Did You Know Muslims Believe in Jesus?

Chart of Religious Views of Jesus
Religion Facts: LINK

Go to the Link to see the chart. ABC News had an interview of this guy who directed “The Messiah”, Iran’s response to “Passion of the Christ”. It will be presented on Iranian TV aas a miniseries.

The importance of Jesus is officially recognized not only in traditional Christianity, but also by early Christian sects that were labeled “heresies” and modern Christian religious movements. Even some non-Christian religions such as Islam, the Baha’i Faith, and Cao Dai have official doctrines regarding Jesus. Jesus is also respected by many Buddhists, Hindus, some Jews, and even many atheists. The following chart compares the views of religious groups on who Jesus was and what he came to do…

Solving AIDS: The Kiss Phone.

Trend Hunter: LINK

JK JK! AIDS is still a problem. But don’t forget, Malaria afflicts more people a year.

We told you cell phone kissing was a hot activity in Japan, and now kissing your loved one from a distance via mobile is even easier thanks to the Kiss Phone.
Better than just using video and making loud smooching sounds, this neat gadget from PROinvention can actually detect the intensity of your kiss. It senses the pressure you use, the heat of your lips and how hard you press or suck.
Here’s the creepiest part. Your partner, who also has a Kiss Phone, simply has to press their lips against the fake plastic mouth of the phone to feel their partner’s simulated mouth on theirs. You can also leave kisses on the answering machine, and replay them over and over, until your lips are satisfied.
Could be a good flu, sickness or cold sore dodger too. “Hunny, I would kiss you, but I don’t want to get infected,” will be replaced by, “Darling, I want to lay my lips on yours… bust out the Kiss Phone!”
One last thought. If you use a Kiss Phone with someone other than your boyfriend or girlfriend, is it cheating?
That would be a good thing to know before downloading or uploaded kisses on the web; the site has a kiss bank with smooches from people like Madonna!

God. Sex is Boring. Oh Wait! Musical Condoms. Interesting.

Musical Condoms – When Transducers Become Part of Sex

Trend Hunter: LINK

Speaking of which, check out this promotion for condoms from  India.

You’re getting ready to hop in the sack and do the nasty dance, and your partner says: “Shall we do Clumsy or Sensual Seduction?” Is the conversation about A) your moves; B) your equipment; or C) your condom? If you said C you will like the patent filed for the musical condom.

Inventor Spot explains it as “a chip-controlled piezoelectric sound transducer (18) which plays a melody or voiced message when during intercourse the contacts of the sound-playing unit are closed and the transducer is activated.”

Safe and sound sex has arrived. Are you prepared?

Because Basketball Sux

Hoops Hybrid Being Molded Into a League
New York Times: LINK
SlamBall redux? The hybrid basketball-gymnastics extreme sport that had a short life on Spike in 2002 and 2003 is being resurrected for a “showcase” season to be taped in June with expectations of selling eight franchises before 2009.
The revived SlamBall’s new season is being financed by IMG, which has joined with its original partners, the producer Mike Tollin and the sport’s creator, Mason Gordon. They have hired Pat Croce, the ebullient former president of the Philadelphia 76ers, as the commissioner.
The earlier version “was more a television show than a sport, and Spike wasn’t widely distributed then,” said Chris Albrecht, the president of IMG Global Media. “Mike wanted to revive it as a sport.” He added, “It’s like a live-action video game.”
Each 20-minute, full-contact game is played on a springy, 100-by-60-foot floor augmented by 7-by-14-foot trampolines at the keys that let players soar above the baskets.
“This isn’t the Phoenix Suns’ gorilla mascot jumping on a trampoline,” Tollin said.
Tollin said one reason for bringing SlamBall back was the success it had when it was licensed as a league last summer in Italy. TV ratings outstripped projections.
The goal in SlamBall’s second go-round in the United States is to elevate its quality and establish a viable league that could spin off leagues in Asia and Europe. “It’s a start-up, yes, but its appeal is unique and broad-based,” said Tollin, who recently produced “The Bronx Is Burning” miniseries and the “Bonds on Bonds” reality series for ESPN…

A Weird Precedent

A Case-by-Case Ruling on Discrimination
New York Times: LINK

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in a closely watched job discrimination case that allegations that a plaintiff’s co-workers had also suffered discrimination, offered as evidence of a biased corporate culture, may be admissible in court — some of the time.

At the same time, the justices said that such evidence should be kept out of court — some of the time.

The unanimous decision, in an age-discrimination case against Sprint/Nextel, did not answer the bottom-line question in the case: whether five co-workers of the plaintiff, Ellen Mendelsohn, should have been allowed to testify. All had lost their jobs in the same reduction in force and claimed, as she did, to be victims of age discrimination…

The Two Had Hidden Overnight in Her House

2 Teenagers Are Accused of Torturing Ohio Woman
New York Times: LINK

I added this because it’s just so wrong. There can’t be a plea of insanity because they stayed in her house and had hours to contemplate what they were doing. It wasn’t a “gang” mentality. It’s not from socialization. Fucked up.

CINCINNATI — Two teenagers with long criminal records have been charged with torturing a young woman for at least six hours inside her home in rural southwestern Ohio.

The victim, Ashley Clark, 18, was found bound, gagged and bleeding on Friday by police officers and her mother, who had called 911 when she returned from work and found the house, in Hanover Township, ransacked.

Ashley Clark told the police she had been beaten throughout the day, sometimes with a baseball bat. The police also said her hair had been cut off. She had severe bruising on her hands, arms and face and was bleeding from her face and forehead, according to the police.

The abuse included dousing Ms. Clark in the shower and then forcing her to walk barefoot through snow. Her pleas to her assailants not to strike her in the head because she had had brain surgery went unheeded, she told the police.

“It was a horrible, horrific thing,” said her mother, Sheila Clark. “People just couldn’t imagine what they did to her.”

She added, “I have so many different emotions about this situation that I don’t know what to say.”

The young woman, whom the authorities described as disabled, was treated at Fort Hamilton Hospital and is recovering at home. “She’s doing as best as she can,” Mrs. Clark said. “She just doesn’t want to talk about it so that maybe it will go away.”

Within 15 minutes of the officers’ arrival, Joseph Nagle, 16, and Cheyenne Blanton, 17, both from nearby Hamilton, were arrested in a field behind Ms. Clark’s home. They were charged Friday as juveniles with felony counts of aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, kidnapping, assault and vandalism. Prosecutors said they expected the court to approve a request to try them as adults, given their ages, records and the seriousness of the charges. In Ohio, people under 18 are considered juveniles…

Paper or Styrofoam?

Paper Cups Versus Styrofoam Cups: Surprise Winner
Eco Joe’s: LINK

I don’t know if this is legit in the long run, paper eventually biodegrades. If we’re thinking long term, paper might be best, but look at the reasoning behind using styrofoam.

Anyhoo, last week, mi jefe wondered aloud why Cup A Joe uses styrofoam cups instead of paper. I was like dang, I don’t know. So I wrote them an email asking if they’d considered using paper cups, and asking how they could use styrofoam cups when they knew it made Captain Planet weep green tears. I got a quick reply which showed that they had indeed thought of “green” issues when making their business decisions:
Paper Cups Cause More Trash than Styrofoam Cups
It turns out that when Cup A Joe used paper cups, “almost 100% of [their] customers demand[ed] the added cardboard sleeve”, which the styrofoam cups do not require.
Also as well additionally, it turns out styrofoam is an excellent material for recycling. Here’s what Cup A Joe had to say: “We recycle a large percentage of the cups. Many customers return their used cups for that purpose. It is a small expense for us, but worth it.”
Paper Cups Don’t Biodegrade
Well, they do eventually (as does anything, eventually), but it takes much more time than I’d thought for a paper cup to biodegrade. The gubmint says, “Modern landfills are designed to inhibit degradation so that toxic wastes do not seep into the surrounding soil and groundwater. The paper cup will still be a paper cup 20 years from now.”
Paper Cups Use More Raw Materials and Energy Than Styrofoam (And Cost More)
This was a surprise to me…

Now You Can Be An Asshole Too

The Rise of the ‘Citizen Paparazzi’
Wall Street Journal: LINK

Earlier I posted an article about paying for your own personal paparazzi. Now you, too, can ruin some rich celebrities caramel latte run.

Erin Horgan is more than a casual John Mayer fan. When she learned about a Caribbean cruise being offered earlier this month with the singer as the featured entertainment, the 22-year-old worker at a Hyannis, Mass., scrapbooking store didn’t hesitate to drop $1,000 for a ticket.
As it turned out, she got even more contact with her favorite singer than she expected: Mr. Mayer, hamming it up for fellow passengers, donned a neon green thong-style swimsuit as Ms. Horgan and others furiously snapped photographs. In a blog post after returning home, Ms. Horgan joked that she was going to send the pictures to celebrity magazine Us Weekly. She didn’t have to. Within days, Ms. Horgan heard not only from Us Weekly, but also from MTV, VH1, Rolling Stone, Blender and Newsweek. She ended up selling photos to Newsweek and VH1 – she says she was offered “a couple hundred” for each photo, but declines to be more specific. Erin Horgan, 22, snapped pictures of a scantily clad John Mayer while on a cruise. She sold photos of the singer to Newsweek and VH1.
“The thought of getting shots that anyone was interested in was never on my mind,” she said. Ms. Horgan is part of the changing face of the paparazzi trade, an Internet-fueled industry that feeds on the public’s seemingly insatiable interest in entertainment news. Photo agencies are increasingly relying on submissions from regular folk who either happen to bump into celebrities while carrying digital cameras, or who have injected themselves into the cat-and-mouse game of celebrity snapshots, despite any formal training…

Barackula, The Musical

Barackula The Musical: Barack Obama, Democrat vs. The Vampires

Barackula: LINK
Barackula is a short political horror rock musical about young Barack Obama having to stave off a secret society of vampires at Harvard when he was inducted into presidency at the Harvard Law Review in 1990. Obama (Justin Sherman) finds that he must convince the vampire society that opposing political philosophies can coexist or else the society may transform Obama to the dark side. Reminiscent to Michael Jackson’s Thriller and a slight infusion of Jesus Christ Superstar, the film solely depicts Obama’s strengths, merits and genuineness while being quietly respectful towards the other presidential candidates.

This short musical is highly entertaining with dancing Harvard student vampires, fantastic choreography by Victor Tang and Sherman’s physical likeness to Obama is remarkable. Shot on the new RED ONE camera, the quality of the film itself is stunning. Produced by Justin Sherman, Gavin Leighton, Brooke Shirey and Mike Lawson, Barackula – The Musical is exceedingly unique amidst today’s vast online media created by the voting public. The intent of the film makers is to create something fun and memorable during this year’s election. Release date is expected by February 2008.

I’m a Mutant, Do I Look It?

Blue eyes result of ancient genetic ‘mutation’

Telegraph: LINK

Frank Sinatra, Stephen Hawking, Marie Curie and Stephen Fry all owe their blue eyes to a genetic mutation that likely occurred between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago, researchers say. Scientists believe they have tracked down the cause of the eye colour of all blue-eyed humans on the planet today. “Originally, we all had brown eyes”, said Prof Hans Eiberg from the University of Copenhagen, who led the team. Blue eye colour most likely originated from the near east area or northwest part of the Black Sea region, where the great agriculture migration to the northern part of Europe took place in the Neolithic periods about six–10,000 years ago. “That is my best guess,” he said. “It could be the northern part of Afghanistan.”
The mutation affected a gene called OCA2 and “literally ‘turned off’ the ability to produce brown eyes”, he says. OCA2 is involved in the production of melanin, the pigment that gives colour to hair, eyes and skin. The mutation in the adjacent gene does not switch off the OCA gene entirely but limits its action, reducing the production of melanin in the iris of the eye – “diluting” brown eyes to blue. If the OCA2 gene had been completely turned off, those who inherited this mutation would be without melanin in their hair, eyes or skin colour – albino.
For the study, Prof Eiberg’s team examined DNA in blue-eyed individuals in countries as diverse as Jordan, India, Denmark and Turkey. His findings are the latest in a decade of genetic research, which began in 1996, when Prof Eiberg first implicated the OCA2 gene as being one of those responsible for eye colour. “They have all inherited the same switch at exactly the same spot in their DNA. From this we can conclude that all blue-eyed individuals are linked to the same ancestor,” said Prof Eiberg, who reports the work in the journal Human Genetics.