« July 2005 | Main | September 2005 »

August 29, 2005

Town of "Fucking" Finds Nothing Funny About It

Brits driving Austrians bonkers over rude village name (go to source)

LONDON, (AFP) - British tourists have left the residents of one charming Austrian village effing and blinding by constantly stealing the signs for their oddly-named village.

While British visitors are finding it hilarious, the residents of Fucking are failing to see the funny side, The Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.

Only one kind of crimimal ever stalks the sleepy 32-house village near Salzburg on the German border -- cheeky British tourists armed with a sense of humour and a screwdriver.

But the local authorities are hitting back and with the signs now set in concrete, police chief Kommandant Schmidtberger is on the lookout.

"We will not stand for the Fucking signs being removed," the officer told the broadsheet.

"It may be very amusing for you British, but Fucking is simply Fucking to us. What is this big Fucking joke? It is puerile."

Local guide Andreas Behmueller said it was only the British that had a fixation with Fucking.

"The Germans all want to see the Mozart house in Salzburg," he explained.

"Every American seems to care only about 'The Sound of Music' (the 1965 film shot around Salzburg). The occasional Japanese wants to see Hitler's birthplace in Braunau.

"But for the British, it's all about Fucking."

Guesthouse boss Augustina Lindlbauer described the village's breathtaking lakes, forests and vistas.

"Yet still there is this obsession with Fucking," she said.

"Just this morning I had to tell an English lady who stopped by that there were no Fucking postcards."

Posted by MJuhre at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)

August 24, 2005

Be a Witness: Genocide is News

The Center for American Progress created a television ad criticizing television news networks for their paltry coverage of Darfur.

The ad (click here to see it) points a finger at the networks for covering crap like the missing chick in Aruba, and the "Runaway Bride" while ignoring important and newsworthy events.

But guess what? ABC, NBC, and CBS have refused to air it. Spineless losers. See this article at Think Progess for more.

Posted by MJuhre at 04:38 PM | Comments (0)

August 23, 2005

Pat Robertson Calls for Death

This AP story was forwarded by Jeff, who observed the "religious leader becomes the perfection of modernity [through his] amazing language."

It seems that, only weeks after praying to God to use his hand to create more vacancies on the U.S. Supreme Court, Pat Robertson has now called upon the hand of U.S. covert ops to assasinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

"I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it," Robertson said. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war ... and I don't think any oil shipments will stop."

So let me get this straight. We have yet another right-to-lifer -- and a very high profile one -- calling for death. Back in 1986, when Pope John Paul II said America had a "culture of death," he was referring to the country's Pro-Choice majority. But the label clearly befits our culture in so many more ways, and Pro-Life Pat Robertson proves the point. The Pope himself appeared to broaden the scope of his coined phrase in his Christmas message of 2000.

The story point out that, in the past, "Robertson has...suggested that the State Department be blown up with a nuclear device [and]... that feminism encourages women to "kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."

I am left to wonder: could Pat Robertson's increasingly wacky talk become a thorn in the side of the Christian Right, or does the CR just encourage lunatic-fringe-speak these days? I feel like that could go either way and that all the devices of the mind I would normally employ to predict such a thing have been nullified. It's hard to keep one's eye on reality when reality becomes exponentially more surreal each day.

Posted by MJuhre at 11:17 AM | Comments (0)

August 17, 2005

America Bless God

[entry amended Sept. 1, 2005 per correction by commentator]

This morning I saw a pickup truck in Bridgeport, Conn. that bore an "America bless God!" bumper sticker. At first I thought my minor dyslexia had gotten the better of me, and that I had misread a "God bless America" message. But, no. Upon second inspection, indeed my first reading was correct.

I was taken aback, somewhat paralyzed in puzzlement. Just what is the intended meaning of this message?

Has American patriotic hubris finally overshadowed religious faith, to the point that the United States has (in the eyes of some of its people) supremacy over God, and that God should take a back seat to American power? If so, "America bless God!" may be 21st century slang for "Step off, God!"

Or, perhaps a growing number of folks believe that God has really been fucking up lately, and needs spiritual guidance from our God leader on earth, Chairman (and Chief Executive) George W. Bush. Does God need America's help to get back on track? Maybe.

I then considered the possibility that this slogan was merely using a relatively lame play on words to call upon people to pay attention to God. That is, maybe this is just the standard "Love Jesus" or "Praise God" communiqué but rewritten in an attempt to be clever by playing on the well-known expression "God bless America!"

As I do with most unanswered questions these days, I sought guidance from the almighty Google. And my savior did not fail me. The search for "America bless God" yielded 7,650 hits, the first of which was for, of course, AmericaBlessGod.com. There I learned that the message "America Bless God" was actually even a tad more warped, sectarian, and despotic then I had imagined. From the site's intro:

America bless God was started soon after September 11, 2001...As I have been growing in my faith, learning about God, country, life, and all that makes up our life, I have rediscovered that we, America, the United States, were founded as a God honoring Christian Nation. The men and women who came to this part of the world came with a vision from the God of the Bible. The vision was to have a homeland that was Christian. I know that many disagree, and say that America is a land made up of many different beliefs and many different philosophies, but if you do an honest search and study of our origin, you can’t deny the facts that America was established as a "Born-Again Christian Nation."

God help us.

As if that weren't weird enough, the third link on my internet search gave me the impression that the prime (sole?) distributor of ABG products was the same purveyor of the Civil Liberties messenger bag I wrote about last week (see Aug. 11 posting). I was mistaken, however. The ABG and civil liberties bag distributors have nothing to do with one another, but simply use the same production company (see related comment to this post). Here is the ABG version of the same bag.

By the way, I promise you I did alter the messenger bag images in Photoshop®, though clearly they were generated by some digital hand, most likely by the folks at Cafe Express, which does made-to-order print jobs for various ABG and non-ABG product. By the way, don't forget your "America Bless God" dog t-shirt. America Bless dog! Love the "Do it up in doggy style!" blurb -- I don't even know what to do with that, other than point it out.

Posted by MJuhre at 10:37 AM | Comments (1)

August 12, 2005

Found Magazine

I've been waiting for this. Found Magazine prints (and posts on the web) notes, photos, etc. that people find in public. I'm excited to unload on them crap I've found and kept out of fascination, but really don't need to store in my house.

Posted by MJuhre at 11:05 AM | Comments (0)

August 11, 2005

Civil Liberties Eroding with Increasing Speed

So, since 9/11, and especially since the terrorist bombings in London, has the fourth amendment to the U.S. Constitution been officially abrogated?

It seems to be null and void at least in practice—I have had my bags searched by police at Grand Central Terminal twice this month. I guess, theoretically, one can refuse to be searched by police and will simply be turned away from the subway system or commuter rail, rather than be arrested.

But what are the police going to do when three swarthy-looking dudes with really big bags refuse to be searched and opt not to enter teh transit system—just let them be on their merry way? I doubt it. Does being swarthy looking, having a big bag, and refusing to be searched combined create probable cause for police to insist on such a search.

Speaking of bags and unlawful search and seizure, these folks have created the messenger bag pictured here, which has the fourth amendment emblazened across its side, follwed by the words "I do not consent to this search." Only problem is, I can see someone wearing this thing into the NYC subway system being put in the position where he/she has to either consent to the search or be really really late for work. Which is it gonna be?

Posted by MJuhre at 10:07 AM | Comments (0)

August 09, 2005

The History of Ranch Dressing

So, I haven't had time to piddle around with this. In fact, I began but did not finish new entries two weeks ago. Since they're no longer timely, I'll stick 'em in the site proper sometime soon.

Meanwhile, Matt forwarded me this lovely article from Slate on the history of ranch dressing, which in 1992 surpassed Italian as America's favorite salad dressing. I particularly enjoyed learning that the Clorox company once owned the Hidden Valley Ranch brand.

"How did this simple mixture of mayonnaise, buttermilk, and herbs become America's favorite way to liven up lettuce?" (Well, I think your answer may be right there. The proof's in the mayonnaise.)

Go to article.

Posted by MJuhre at 10:38 AM | Comments (0)