Hey there, peeps. Just so everyone knows, the Ween show was fantastic. Dean and Gene returned to the stage with a vengence, and the crowd in Buffalo was one of the most appreciative I’ve ever witnessed. The boys couldn’t help but smile as we assaulted them with cheers… and I must say, despite the 300% humidity, fog machine, and thousands of gallons of human sweat… we kept cheering to the bitter end.

So, back to the real world. Dominating the news these days is Israel’s aggression against Lebanon. There’s a bit of finger pointing going on, and naturally, the Bush administration is acting as though Israel can do no wrong. In fact, Bush is so pissed at Hezbollah that he was caught swearing about the situation during a G8 luncheon. I’m amazed that this is the level our world leaders are communicating on. Not the swearing per se, but the way these events are simplified to the point that Bush and others think they’re as easy to solve as they are to generalize. It’s not that simple, as Noam Chomsky attempts to explain in this interview. In fact, Newt Gingrich would lump this recent conflict into what he’s calling World War III. I’m not sure about that, but I do know that my boy Anthony Bourdain is trapped in Lebanon at the moment. I also know that this entire conflict, the region as a whole, is senseless and extremely barbaric. I understand that land can be very important to people, but come on Israel! You are completely surrounded on all sides, you have no neighboring allies, and yet you flex your military muscle to the extent that Lebanon is hardly even a functioning country anymore. When you step back from the historical elements of this fighting, it sure seems alarmingly stupid to be risking the lives and livelihoods of everyone in your country just because you want to hold onto a plot of land slightly smaller than New Jersey.

It’s clear that Bush really does believe Syria and Iran have not just ties with Hezbollah, but some kind of influence over their actions. I personally believe Bush sees all Arabs as belonging to the same organizations, including al Qaeda. And maybe that’s not entirely his fault. Maybe his cabinet members are feeding him this bullshit so that when he shovels it our way, it’s a convincing sell - because he believes it himself. So Israel now has to contend with two legitimitely-elected governments, Hezbollah and Hamas, who are both against them. The masses are unlikely to detect the hypocrisy in this situation: that we’re allegedly spreading democracy to these regions, and we’re opposing two elected governments based on the winning parties’ beliefs!

The really sad part about all this is that there is no hope on the horizon. Even international intervention will be a temporary solution at best. Neither side will wave a white flag, nor will they abide by any peace treaties set forth. I sincerely hope that we’re not still reading about this conflict 10 years from now - but I’m only kidding myself if I believe there’s a chance of that happening.

Things in Iraq aren’t looking any better by comparison, as Riverbend explains.

Photos showing the effects of global warming.

America is known for being the most obese country on earth - but here are five contributing factors you may not have considered.

Alternative meanings of flag colors.

What would really happen to a human body exposed to outer space? Not quite what I thought.

The upside-down room prank. You may want to skip ahead to the video footage where they walk into the room.

Hey there folks. I’ve been pretty busy at work lately, and also taking a lot of half-days for various reasons; so if you’ve noticed some late posts or lack of stuff, that’s why. Tomorrow night me and a few folks are headed to Buffalo for a Ween concert, which I am totally pumped about. Boognish is rising, baby.

Today I’ve turned up nothing newsworthy, which is just fine with me.

Well, there is this: a home that stunk so bad it was described as having “lethal levels” of pollution. LETHAL. Just like every other mind-blowing example of human filth or depravity, this story comes from Florida. Seriously, what the fuck is going on down there?

A group of people (and a black dog) posed in a real-life recreation of the famous painting “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of LaGrande Jatte”. For those of us without art history degrees, it’s the painting that Cameron was staring at in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

With all the recent news coverage on the topic of magic mushrooms, some of you are no doubt longing for a little trek down hallucinogenic lane. Here’s a little video you can watch, and when you look away, you’ll experience a mild hallucination. It actually works pretty well! (For about 15 seconds.)

Ahh, scaring people. Boundless entertainment.

Sure, you’ve heard of the video game Grand Theft Auto… but have you ever checked out Petty Theft Bicycle?

Added later:
Oh, oh… wait… here’s some news.
Eddie Griffin, center for the Minnesota Timberwolves, crashed his SUV while he was watching porn on the dash-mounted DVD player, drunk and masturbating. Hell yeah. Next time, at least pull over.

Hey, here’s a change of pace I bet no one expected: The US will now follow the Geneva Conventions for all of its detainees, and that includes Guantanamo. I’d say it’s just a little bit late to attempt to win back our lost credibility, however. At least for the duration of Bush’s presidency.

Well over 130 people were killed by train bombings this morning in Mumbai. I’m listening to reports on the radio right now, and it sounds like the death toll may have been greatly underestimated.

Animated map of obesity rates in America. I think it’s only fair to start it somewhere in the early 90’s, because a lot of states didn’t have data for them when this study began. Still, a clear increase is visible across the country.

Magic mushrooms can produce “mystical effects,” says study. I found it particularly interesting that one third of the study group said that taking mushrooms was the single most significant spiritual experience of their lives. Naturally, a few folks wigged out a bit. Eighty percent reported increased well-being or life satisfaction, too.

Interesting pinball photography.

If you were reading lickety jackblog back when I first linked to it, you may have come across the story of a young man mistaken for a terrorist. I remembered the picture attached, which showed who the cops thought he was. So it stuck out when I saw this, which prompted me to read this. The FBI is claiming that this white kid from California is now a senior al Qaeda member… not that he doesn’t look the part.

If you only see one clip from all the World Cup matches, this should be it: the great headbutt of 2006. I think the official meant to award France the game victory, not a red card. Then again, I didn’t watch any of the games, so what do I know.

How about a list of famous folks who have been charged with possession of marijuana? I never knew Boy George was much of a burner.

This is pretty awesome… Some guy managed to trade a red paper clip for something slightly more valuable, and continued in that manner until he got himself a house!

Just another reminder that the World Trade Centers were demolished on 9/11. If you’ve seen Loose Change, then you’ve seen most of this stuff already. Only this time it features some really annoying version of Lennon’s Imagine… sounds like Tool to me.

Encyclopedia of Strange Vehicles.
Added later: The Green Hummer Project. I came across this on the strange vehicle site.

Ann Coulter was an hour and a half late in calling up Adam Carolla’s show. He hung up on her, and called her a bitch. Awesome.

Way to go, kid!

How is it possible for David Hasselhoff to be so out of touch? His new video (featuring KITT) is freakin’ terrible, and the song is shamefully uninspired.

Freestyle Wheelbarrowing! If I don’t see this trend catching on all over the place, I’m gonna be pissed.

A terror plot to bomb the Holland Tunnel in New York City has been uncovered. The explosion would have blown a hole in the tunnel wall, flooding Manhattan. Actually, some are pointing out that it probably wouldn’t have worked too well, considering the city is above the water level.

Fucking DICK Cheney. Here’s a CounterPunch article detailing how Cheney is betting against the US dollar. Perhaps that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, considering we borrow $2.5 billion dollars a day. Just further evidence that these neocons are riding this baby into the ground.

A whale sightseeing tour accidentally got to see a whale being shot. Them’s the breaks. Incidentally, I’m starting a no-nonsense tour of seal-clubbing territory, including a day where you get to do it yourself.

Holy shit. Watch this chimp play Pac Man. He’s not great, but he’s probably better than I am.

This Bible Quiz is pretty fascinating. It points out a lot of the more twisted elements of the Bible’s teachings. I’d like to talk about some of these, but if I did, I’d give away the answers. I got 15 out of 50, but I’m not surprised. Much of it was news to me.

How To Spot A Jap - a book from WWII. (Warning: Old-school, overt racism ahead.)

A Photographer discovered a picture he had taken wound up on Burundi currency, without his permission. Whoa, that’d be strange.

Iranian graffiti.

Venice, made of Lego.

SomethingAwful’s Photoshop Phriday this week is: Soothing Sounds CDs. A clever idea.. and the thread was doing quite well the last time I saw it.

—- Special Mac-only section —-

Hack the login window on your Mac.

The Top Ten Most Beautiful OS X Apps.

Yes, I have a new Mac. Yes, it’s freakin’ sweet.

North Korea is readying more rockets, while the rest of the world gets pissed off at them. Bush’s comment on the matter was uncharacteristically poignant: “One thing we have learned is that the rocket didn’t stay up very long and tumbled into the sea, which doesn’t, frankly, diminish my desire to solve this problem.”

The CIA stopped looking for Osama Bin Laden one year ago. Not only that, but the FBI doesn’t believe he had anything to do with 9/11. Weapons of mass distraction, as they say.

Kenneth Lay has died of a heart attack. The feds will take his money.

Here’s Jon Stewart talking about violent video games. I especially like the correspondent reporting in from San Andreas.

When Abbie Hoffman came out with Steal This Book, you actually had to steal a copy. Now you can steal it online, via Wikipedia.

Slashdot interviews Billy West, the voice of Fry on Futurama, about upcoming episodes and other fun shit.

Obese folks have a 20% greater chance of suffering from depression. Gee, I never would’ve guessed.

Cedar Point was voted the country’s favorite theme park.

Kobayashi wins another hot dog eating competition, but this time someone comes in a close 2nd. I think the count was 53.75 to 52. And you know some poor schmuck had to measure a soggy hunk of meat just to see if it qualified as “.75″ of a whole hot dog.

The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers have returned. Nicodemia once gave me an old comic book of theirs, and I must say, the humor was a little weak. Still, there’s some historical significance there.

Kansas Classrooms - by Big Fat Whale. Now this guy is hilarious.

David Cross’ dying wish - courtesy of Wonder Showzen.

Hope everyone had a splendid Fourth of July. As always, the west side was filled with amateur fireworks shows. Our street had a notably larger supply than neighboring streets, which led to some pretty impressive displays. One rocket in particular appeared to have not gotten off the ground, which sent about 15 kids scattering in all directions while it shot across several different yards. I’m pretty sure the west side was the place to be, but Cleveland’s official fireworks were pretty lame. A little way down Lorain from us, a restaurant caught fire, but they’re not sure how. I could probably offer an educated guess.

Bush says the missles North Korea has are no threat to the US. Well, they did all fail, from what I understand. Still, I wouldn’t be too pleased if I were living in South Korea.

Here’s some kind of documentary that (I think) claims the bible is really based on astrology. It’s long… but someone on MetaFilter said it’s good.

Imagining the 10th dimension.

Collectible-Plate Industry Calls For Tragic Death Of Streisand.

A woman who just suffered a stroke discovered she now has a Jamaican accent.

I thought Echanos might want to read this. It’s an article about what election officials could learn from American Idol’s voting process. It also says that more votes were cast for American Idol than for the last presidential race, but it could have been far fewer people voting numerous times.

A church is erecting a statue in the likeness of Lady Liberty, only she’s holding a cross. Does this seem just a wee bit contradictory to anyone?

I think this is pretty brutal, for a prank: water trap. Although, most of the victims appear to be laughing.

Gatorade bottle raft ridden across the Charles River.

Here’s some nice free fonts.

I wouldn’t want to face this guy in a duel.

A professor of Atmospheric Science at MIT says that Gore’s claim of a scientific “consensus” about global warming is wrong. I haven’t read this whole article yet, but I would imagine the guy knows what he’s talking about. No matter what, all of our pollution can’t be helping the planet - so hey, we could at least cut back a little.

North Korea says they will respond to US military intervention with “an annihilating attack and a nuclear war.” Geeeez, take it easy bro! Someone’s a little testy!

A former Afghan police commander, detained in Guantanamo, had requested 4 witnesses to help his plea of innocence. Alas, the US military told him they were unable to reach any of the witnesses. Two years have since passed. The Guardian found out about this detainee, and within THREE DAYS, found all four. One was already deceased, but using this as a barometer for the kind of “justice” they’re serving up down there gives me the chills.

A bunch of crazy ass Texans think they’ve found Noah’s Ark in the mountains north of Tehran. You know, even if they found a gigantic boat with carcasses of many different animals… I’ve got some really bad news for you guys… God isn’t real! Noah was hearing voices! Sorry to disappoint.

A teenager from Vermont thought he was pretty awesome when he snuck into a cemetary, cut the head off a corpse, and told friends he was going to make it into a bong. It’s my estimation that he didn’t possess the know-how to carry out his plan, because let’s face it, a rotting skull isn’t exactly air tight. Also, he was dumb enough to think it would work - so there you have it. In any case, he’s going to prison. Have fun!

Messing with newscasters can be pretty damn funny. Perhaps I should sympathize with the innocent reporter, but something about that guy swayed me over to the dark side.

Wanna see what 45,000 bottle rockets going off looks like? Here you go.

How about a 500 lb. rubber band ball smashing into a car? I thought so.

Rob Cockerham made a Sudoku costume, and apparently took a long time to document it, too.