A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.
Die Wolfshäger Hexenbrut tanzt "Schüttle deinen Speck" zu Walpurgis 2016
Translation: "The Wolfshaeger Witches Brood dances to 'Shake Your Bacon' at Walpurgis 2016." Yes, the song translates to "Shake Your Bootie."
I know that Walpurgis is really a holiday associated with May Day, but this video works better for a U.S. audience during Halloween. Besides, as New York Magazine wrote, "These Witches Dancing...Are Having More Fun Than You." We could use more fun in the middle of this election campaign.
Stay tuned for Entertainment Sunday. Since "The Walking Dead" is on and it's Halloween weekend, expect zombies.
Technically yes: by the definition that’s fallen into common usage, it will be a supermoon. By this I mean that the full moon will coincide with the moon being slightly closer to us, as it travels along its elliptical orbit around the Earth.
Will we notice that this moon is bigger and brighter than any other full moons to be seen this year? It might be nice to think so, but in all honesty it’s not really possible to spot the effect.
For Northern Hemisphere observers, August is usually regarded as "meteor month" with one of the best displays of the year reaching its peak near midmonth. That display is, of course, the annual Perseid meteor shower beloved by everyone from meteor enthusiasts to summer campers.
Earth's natural satellite could stand in the way of your enjoyment this year's Perseid meteor shower, unless you know where – and when – to look.
Those are the serious stories. Follow over the jump for a really weird one.
In other news, today Crazy Eddie's Motie News passed 250,000 page views. That's 50,000 page views since the end of August, four-and-one-half months ago. I'm tempted to post the theme songfor this blog, but I'm saving that for another entry. Also, this blog has a Facebook page. If you have a Facebook account, please like it.
U.S. and British intelligence agencies have worked to infiltrate networks of violence-prone individuals who might unite for a common cause. And in some cases, the spies are also targeting networks that aren't regional terrorist cells -- they're online gaming communities, according to the latest revelation from documents given to the media by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
"Exploiting Terrorist Use of Games & Virtual Environments" is the name of a 2008 NSA document being cited in coordinated reports out Monday from The Guardian, ProPublica and The New York Times.
The reports describe spy agencies' push to infiltrate systems that allow millions of people to closely collaborate and even exchange money -- all through a veil of alternate identities.
The project involved spies creating identities in networks that include Second Life and World of Warcraft, according to the reports. Another arm of the work is said to have collected massive amounts of data from Microsoft's Xbox Live network and elsewhere.
The effort was not a small one, the news agencies report. In fact, so much anti-terrorism work was being conducted in the virtual worlds that a separate "deconfliction" group was tasked with monitoring spies from the CIA, Pentagon, and FBI so that they wouldn't interfere with -- or waste time spying on -- one another, according to Pro Publica.
This is a silly project for various reasons. The more serious objections were raised in the New York Times story, summarized here by two reporters having a chat on WOW in character, pun intended. Follow over the jump for the video.
As I wrote in An entire college drinking and eating experience in one glass, "Once again, I've hit the wall of 'I can't be all DOOM all the time.'" Also, once again, I'm going to be inspired by the day to post a drink recipe or two. It's the last Friday the 13th of the year, and I've found the perfect drink recipe for the day.
No drink recipe entry of mine would be complete without a video from The Tipsy Bartender. While he doesn't have a Friday the 13th recipe, he does have a similar Halloween drink, right down to the black vodka with licorice garnish: Black Absinthe Halloween.
The BLACK ABSINTHE HALLOWEEN...is stronger than death! It's loaded with booze, colorful and just an amazingly fun halloween cocktail. Watch Inna try to drink it!
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RECIPE
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1 1/2 oz. (45ml) Orange Juice
3/4 oz. (22ml) Orange Soda
3/4 oz. (22ml) Campari
1/2 oz. (15ml) Grenadine
Black Vodka
Black Absinthe
Have fun, but don't tempt fate by drinking too much!
That's not exactly the most consistent topic to raise at the end of a health post warning about excessive drinking, but I'm not the most consistent person, which is why I named my blog after Crazy Eddie. The character was a techno-optimist and a believer in hopeless causes at the same time. I also can't be all DOOM all the time.
That written, it's time for drinks and dessert after the Thanksgiving feast. The Tipsy Bartender shows how to have them both at the same time.
If you like apple pie you have to try...THE APPLE PIE A LA MODE COCKTAIL. It's a drink the really taste like apple pie. It features oddka apple pie vodka, fireball whisky, vanilla vodka and angry orchard apple cider. It's perfect! ... RECIPE ====== 1 oz. (30ml) Oddka Apple Pie Vodka 1 oz. (30ml) Fireball Whisky 1/2 oz. (15ml) Vanilla Vodka Angry Orchard Apple Cider Whipped Cream
Put a slice of pumpkin pie in the blender and add some booze to create....THE PUMPKIN PIE COCKTAIL. This is the ultimate Thanksgiving drink! ... RECIPE ======= 1 1/2 oz. (45ml) Baileys Irish Cream 1 oz. (30ml) Vodka 3 oz. (90ml) Milk Pumpkin Pie Pumpkin Pie Spice Whipped Cream
This one literally is both dessert and drink in one, as it includes pumpkin pie as part of the recipe.
Most adult animals on earth share one thing in common: brown poop. But what's in it that makes it that particular color? Trace does the dirty work to find out.
I told Trace that he was having *way* too much fun. So far, 15 people have agreed with me.*
Ever notice how you need to use the bathroom roughly the same time every day? Well there's a whole lot going on behind the scenes to keep you "regular." Anthony gets to the bottom of exactly why you go when you go and how to regulate it.
Now, if you want urine, I have another video for you.
This cocktail is one that is truly out of this world......THE ALIEN URINE SAMPLE! With its electric green hue, it looks dangerous, but we promise that it doesn't taste as toxic as it appears. This otherworldly concoction is surprisingly delightful, with a sweet and fruity flavor. Live life on the edge by drinking an Alien Urine Sample!
In Taiwan and many other countries you can find squat toilets, which many people think are gross, uncomfortable, or just plain weird! Well, research says that they can prevent all kinds of physical problems. Hey, they could even indirectly benefit your social life! Li Anne gives you a quick illustration of why she thinks squat toilets are the sh*t.
As I wrote, I was having too much fun. I hope my readers are, too.
Over his long career as a public planner, Lewis L. Lawrence grew accustomed to the bland formalities of planning commission meetings in Virginia’s Middle Peninsula, where forgetting to cover one’s mouth while yawning through a lecture was about as rude as people got.
But lately, the meetings have gotten far more exciting — in a bad way, said Lawrence, acting executive director of the Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission. A well-organized and vocal group of residents has taken a keen interest in municipal preparations for sea-level rise caused by climate change, often shouting their opposition, sometimes while planners and politicians are talking.
The residents’ opposition has focused on a central point: They don’t think climate change is accelerated by human activity, as most climate scientists conclude. When planners proposed to rezone land for use as a dike against rising water, these residents, or “new activists,” as Lawrence calls them, saw a trick to take their property.
“Environmentalists have always had an agenda to put nature above man,” said Donna Holt, leader of the Virginia Campaign for Liberty, a tea party affiliate with 7,000 members. “If they can find an end to their means, they don’t care how it happens. If they can do it under the guise of global warming and climate change, they will do it.”
...
The uprising began at a February meeting about starting a business park for farming oysters in Mathews County, Lawrence and other planners recalled. The program to help restore the Chesapeake Bay oyster population was slated for land owned by the county, but it was shouted down as a useless federal program that would expand the national debt. The proposal was tabled.
As the opposition grew over the summer, confrontations became so heated that some planners posted uniformed police officers at meetings and others hired consultants to help calm audiences and manage the indoor environment, several planners said.
In James City County, speakers were shouted away from a podium. In Page County, angry farmers forced commissioners to stop a meeting. In Gloucester County, planners sat stone-faced as activists took turns reading portions of the 500-page Agenda 21 text, delaying a meeting for more than an hour.
Agenda 21 is an agenda in name only, environmentalists say. The document encourages world governments to consider environmental impacts before developing land or slashing rain forests for resources, said Patty Glick, senior climate-change specialist for the National Wildlife Federation.
“Agenda 21 is the least thing they should be worried about,” said Glick, who like other environmentalists contacted by The Washington Post was surprised at the attention being given the document. “It has no legal or policy implication for local governments in the United States.”
Holt, who began scrutinizing public planning when her interior design business failed after the housing bubble popped, begs to differ. She sees the document as evidence of a global agenda that threatens property rights.
Her suspicions echo those of Tom DeWeese, president of the conservative American Policy Center, who wrote an essay opposing “smart growth” titled “Fight Agenda 21 or Lose Your Freedom.” The ultra-conservative John Birch Society cautions adherents through its Web site that the “Agenda 21 program may already be in your local community, through your home town or city’s membership in . . . Local Governments for Sustainability.”
Time for another tour through the lighter side of sustainability this week, with sustainability news that is funny, silly (including just plain stupid), fun, or simply positive. This week's news features Next Media Animation, Cracked, Grist, and Hysterical Raisins with supporting roles played by CNBC, The Huffington Post, USA Today, Data Driven Detroit, and others and continues over the jump.
