I made light of his recent travails on this blog about five weeks ago, but I am a Robin Williams fan. Yet while reading of the outpouring of grief, it occurs to me what a shame it is that there are not more comedians in Iraq. Or Afghanistan. Or the Ukraine. Or Burma (Myanmar). Or…
Category Archives: Not Funny
Osiris defended the soldiers, saying “That bitch is crazy!”
Humiliation at rout hits Iraqi military hard
AP–By HAMZA HENDAWI and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA 6.18.2014
BAGHDAD (AP) — “The Iraqi soldiers tell of how they can hardly live with the shame of their rout under the onslaught of the Islamic militants. Their commanders disappeared. Pleas for more ammunition went unanswered. Troops ran from post to post only to find them already taken by gunmen, forcing them to flee…”
“…one lieutenant-colonel who escaped the militants’ sweep over the northern city of Mosul told The Associated Press. ‘I am as broken and ashamed as a bride who is not a virgin on her wedding night’…”
An ISIS spokesman responded, “And we will kill you just like we would her.”
I Could Nominate a Number of Musicians for Surreptitious Administration of this Treatment
How a brain treatment for OCD turned a man into a Johnny Cash fanatic
By Fred Barbash; May 21, 2014; The Washington Post
“…A patient identified only as ‘Mr. B,’ age 59, was referred to doctors at a hospital in the Netherlands for treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) from which he had suffered for 46 years.
“He had made little or no progress with conventional treatment. So, in 2006, he was treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS), better known for making life easier for patients with Parkinson’s disease, but also used for OCD…
“…Before long, however, Mr. B would only listen to Johnny Cash — ‘simply and solely’ to Johnny Cash, the authors reported. Nothing else. No more Dutch songs, Beatles or Rolling Stones. He went out and bought all of Johnny Cash’s CDs and DVDs…”
Facilitated by speed, he began spending up to 14 hours a day walking a line.
“Plants are people, too!”
A woman’s will provides funds for trusty houseplant upon her death
Wild Directions
With New E-Cigarette Rules, FDA Hopes To Tame A ‘Wild, Wild West’
by Rob Stein–April 24, 2014–NPR
The Wild West, eh? Hyperbole like this is the surest sign of fear mongering.
In the real West, an anti-government darling of people like myself apparently feels a nostalgia for the Old South:
Politicians denounce Bundy’s racist remarks
Posted by CNN’s Ashley Killough and Paul Steinhauser and Leigh Ann Caldwell–4.24.2014
14-Year-Old Shot In The Head Was Son Of ‘Stop Snitching’ DVDs Creator
Obama says more sanctions against North Korea possible
Palestinian deal involving Hamas riles Netanyahu
Our best hope?
NASA chief defends Mars mission, colonization of Red Planet necessary for human survival
By Alexander Saltarin–Tech Times–April 24, 2014
Good Thing the Show Wasn’t SURVIVOR
Infowars.com; April 21, 2014
“A British woman has decided to have an abortion in order to increase her chances of appearing on a TV show, a decision which highlights the misplaced priorities associated with collapsing societies…”
She regretted ending the life, but said it was to honor the rules requiring one competitor per slot.
The fetus gave his/her approval:
“Life sucks, y’all”
Zynga’s FarmVille 2: Country Escape Arrives on iOS, Android
Time to saddle up those reindeer with some ass-kicking elves
National Journal: Is Vladimir Putin Coming for the North Pole Next?
Marina Koren
nationaljournal.com
March 27, 2014
No time for that, folks.
Junk(ie) Science
Humans To Be Kept Between Life and Death in First Suspended Animation Trials
Sebastian Anthony
Extreme Tech
March 27, 2014
This is old hat in Baltimore. Add Xanax to methadone, or perhaps combine other drugs, and remain frozen in place, bent over, without falling over. I lump them all together as “the freeze drug.” I don’t know how these people walk across the street, eat, or what allows them to get so plastered and remain standing. With us drunks, we just fall over or pass out. Watching these guys is like a suspenseful soap opera.
If engineers and architects could just apply their ability to skyscrapers, the death toll from earthquakes could nearly be eliminated.
Junk(ie) Food
Parents overdose on heroin at McDonald’s as kids, 5 and 8, play at restaurant’s PlayPlace: Outrage?
By John Luciew | The Patriot-News
March 14, 2014
I’m outraged by this parental recklessness. Those fast food play lands can be very unsafe. This chain’s removal of the ball pits, prompted by the disappearance of 7-9 children every year, has not made the place safer. There are still the ongoing problems of fat kids getting stuck in the slides, haunted Grimace figures that come to life, and irate staff members who are awaken from their naps.