MonthMarch 2002

What is pedophilia?

Kuro5hin is running an article questioning what exactly constitutes pedophilia and whether it’s right or wrong. There’s definitely some thought provoking material here. “Accusing someone of pedophilia, whether they are guilty or not, is damning in and of itself.” Pedophilia is something that is generally considered to be absolutely wrong- but is it healthy to think dualistically about anything, including pedophilia?

Kuro5hin: A Reasonable Discussion about Pedophilia, Please

AOL/Time-Warner = Illuminati?

As if the “eye in the pyramid” AOL logo wasn’t enough, Time-Warner’s new logo is the Eye of Horus.
Link (via New World Disorder).

Extreme Bio-Hacking: Wings and Tails for Humans

Great Moon Hoax of 1835

Dr. Joe Rosen at the Dartmouth Medical Centre believes that within five years he’ll be able to graft extra limbs such as wings and tails to humans. According to a Guardian Unlimited article “When we have a limb amputated, our neural map of that limb gradually fades away; and if we gain a body part, our neural map expands accordingly.” Rosen says “If I were to give you wings, you would develop, literally, a winged brain. Our bodies change our brains, and our brains are infinitely mouldable.”

Full Story: The Guardian: I’m having my wings done

(via Thumbmonkey).

Update: It appears that as of Spring 2007 Dr. Rosen is now more focused on facial reconstructive surgery than these more fringe pursuits.

Insects are taking over the world

In high school I had this biology teacher named Mr. May that showed The Hellstrom Chronicle to all his classes. I saw it twice: once in biology and once in AP Environmental Science. I thought that it was a real documentary about a particularly cracked-out scientist but it turns out that it’s a mocumentary. I’m sure that May knew all along, but he never let on. I wonder if any of my peers ever knew it was fake or if I was the only sucker who thought this kook was for real. Anyway, it’s worth watching if you happen to find it for rent somewhere.

IMDB: The Hellstrom Chronicle.

New World Disorder

New World Disorder is one of my favorite blogs. Some of my favorite recent links:

Anthrax attacks might have been a result of CIA project (and they say MK-Ultra ended in the 70s)
Electromagnetic cognitive enhancer
Cut-rate space travel
Teachers propose to ban books with ‘occult’ themes (perhaps they should ban the Bible as well)
Rejection reduces IQ (so that’s why I’m so dumb)
Flier promsing exciting career in drug dealing uses church phone number.

New World Disorder

Number popularity contest

The researchers behind the java applet The Secret Lives of Numbers used “custom software, public search engines and powerful statistical techniques… to determine the relative popularity of every integer between 0 and one million”. But I couldn’t get the damn thing to display the popularity of 23.
Link (via Noo-Face).

Autonomous Mutant Fest

Autonomous Mutant Fest is, in a way, an attempt to re-create what Burning Man was in the beginning. Personally, what I find attractive about Burning Man is how big it’s gotten. They build an entire city out in the dessert- that’s pretty impressive. Of course, I’ve never been so maybe it’s not all it’s cracked up to be or maybe it really was cooler in the beginning. At any rate, I plan on attending both Burning Man and AMF next year so we’ll see.

Autonomous Mutant Festival

Amish Rake Dance

Former Machines of Loving Grace synthesist Mike Fisher has a new project called Amish Rake Dance. MLG was one of my favorite bands, like NIN (and unlike Stabbing Westward and Gravity Kills) they were able to pull-off “industrial-pop” without being repetitive. This new project is nothing innovative, just old-fashioned techno.
Link.

Update: Scott Benzel, also formerly of Machines of Loving Grace, has a new band: Soulo.

Drug legalization advocates, anarchists, and promoters of free expression targetted in rave crack-down

The National Drug Intelligence Center says they will be targetting “previous drug offenders, legalization advocates, anarchists and people promoting ‘an expanded freedom of expression’ that pushes the boundaries of the First Amendment” for increased online survellience in an attempt to crack-down on rave parties. It’s good to know that the establishment is still protecting us from free speech.

Wired: DOJ’s Dot-Narc Rave Strategy

Is media saturation a bad thing?

Slate’s running a pretty good review of Todd Gitlin’s Media Unlimited. It’s obvious that we’re constantly being immersed in media and advertising, but according to the reviewers Gitlin fails to prove that it’s a bad thing. A couple of Gitlin’s colleagues at NYU have written some interesting books on the positive effects of new media: Douglas Rushkoff’s Playing the Future and Mitchell Stephens’ The Rise of the Image and the Fall of the Word.

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