in the story, placed it at this location. Commenter ModernMindOfM then gave the address of the location as "12 Great Jones St. The red door under the red awning at the base of the 6 story brick building. Acme Bakery resides in front."

A number of elite Gawker star commenters were awed by exifhunter's supernatural ability to read EXIF data:

@exifhunter: Dude, I want you on my side

Pretty amazing. Somewhere Joan Allen is using his guy to find Jason Bourne.

@exifhunter: I'm just going to offer to buy the movie rights to your life right now, no questions asked.

@MisterLumpyDough: @nirreskeya: @exifhunter: Holy crap. Can you people see me right now?

REDDIT / DIGG

Super Bowl XLIVeblog

2010-02-07T10:13:00.005-05:00

Starts at 6pm EST on this page. Colts generally favored by 5. Check here for spreads as low as 3.5 and up to 6. Live streams of the game available at atdhe.net. Anyone can take part in this by commenting in the liveblog window.

EDIT: The liveblog is now archived for your enjoyment.

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=359af313f9" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Super Bowl XLIV&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

LIVEBLOG: New York Jets vs. Indianapolis Colts AFC Playoff

2010-01-22T23:28:00.006-05:00

Colts are favored by 8 and the Over/Under is 39.5 (via bodog.com). We'll be liveblogging this Sunday at 3 pm! Bookmark this page and join us right here at your internet liveblogging destination!

EDIT: The liveblog is now archived for your enjoyment.

Is it OK to make Haiti jokes or is it better to wait for the dust to settle?

2010-01-20T06:22:00.006-05:00

A Haitian man walks into a bar--it collapses.

I dumped my Haitian girlfriend the other day, she was crushed.

San Diego Chargers vs. New York Jets AFC Divisional Playoff LIVEBLOG

2010-01-17T16:41:00.001-05:00

EDIT: The liveblog is now archived for your enjoyment.

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=1ce93393b2" >San Diego Chargers vs. New York Jets</a>

ARIZONA CARDINALS VS. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS LIVEBLOG

2010-01-16T03:08:00.005-05:00

We'll be liveblogging the game today. You can participate. Hopefully you'll have a TV to watch along with. Be here at 4:30pm. If you don't know what liveblogging is, it'll blow your freaking mind. Don't say you weren't warned! LIVE-BLOGGING 2010! F*** Yea!

EDIT: The liveblog is now archived for your enjoyment.
&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;task=viewaltcast&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;altcast_code=d2417867a9" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

YOUTUBE COMMENTER PREDICTED JAY REATARD'S DEATH

2010-01-14T17:01:00.000-05:00

This uncanny prediction of Jay Reatard's death can be found in the comments of this video of him urinating on a band member:

M.I.A. - THERE'S SPACE FOR OL DAT I SEE

2010-01-14T00:02:00.002-05:00

New video from M.I.A. posted on her twitter.

unofficial MP3: http://www.mediafire.com/?mw0fo1imwxg

EDIT: The song is called "Odyssey" and the beats are by Rusko.

JAY REATARD DIES; EDITOR TAKES OPPORTUNITY TO PROMOTE HIS MAGAZINE

2010-01-13T18:32:00.008-05:00

Indie rock star Jay Reatard was found dead today around 3:30 a.m. at the age of 29. No cause of death has been reported.

In an attempt to promote his magazine's cover story on Reatard, the editor of Death + Taxes commented on BrooklynVegan.com saying:

I'm the editor of the Death+Taxes magazine. Jay Reatard is our current on-stands cover story and I had the opportunity to spend some time with him this fall.
He was a great talent and his passing is a big loss to the music world. We'll continue to celebrate Watch Me Fall as one of the best records of 2009 and remember him fondly.
He was honest and revealing in his cover story, and we appreciate the special access we were given to one of the great songwriters of our generation.
If you'd like to join us in remembering him, you can read the cover story here: http://www.deathandtaxesmagazine.com/?p=1445

The crass timing of the comment incensed several anonymous commenters who stated:

i love how the editor of Death+Taxes magazine just used this as a way to promote their publication. stay classy.

and:

To all the people either making jokes about his death or speculating on the cause go fuck yourself you are seriously the scum of the earth.

Same goes for you Death & Taxes Editor, using this to promote your mag is disgusting.

We at chrysler5thavenue.blogspot.com find theeditor's of Death + Taxes statement to be tasteless and inappropriate.

UPDATE (7:21pm EST): The R.I.P Jay Reatard bebo skin has surpassed 1000 downloads.

DIGG THIS STORY

THE SCIENTIFIC CONSENSUS REGARDING HUMAN-INDUCED CLIMATE CHANGE

2010-01-04T17:18:00.001-05:00

Here is a graph posted by informationisbeautiful.net:

Here is a breakdown of the skeptics by their field:

The article further states:

In fact, when you adjust the PetitionProject’s odd categorisation – they filed ‘chemical engineers’ as chemists and physical engineers as ‘physicists’ – the total number of engineers who signed the petition, by our reckoning, jumps to 49%

Why so many engineers?

I think it's because engineers tend to work for the industries that are being challenged to change their practices to lessen their impact on climate change. Their stance is based on politics, not science.

KYLE DEAN REINFORD VS. HIPSTER RUNOFF FEUD SETTLED; "CARLES STILL WINS" SAYS BEBE ZEVA

2009-12-15T11:17:00.009-05:00

After days of negotiations with Kyle Dean Reinford, internet blogger Carles has replaced photos taken by Reinford with fan art on his Hipster Runoff blog to placate the outraged photographer/actor/singer. The week-long feud stemmed from Kyle Dean Reinford taking issue with the photos he took being used without his permission on a blog which "completely disregard[s] the English language and its structure"

The following photos taken by Kyle Dean Reinford's and used without permisson on Hipster Runoff (last one altered by Carles):

were replaced in the original blog post by these images by J Caldwell, BebeZeva, BuzzBandFan6969 (respectively):

Commenting on the affair, artist/alt/16-year-old BebeZeva said:

Kyle's pictures had to be replaced, but Carles still wins. Seems like Kyle is just bitter that he doesn't have merchandise with his name on it. Now he's trying to be somebody by messing with the King of the Blogosphere (which is evidently backfiring because he now looks like an overreactive prick who doesn't 'get' Hipster Runoff).

BebeZeva

Carles

Kyle Dean Reinford (photo by Kyle Dean Reinford)

WHY IS KYLE DEAN REINFORD FREAKING THE FUCK OUT?

2009-12-10T20:44:00.006-05:00

Photographer/actor/singer Kyle Dean Reinford is really mad that Hipster Runoff published his photos without his permission. (Read more here.) According to an update on The Village Voice, what really 'ticks him off' is not just that Carles used his photos, it's that:

One of the photos was altered: "What I'm objecting is mainly the defacing of one of my photos. I don't appreciate it."
The blogger, Carles, uses non-grammatically correct English: "It's crazy to think that some asshole can anonymously steal copyrighted work, completely disregard the English language and its structure, . . ."
Carles' makes money with his blogging: ". . . and somehow make money off of the ads from his site."

Original photo by Kyle Dean Reinford and photo altered by Carles:

HIPSTER PHOTOGRAPHER FREAKS OUT--THREATENS TO SHUT DOWN HIPSTER BLOGGER

2009-12-10T19:09:00.009-05:00

New York 'scene' photographer/actor/singer Kyle Dean Reinford recently found out viral blogger Carles republished one of his photos on Hipster Runoff blog with attribution and a link to Reinford's site but without his permission. Now Reinford is bringing out the big guns to protect his intellectual property: he is filing a DMCA request. His twitter stream indicates he may also be 'losing his shit'.

(Photo of Kyle Dean Reinford by Kyle Dean Reinford used in accordance with the fair use doctrine.)

kyledreinford ha. hipster runoff has jack johnson's brushfire fairytales as it's #1 album of the decade. #fb 01 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford Just realized I'm kind of drunk. 08 Dec 2009 from TweetDeck
kyledreinford hoping to get a portrait of mos tonight... 08 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford Standing by mos def. Excited for blakroc. #fb 09 Dec 2009 from TweetDeck
kyledreinford getting ready to send a DCMA takedown notice to @hipsterrunoff unless he responds to that email, which i fully do not expect. 09 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford @mattmusicslut i think i will. mainly because i think that site is such trash. 09 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford "I think it is better for the scene if I leave the pix up. Let me know if you disagree." oh, i disagree. move it. 09 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford DMCA coming your way. hope you enjoy. #hipsterrunoff 09 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford "I am just trying to support the arts and the scene. It seems like you're really killing the modern spirit of sharing, community, art..." 09 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford "and expression. I feel like we should work to support one another, building a partnership that enables us to achieve our goals as..." 09 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford "artists... I just thought it would be chill to share them with the world. My blog gets a lot of hits from artists, talent scouts..." 09 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford "and miscellaneous celebrities+tastemakers. You never know what might happen because of the power of the wonderful thing..." 09 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford "...that we like to call the World-Wide-Web." 09 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford part of my response: "I'm not killing any spirit, but I do this for a living - it's a business. I share photos all the time with people..." 09 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford "...that I respect, that ask for things instead of taking them, and act in a professional manor. When you reach that status, we can talk." 09 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
rockographer @kyledreinford is Carles a babe or a guy ? 09 Dec 2009 from Echofon
kyledreinford @rockographer writes like a dude. 09 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford hmm. he's offering me a "content sharing program." #notsurehowidfeelaboutbeingassociatedwiththesite 09 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford just compared "good exposure" on hipsterrunoff to having perez hilton ejaculate on my photo being good exposure. i feel good about that one. 09 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford @dbartholow i feel good about the comparison, not the fact that they're stealing my photo. 09 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford @nikitagale he signed his name as charles in the last email. 09 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford by the way, carles was just "remixing" my photo. it's the highest form of flattery. 09 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
PopTarts Daily Swarm picks up #hipsterrunoff vs. @kyledreinford http://twurl.nl/6q6rwa 10 Dec 2009 from Seesmic
hipsterrunoff does n e 1 know n e thing abt biz & internet law? 10 Dec 2009 from mobile web
kyledreinford thanks to everyone that helped make this day hilarious. #fb 10 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford working on getting #hipsterrunoff de-listed from google search, yahoo, and windows live search (msn). 10 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford also, if charles (not carles) thinks i'll get tired of this and give up, he has no idea who he's dealing with. #hipsterrunoff 10 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford @nisianista he has no respect for property. stole some photos and is not abiding by my requests to remove them. and he's being a dick. 10 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford also, let me just say it's not about the photo anymore, it's about the principle. photographers are taken advantage of too much these days. 10 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford RT @theRealRyanMatt bro u look like a total D-bag/weakling in yo battle w/ carles. luv that u stickin 2 yo principles even tho u r a gaywad 10 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford the aforementioned blog will be taken off of bing's search engine within 3 business days. #win 10 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford @24kgoldsher to be honest, i'd rather argue in person, but lil mr. charles is anonymous. 10 Dec 2009 from Tweetie

Around this point, tweeter/photographer Ryan Muir posted the following images:

kyledreinford @ryanmuir that'd be great if only you got it right. "DMCA", not "DCMA". 10 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford @ryanmuir i don't think you realize, you got that wrong. ryan, it's DMCA. seriously. you're wrong. 10 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford @ryanmuir i never said spell check. DMCA isn't a word, so spell check wouldn't catch it, actually. 10 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford the village voice emailed me for comment. 10 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford @deseraestage blogs.villagevoice.com/music/archives/2009/12/hipster_runoff.php 10 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
kyledreinford @MiseryXchord i think there are probably some pretty good parallels between 14 year olds and charles. 10 Dec 2009 from Tweetie
these quotes were generated by twtQuote

One or both of the following quotes may or may not have been posted by Kyle Dean Reinford on the Village Voice's coverage of the imbroglio:

According to his website, Reinford "has 23 chess trophies from between 4th and 10th grade" and is a self-described "OCD sufferer", "pirate", and "publicist" ("Kyle has done all of his own publicity since 1984").

HOW BACON IS MADE

2009-11-21T10:29:00.003-05:00

THOUGHTS ON THE GLOBAL WARMING DEBATE

2009-11-21T10:28:00.002-05:00

It appears to me that there's a good number of people who aren't funded by any one specific industry saying that "global warming" needs to be addressed by government and until recently there was not a lot of money to be made off of "solving global warming". The interest for it grew out of scientific studies and started becoming an "environmental" meme.

Then in the 90s, "denying global warming" became a meme. The arguments "against global warming" come from organizations set up by public relations agencies and research funded by businesses who would incur losses from government regulations. And the research isn't so much hard scientific research as it is rhetorical research gathered to discredit "global warming" specifically so that it can't be used to justify regulation. The arguments "against global warming" are always defensive and the only people that are passionate about it are paid by the industries that stand to be regulated, the Republican Party which is closely aligned with those interests, and dumb "Republicans" to whom it's simply an ideological left/liberal/Democrat vs. right/conservative/Republican issue. There weren't people arguing against the idea of global warming that came out of the scientific community until it became a political issue and the argument against it doesn't seem to be so much a scientific argument that discredits it as much as a political argument against regulation.

C5A BEATS

2009-10-30T02:56:00.002-04:00

THE PBR PHENOMENON DECONSTRUCTED

2009-10-16T09:15:00.008-04:00

You may have noticed a trend over at least the past couple of people raging against hipsters for being shallow trend-followers. You don't necessarily have to actually know what a hipster is to complain about them, but more astute complainers will know that they drink Pabst Blue Ribbon beer for the "ironic effect". This meme has even recently been cemented in the mainstream media with reports mentioning PBR's "[adverb, e.g strangely, highly, etc.] effective" "word-of-mouth campaign" playing up to the hipster sense of irony. No evidence of this "word-of-mouth marketing campaign" is cited other than other articles repeating the same thing while relishing the irony of an anti-conformist, anti-corporate subculture being seduced by corporate marketing.

Having no preference, a hipster may be likely to choose PBR because of the can design. The design hasn't changed in years, signifying a more authentic relationship with the customer than those beer companies that update their labels to entice customers. Not so ironic a choice, just a conscious evaluation of the design as it reflects on the choices the company makes.

A hipster may choose to drink PBR because their friends drink PBR: not much different from any social group that has their favorite beers such as Budweiser or Guinness. If everyone in a group agrees on a brand of beer, it's easier to buy a 12-pack or a case for a party that no one will bitch and moan about.

The most important reason hipsters drink PBR is economic. Hipsters are generally people from a middle-class upbringing who are involved in the local indie music scene. What that should tell you is that they hold aesthetics above affluence. Having a lesser drive towards affluence, they tend to not make much money. Being middle class tells you they're advantaged enough to not have to drink the cheapest form of alcohol available like bums and welfare cases. PBR is the beer of choice of people who have enough money see a band at a bar, but not enough to waste it on upgrading their beer while they're there. It is in fact the drink of choice for white bar patrons living above poverty conditions with a limited disposable income, at least in the South.

Tennessee Rounders - 2007-01-12 - Pabst Blue Ribbon [128kbps vbr]

In the South, PBR is the cheapest beer you can get in most bars. It's also the cheapest non-light, non-ice brewed beer you can get at just about any gas station, aside from Milwaukee's Best which sux. This doesn't have as much to do with customer demand as it does with Pabst Brewing Company's pricing and distribution. Bar owners there don't sell it because customers demand it, they sell it because customers there tend to go to bars that offer cheap beer and PBR has chosen to cater to that market.

It shouldn't be surprising that traveling indie bands playing in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, artists, and liberal arts majors who move to New York and live on a tight budget while starting their careers would bring their preference in beer with them. In New York, PBR is expensive, like all beer, so it's particularly hard for people there to understand why hipsters drink it, but it's still usually one dollar cheaper in bars than other beers. Aside from saving a buck, it's better to ask specifically for a PBR than to ask for "the cheapest beer you have" in front of a girl you may want to bone later.

I just wanted to clear all that up because it's kind of sad to see the same rant repeated by different people about "hipsters" and their "trends" and the irony of their "ironic" beers. You can go on believing that the trend started with PBR's marketing team showing up at drug parties and dingey rock venues telling people that PBR is ironic, but drinking PBR has less to do with irony and some vaporous "word-of-mouth marketing campaign" and more with economics and Pabst's distribution model. There's people that drink PBR based solely on the brand's cultural cache while imbuing it with an aura of irony, but is that act any worse than criticizing it based solely on the brand's cultural cache while imbuing it with an aura of irony?

MEGHAN McCAIN MIGHT DELETE HER TWITTER

2009-10-15T15:21:00.018-04:00

Meghan McCain, daughter of John McCain, posted this picture on twitter showing off her book, got called a slut, and is now considering deleting her twitter profile. Here are the relevant tweets in chronological order:

McCainBlogette http://twitpic.com/ljzq4 - my "spontaneous" night in... 18 hours, 49 minutes ago

McCainBlogette so I took a fun picture not thinking anything about what I was wearing but apparently anything other than a pantsuit I am a slut, this is 18 hours, 28 minutes ago

McCainBlogette why I have been considering deleting my twitter account, what once was fun now just seems like a vessel for harassment 18 hours, 28 minutes ago

McCainBlogette I am going to take some more time to think about it but seriously I was just trying to be funny with the book and that I'm a dork staying in 18 hours, 27 minutes ago

McCainBlogette when I am alone in my apartment, I wear tank tops and sweat pants, I had no idea this makes me a "slut", I can't even tell you how hurt I am 18 hours, 13 minutes ago

McCainBlogette ok I am getting the fuck off twitter, promise not to delete my account until I sleep on it, thank you for the nice words supporters 18 hours, 11 minutes ago

McCainBlogette I do want to apologize to anyone that was offended by my twitpic, I have clearly made a huge mistake and am sorry 2 those that are offended. 18 hours, 2 minutes ago

UPDATE (04:04PM EST): She will not be deleting her twitter, treating this as a learning experience instead.

McCainBlogette I would like to thank my family and friends for their support. This has been an embarrassing experience but also a learning one. I will not 19 minutes ago

McCainBlogette be deleting my twitter account but I will be more careful in the future about my use with the medium. 18 minutes ago

UPDATE (2009-12-01 04:07AM EST): She said a few more things about it but I lost interest in blogging about it. Sorry if you think this entry would've benefited from being more comprehensive.

MICKEY MANTLE RECALLS A YANKEE STADIUM MEMORY

2009-10-11T03:45:00.001-04:00

HOW TO HOST A WINDOWS 7 PARTY

2009-09-25T20:06:00.010-04:00

[via Valleywag]

I wonder if Microsoft meant this to go viral. I'm leaning towards thinking they didn't. It's been online since at least August 26.

ON-TIME CLOCK

2009-09-25T04:27:00.010-04:00

This is the ON-Time clock from Fabrica Design. It runs 3 minutes fast. Personally, I'm never just 3 minutes late so it'd be kind of useless to me. Speaking of useless, I tried posting this using the Blogger accelerator in Internet Explorer 8 but the GUI doesn't allow for uploading or embedding pics like the web interface does. Google and Microsoft just wasted 3 minutes of my time with their "accelerator".

LOCAL TV NEWS BANTER: WHY IS IT SO WEIRD?

2009-09-17T06:12:00.011-04:00

Whenever I see local news on TV, I pay attention to the "friendly interaction" between the anchor and the other reporter(s) sitting by them. Those little comments they make to each other about the previous report are always really weird. It's unlike any kind of human interaction you'd see anywhere else. It's like they're acting like they're making small talk, but it's totally not small talk because small talk is just something to fill up time or to show a stranger you're stuck next to that you're not an introverted creep thinking about how much you resent them encroaching on your personal space. I suppose it's because local news is targeted at people that don't pay attention to what words mean but how they sound, but if you're not part of this target audience, it does seem really freaking weird. Take this for example:

With most things, you don't get them when you first see them, but the more you see them the more you get it, because you learn about stuff and things make sense as you grow up. Local news though is something that seemed normal to me when I'd watch it as a kid, but the older I get the more it freaks me out. I'm not even so sure that it's these odd asides themselves that are so strange; maybe what's alienating me is the blatant realization that there's an audience for them.

Have you also noticed this? Do you even ever watch the local news? What is the anchor in that video talking about?

PATRICK SWAYZE DIES AT AGE 57

2009-09-14T22:26:00.003-04:00

Actor Patrick Swayze died in Los Angeles today after a public bout with pancreatic cancer. "Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months," said his publicist, Annett Wolf. Swayze is best known for his roles in Ghost, Roadhouse, and Big Trouble In Little China.

HOW EGGS ARE MADE

2009-09-02T16:47:00.001-04:00

ODUMCARLOCK'S GUIDE TO BONING B*TCHES

2009-08-12T04:18:00.002-04:00

Realize that every woman is different and prefers different things in bed. No f****ng templates! Just imagination and experimentation!
Communication! The more you talk the better the sex is, and the better you get.
Practice. That sh*t really does make perfect.
Fitness - be healthy, spiritually, physically and psychologically.
Caring, care for your partner and yourself.
Respect! For both of you.
Technique - never stop learning and training and getting better, never be satisfied with who you are, always give it 110%, always try to have better sex than you had last time, never just call it in! If you feel like you're going to have mediocre sex, do something else instead!

BREAKING NEWS: BONO'S FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE DAMPENED BY SLEEP-DEPRIVED COMMONERS

2009-07-28T14:07:00.012-04:00

The Associated Press is reporting that the shipment of U2's stage to it's next destination on their multimillion dollar tour has been delayed by protesters kept awake by noise from the 44 hours of round-the-clock work dismantling it following a noisy run of nighttime shows in Dublin, Ireland.

When told of what happened after landing their private jet in Nice, France, where they are staying between shows, the band felt "pure disappointment. It's just really put a damp squib (sponge) on something that was a fantastic experience and fantastic show" said the tour's production director.

There is no word yet whether a lawsuit threatened against the protesters will include a claim for emotional damage incurred by the band.

MEMETARD: A MEME FOR THE POST-MEME AGE

2009-07-14T22:16:00.018-04:00

A memetard is someone who repeats overused memes indiscriminately as a conversational crutch.

Examples of memes commonly abused by memetards:

"Arguing on the internet is like the Special Olympics. Even if you win, you're still retarded."
Godwin's Law, godwin, etc.
"PETA: People Eating Tasty Animals"
"CAPS LOCK: CRUISE CONTROL FOR . . . "
image macros
"Cool story, bro"
"tl;dr"
"evar", "moar", "an hero", "teh internets", etc.
bacon
ninjas vs. pirates
fail

Please use this meme judiciously.

EDIT: First usage of the memetard meme within a memetic context .

GIRL ALMOST GETS RAPED ON MYSPACE

2009-06-30T11:32:00.002-04:00

THE IDEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE U.S. SUPREME COURT, 1937-2007

2009-06-19T06:23:00.003-04:00

An infographic at scotusscores.com illustrates the ideological tendencies of the U.S. Supreme Court as a whole and of individual justices on a liberal-conservative scale.

YOUTUBE CENSORING IRANIAN PROTEST VIDEOS

2009-06-17T00:42:00.011-04:00

While the media is not being allowed to report what is happening in Iran, Iranian protesters are risking their lives to record video of the situation and upload it to the internet using very limited bandwidth. At the same time, Youtube is deleting them soon after they are uploaded. Most likely because the deleted footage is graphically violent. UPDATE (07:30 17 June 2009): The twitter hashtag for this censorship is #youtubefail. There is a torrent for 11 videos removed from Youtube. The videos may also have been removed by illegitimate DMCA requests by supporters of Ahmadinejad claiming copyright infringement. This is a good reason why the Digital Millenium Copyright Act should be repealed in the U.S.A. UPDATE (08:58 17 June 2009): In response to being called out on this, Youtube has made a statement congratulating itself on going out of it's way to not delete more of these videos because of the critical nature of the situation and suggesting that these videos may have been removed by the users themselves, presumably just after risking their lives attaining them and uploading them with limited bandwidth available. Here is the relevant part of their statement:

We've noticed some claims going around that YouTube has been engaging in acts of censorship and removing some of these videos from the site. Unless a video clearly violates our Community Guidelines, we will not take it down. In general, we do not allow graphic or gratuitous violence on YouTube. However, we make exceptions for videos that have educational, documentary, or scientific value. The limitations being placed on mainstream media reporting from within Iran make it even more important that citizens in Iran be able to use YouTube to capture their experiences for the world to see. Given the critical role these videos are playing in reporting this story to the world, we are doing our best to leave as many of them up as we can. YouTube is, at its core, a global forum for free expression. Take note that if you see a video that is unavailable on the site, it may be because the user decided to remove the video him or herself.

Apparently Youtube's idea of a "global forum for free expression" is one which censors documentation of bloodshed and death at pivotal moments in history--you know, the kind of expression which matters the most.

CENSORSHIP ON FLICKR

2009-06-11T15:13:00.006-04:00

Flickr, the Yahoo photo sharing site, has deleted a user's paid Pro account for posting critical comments about the Obama adminstration's policies on the White House's Flickr photostream. Shepherd Johnson has lost access to the only copies of his photos which he stored on Flickr. Here's the story at Valleywag. Here is the White House photostream in which Johnson commented. If you have a Flickr account, I suggest you make yourself heard after you make sure you have a backup of all your photos on there. There's another incident in 2007 when Flickr removed a photo by Rebekka Guðleifsdóttira with accompanying text in which she complained about a gallery which was selling her photos without permission. The photo also had 450+ user comments which were deleted. You can read about it at thomashawk.com.

THE PHOTO OF DAVID CARRADINE'S DEATH

2009-06-08T17:26:00.006-04:00

This is a photograph of David Carradine's body by forensics investigators. It was featured on the front page of The Thai Rath newspaper, the original publisher. Another, slightly different version of the photo can be seen at greenstijl.nl. TMZ.com reports a statement by Keith Carradine, David Carradine's brother, saying "The family wants it understood that, per attorney Mark Geragos, any persons, publications or media outlets will be fully prosecuted for invasion of privacy and causing severe emotional distress if the photos are published." Apparently they are under the impression that dead people have privacy rights and that the source of the family's distress is the information about his death rather than the death itself. Or maybe they would rather use their wealth to threaten journalists with the financial consequences of being embroiled in the U.S. legal system than accept Carradine's kinks. Carradine's ex-wife Marina claimed in their divorce trial that he took part in "deviant sexual behavior which was potentially deadly". Another ex-wife of his, Gail Jensen, claims he would take days preparing bondage scenarios for himself and that "he liked to be tied up. And he could tie himself up ..." In spite of this, Geragos explained on Larry King Live that it is likely Carradine was killed in response to investigative work he may have been doing to uncover a secret underworld martial arts society. As a side note, commenter PRIAPISM EROTICAL on TMZ.com believes that David Carradine was making a political statement about the exorbitant suicide rate in China which they say is the real issue here. Some of Mark Geragos' previous clients include Scott Peterson, convicted of killing his pregnant wife; Chris Brown, ex-boyfriend of Rihanna whom he beat badly enough that she couldn't perform at last year's Grammy Awards; and Susan McDougal, who was convicted for multiple counts of fraud in the Whitewater controversy and later pardoned by President Bill Clinton.

CHAT WITH A DYING PERSON

2009-06-08T02:07:00.008-04:00

Have you ever wondered what a person with only months to live would chat about on IM? Do you want to get photo tips from the world's premier homeless photographer? Maybe you're just lonely and want to send photos of your wang and your car to a cute barely legal chick? You can chat with Zombie Twatz using the Digsby widget ~~on right side of this page~~ below. Her blog is hobohappenings.tumblr.com and this is her flickr.

DAVID CARRADINE KILLS HIMSELF JERKING OFF, MEDIA MOPS UP

2009-06-04T13:50:00.018-04:00

According to media reports, actor David Carradine died in Bangkok last night or this morning at the age of 72. He was found in his hotel closet. While earlier reports from the U.K. mentioned rope tied around his genitals and his neck, the stories have since been sanitized of all mention of his genitalia and the implication of auto-erotic asphyxiation. Compare the following screen captures of the story from bbc.co.uk taken 61 minutes apart:

In fact, there was an intermediate edit between the two versions above that only mentioned the cord being around his neck (Sorry, no screencap.) Compare also the following two versions of this story at telegraph.co.uk, both marked "Published: 3:34PM BST 04 Jun 2009".

Reports in the U.S. media are even shorter on details such as the story at abclocal.go.com, which initially reported Carradine's agent suggesting that he had died of natural causes.

Carradine was best known for his work on the TV series Kung Fu and a number of movies including Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Kill Bill Vol. 2. He is survived by his wife Annie Bierman and their three children.

UPDATE (16:26 04 June 2009): Commenter friendlyfires on thesuperficial.com makes some interesting points about Carradine's death and says author David Foster Wallace died of auto-erotic asphyxiation and it was covered up as a suicide. UPDATE (19:08 04 June 2009): While most other media outlets are just hiding the details of the incident, Fox News is trying to sell this as a suicide despite all the evidence against it. Who commits suicide half-naked with rope around their dong? UPDATE (04:42 04 June 2009): The Huffington Post has a good article about what happened.

DIGG THIS

COUNTRY COMMENTS

2009-05-27T04:51:00.005-04:00

I was browsing youtube.com and I came across this amazing rendition of Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry". It may be the best version of the song yet.

I contacted the author of this video and they have generously given permission for chrysler5thavenue readers to add their own annotations to to it. Click here to add your own text. (Sign in to youtube.com required.)

FOX NEWS' AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT MAY NOT BE 100% ACCURATE

2009-05-07T04:48:00.012-04:00

Screen capture
Original page

DAVID HASSELHOFF DEAD FROM ALCOHOL POISONING

2009-05-04T04:30:00.008-04:00

Television and recording star David Hasselhoff lost a long and public battle with alcohol on Sunday after being discovered unconscious by his daughter Hayley in their Encino, CA home and rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where he expired. Although no documents have been released, the cause of death will reportedly be listed as "alcohol poisoning." Hasselhoff is best known in the U.S. for his starring role in the Knight Rider and Baywatch TV shows as well as his recent work as a judge on America's Best Dance Crew. In 1989, he topped the German pop music charts with his hit "Looking For Freedom." Hasselhoff is survived by his two daughters, Taylor and Hayley. He was 57 years old at the time of his death.

UPDATE: We are currently investigating rumors that David Hasselhoff may still be alive.

BREAKING NEWS: JAY LENO DEAD AT 59

2009-04-24T01:17:00.005-04:00

Comedian and host of NBC's The Tonight Show, Jay Leno, has just died following his admittance to a Los Angeles hospital on Thursday after canceling the day's taping of The Tonight Show. A source reports he expired shortly after midnight. No cause of death was mentioned. Rumors of food poisoning had been dismissed earlier by NBC staff. He was 59 year old. Leno rose through the ranks of stand-up comedy before succeeding Johnny Carson in 1992 as host of The Tonight Show, for which he is best know. He was slated to continue hosting the show until May 29 of this year, after which he was to host his own primetime talk show tentatively entitled The Jay Leno Show this fall on NBC. Leno was an avid car collector and authored a regular column for Popular Mechanics. Leno had no children and is survived by his wife Mavis.

UPDATE (April 25, 2009): It has come to our attention that Lay Leno is not in fact dead and is currently still hosting The Tonight Show on NBC.

CHRONIC MASTURBATORS DEMAND PUNISHMENT FOR JOURNALIST REPORTING ON LEAKED WOLVERINE FILM

2009-04-06T04:26:00.010-04:00

RopeOfSilicon.com decided on April 3 that a review of the leaked copy of X-Men Origins: Wolverine was not just news you did not need, but news that should not have been published by anyone. Site owner Bret Brevet called for FoxNews.com to fine (LOL) Roger Friedman for writing one. Personally, I prefer my movie news from a source that just prints all the news and lets me decide whether I want to read it or not. I don't know if this Brevet guy is a shill for the MPAA or if censorship is just a hobby for him, but calling his site "your one stop shop for everything movie related [emphasis mine] on the Internet [sic]," points to his aspirations of Stalinist flackdom. Characterizing his own cry to punish a journalist as "news" is an exercise in Orwellian doublespeak. Variety.com reports that this is coming amidst a wave of lobbying for Friedman's dismissal from "the fanboy blogging community," which to me sounds like a bunch of bedwetters in search of a mother figure to protect their childish fantasies. This community includes David Poland at The Hot Blog, aintitcool.com (noitsreallylame.com), and Josh Tyler at CinemaBlend.com (who actually posted a picture of a crucified Wolverine to accompany his tearful rage.) As of this moment, there have been conflicting reports from Fox News and it's parent company, News Corp, about whether Friedman has been fired or not. Friedman's original article has been deleted from FoxNews.com but a screen capture can be seen here. UPDATE (12:53 06 April 2009): A more readable screen capture can be seen at Chud.com.

DIGG THIS STORY

WHO'S LYING ABOUT THE ALLEGED ASHLEY BIDEN COCAINE VIDEO: RADARONLINE OR NY POST?

2009-03-31T22:05:00.009-04:00

On March 28, RadarOnline.com reported a "WORLD EXCLUSIVE" story of a video being shopped around of a woman alleged to be Ashley Biden, Vice-President Biden's daughter, doing cocaine. They wrote, " In addition to RadarOnline.com, representatives for the New York Post, a large British newspaper and the National Enquirer have all viewed the tape." The same article says, "The tape was made without her knowledge." March 30, RadarOnline.com wrote, "The explosive video . . . was shot with a hidden camera, RadarOnline.com has learned," implying that they received additional information without naming a source. "Our viewing of portions of the tape is consistent with that. The low, tilted angle of the camera and the actions of the woman both indicate the camera was not in plain view." They are also reporting that the lawyer has dropped the client because "he did not want to be involved due to circumstances surrounding the publicity of the matter." Today, March 31, RadarOnline.com reports they have "learned exclusively" that the video was preplanned as a setup. "It is clear from the tape that the woman said to be Ashley Biden does not know she is being filmed," they say. The New York Post however has been reporting that, "The camera follows the woman from a few feet away, focusing on her as she moves around the room. It appears not to be concealed." Keep in mind that a camera that tracks a moving person requires a human operator to control it. The New York Post also says the seller's lawyers at the time claimed that she "acknowledges the camera in a way that makes it clear she knows she's being recorded, . . . waving at it during a part of the video not shown to The Post." Why is there a discrepancy between the two reports despite both media outlets having viewed the same footage? Is it "clear from the tape that the woman . . . does not know she is being filmed," as RadarOnline.com says or does it appear "not to be concealed?" as The New York Times says. If RadarOnline.com saw the video originally, how and where did they they "learn" two days later that the camera was hidden? Was it from Biden's lawyer or someone much more powerful? Did this person also persuade the video seller's lawyer to quit as well?

UPDATE (22:53 31 March 2009): This story just hit digg! UPDATE (15:04 01 April 2009): Neither Ashley Biden nor her father have made any comments about the tape, which gives the impression that it is authentic. The story has been out of the news for a day now.

WHY OLD MEDIA IS DYING

2009-03-27T17:46:00.007-04:00

They don't provide URLs or links to what they're writing about whenever they are writing about something posted on the internet.

TWITTER CENSORS CWALKEN ACCOUNT

2009-03-27T17:11:00.013-04:00

Sometime within the past 30 minutes, Twitter has "suspended" the account residing at http://twitter.com/cwalken. The page has been increasing in poularity with over 89,000 subscribers and has recently been mentioned on many websites. You can read more about the account and the author here. Here is a screenshot of the page shortly before deletion. UPDATE (17:38 22 April 2009): The account appears to have been reinstated at http://twitter.com/formerlyCwalken with a different avatar and now has a link to http://twitter.com/clusterWalken.

PANIC AT SYMANTEC

2009-03-11T17:23:00.005-04:00

SYMANTEC: "There is no conspiracy theory. We were under attack by a robot."

2009-03-11T06:40:00.025-04:00

After being unable to silence their customers on their forums inquiring about Symantec's mysterious PIFTS.exe file Monday night, Symantec has moved on to their Plan B: lie and obfuscate. Releasing a statement Tuesday on their forums, Symantec explained that their customers were incorrect in thinking there was a mass effort to delete all their posts inquiring about PIFTS.exe, because it was in fact a mass effort by Symantec to delete posts by spammers with "unclear" intentions inquiring about PIFTS.exe.

"There is no conspiracy theory. There's nothing we are hiding at all," says Jeff Kyle, group product manager for Symantec consumer products. "Within the first hour there were like 600 posts to that thread. Obviously it was a bot creating this."

Currently, representatives of the company are repeating that the first post referencing PIFTS.exe was made by a spambot, despite being unable to explain how and why a spambot can be the first to be aware of and mention this obscure file on the forums at the exact same time Symantec's staff realized their mistake and were pulling the file from distribution. Witnesses who saw the initial deleted post are having the hardest time accepting Symantec staff's explanation.

(Photo of the culprit courtesy Symantec's Public Relations Dept.)

OFFICIAL PIFTS MERCHANDISE

2009-03-11T00:13:00.013-04:00

http://www.cafepress.com/pifts

UPDATE (13:46 11 March 2009): Cafepress.com is suppressing the sale of these shirts!

DIGG BURIES PIFTS.EXE STORY

2009-03-10T12:09:00.015-04:00

Digg.com, a popular social news website in which news stories are voted up or down by users and are placed on the front page according to popularity is keeping the top-voted story regarding Symantec's suppression of inquiries about PIFTS.exe hidden. Digg user Janjko says:

This story is flagged, just when it hit 200 Diggs it disappeared from the upcoming stories with most diggs, Digg doesn't want it on it's front page. http://digg.com/news/software/upcoming/most

Currently the story has 269 "diggs" (or votes up) and counting.

UPDATE (13:20 10 March 2009): The original story with over 300 diggs is no longer showing up in a search for "PIFTS.exe" on digg.com anymore. Lower rated stories still show up but are being systematically removed as this is being written. Screenshots of digg.com:

Original story
Search for "PIFTS.exe

UPDATE (13:20 10 March 2009): The story about the Digg cover up of the PIFTS.exe cover up has reached Digg itself: http://digg.com/tech_news/Digg_covers_up_Symantec_s_cover_up

UPDATE (14:55 10 March 2009): If PIFTS.exe is related to the FBI's Magic Lantern software, it would not be surprising if Digg was pressured to squelch this.

UPDATE (03:59 31 March 2009): The story in question was the fifth most popular story on Digg that day.

PIFTS.EXE

2009-03-10T00:03:00.046-04:00

There is virtually no information on the internet yet regarding a mysterious program called PIFTS.exe, aside from what's posted on this blog. Symantec, makers of the bloated Norton Anti-Virus software, are deleting any mention of PIFTS.exe from their community forums. The topic is being discussed at forums.zonealarm.org.

UPDATE (02:36 10 March 2009): A google search for PIFTS.exe turns up a link to www.kanzlei.biz/uploads/tf/index.php?family-guy-season-7-episode-8/, a nefarious looking website that I suggest you not go to unless you know what you are doing. The site contains javascript which may be malicious. Here's a screen capture from one of the pages on that site.

UPDATE (03:56 10 March 2009): In our comments, thepipermethod says the kanzlei.biz website is just mirroring key words from google trends, which at this time includes the terms "PIFTS" and "EXE" and that the site has no other relation to PIFTS.exe. At zonealarm.org, one person reports talking with various representatives of Symantec for two hours without receiving any answer as to why inquiries posted on the Symantec forums were being deleted. The caller was told that PIFTS.exe is part of Symantec's update installation process, was denied any further information regarding the purpose of the file and was repeatedly transferred to a new representative when asking why inquiries about PIFTS.exe were being deleted from Symantec's forums.

UPDATE (10:42 10 March 2009): There is speculation that this is part of the FBI's secret Magic Lantern software. From Wikipedia:

Symantec, the makers of Norton AntiVirus and related products, is reportedly working with the FBI on ways to preclude their products from detecting Magic Lantern. Eric Chien, a top researcher at Symantec, emphasized the ability to detect "modified versions."

Some people are reporting that the Norton forums have been taken offline. There is no information posted anywhere yet regarding what this program does.

UPDATE (11:10 10 March 2009): It's being said that PIFTS.exe contacts an IP address in Africa.

UPDATE (11:50 10 March 2009): This site has links to copies of the PIFTS.exe file which you can download. I can not vouch whether the files are authentic or not. There is contradictory information about what actual IP address the program is contacting.

UPDATE (12:02 10 March 2009): Apparently digg.com is also covering this story up. 242 diggs and it's not on the front page. There's a good discussion of this on slashdot.org, a web 2.0 social networking site for techies. The Washington Post and The Register are covering this as well.

UPDATE (14:45 10 March 2009): More details on Digg's cover up of the PIFTS.exe story here. The coordinated opposition to this story tells us that we are on the right track.

UPDATE (16:22 10 March 2009): Symantec has finally issued a statement on PIFTS.exe. Symantec claims that it was just a patch to their software that was accidentally released "unsigned." The company also alleges that inquiries regarding the matter on their forums were deleted because many people made posts about it:

One individual created a new user account and posted about the name of the patch executable, PIFTS.exe. Within minutes, several dozen user accounts were created commenting on the initial thread, and/or creating new threads on the topic. Over the next few hours, over 200 user accounts were created. Within the first hour there were 600 new posts on this subject alone. While the intent of the spammer(s) remains unclear, there were no malicious links and it simply resulted in a widespread communications challenge for Symantec.

It is interesting that there is no accounting for why the first post was deleted along with every single other mention of the issue. It is also worth noting that Symantec refers those customers of theirs who promptly wanted to know what this "unsigned" piece of software was as "spammer(s)" whose intent "remains unclear."

BREAKING NEWS: USA ANNEXING MEXICO

2009-03-09T19:41:00.008-04:00

A source in Mexico tells me the following regarding martial law in Mexico:

(7:11:27 pm) [Name Withheld]: I asked around and nobody knows anything.

(7:12:15 pm) [Name Withheld]: In the morning, there was a brief notice about it, and father mentioned something about USA annexing Mexico as another state, but I didn't pay attention
(7:32:27 pm) [Name Withheld]: If I learn anything new I'll tell you.

Note that the MSM (mainstream media) is not reporting on this. Another scoop for us!

(When reposting this on blogs or forums, please provide a link back to this page. Some of our previous reporting is unfortunately going uncredited. Thanks!)

GERALDO WAS SILENCED

2009-03-08T04:24:00.014-04:00

After we broke the story earlier last night, veteran reporter Geraldo Rivera announced that Mexico was under martial law. A headline on the screen read "BREAKING NEWS: MEXICAN PRES DECLARES MARTIAL LAW - CIVILIANS AND AMERICANS PUT ON LOCKDOWN." Part way through the report, the graphic was taken down and Rivera, under pressure from either Mexican or American authorities, was forced to take back the statement and announce that martial law had technically not been imposed. It was clear from his words though that it was in effect martial law and that there was an effort underway to downplay the events currently proceeding in Mexico. On the broadcast, Mexican officials projected a calm and confident image despite the escalation of guerilla warfare behind them. Check out the previous blog entry for more background information. UPDATE (19:37 8 March 2009): A clip of Geraldo's broadcast described above has surfaced online. If you have software allowing you to download youtube videos, I urge you to download this one. I have a feeling this one will be taken down shortly.

That clip was the last mention of the president of Mexico declaring martial law. Later broadcasts last night were clearly toned down. Thanks to reader Janet for providing some of the information cited in this post.

MEXICO UNDER MARTIAL LAW

2009-03-07T22:26:00.023-05:00

I just heard from a reliable source in Mexico that martial law has been imposed. The country is under complete military lockdown. Mexican citizens and American tourists have had their movement tightly restricted and are being told to stay off the streets under penalty of arrest. Mexican officials are denying that the country is about to collapse. UPDATE (03:28 08 March 2009): These guys just picked up on the story: http://www.freepressinternational.com/2009/03/ciudad-juarez-mexico-under-martial-law/ Here's a collection of some other relevant links from the comments: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/03/07/mexico.headless.bodies/index.html http://www.google.com/search?q=mexico+gang+warfare http://digg.com/world_news/MEXICO_PLACED_UNDER_MARTIAL_LAW http://chrysler5thavenue.blogspot.com/2009/03/geraldo-was-silenced.html Geraldo was silenced, but there is more information out there. If you happen to be in Mexico or have more information about this, please post anything you can tell us. I have enabled posting anonymously if you are an official with any government or directly or indirectly involved with this action. UPDATE (20:11 08 March 2009): Video of Geraldo's suppressed report corroborating this story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWoKcRmup7U.

POLLUTION IS BEAUTIFUL TOO

2009-02-27T20:49:00.009-05:00

You may at sometime find yourself say something like "This pristine forest is beautiful," but do you ever say "What a beautiful oil slick?" This is a picture of a minor oil spill in Hanover, Germany published at spiegel.de.

SNAKE EYES

2009-02-23T21:16:00.005-05:00

I'm not one to get a tattoo, but if you are and you are looking to get one that expresses a sense of danger and loss, here is an idea for you.

FAILCOASTER!

2009-02-22T02:13:00.004-05:00

This is a new meme that is catching on.
To use this graphic, just post it whenever you see someone do something unsuccessfully. Here's an example. If you've never been involved in popularizing a viral meme, this is one you can get in front of before the noobs.

HOW TO LIGHT A MATCH

2009-02-22T01:43:00.002-05:00

First, make sure there are no fans on, or vents blowing near where you will be lighting the match. The key to lighting a match correctly and safely is to keep your hand movements to a minimum. The number one mistake beginners make is striking too fast and too hard. Place the match head gently against the striking surface. Move your hand only so far as to scrape the match against the surface firmly enough for it to light, and then decelerate quickly but steadily enough that the match does not go out immediately. It may help to plan out the hand gesture you will be using in your mind beforehand and run through it a couple of times without actually striking the match to get your body familiar with the motion. When you feel comfortable with the motion and are ready to light the match, focus your mind on the contact point between the match head and the striking surface and not on your hand. Think of it as your mind guiding the match's head while your hand follows. After the match is lit, hold it still for a moment and gently tilt it so that the body of the match continues to fuel the flame. Once the flame is stable, set aside (or drop) the matchbook and use that empty hand to cup around the flame, just not too close so that it burns you. Then gently move both hands in unison towards the object you are lighting.

MY NEW FAVORITE SONG

2009-02-20T10:57:00.002-05:00

Silikon by Modeselektor featuring Sasha Perera

RIHANNA POLICE PHOTO LEAKED

2009-02-20T10:00:00.002-05:00

A police photo of Rihanna beaten by Chris Brown was published by TMZ.com. The LAPD announced it's starting an internal investigation to find out who leaked the picture. Here's some of the comments from readers on there:

"She doesnt look that bad."
Posted at 9:08PM on Feb 19th 2009 by Chris Brown

"Is that really her?? This girl's nose is really wide, i dont think Rihanna's nose is like that. Well, if it is her, thats really sad"
Posted at 9:09PM on Feb 19th 2009 by Sara237

"YOUR nose would be that wide too if it was smashed doofus...duh, that's what a punch in the nose does......."
Posted at 9:11PM on Feb 19th 2009 by Uh Huh

AMIGA BILLBOARD

2009-02-20T08:06:00.001-05:00