Links (8/1/08)

Holy Crap! A crazed bat-shit loon ball beheads the guy sitting next to him on a bus.

A great article about how hipsters are the death of civilization. [h/t Joan]

What is it about the right wing’s fetish for Michael Moore?

And what is it with the right wing’s fetish with sex toys? [h/t Ted]

And what is it about Japanese men and used ladies underwear?

Starved bears are attacking stranded miners in Kamchatka.

And finally, with the death of Bruce Ivins, who was supposedly behind the anthrax scares on ’01, Glen Greenwald has a fascinating blog entry on anthrax, ABC news and the run up to the war in Iraq.

Clearly, Ross’ allegedly four separate sources had to have some specific knowledge of the tests conducted and, if they were really “well-placed,” one would presume that meant they had some connection to the laboratory where the tests were conducted — Ft. Detrick. That means that the same Government lab where the anthrax attacks themselves came from was the same place where the false reports originated that blamed those attacks on Iraq.

Link.

Spring Break ’03 Part 3: Massage Chairs

I actually thought about vegging out here with the massage chairs (as alluded to in my previous entry), but something about the private massage chair stalls and the rack of pornographic comic books gave me the creeps. Instead, R and I went to the local electronics store and vegged out there. Unfortunately, amid the mechanical kneading and prodding, we did something to our backs. Both of us woke up stiff and in pain. Fortunately, R’s mother — whose something of a health fiend — had already scheduled appointments at her favorite shiatsu masseuse. He told me I have a slight twist in my lower spine and that’s the cause of my frequent lumbar consternation. I can’t say I’m 100 percent but after being pushed and bended for a half-hour while listening to “Groove Is In The Heart” at least I can get up from a chair without grimacing.

R and I spent most of yesterday and today with her mom. Last night, she took us out to what I guess could be described as a Country Buffet for the Macrobiotic set, featuring all you can eat brown rice, pickled daikon, and udon noodles. I must say that I’m getting along famously with R’s family, which is a refreshing change from the past. Previous encounters with the parents of previous girlfriends gave me the distinct impression that they viewed me about as favorably as, say, soiled diapers.

Yesterday, R bought me a pair of Levis with look quite fetching on me. Clearly this style is only sold in Japan because the largest waist size for this make is a 33. After years of being banished to the young mens section for having a waist size smaller than a 38, it’s nice to be on the larger end of the girth spectrum. I also bought a hair gel called “Nudy” which promised that “I will never want to buy another product again.” I purchased it thinking that if it lived up to its promise, it might rid me forever of my compulsive consumerism and save me thousands of dollars a year. I’m hopeful.

In other news, Michael Moore’s Oscar award rant is big news here. His gleefully hectoring “Shame on you, Mr. Bush,” looped ad nauseum.

Well, tomorrow R and I are off to Tokyo. More news later…