Mood: Meh.
Currently listening to: I won't even bother to answer this

Just catering to my addiction with the news and media... Blog post to follow - i swear! ;)

MASS. CLEANING WOMAN WINS $294m JACKPOT



Most depressing article ever... probably because it didn't happen to me. ;)

Geraldine Williams, a 67-year-old cleaning woman, can afford to hire her own help now - she stepped forward Friday to claim $294 million, the second-largest undivided lottery jackpot in U.S. history.

Williams recalled staring at the television, clutching her ticket and muttering, "Oh, God! Oh, God! Let it be! Let it be!" as the winning numbers in the multi-state Mega Millions drawing were announced last week.

She will take her winnings in a lump sum of $117.6 million after taxes - that ought to buy a lot of Ajax and Lemon Pledge - and said she plans to give money to her three children and to charity, and travel, though she has not decided where.

Dammit, some people have all the luck!!! And they all seem to be old too! Argh... Ah well, and another budding 'too rich for their own good' upper class white family dynasty is born. ;p

"AND THAT'S HOW YOU GET YOUR MEAT KIDS..."



An article portraying the... ah... 'sensitive' introduction to sepid reality which some (un)lucky kids were introduced to:

The 15 children, ages 8 and 9, were enrolled in a city parks and recreation summer activity program called Gametime. The children and their program leaders took a full tour of the facility, and eight of them saw the "harvest floor," where animals are stunned, killed, gutted and skinned.

Karen Zink, whose family owns Sunnyside Meats, said the company is "really sorry" about the incident. Workers were unaware children were coming, and the group leader did not realize the situation was inappropriate until it was too late.

One parent told The Durango Herald that her son was upset about seeing the lamb's throat cut, and didn't want to eat meat anymore. The parent, who did not want to be identified, questioned how it could have been an accident if the children saw the animal's insides and heart.

Geez, talk about a lapse in judgement. That, and this whole thing just reeks of another tasteless (or potentially tasteless) idea concocted by PETA... ;)

THAIS GO CONDOM CRAZY



Just spotted this article - but, oh man, that pic is priceless! ;)

Waiters wearing condoms on their heads greet diners at the 'Cabbages and Condoms' restaurant in Bangkok and volunteers dole out condoms of all shapes, colours and sizes at cash machines, metro stations and the airport.

Visitors might be forgiven for thinking that Bangkok, infamous as the flesh-pot of southeast Asia, has gone condom crazy on the eve of the 15th International AIDS conference.

For weeks, bright red banners hanging from walkways, flyovers and trees across Bangkok have been announcing the biennial event, due to open on Sunday and expected to draw 15,000 delegates from 160 countries.

Hrmmm... an AIDS conference in Thailand. How ironic. Or appropriate. ;)

CANADIANS ANSWER SPERM CALL



Just read this article and all i can say is: "What the...?"

CANADIAN students could fly into Australia on sperm donor "holidays" and pocket a trip worth $7000 for their trouble.

Authorities have given a green light to the plan after a six-month investigation, in a bid to overcome a domestic sperm drought.

Reproductive Medicine Albury in New South Wales advertised the two-week trips downunder through a University of Calgary newspaper in December.

Under the plan, students would donate sperm every second day while enjoying a Murray River holiday in Albury-Wodonga.

The holiday package, valued at $7000, includes return airfares, accommodation for two weeks and a daily allowance of $150.

"We have advertised locally but with little success and for that reason find it necessary to search further from our own region," the ad in the sports section of The Gauntlet read.

Hey Boon! Are you taking note of this? I smell (ewww) a paid Aussie holiday for you in the offing! ;p

DO YOU DRIVE SPANKING NEW HONDA CR-V?



If you do, or ride with anyone who does, then beware of turning yourself into a human barbecue! Yet another reason why Hondas kinda suck...

American Honda Motor Co. says it's going to notify dealers about a possible problem with the newer CR-V sport utility vehicles.

The Washington Post reported Friday morning on more than two dozen cases of 2003 and 2004 CR-Vs bursting into flames shortly after their first oil changes.

The newspaper cited records provided to the federal government by Honda.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has determined the problem is caused by vehicle technicians. When the oil filter is removed, part of the seal may stick to the engine. If that seal isn't removed before the new filter is put in -- there is a risk of oil leakage which could cause a fire.

No injuries have been reported, and many of the vehicles were destroyed.

Honda said a design flaw is not to blame, but it's still studying the cause of the fires. The company said it's not planning a recall.

No recall??? Talk about dodgy - the damn thing catches fire!!! I'm pretty sure that would be a pretty suspect 'safety feature'! :o

YET ANOTHER REASON WHY WOMEN ARE LUCKY



An article that points out the added benefits of pregnancy (the baby should not, by any standard, count as one ;p):

Scientists believe they may have unlocked the secret of why women tend to live longer than men.

It is all down to motherhood. The cells from the developing baby pass into the mother's bone marrow during the early stages of pregnancy.

The scientists say these cells may rejuvenate the mother's own, repair damage and fight disease, prolonging her life. The findings, in today's Lancet, could explain why women who have had children are less likely to develop arthritis, multiple sclerosis and breast cancer.

Dammit. Apparently even God is sexist. ;)

'SUBSIDIZED DATING'



Ah yes, those crazy Japs are at it again...

Japan is justifiably famous for being a place and a people full of vexing contradictions and idiosyncrasies to the western mind. Nowhere is this truer than in matters of sex and sexual politics.

On the streets of the major cities, porn is sold in vending machines and on street corners yet no pubic hair can be shown. While in convenience stores around the country, people casually leaf through manga (comics) depicting gang rape and extreme sexual violence. The ancient custom of arranged marriages continues while ‘Love Hotels’ flourish, catering for anonymous sexual encounters and ‘office love’. Buttoned down salary men pay hundreds of dollars at late night ‘Snack Bars’ for the privilege of flirting with a younger woman – the modern day geisha – while others join the ranks of flashers, train gropers and public masturbators who constitute the after dark sleaze of the entertainment district before returning home to their families.

One curious product of the sex life of modern Japan is the practice of enjo kosai, which translates literally as ‘assisted dating’. In this scenario, school age girls – usually high school but occasionally middle school girls – meet with older men, strangers, and date them in exchange for expensive designer label gifts or the money to buy them. The dates can consist of anything from a walk in a park or chatting in a coffee shop to drinks, dinner and sex.

Enjo kosai meetings are usually set up using mobile phones, pagers or over the Internet where there are bulletin boards and newsgroups more or less dedicated to facilitating contact between interested parties. On these Internet boards, an interested man simply types in something like, “$600 for dinner and sex”, leaves a phone number or email address, and waits for a reply. The practice operates strictly within the closed circle of Japanese culture and off limits to foreigners who would be largely unable to negotiate the finer points of the culture at any rate.

There is no middleman or pimp controlling or exploiting the girls, rather they are willing participants in a transaction in which both parties have something the other wants and a mutual exchange takes place. While this explanation ignores the morality of the practice, it is the essential fact that both parties who enter into enjo kosai are there by choice.

What else can i say? Its Japan! ;)

Meh.