John Scalzi, writer of Old Man’s War and the Whatever blog, was dared by his readers to go check out the Creation Museum. He did. And then posted an awesome review/photo tour complete with snarky commentary:

And this is, in sum, the Creation Museum. $27 million has purchased the very best monument to an enormous load of horseshit that you could possibly ever hope to see. I enjoyed my visit, admired the craft with which the whole thing was put together, and was never once convinced that what I was seeing celebrated was anything more or less than horseshit. Popular horseshit? Undoubtedly. Horseshit hallowed by tradition and consecrated by time? Just so. Horseshit of the finest possible quality? I would not argue the point. And yet, even so: Horseshit. Complete horseshit. Utter horseshit. Total horseshit. Horseshit, horseshit, horseshit, horseshit. I pity the people who swallow it whole.

Awesome, and well worth a read. H/T to Boing Boing for this one.

Photo courtesy of John Scalzi. And it really speaks for itself.

It’s election time in the old US-of-A, time for everybody with a beef or special interest to try and get their own particular hot-button placed on the national control panel. There are all the perennial favourites- gun control, abortion, immigration, gay marriage- that haunt the electoral agenda. But this year, if a collection of pilots and former governent officials have their way, presidential candidates will be debating the merits of studying unidentified flying objects. The so-called ‘November 12′  group made a public call yesterday for the government to re-open the investigation of UFO’s in America.

Of course, flying saucers-as-politics has a proud pedigree in the United States. Allegedly, both Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan have seen UFO’s of their own, and democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich was roundly mocked for describing his UFO experience during a live debate.  While not the best campaign strategy, Kucinich did make an excellent point:

“You have to keep in mind that Jimmy Carter saw a UFO, and also that more people in this country have seen UFOs than I think approve of George Bush’s presidency.”

Zing!

UFO’s are unquestionably a part of contemporary pop culture, but do they deserve their own government investigation? They did in 1952, when the USAF began Project Blue Book to look into the flying saucer phenomenon. Over its 17 year history, Blue Book looked into nearly 13,000 UFO reports. Their final conclusion was simple: there was nothing extraordarinary or paranormal about UFOs, and that further investigation was unlikely to yield any useful data. Reasonable, but tragically blind to how this kind of cautious skepticism from the government invariably ends up fuelling 50 years of conspiracy theories and X-files episodes.

But the November 12 group have taken an interesting tack. Astute to the unique preoccupations of the post 9/11 world, they are casting UFOs as a national security issue:

“Especially after the attacks of 9/11, it is no longer satisfactory to ignore radar returns … which cannot be associated with performances of existing aircraft and helicopters.”

It is all too easy to dismiss UFO enthusiasts as nuts, mostly because many of them are indeed bat-shazbot insane. Likewise, the majority of UFO sightings can be chalked up to (human) aircraft, weather balloons, atmospheric phenomena, meteors, and a dozen other decidedly non-sexy explanations. Nevertheless, there remain several, well-documented sightings that have never been explained. I’m not suggesting we are being visited by aliens from other worlds, but I have to think a lot of sightings are made by genuine, well-meaning people who have legitimately experience something that they can’t identify. So, the challenge is to satisfactorily explain what these folks are seeing, and not dismiss them out of hand as loonies. The refusal to investigate comes off as secretive, and ends up fueling the oh-so irritating blather of conspiracy theorists. And, on the off chance it turns out we’re not alone in the infinite blackness of space, then I’s sure as hell want to know about it.

So yes, please investiagte UFO sightings. It doesn’t have to be a Majestic-12 type cloak-and-dagger deal, marshalling massive resources that could be going elsewhere. Rather, the governments of the world should examine, in good faith and on a case-by-case basis, the more credible sightings and make their conclusions public. If more than one person saw it, and the person making the report isn’t wearing a “I left my heart in Roswell” T-Shirt, then it’s probably worth looking into. Ultimately, it’s about a government listening to its citizens and responding to their concerns, which is more or less what a good government should be doing anyway.

There is an enduring appeal to the whole ‘are we alone?’ question, particularly when it revolves around alien creatures crossing the unfathomable expanses of space to check out our humble species. Now, I’ve never seen a UFO. But if I did, I’d like to think my government wouldn’t treat me like a maniac. And that the aliens were friendly and somewhat adverse to whole ‘probing’ thing.

A large pie-plate somewhere over America.

The world may grumble when Chavez stifles the free press of Venezuela. We quietly complain when he and his supporters violently crack down on student protestors opposed to constitutional changes designed to enhance his power.

But one thing we will not tolerate is harsh words directed at departed foreign leaders.

At this year’s Ibero-American Summit, the Chavmeister used his alloted time to rip into former right-wing Spanish  prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, calling him a ‘fascist’.

This would not do. Spain’s current PM, the leftist Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, took the high road:

“President Aznar was democratically elected by the Spanish people and was a legitimate representative of the Spanish people. President Hugo Chavez, I think there is an essential principle to dialogue, and that is, to respect and be respected, we should be careful not to fall into insults.”

Spanish King Juan Carlos was more to the point:

“Why don’t you shut up?”

Indeed. Why doesn’t Chavez just shut up? And since I am not encumbered by the rules of civility the govern diplomacy, I’ll pull a Chavez of my own: He’s an idiot. The term ‘fascist’ has a very specific historical and political meaning, and the more you throw it around inappropriately, the stupider you sound. You may disagree with Anzar’s politics, but he wasn’t a fascist.

Not only is Chavez a grade-A dumbass, but he also suffers from delusions of grandeur:

“I do not offend by telling the truth. The Venezuelan government reserves the right to respond to any aggression, anywhere, in any space and in any tone. I speak the truth to kings, to imperialists, to Bush.”

Hmmm. A leader busily suppressing democratic rights while following what appears to be a pseudo-messianic quest. Wow. That sounds a bit…well, you know.

Screen-cap of King Juan Carlos listening to Chavez at the Ibero-American Summit. You can’t tell, but he’s working up to some serious pwnage.

The new, super badass helmet for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Not only does it make you look like some post-Orwellian nightmare, but it gives you the power to see through metal:

“This Helmet Mounted Display System provides the pilot with cues for flying, navigating and fighting the aircraft. It will even superimpose infra-red imagery onto the visor which allows the pilot to ‘look through’ the cockpit floor at night and see the world below.”

Coooool.

The Strong National Museum of Play has announced its 2007 inductees into the Toy Hall of Fame – the kite, the Atari 2600, and the Raggedy Andy doll.

Museum president, G. Rollie Adams, had this to say:

“They are outstanding toys that have engaged multiple generations over time, inspiring them to create, learn, discover.”

This announcement raises a few points:

1. There’s a Museum of Play? Why am I only finding out about his now?
2. The Museum president’s name- G. Rollie Adams- sound eerily doll-like. Or conjures images of pink top-hat wearing toy impresario presiding over a magical museum filled with whimsy.
3. Raggedy Andy’s induction is clearly an afterthought. Raggedy Ann made it in in 2002…and I’ve got to think that more or less covered the whole ‘mass-produced rag-doll’ oeuvre.
4. Why is the kite only being inducted now? People have been been playing with kites for like 2800 years. Shouldn’t it have been, oh I don’t know, first into the Hall of Fame?

On the upside, all you fellows out there who held onto your Atari 2600′s just went from ‘deluded man-child’ to ‘collector of fine Hall-of-Fame memorabilia’ in one press release. The carpal tunnel syndrome you picked up playing space invaders now seems vaguely justified.

The Atari 2600: old school, sure. Just not Kite old school. We’re talking before Jesus old school here.

Gone are the days of heavily tatooed, head-shaved, make-up wearing judges in China. The country’s highest judicial authority, the High Court in Henan, has just released a list of 55 regulations. Here’s a sample:

1. No frolicking with colleagues.
2. No holding hands with colleagues.
3. No tattoos.
4. No heavy make-up.
5. No painted nails.
6. No jewels. 
7. No long hair.
8. No beards.
9. No shaved heads.

If the High Court felt compelled to release these regulations, you’ve got to wonder: what was the courtroom experience like before these edicts? A sombre house of due process, or some crazy punk rock, drag queen love-in? I know which one I’d prefer.

 H/T to MN for this one.

This guy has no future as a Judge in China.

No, these aren’t painting. They’re hi-res shots of Operation Canopus, and French nuclear test conducted on August 24, 1968 at Fangataufa Atoll. Strangely beautiful and completely terrifying all in one go.

This one is my favourite:

I think it’s something to do with how the clouds are parting to make way for the mushroom cloud. The explosion is like a giant middle finger aimed at God. And in an abstract sense, that’s pretty much what nuclear weapons are. You destroy us? We’ll destroy ourselves, thank you very much.

For more shots at much higher resolutions, check out the Flickr Stream.