I’m not quite sure what possessed this police officer to take out this hapless protester, but you’ve got to admire his form and/or gross violation of civil rights:

Shocking. This savage hipcheck took place at a Critical Mass protest in Time Square. Now, CM riders can be annoying. I’m all for cycling advocacy, but inconveniencing the people you’re trying to convince is never a good strategy. But still. Nobody deserves that kind of assault. I hope that jackass gets fired or suspended or kicked by every cyclist that passes him for the rest of his life..

The always-surly Russian Parliament is drafting legislation to ban emo and goth music. Said the Moscow Times:

“State Duma deputies, Public Chamber members and social conservatives have hammered out legislation aimed at heading off the spread of emo culture, which they describe as a ‘dangerous teen trend.’”

An annoying teen trend, yes. But dangerous? I’m no fan of emo…in fact, listening the My Chemical Romance makes me want to punch kittens. But these awkward, unhappy kids need their music too, dammit. Like Voltaire once famously intoned: “I may hate your music with an unholy passion, but I will defend to the death your right to waste your time listening to it”. I’m paraphrasing, but you get the point.

So, to arms! Thanks to KH for the link.

The “100 Push Ups Training Program” has been making its way around the interwebs lately, and it got me all curious. The ability to do 100 push ups? In six weeks? I’ve done a lot of things in a six week time interval, and acquiring significant new amounts of strength and stamina is not one of them. But the website claims that if you follow the six week program, you too can do 100 push ups. In a row. Without stopping for a twizzlers break and a short nap.

Challenge accepted.

As of this morning, I am now officially on the 100 push ups program. I started by doing an initial test, where I managed 16 push ups in a row before collapsing in a breathless heap. Based on that result, my first day consisted of four sets of 10, 10, 8 and 6 push ups respectively, with a 60 second rest interval between sets. So far, so good.

Why embark on this sisyphean fitness task? Not because I want to improve my strength, which would probably be good. And not because I want to build endurance, which I undoubtedly need.  No, dear reader, I am doing this for you. I will be pounding my pectoral muscles into a putty-like goo to see if this program delivers what it promises. I’ll be keeping weekly tabs on my progress, so check back every Monday for the latest on my push up quest.

Excelsior!

So, I finally saw The Dark Knight last night. My review: epic. This was possibly the greatest film I have ever seen. Smart, dark as hell, and featuring an amazing cast, this movie was almost perfect. In fact, my only complaint was that Nestor Carbonell, the guy who played Gotham’s mayor, was wearing altogether too much eyeliner. This is apparently an ongoing concern with Mr. Carbonell, as demonstrated by this photo:

Not sure why Gotham has a drag queen mayor, but there you go.

As everyone keeps saying, Heath Ledger was incredible. But among all the performances (and what a cast!), I think Christian Bale’s Batman is the most under-appreciated. He is precise and restrained, the perfect counterpoint to Ledger’s over-the-top Joker. And Michael Caine, who has been in every movie made since 1952, was awesome as always.

So, go see this movie. Even if you hate superheroes, action flicks, Christian Bale, or even the whole concept of moving picture, you will enjoy The Dark Knight. It’s just that good. Sublime, even.

Mess with nature long enough, and nature gets mad. Unfortunately for us, nature is frequently pointy with very sharp teeth.

A group of 30 bears has surrounded a remote geological research station in northern Russia, effectively laying siege to a small group of scientists. And these guys have good reason to be worried. Last week, the bears ate…yes, ATE…two of their colleagues.

Why? Those bears are hungry. Overfishing has depleted their natural food supply, so they are turning to foods of convenience. In this case, a bunch of geologists. In weeks past, a student taking part in an orienteerin race was killed when she disturbed a female bear and her cub, and another bear almost killed another contestant. Now is a bad time to be on two legs in the Taiga.

An ATV is currently en route to to the geologists’ camp, and the crew may be forced to shoot the bears. Which would be a shame, since we kinda brought this on ourselves.

Giving your child a name is an awesome responsibility. One false move, and you transform your once-promising progeny to the life of a social pariah.

But like all responsibilities- driving a car, owning a gun- some people just can’t hack it. Take the case of a nine-year-old girl from New Zealand, who her parents named “Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii“. Although it contains two proper nouns, this is really more of a sentence than a name. The girl is so embarassed by her bizzaro moniker that she applied to be a ward of the court, just so she can change her ridiculous handle.

New Zealand, it seems, has a brave tradition of bad names. “Number 16 Bus Shelter” and twins named Benseon and Hedges top the list. But many more wacky names are rejected every year- Fish and Chips, Yeah Detroit, Stallion, Twisty Poi and Sex Fruit.

So, parents, heed this advice. You may think you’re being funny and clever giving your child a weird name. But really, you’re just being a gigantic jerk. And your child will hate you.

What’s orange and yellow, battery powered, and can deliver three foam darts per second?

The Nerf N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25. Behold the very last word in recreational armament:

This little gem features a single-shot capability for pinpoint annoyance. And when you absolutely, positively need to irritate a room full of people, you can go full-auto and watch the 25 round ammo belt rattle away. And, if you get the value pack, they throw in an extra ammo belt, 25 additional darts and a shoulder strap. So you can free your inner Rambo without any of the messy moral implications.

Nerf has long led the world in foam-based weaponry. Now, they’ve stepped up their game. And for only $40, this could just be the finest dart gun ever made.