Extended Drunk or Intellectual Sabbatical

By the Editor
Inebriated Press
June 22, 2009

Inebriated Press columnist on break

All good things must come to an end, or at least take a break now and then.  Whether this is the end or a break I’m not sure.  I sat around with my scantily clad imaginary Inebriated Press reporters, columnists and pundits and debated just what this is.  Most of the time was spent arguing over whether we were going on an extended drunk or a sabbatical.  In the end the decision was to go on an extended drunk but call it a sabbatical.  You know, being politically correct and all.

Everyone needs a break and a beer now and then

Much is happening in my business and personal life right now (yes I’m forced to spend time in the real world; the one I occasionally rant about) and that squeezes my I-Press time pretty hard.  It seems best that I step away and focus on some other things right now.  Whether than means Inebriated Press will be back in a few weeks or not, is an open question.  I’ll leave the website up in any case, and you can use the search or category functions to turn up tabloid articles, old Op-Ed’s and rants against liberalism, and other silly stuff, just for drill.  lol 

Inebriated Press was two-years-old yesterday.  Pretty remarkable really.  My first post was on June 21, 2007: “Mad Cows Terrorize London”   For all I know they still do.

Not much else to say.  I’ll be around somewhere, and who knows, I may be back here.  It’s a tough habit to break.

Good luck and smoke’m if you got’em.

~ The Editor

 PS: Hang tough and live your beliefs.  Remember what Edmund Burke said:

Good woman with cigar; whiskey unavailable for comment

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” 

I’d add to that, “good women”.  I like good women.  And good whiskey and good cigars.  And I have a weakness for individual freedom and states’ rights.  I’m kind of simple that way.  Good luck with whatever you are.  :)

Top 10 badass movie guys

The Dude \ Den of  Geek

 

Get your affairs in order before getting into a spat with one of these fellas…

Published on May 7, 2009

10: Tony Montana – Scarface

Perhaps Mr. Montana should be higher on this list but there is just such a plethora of bad-asses to choose from I had to make room for others. The thing about Tony Montana is that he spends the entire movie being bad-ass, so there really isn’t any argument as to whether or not he should be on this list.  Of course if I were forced to pick one single moment that deems him worthy it would be that great final scene. Tony must know his world is about to come to an end so what does he do? He snorts some cocaine, and lots of it. Then he grabs his, uhh, “little friend” and says hello to his unwelcome guests. Tony then proceeds to blow a few of those guests to smithereens. Unfortunately for our Mr. Montana he runs out of bullets and, well, let’s just say he gets shot. But our hero is not done yet… Tony Montana gets back up and blows some more of his guests to smithereens. But really the thing that makes him so bad-ass is how he dies. It takes a double barreled shotgun from about five feet away to finally bring this guy down, and how does he fall? Into a freaking pool. Very dramatic, very beautiful, and well, very bad-ass.

9: Walter Sobchak – The Big Lebowski

Have you ever been bowling, saw another player’s toes cross the line and decided “Hey. I am going to pull a gun on that guy unless he marks it zero”. Not many people can say they have done that, but Walter Sobchak can say he has done that. Can you get a toe by 3 o’clock this afternoon? Walter Sobchak can. We all remember the scene where they interrogate the little kid and Walter walks outside the house, grabs a crowbar, and after smashing in the windows of a very nice car Walter yells out to the kid “This is what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass!”. When I am sad and lonely I think of that moment and a smile will always stretch across my face. Thank you Walter Sobchak for just being so dang bad-ass.

8: Frank Lucas – American Gangster

Frank Lucas may not spend the entire movie being a bad-ass gangster but he has one defining moment that earns him the number eight spot on this list. Frank Lucas, drug lord and crime boss, is eating breakfast with his brothers and he just decides it is time to show everyone who is boss. He politely excuses himself from the table, leaving his brothers to watch what he is about to do. Frank walks casually up to a man who has disrespected him and, right in the middle of a sidewalk crawling with people, Frank Lucas shoots the man and walks casually back to the restaurant to finish his meal with his brothers. The guys got class. What a scene, what a bad-ass.

7: Sgt. Dignam – The Departed

You see this guy for maybe fifteen minutes during the whole movie, but as you walk away from the movie he is the one you are talking about. He grabs you right from the start and he never lets you go, you find yourself wishing they would have given him more screen time. He throws punches left and right, doesn’t give you a moment to think. I remember driving home from the movie theater after seeing The Departed and thinking to myself “huh”, because honestly I didn’t know what else to think. Dignam found a way to be bad-ass with the way he looked, talked, and even the way he moved. And then, right in the end, after everything that has happened, Dignam makes his presence in the movie unforgettable by showing up in the bad guy’s apartment and taking care of business. He even gives Matt Damon a moment to think before he ends his life. Dignam is a bad-ass with quality.

6: Al Capone – The Untouchables

This dude is just a bad-ass. Robert DeNiro couldn’t have done a better job portraying the most-respected man to come out of the 20s and 30s. Throw this movie in the DVD player next time you get the chance and just wait for that one scene. Capone walks cordially around the table talking about being a team and working together, only he is wielding a bat so something is bound to happen right? You can see it on all the bosses faces, they know its coming, but to whom? Well, then we find out, its that guy. That guy who gets his head smashed in about half a dozen times by Al Capone himself. Can you think of anything that sends shivers down your spine quicker? At least we know Mr. Capone got his point across.

5: Tommy DeVito – Goodfellas

I know I know, another gangster movie. I mean heck, another Scorsese movie, but what can I say, he knows how to create a bad-ass. Doesn’t it just eat you up inside whenever you think about Tommy? I know I get the chills if I sit down and watch this guy at work. Tommy is the kind of bad-ass who always means business. You don’t mess with him. You don’t even mess with messing with Tommy. You have to control yourself, a dirty word or look will get you six feet under even if you’ve been ‘Made’. No one wants to be Tommy, he isn’t that kind of bad-ass. He is the kind of bad-ass that we actually want to stay away from, simply because he is so bad-ass.

4: Walt Kowalski – Gran Torino

Walt Kowalski is a classic All-American Bad-Ass. Walt gets right in your face and says “Don’t fuck with me”. And the thing is, if you do mess with the old dude, something is going to happen. You’re not going to be happy with what happens. Walt makes you pay for your disrespect. Walt is the bad-ass that you respect, and if you don’t, well, you’ll see what happens. He knows the difference between right and wrong, honor and disrespect. He knows how to be a man. He will protect his family and his friends because that is the right thing to do. He just goes about it all very bad-ass. Walt’s just an old time, old fashioned, no-bullshit kinda guy.

3: Tyler Durden – Fight Club

What can be said about Tyler Durden? Expertly portrayed by Brad Pitt, Tyler climbs his way into our souls the moment we first lay eyes on him. Tyler becomes something that words cannot describe. Its just one of those things that you have to see. There is an unspoken bond between everyone who has seen him that no other character has ever created again. We all find ourselves looking in the mirror thinking what it would be like to be Tyler Durden. Tyler Durden is a force that we all know could be out there somewhere just doing whatever it is Tyler Durden does. 

2: T101 – The Terminator

Okay, this guy came from the future to kill a chick. Come on? Can Hollywood ask for anything more than that? If your front door crashes open tonight and The Terminator is standing there, what are you supposed to do? Run? Fight? Pray? I have no clue what I would do but I know it wouldn’t run or fight. The thing that makes Terminator so dangerously bad-ass is that NOTHING MATTTERS. He would never accept a bribe. Give him the information he wants or he will kill you, and even if you give it to him, he will probably kill you anyways. I just need to make sure there is something in my garage that can crush him, or a large vat or molten metal that I could ask him to lower himself into. But we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

1: Anton Chigurh – No Country for Old Men

What would you compare Anton Chigurh to? The Bubonic Plague? What is this guy? The Ultimate Bad-Ass? Who knows where this guy came from? Who knows where this guy disappears to? Anton Chigurh is so bad-ass that even the guy who wrote the book that the movie is based on didn’t tell us anything about him. He just cannot be described, explained, studied, nothing. Anton Chigurh IS the Ultimate Bad-Ass. Anton Chigurh just IS. I would pick a fight with The Terminator before I picked a fight with Anton Chigurh, only because there is no such thing as a fight with Anton Chigurh. Thank you so much Coen brothers for this bad of a bad-ass, and you too Mr. Bardem. Thank you.

denofgeek.com

Top 10 badass movie gals

The Dude \ Den of Geek

 

It’s when you’re not expecting to have your arse kicked that it hurts the most…

Published on May 7, 2009

10: Selene – Underworld

Selene is a vampire who defies her superiors, kills some werewolves…kills some more werewolves, then chops through the head of what is supposed to be the most powerful vampire, and does it all wearing what some might argue to be the best leather outfit ever. Selene is sexy and  bad-ass. What makes Selene so sexy and bad-ass? Well firstly, she is a vampire so that’s some major points right there. Also, she really knows how to use a gun, and I like that in a woman. Thirdly, she drives a wicked awesome car sooooo… Well, enough said.

9: Mulan – Mulan

I understand it may be a little iffy to include a Disney cartoon character on this list when there are other possible contenders but if we look at my favorite 2D bad-ass from the right angles there is some hard evidence as to how bas-ass she actually is. As a matter of fact, if this was a live action flick, Mulan would probably be higher, but it isn’t. Anyways, lets see…Mulan started off kinda easy, I mean she just stole her dad’s armor and ran off to fight a war and decided to call herself Ping. But then she dropped a MOUNTAIN ON THE HUNS. Then Mulan fell off a cliff and survived. And then, to top it all off, she defeated the most notorious villain in the East with his own sword and uhhh, saved all of China. And she did it all wearing a dress. Mulan, if my sons or daughters would turn out anything like you, I would gladly let you be the mother of my children.

8: Eowyn – LOTR Return of the King

Eowyn, not only are you a woman, but you are a bad-ass woman. You just bring so much to the table when you kill a Wraith King. You bring a woman with poise, grace, elegance, but most of all, you bring style. Little flick of the hair, little flash of the sword and Sauron’s main man is no more. You might even be higher on this list but, unfortunately for you, the rest of the time you spend on screen is fairly retarded and unenjoyable and we find ourselves wishing something else was happening. Luckily you have that one redeeming moment that earns you the title of bad-ass chick number seven. I’ll give you a call next time there is a Wraith King around that needs killing.

7: Abernathy, Kim, Lee, Zoë – Death Proof

I know this is more than one girl, but you can’t possibly classify them except as a group. I’d just like to mention that these girls would also make the list of girls who know how to Rock’N’Roll. I have never personally played a game of ship’s mast (the game where a girl uses belts to keep herself on the hood of a very fast-moving vehicle) but I am positive I wouldn’t do as well as Zoë does. I also don’t think I could handle getting thrown off the hood of that car by Stuntman Mike and then just jump right back into action. Oh, also I’m not a hot chick that carries a gun to shoot said Stuntman. Poor Stuntman Mike, he just wanted some fun. What did he get for his playfulness? Well, they shot him, destroyed his car, and then beat him to death with their bare hands! If there is one thing I have learned from this list its a greater respect for the average woman. Poor Stuntman Mike, he had to deal with multiple bad-ass chicks at the same time. Poor Stuntman Mike.

6: Cherry Darling – Planet Terror

Lets look at the facts. Cherry is a, uhhh, Exotic Dancer, and she uhh, well she loses her leg to a zombie. Cherry takes part in a sizzly, steamy, and sexy but short-lived scene with only one leg and plays pirate for most of the movie. But as much as I loved her peg leg I gotta say I enjoyed its replacement all the more. This is where her being bad-ass comes into play. Wait, have you ever seen Planet Terror? Well if you haven’t, go and rent it right now. Because in this movie, there is a girl who somehow attaches a large gun to her leg, and with this gun/leg she kills many-a-man. Its fairly bad-ass actually. She is riding backwards on a motorcycle so as to annihilate any would-be threats from behind and she is then thrown over a large wall and with her gun-leg she kills some more people. Its all very fantastically bad-ass.

5: Alice – Resident Evil

Genetically altered bad-asses aren’t your everyday bad-asses. They’re the ones you pit against large quantities of zombie creatures and expect to win, and Alice does not disappoint. She is extraordinarily pretty and manages to pull off packing more weapons than the Taliban with proficiency and skillfully-honed talent. Let’s discuss one scene in particular shall we? Okay here’s the scenario: bunch of helpless people inside a church are about to get eaten by some dog… thing. Well, the church has a large stained glass window which makes a perfect entrance for any bad-ass chick looking for a good entrance. So, naturally, Alice makes her entrance through the ornately painted window… on a motorcycle. Need I say more? Well, Alice then proceeds to kill the dog things with what appears to be ease and that’s all she wrote. All in a days work for this bad-ass.

4: Miho – Sin City

“Deadly little Miho, you won’t feel a thing if she doesn’t want you to.” These words are spoken respectfully of our number four bad-ass. First of all, Miho is Asian, which adds to her amount of bad-ass immensely. She pulls off the whole Asian assassin thing quite nicely. With Miho, its like this: I’m just not going to get involved with her. If I hear she is coming to town, I am going to leave. If I hear she is coming to dinner, I am going to leave. If I hear she is out to kill me, I am going to die. Although, on second thought, I’m fairly sure I wont hear about it if she is out to kill me. Remember when Miho kills all those guys in the Limo after leaping dramatically from the rooftops? More specifically however, remember when she kills the cop? What does he say about it? Oh yeah, “She doesn’t quite chop his head off, she makes a Pez dispenser out of him.”

3: Ellen Ripley – Alien

Ms. Ripley is one bad-ass chick. How many times does she have to look some crazy Alien Motherfucker in the face and kick its ass? Doesn’t Ellen die in one of the movies? And then doesn’t she come back to life? That’s something only one other gal on this list accomplishes throughout her time on the big screen. We can look at a number of different things that make Ellen Ripley deserving of this spot. Number 1: Ellen climbs into a big robot and decides it is time to bring the fight to the Alien instead of just running and hiding from it, and she kicks its ass. Number 2: Ellen fights an entire army of Aliens, and she opens up a can of whoop ass on them. Then doesn’t she use the Alien’s own acid to burn a hole in the glass and the Alien is sucked into space by a vortex through a hole about the size of a DVD? If all of those things combined don’t make her a bad-ass, I have no idea what does.

2: Beatrix Kiddo – Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2

As I sat watching the credits roll after Kill Bill: Volume One, I turned to my buddy and said “Boy am I glad I’m not Bill.” I understand that the Crazy 88’s weren’t exactly 88 people, but, ARE YOU SERIOUS? And that crazy little girl with the ball and chain? I would’ve walked out right then and there, screw Bill. He isn’t worth it. But I guess its different when your nickname is Black Mamba and you belong to a secret organization of expert assassins. So then I see number two and things get even crazier. Beatrix amazes me every moment with the way she goes about her business. But most of all I like how she gets shot with a shotgun full of rock salt and gets buried alive. Moreso than that I like how she punches her way out of her coffin and climbs to the surface so as to continue her quest to kill Bill. Before she gets around to killing Bill she partakes in a pretty bad-ass chick fight and we all know how that ends. Elle is left confined in a trailer with the other kind of Black Mamba. The reptile kind. Oh, did I forget to mention that Elle is left in what is quite literally a blind rage? Of course Beatrix isn’t done yet. She still has to take care of Bill. After a bit of shenanigans on Bill’s part, our hero, Beatrix Kiddo, unleashes the ultimate weapon on her ultimate enemy: the ‘five-point-palm-exploding-heart’ technique. Needless to say, she kills Bill. Also, before all of this, she got shot in the head. Could she have been more bad-ass if she had tried? We will never know.

1: Sarah Connor – Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Simply put Sarah Connor is just a crazy bad-ass chick. Locked up in an insane asylum for who knows how long, she manages to beat the crap out of a bunch of dudes and take the doctor hostage. Sarah Connor is the kind of girl that knows what she is doing and what she is doing is kicking some ass. Running into strangers houses and shooting them and shooting at Terminators as they chase her down the street. Training her body and mind to repel the ever imminent machine take over and just all around looking like a bad-ass. She has a mission… survival. But really the thing that puts her at number one on this list actually takes place after she dies. Sarah Connor left the world a little present: A coffin full of weapons. Okay, that is BAD-ASS. Who the hell leaves a coffin full of weapons so that people can use them against the machines? Sarah Connor does. And that is why she is just so damn bad-ass. Thanks for the weapons Sarah.

denofgeek.com

Analysis: How to produce high approval ratings for Obama

Steve McCann
American Thinker
April 23, 2009

Just read an AP report: the percentage of Americans that think the country is on the right track rose to 48% in March as compared to 40% in February. In light of the unemployment rising, the debacle in foreign affairs etc, I found it unlikely.  So I looked into the details of the poll.

73% of the Democrats polled thought we were on the right track
17% of Independents
10% of Republicans

That made it even more suspicious as to how those numbers could result in a 48% overall right track vote.

So digging deeper, it turns out

36% of those polled were Democrats
18% Republican
26% Independent
18% None claimed

In the 2008 election the spread between Democrats and Republicans was 6.5 percentage points not 18 and independents made up 22% of the vote not 26%.

It appears that there have been similar distortions in the various polls measuring Obama’s approval ratings.

Source:
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/04/how_to_produce_high_approval_r.html

Aliens kill Colorado cow for reproductive organs

Colorado rancher blames aliens for cattle mutilations

Jeffrey Wolf 
KUSA*TV – Denver, Colorado
March 11, 2009

LAS ANIMAS – A rancher in southern Colorado has an out of this world theory for what killed one of his cows.

“We have other life out there and I think that’s what it is,” Mike Duran said.

Duran says he’s noticed strange lights flying overhead and he believes aliens may be to blame for mutilating one of his cows.

“Like a round circle in the air,” Duran said. “I’ve watched them and then they just disappear.”

His ranch is near the town of Weston, which is about 20 miles west of Trinidad.

Duran says his cow was found dead with her udders and reproductive organs missing. He says there were no tracks near the body.

The cow was last seen alive on Friday and found dead on Sunday.

He believes aliens abducted the cow, carved it up and dropped it back by the river.

Duran claims the same thing happened in the same field in 1995.

“It’s just a shock that it’s happened again,” he said.

He’s reported both incidents to the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Office, but investigators have not been able to solve either case.

“It’s one of those unsolved mysteries, I guess,” he said.

9news.com

FOXSexpert: 10 Sex Findings You Won’t Believe

By Yvonne K. Fulbright
Fox News
February 26, 2009

You don’t say.

For the last year, I’ve been struck by the number of studies that counter common sex beliefs. Just when we think we know it all, new data comes along and challenges what we believe. And it’s only by coincidence that my decision to highlight certain research efforts comes at a critical time.

Dr. Yvonne K. Fulbright

In an effort to cut budgets, lawmakers in Georgia and Florida are attacking departments, research and courses rooted in sexuality and women’s studies. If successful, all of us stand to lose important scientific contributions that shape health promotion, intervention and inform policies and programs.

Sure to impact fields that deal with this area of study — like anthropology, sociology and ethnic studies — we risk our ability to obtain accurate, evidence-based findings to guide healthy sexuality efforts.

Check out some of the intellectual efforts afforded by academic freedom that impact all of us in one way or another:

1. More Birth Control = Better Sex

It’s hard enough for lovers to use one contraceptive method, let alone two. Both sexes think condoms undermine their sexual pleasure. Yet the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University found women who use a hormonal contraceptive plus condoms report higher overall sexual satisfaction.

This is because better sex goes way beyond the actual sex act, encompassing factors like relationship satisfaction and sexual self-esteem. And when it comes to the need for lovers to protect themselves, such data can’t be emphasized enough.

2. Abstinence Is Great … for Other Teens

A study at the University of Washington, published in “Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health,” found that while youth might believe in abstinence, they also intend to have sex. Many of the 365 kids ages 12 to 15 who were surveyed had a positive view about refraining from sex.

But those scoring the highest on both sex and abstinence intentions were the most likely to have sex. Such findings need to be considered in tailoring comprehensive sex education classes for youth.

3. Interventions Equally Effective

We tend to think teens who engage in risky behaviors, like alcohol use, also engage in high-risk sexual behaviors more than their cautious peers. Yet a study in the “Journal of Adolescent Health,” looking at data from the “Youth Risk Behavior Survey,” showed otherwise.

Researchers found that interventions, conducted in the 1990s and the early part of this century, aimed at reducing sexual activity are equally effective for both groups. The conclusions will be of great assistance to future sex education efforts.

4. Teens’ First Time Was a Good Time

The general thought is that most adolescents had a miserable experience their first time. However, a longitudinal 2008 study in “Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health,” found quite the contrary was true. Those who lost their virginity at the ages of 15-16 were much less likely to feel regret than those who first had sex at age 13 or younger.

Those who had been with their first-time partner for more than one month (remember, for youth this feels like an eternity) were also less likely to feel regret than those who had first sex with a casual partner. Such reports show the need to support youth in delaying sex and getting to know their partner.

5. Overweight Women Have More Sex

Most stereotypes on obese women hold that they don’t have sex. Yet a 2008 study in “Obstetrics and Gynecology,” involving some 8,000 females, shows that overweight women have more heterosexual sexual encounters than average-weight women. The percentages: 92 percent of obese women versus 87 percent of women with a normal body mass reported having intercourse with men.

This is a major wake-up call for physicians who assume large women don’t have the same sexual health needs that their smaller counterparts do.

6. Parental Laws Not Significant for Abortions

When parental involvement laws were enacted, many feared the consequences this would have on youth seeking out abortion-related services. According to The Guttmacher Institute, there is no strong evidence that having parental involvement laws in place prevents minors from obtaining an abortion.

Even in states where such laws are absent, six in 10 minors involve at least one parent in their decision to terminate their pregnancy. Abortion rates have steadily declined in states both with and without these parental involvement laws.

7. Women Couldn’t Care Less About Sexual Problems

Data has long indicated that about 40 percent of women have sexual problems. But a 2008 Harvard study published in “Obstetrics & Gynecology,” involving 32,000 women, shows only 12 percent are bothered by these issues. For a sexual concern to be labeled a disorder, a person must feel distress.

Such findings are a great relief for women who have been made to feel that there’s something wrong with them.

8. Tea Is Preferred to Sex

At least it is in Britain, when compared to sex on a first date. An informal poll of 541 British singles, conducted by Craigslist UK, found that they largely prefer ending a good first date with a cup of tea. Over four times as many participants voted for tea over sex. Such fun tidbits help to alleviate the pressures that come with living in a sexualized culture.

9. Students Do Listen

Learning life-changing behaviors in high school health classes appears to come down to who is teaching more than the curriculum. A study published in the “Journal of Health Promotion Practice,” which was conducted by the University of Kentucky and Ohio State University, indicated that students learn more from their regular classroom teachers when it comes to subjects like HIV and pregnancy prevention.

The reason? Knowledge and trust are huge motivating factors for kids who feel this way toward their teachers.

Also, it was found that teachers with specific training in sexuality are the best bet for students.

10. Virginity Pledges = Riskier Sex

An analysis by The National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health found that those who promise to stay virginal until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not make such a pledge. They’re also much less likely to use condoms and other contraceptives when they are sexually active.

Data further revealed that pledgers tend to be more religious, more conservative and have a less positive attitude about sex. All of this data helps to guide researchers, educators and parents in their outreach efforts.

To learn more about how you can protect the pursuit of knowledge and human inquiry, visit the National Sexuality Resource Center at http://nsrc.sfsu.edu/

Dr. Yvonne K. Fulbright is a sex educator, relationship expert, columnist and founder of Sexuality Source Inc. She is the author of several books including, “Touch Me There! A Hands-On Guide to Your Orgasmic Hot Spots.”

foxnews.com

The 15 Strangest College Courses In America

Now we know why we have the genius to elect as U.S. President, a community organizer with anti-American friends and zero experience in either management or governing. – Editor, IP

Online Colleges Blog

Posted by admin in College Courses on 02 25th, 2009

College is viewed by many people these days as a diploma factory. You show up go to certain classes in a certain order, and eventually receive a diploma. There’s not a lot of love for learning for learning’s sake anymore. But that hasn’t stopped many colleges from offering plenty of quirky unique classes that go over non standard educational topics. A lot of the odd courses we found sound like lots of fun, but with tuition costs skyrocketing is it really worth it to spend thousands of dollars on fun diversions? Read on and decide.

15. Arguing with Judge Judy: Popular ‘Logic’ on TV Judge Shows

University of California, Berkeley

Not quite what one would expect, the professor of this course emphasizes repeatedly in the course listing that this class is “NOT a course about law or “legal reasoning.” It is instead an exploration of logical fallacies that are often presented by defendants and plaintiffs on court television shows like Judge Judy and The People’s Court. Seems right up the alley of most college students, as they are squarely in the demographic of afternoon television programming (which also targets the elderly and unemployed).

>>> Course listing (scroll down a bit)

14. Underwater Basket Weaving

University of California, San Diego

The course that is used interchangeably with “waste of time college class”, but surprisingly it actually exists, both at UC San Diego and at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. According to Wikipedia anyway. Underwater basket weaving involves making wicker baskets by dipping reeds or stalks of plants into water, and letting them soak. Full body immersion is optional I suppose.

13. Learning From YouTube

Pitzer College

This college course literally involves watching YouTube videos to study the impact on culture that the video sharing site has had. Students also upload their own videos to the class YouTube channel. The teacher started the course after being “underwhelmed by the quality of the video content on the site”. You can actually see some of the classes if you’re so inclined, here’s 10 minutes from their November 16, 2007 meeting.

>>> Pitzer Class YouTube Channel

12. Philosophy and Star Trek

Georgetown University

Philosophy classes often use pop culture to start discussion, there are even plenty of books out there with similar themes as this college class (here’s Seinfeld and Philosophy for instance), but still, when it comes down to it, this course and the philosophical under trappings are just being used as an excuse to talk a little Star Trek. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

>>> Course Listing

11. The Art of Walking

Centre College

This might sound like the epitome of college fluff, but it’s actually a class dealing with Immanuel Kant’s “Critique of Judgment”. The course offers a mixture of lectures and walks around the Danville, Kentucky area including strolls through “nature preserves, battlefields, cemeteries, the nearby Shaker Village, campuses and farms”. Students are also given freelance walking assignments in addition to more traditional college work like reading and term papers.

10. Daytime Serials: Family and Social Roles

University of Wisconsin

While I’m sure most guys would rather gouge out their own eyes than take a course on soap operas, this is probably right up many young women’s alley. This is part of UW’s Women’s Studies program, which I think is kind of unfortunate given the view some people have of that major already. Talk about giving them more ammunition. The course isn’t really about soap operas per se, it’s actually about the role they play in family and work lives of the people who watch them.

9. Joy of Garbage

Santa Clara University

The Joy of Garbage is a Santa Clara University course that actually deals with real science through the lens of garbage. Students study decomposition, what makes soil rot, the chemicals that give garbage an unpleasant odor, and they also learn about sustainability when it comes to the things we throw away. Classes don’t just study household garbage either, there’s also a section on nuclear waste. And topping things off there are even field trips, with students visiting local sanitation plants and landfills.

8. The Science of Superheroes

University of California at Irvine

Students at UC Irvine can learn about physics by using familiar superhero icons such as Spider-Man, Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman. The professor teaches the physics of flying and fluid dynamics using Superman as his example, and the students also learn about super strong spider silk as used by Spider-Man. The professor explains it saying “It gives me a chance to talk about real science but in a context that is very familiar to the students”.

7. Zombies in Popular Media

Columbia College, Chicago

Here’s one I’d have to consider signing up for, the history of zombies in popular media. Lest you think it’s just about zombie movies, it should be emphasized that the course also covers the history of voodoo in Hait, and video games like Resident Evil as well as zombies in cinema.

>>> Course Listing

6. The Science of Harry Potter

Frostburg State University

Not only does Frostburg State offer a course on the science of Harry Potter – it’s an honors course. The class discusses topics such as whether or not Fluffy the three headed dog could be explained by genetic engineering or if antigravity research could actually produce a flying broomstick. The course is modeled after (and uses as a textbook) the book “The Science of Harry Potter: How Magic Really Works,” by Roger Highfield. The class is geared towards non-science majors and, probably not surprisingly, there is no lab work.

5. Cyberporn and Society

State University of New York at Buffalo

Students taking this course watch porn. At school. There are actually quite a few porn courses in the US, as outlined in this Time article, including a class at Northwestern that deals with obscenity where the professor screens the Italian movie Saló, a film that has a great argument for being the sickest movie ever made. Seeing it in a college course would be extremely bizarre.

4. Simpsons and Philosophy

University of California-Berkeley

This one is probably predictable as you’ve got a twenty year old show with plenty of rich fairly intellectual material and a main character with the name of “Homer”. UC-Berkeley claims this isn’t at all a dumbed down class, but a fairly rigorous philosophical course. The text of the class is the book “The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh of Homer,” edited by William Irwin and features weighty questions such as “Can Nietzsche’s rejection of traditional morality justify Bart’s bad behavior?”.

3. Far Side Entomology

Oregon State

The comic strip “The Far Side” featured a rich universe filled with interesting animals and bugs. Far Side Entomology professor Michael Burgett uses the comic strip as a teaching tool to explore interactions between humans and insects. About the course, Burgett says “The anthropomorphism in the cartoons makes an immediate connection between insects and people … Students take those connections farther, connecting to ideas and relationships they wouldn’t have imagined in a straight systematics course.”

2. Myth and Science Fiction: Star Wars, The Matrix, and Lord of the Rings

Centre College

Tiny Centre College makes their second appearance on our list, this time with a class focusing on contemporary epics. Students not only study Stars Wars, The Matrix, and The Lord Of The Rings, they also discuss television shows like Star Trek, Stargate, Dr. Who, The X-Files, and Babylon 5. The course weds these modern day tales to classical myths, showing that many of the narrative devices and patterns employed then are still used in today’s epics.

1. The Strategy of StarCraft

University of California, Berkley

I’m sure that in South Korea one could major in StarCraft, but it’s a bit strange seeing a college course about the game here in the US. The class uses StarCraft to teach the art of war, discussing strategy and tactics in the famous game. This is actually a student led program in Berkeley’s alternative education program, but we give it major props for creativity. The class has even received a fair amount of publicity with GamePro documenting the first day of class.

>>> Official Class Website

onlinecolleges.net

Is justice blind, or just stupid?

Below:

> Lawyers fall behind in IQ study
Study: Lawyers have become less intelligent compared to the average person …
> Sex charge teacher walks free from court
Judge: “I find it impossible to decide if he has been harmed by what you did …”

Lawyers fall behind in IQ study

Kit Chellel
TheLawyer.com
27-Feb-2009

Lawyers have become less intelligent compared to the average person over the last decade, research from the Centre for Market and Public Organisation (CMPO) has revealed.

The study compared IQ scores for lawyers born in 1958 to those born in 1970 – who are currently climbing the ranks of law firms and barristers’ chambers.

Lawyers in the earlier group scored 11 per cent better than the average, but the 1970 group were just 8 per cent more intelligent.

This was a greater fall than the majority of other professions where the gap narrowed by around 1 percentage point.

Despite the shrinking ability gap, lawyers are now more likely to have come from a wealthier background than those born in the fifties, with the family income for the parents of lawyers increasing much faster than the average (TheLawyer.com 2 Feb 2009).

Lindsey Macmillan, a researcher at the Bristol University-based CMPO, said:  “Despite the fact that lawyers are looking a lot less like the average person in terms of their family income, they are looking more like the average person in terms of ability.”

The gap in IQ performance compared to the average fell for most other vocations, as well as the law. Doctors, teachers, bankers and stock brokers
all moved closer to average intelligence between the two studies.

Artists, engineers, scientist and journalists have all become more intelligent when compared to average IQ scores, the research found.

Source: Social mobility and the Professions, Lindsey Macmillan, CMPO, University of Bristol

thelawyer.com

Sex charge teacher walks free from court

The Oxford Times – UK
6:34pm Friday 27th February 2009

Controversial judge Julian Hall today let a teacher who had sex with a 15-year-old boy walk free after saying he wasn’t sure she harmed him.

Catherine Armstrong, 33, had promised the boy a “birthday bonk” for his 16th and had sex with him several times while he was still 15.

Catherine Armstrong

She initially denied the charges but then admitted two counts of sexual activity with a child and one of touching him while in a position of trust.

The teenager — who cannot be identified but has learning difficulties — asked Judge Hall at the trial to be “nice to her” when he sentenced her.

He said it took him “a stupidly long time to realise that what we were doing was wrong”.

Mother-of-two Armstrong, of Hunt Road, Thame, wrote emails to her young lover after the relationship broke down, in which she declared her love.

Yesterday Judge Hall — criticised in the past for his sentencings of paedophiles — gave Armstrong a 12-month prison sentence but suspended it for two years after calling the case unique. He said: “I find it impossible to decide if he has been harmed by what you did but you shouldn’t have done it.”

She will sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years.

oxfordtimes.co.uk

In other news, the Obama Administration may invite Iran to a high level meeting on how to fight Islamic terrorism in Afghanistan, and is offering to throw our European allies under the bus by dropping the missile defense system President Bush promised them, in exchange for Russia agreeing to help manage Iran.  It appears that IQ’s of polticians is falling even faster than lawyers and judges.

Below:
> US May Invite Iran to High-Level Meeting on Afghanistan
> U.S. Offers To Abandon Missile-Defense Plans

US May Invite Iran to High-Level Meeting on Afghanistan

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mar 5, 2009 23:07

BRUSSELS — In its first overture to Iran, the Obama administration is pushing to convene a high-level meeting on Afghanistan this month that would include an invitation to Teheran, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday.

The administration has been searching for ways to engage Iran, even as it confronts Teheran over its links to terrorism and pursuit of a nuclear program. Throughout her tour of the Middle East and Europe this week, Clinton has mixed tough talk about Iranian behavior with a hope that areas of cooperation can be found. She frequently cited Afghanistan as an example.

Clinton announced the plan for the meeting during a gathering of NATO foreign ministers here, telling reporters it would be “a big-tent meeting with all the parties who have a stake and an interest in Afghanistan.”

jpost.com

U.S. Offers To Abandon Missile-Defense Plans

By Brian Whitmore
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
03.03.2009

U.S. President Barack Obama has written a letter to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev suggesting that a missile-defense system Washington is planning to build in Europe will become unnecessary if Moscow helps curb Iran’s nuclear program.

Senior U.S. administration officials said the letter was hand-delivered to the Kremlin leader three weeks ago. It was first made public in a report in the Russian daily “Kommersant” on March 2.

“What I said in the letter was that obviously to the extent that we are lessening Iran’s commitment to nuclear weapons, then that reduces the pressure for or the need for a missile-defense system,” Obama said at a news conference in Washington with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on March 3.

Obama added that the letter did not offer “some sort of quid pro quo” but was “was simply a statement of fact that I’ve made previously.”

News that a possible deal involving missile defense and Iran — two of the main irritants in Russian-American relations during the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush — came just days before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for talks in Geneva.

Speaking at a news conference in Jerusalem with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on March 3, Clinton said she would have a “broad agenda to discuss” in her March 6 meeting with Lavrov, and that Iran and missile defense were both high priorities.

“We intend to do all that we can to deter and prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons,” Clinton said. “That is our stated policy; that is the goal of any tactic that we employ.”

Clinton did not provide any information or details about a deal being in the works.

Speaking at a press conference the same day in Madrid with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Russian President Medvedev said he hoped the “positive signals that we have received from Washington will be embodied in agreements.”

Medvedev added that Russia is working closely with the United States on the Iranian nuclear issue, but he denied that a tit-for-tat deal trading in missile defense for cooperation on Iran was in the works.

“Nobody is setting conditions for any trade-offs, especially on the Iranian issue,” Medvedev said. “We are already working in close contact with our American colleagues on the Iranian nuclear issue.”

‘No Quid Pro Quo’

A senior U.S. administration official confirmed to RFE/RL on March 2 that “a letter from President Obama was sent to President Medvedev.” The official would not comment on the letter’s specific contents, but said that Washington would welcome Moscow’s help in curbing the Iranian nuclear program.

“One way to reduce the level of the [Iranian nuclear] threat is through a strategic dialogue with Russia,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official added that the United States was prepared to consult with Russia about “alternative missile-defense configurations.”

“The New York Times,” also citing senior U.S. administration officials, reported that the letter was not an offer of a direct quid pro quo but rather an attempt to provide Moscow with an incentive to work together with Washington in resolving the Iranian nuclear issue.

The latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says Iran now possesses 1,010 kilograms of low-enriched uranium. The report raised concerns that Iran now has enough uranium, and the means to enrich it further, to produce nuclear fuel and the fissile core for nuclear warheads.

Washington has long sought Moscow’s help in curbing Iran’s nuclear program, which it alleges is aimed at obtaining nuclear weapons. Tehran has consistently rejected the charge.

Russia is a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council and its vote there is essential in imposing tough sanctions against Tehran. Russia also has extensive commercial contacts with Iran, particularly in the nuclear sector, that can be used as leverage if Moscow so chooses.

The United States has long been critical of Russia for helping Iran build the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southwestern Iran, arguing that it could be used as a cover for a weapons program.

Devil In The Details

Analysts say such commercial contacts could make Moscow reluctant to lean on Iran.

Yevgeny Volk, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Moscow office, said the “devil will be in the details” of any agreement that could limit Russia’s nuclear cooperation with Iran.

“Nuclear cooperation with Iran is very profitable for Russia both politically and economically,” Volk said. “Russian participation in Iran’s nuclear program provides a livelihood for many people in the Russian nuclear industry who are concerned about the crisis. And politically, Russia is interested in political cooperation with Iran in order to limit American influence in Central Asia.”

The U.S. plan to install a radar facility in the Czech Republic and deploy 10 interceptor missiles in Poland was a signature project of the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush, who argued it was necessary to counter a growing Iranian nuclear threat.

Moscow staunchly opposed a deployment so close to its borders, arguing that it constituted a threat to Moscow’s security.

Obama has repeatedly said he plans to continue the missile defense project, provided that it is proven to actually work and is cost-effective. A senior administration official told RFE/RL that the plans could be altered “depending on the nature of the threat.”

Analysts said this left the administration sufficient flexibility to cut a deal with Russia when such an agreement would be advantageous to U.S. interests.

rferl.org

 

 

Atlantis Claimed to Be Found Using Google Earth, Google Says Otherwise

Take this one with a grain of salt, but researchers claim to have found Atlantis off the coast of Africa

Jason Mick
DailyTech
February 23, 2009

Evidence of Atlantis under the sea

Last week Google Earth, which has recently turned its mapping efforts to imaging the ocean floor, created quite a stir, when someone noticed an unusual image on the ocean floor off the coast of Africa.  The blurry image shows a rectangle the size of a small state made up of seemingly perfect straight lines.  More lines crisscross the inside of the rectangle like streets.

The site, located in the Madeira Abyssal Plane, is being hailed by some as being possibly the fabled city of Atlantis.  It was first discovered by a British aeronautical engineer Bernie Bamford.  He states, “It looks like an aerial map of Milton Keynes. It must be man-made.”

Google states that the lines are sonar lines based on its imaging techniques, though it could not explain why they stopped or started or featured gaps.  Stated a spokesperson, “Bathymetric (or sea floor terrain) data is often collected from boats using sonar to take measurements of the sea floor.  The lines reflect the path of the boat as it gathers the data. The fact that there are blank spots between each of these lines is a sign of how little we really know about the world’s oceans.”

Based on Google’s explanation, a possible alternative is that there are deep trenches in the area, which prevented the sonar from escaping.

Atlantis

However, some oceanographers, geophysicists, and other researchers aren’t accepting Google’s explanation and insist the image might be the long lost city of Atlantis, a staple of Greek mythology.  They point out that the location in Google Earth closely echoes where Greek philosopher Plato claimed Atlantis to be located.  Plato had said that Atlantis was 620 miles of Africa’s coast, past the Canary Islands.  He wrote that the land was home to advanced civilization before earthquake and floods sunk it into the sea around 9,700BC — nearly 12,000 years ago.

Why Google wants Atlantis for themselves -- the underwater babes

Dr Charles Orser, curator of historical archaeology at New York State University says that the discovery is “fascinating”.  He states, “The site is one of the most prominent places for the proposed location of Atlantis, as described by Plato. Even if it turns out to be geographical, this definitely deserves a closer look.”

Given the enthusiasm it seems likely that some will investigate the site further.  However, for now the so-called discovery still seems a questionable one at best.  It does, however, provide Google’s ocean mapping efforts with some nice publicity.

dailytech.com

$125,000 missile sits in woman’s basement

KMOV St. Louis, Missouri
February 19, 2009

ST. LOUIS (KMOV)– A Missouri Air National Guard missile is caught in the middle of a divorce case.

A St. Louis woman wants the air guard to pick up a missile that’s sitting next to her furnace.

Kim Samuel said her husband wanted to hang it above their bar.

That never happened and now their getting a divorce and she wants it out of her basement.

She’s not worried about it blowing up because it’s not live.

But she’s worried about having government property sitting downstairs.

She showed News 4 an email between her and the guard.

They wrote that they do need to get this missile back because it’s an air force asset.

News 4 spoke with a representative with the Air National Guard.

We’re told this was a missile used for training purposes and it is not a threat to anyone. 

But it is air force property and they want it back.

Samuel is hoping the guard will pick the missile up next week and she wants News 4 to be there when they do.

kmov.com

Better beer through DNA mapping

Cheers! Yeast gene map could mean better beer

By Michael Kahn
Reuters
Feb 11, 2009

mmm DNA

LONDON (Reuters) – Researchers have mapped the DNA of dozens of strains of yeast used for brewing, baking and biofuels, something they said Wednesday will help map the human genome and could lead to better-tasting beer and wine.

This means brewers can pick the best strains to make beer with more flavour or perhaps help vintners bottle wine that lasts longer after opening, Ed Louis of the University of Nottingham in Britain and colleagues reported in the journal Nature.

“We now have a view of the variation across the entire species, which will allow us to make better combinations for better uses of things like beer and wine,” Louis said in a telephone interview.

“I’m going to be using it to create better strains for biofuel production.”

Yeast has long been used as a model for studying cancer, ageing and diseases like Alzheimer’s in humans because many of its genes are similar to ours. It also has as many genetic variations as human DNA, the researchers said.

The team mapped the genes of more than 70 strains of yeast used around the world for baking bread, brewing beer and making wine. They also looked at wild strains found in oak bark.

Because the genetic map of yeast is much smaller than the human genome, the researchers were able to more quickly and cheaply map all the genetic differences in many different strains, Louis said.

Besides offering ways to improve beer, wine and bread, the maps could provide a model scientists can use to build computer software needed to scan the more complex human genome, Louis said.

Researchers across the world are mapping the human genome to look for genes involved in diseases, determine who may be at risk for certain illness and to help design more-tailored drugs.

While scientists have so far sequenced the DNA of a few individuals, the goal is to do so on a much bigger scale to more definitively tie genetic variations to different diseases.

“Now we can build the tools that will help us compare thousands of humans across the genome and all the variants,” Louis said.

(Reporting by Michael Kahn; Editing by Maggie Fox)

news.yahoo.com

India to launch cow urine as soft drink

Jeremy Page
Times Online – UK
February 11, 2009

Damn that’s tasty cow piss ...

Delhi — Does your Pepsi lack pep? Is your Coke not the real thing? India’s Hindu nationalist movement apparently has the answer: a new soft drink made from cow urine.

The bovine brew is in the final stages of development by the Cow Protection Department of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), India’s biggest and oldest Hindu nationalist group, according to the man who makes it.

Om Prakash, the head of the department, said the drink – called “gau jal”, or “cow water” – in Sanskrit was undergoing laboratory tests and would be launched “very soon, maybe by the end of this year”.

“Don’t worry, it won’t smell like urine and will be tasty too,” he told The Times from his headquarters in Hardwar, one of four holy cities on the River Ganges. “Its USP will be that it’s going to be very healthy. It won’t be like carbonated drinks and would be devoid of any toxins.”

The drink is the latest attempt by the RSS – which was founded in 1925 and now claims eight million members – to cleanse India of foreign influence and promote its ideology of Hindutva, or Hindu-ness.

The manufacturing process

Hindus revere cows and slaughtering them is illegal in most of India. Cow dung is traditionally used as a fuel and disinfectant in villages, while cow urine and dung are often consumed in rituals to “purify” those on the bottom rungs of the Hindu caste system.

In 2001, the RSS and its offshoots – which include the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party – began promoting cow urine as a cure for ailments ranging from liver disease to obesity and even cancer.

The movement has often been accused of using more violent methods, such as killing 67 Christians in the eastern state of Orissa last year, and assaulting women in a pub in Mangalore last month. It also has a history of targeting foreign business in India, as in 1994, when it organised a nationwide boycott of multinational consumer goods, including Pepsi and Coca Cola.

Get'in thirsty just look'n

The cola brands are popular in India, now one of their biggest markets, but have struggled in recent years to shake off allegations, which they deny, that they contain dangerous levels of pesticide.

Mr Prakash said his drink, by contrast, was made mainly of cow urine, mixed with a few medicinal and ayurvedic herbs. He said it would be “cheap”, but declined to give further details about its price or ingredients until it was officially launched.

He insisted, however, that it would be able to compete with the American cola brands, even with their enormous advertising budgets. “We’re going to give them good competition as our drink is good for mankind,” he said. “We may also think of exporting it.”

timesonline.co.uk