Koi Koi Eleven

2011-05-17T00:00:00.000+01:00

There are other, more important projects I've been focusing on, and this blog has mostly been a vanity kept updated on occasion without any particular reason for doing so. In short, this will probably be the last post I make here. There has been a major change in my life recently, so this seems like the right time for the axe to fall.

Riddle for April

2011-04-30T00:00:00.000+01:00

There are exactly seven of my kind
Always punctual, never behind
Though we each go by a different name
Logically, we are all the same
They say the moment of our birth
Began with the creation of the Earth
We always travel single file
In the same sequence all the while

Who are we?

Answer (highlight to read): the days of the week

Secret Message Subterfuge

2011-04-15T00:00:00.002+01:00

A straightforward one-to-one substitution cipher, such as a common cryptogram, is the most easily broken. If you plan on sending messages this way, you may want to try using some tricks to prevent your message from being intercepted by an outside source. Here are a few ways to combat unauthorized decoding.

Re-spacing: One of the most popular methods of thwarting a would-be decoder is to eliminate the normal spacing of words. As "I" and "A" are the only common one-letter English words, their presence makes it far too easy to begin decoding a message. Writing down letters in groups of five will keep word lengths a mystery until after the letters have been decoded.

Spell words incorrectly: By recognizing repeating sequences of letters, decoders can get a foothold sniffing out common words such as "the", "in", "and", etc. Misspelling words can not only alter words' lengths, but also erase these patterns. Instead of writing "the", the message writer can spell it a different way ("de", "teh", "ze", "da", "thuh") each time. A decoder also searches for double-letters, which can be eliminated this way.

Employ a null cipher: Chances are good you weren't going to use every last letter in the alphabet in your message. Probably Q is unnecessary, or could just be replaced with C or K instead. Use the coded symbol for Q throughout your message to confuse: place in between double-letter sequences, turn a one-letter word into a three-letter word, and so on. It's best not to use it for every word, though. Try to limit it to every second or third word.

Start with nonsense: Make up four or five nonsense words to begin a message with. This way, if an interceptor thinks they've figured out the code, they'll go to the beginning and find themselves disappointed to find their solution makes no sense. It's best not to just use strings of "QXXQ ZQXQZ XXZX QQ" or the like, otherwise the ruse will be quickly spotted.

Riddle for March

2011-03-18T00:00:00.000Z

All of my socks are white except for two. All of my socks are black except for two. All of my socks are gray except for two.

How can this be?

Answer (highlight to read): I have exactly three socks. One is white, one is black, and one is gray.

Allocation: a Word Game

2011-03-08T00:00:00.001Z

for 2 players

materials:

graph paper
pens / pencils
a mutually agreed-upon dictionary (just in case)

setup:
On the graph paper, use a pen to outline 25 boxes in a 5x5 array. Boxes in the same row or column must each be separated by two other boxes, as shown in this illustration:

play:
The gameplay is very similar to Paddocks (Dots and Boxes): players take turns filling segments of the grid, and when a player adds the fourth segment to a square, they initial it and continue their turn. This can lead to a player completing and claiming several squares on one turn.

But rather than drawing lines between dots, players in this game write four-letter words reaching from one square to the next. Words always read left-to-right or top-to-bottom. The game is called "Allocation" because each outlined box must contain a different letter of the alphabet. Players may also want to write the alphabet on the paper and cross out each letter as it is used in an outlined box.

Here is an example of a completed game:

As you can see, the grid is incomplete at the end of the game as neither player could find words to fit certain segments. The upper-left outlined box is empty for the same reason (the only unused letters are F and U).

Player 1 wins with a score of 5 to 2. Though Player 2 has only 1 box filled, one point is added to his score, as he was able to add a word to the grid after Player 1 passed his turn. If both players pass on consecutive turns, the game ends and the current score is final.

Proper nouns, acronyms, and abbreviations are forbidden.

alternate versions:

Make a larger grid to accommodate five- or six-letter words.
Space rows and columns unevenly for a mixture of word lengths.
Forbid plurals formed by adding an S.

Riddle for February

2011-02-24T00:00:00.000Z

In the Pacific Ocean is an island about 100 by 100 meters in size. A scientific research team visits the island and places two insects there, each containing a dosage of an experimental drug. The scientists then leave, but the insects do quite well for themselves, as they have remarkable reproductive prowess thanks to the drug they have consumed. On the second day, they have already doubled and there are now four insects. On the third day, there are eight insects present, and so forth in this manner.

Later, the research team returns to their experiment, but cannot land the helicopter, as the island now has far too many insects for them to do so. They're able to deduct from their bird's eye view that just about half of the island is now covered with insects. As a matter of deciding whether or not to continue the experiment, they need to figure out how long it will be before the entire island is covered completely with the insects. If the scientists returned on the thirtieth day, how many more days will it take before the island is completely overrun by insects?

Answer (highlight to read): One. If the insects double each day, then a half-full island would be full the next day.

Why Taco Bell Is Being So Smug

2011-02-11T00:00:00.002Z

There's been a sort of uproar recently about research finding that the beef used in Taco Bell's product is only about one-third real beef, when the advertising claims their product is made with 100% beef. Thus, we seem to have a clear-cut case of false advertising, and you'd assume Taco Bell and Yum! Brands corporation would want to sweep this incident under the rug, and hope nobody notices. Rather, when the lawsuit was filed, they replied by taking out a full-page ad in newspapers with the snotty heading of "Thank you for suing us" in huge type at the top. Was it just P.R. spin to make it seem like they've already won the suit? Well, in fact, they pretty much have.

This is a trick that companies have long used, and they're actually telling the truth when they claim to use "100% beef". But the meat they use isn't "100% beef", it just contains "100% beef". So, yes, by exploiting this loophole, Taco Bell's product does have 100% beef inside of it. It's "made with" it. Those two words are all they need to fully comply with the law and lie to the consumer.

Juicy Juice does the same thing. Have you ever noticed how it says "Made with 100% juice" on the label? It wouldn't be any different if M&Ms candies came with a sticker that read "Contains 100% red and green M&Ms" for Christmas, but then was just a normal bag when you opened it. Well, yeah, there's blue and orange and brown and yellow in there, sure, but there's no denying the rest of it is 100% red and green!

So, Taco Bell's strategy is to use the loophole in the law to win the case, then walk away pretending the victory validates them, when it actually condemns them, and hope the public is too stupid to know the difference. In the end, it all comes down to whether or not you trust marketing. Good luck, if you do.

Riddle for January

2011-01-15T00:00:00.003Z

Brazil has twenty-seven of these, but China only has five. North Korea has one, but South Korea doesn't have any. Russia used to have one, but now it has none. America has more than any other country.

What are they?

Answer (highlight to read): stars on their flags

Even More Odds and Ends in Music

2010-11-13T00:00:00.001Z

1952: Composer John Cage's piece "4'33" is first performed by pianist David Tudor. It is unique in that, through the length of its performance (four minutes and thirty-three seconds), not one note is played. Cage insisted that the piece was not intended as an insult or practical joke, but rather to showcase the sound made by those who would normally be listening to the performance onstage. This first performance is given in Woodstock, New York.

1978: Two variations are pressed for the debut album Another Music In A Different Kitchen by Manchester group Buzzcocks. On one, the song "I Need" appears on the first side of the record, and on the other (far more common) version, on the second side. At some point during the printing process, the plates get mixed up; Side 1 of the second version is paired with Side 2 of the first. This results in copies of the album being made that don't contain "I Need" at all!

1979: For the first time, the anonymous members of The Residents don their eyeball masks for the cover of the album Eskimo. The original idea was for them to wear shiny metal spheres over their heads, reflecting the Arctic landscape surrounding them. From this release on, the eyeball look defines their appearance, and soon their masks are replaced with new versions, each having a different color iris: brown, blue, green, and red. In 1985, the "red eye" is stolen from backstage after a performance. Though it is soon returned, The Residents claim this mask is cursed. It is never worn again, and "Mr. Red Eye" becomes "Mr. Skull", wearing a skull mask from that point on.

1981: San Francisco-based punk group Dead Kennedys releases an EP on their newly-formed independent label Alternative Tentacles. The record, titled In God We Trust, Inc., is made up of eight songs altogether clocking in at less than 14 minutes. At the time, the record industry's "Home Taping Is Killing Music" campaign to deter taping songs from the radio and other records is in full swing. Due to the short running time of the EP, all eight songs fit onto Side 1 of a cassette tape. Side 2 is left empty, and marked with the message from Dead Kennedys: "Home taping is killing record industry profits! We left this side blank so you can help".

1982: At their final concert before being scheduled to return to the United Kingdom, XTC performs in Paris. During their first song, guitarist and vocalist Andy Partridge decides to just leave the stage and not play anymore, later citing his hatred for concerts and touring. Though they continue recording, and perform on radio and television, the band never performs a proper concert again from that point.

1985: After a mere two-and-a-half years apart, the band Squeeze reforms after convincing Jools Holland to rejoin the lineup. Following the single "Last Time Forever", the band commissions paintings to be made for the covers of the next three singles they plan on releasing from the same album: "By Your Side", "Heartbreaking World", and "King George Street". Their label, A&M Records, rejects "By Your Side" as a single and wants the song "No Place Like Home" in its place, feeling it's more in line with Squeeze's traditional sound. Thus, a song about domestic abuse is released with accompanying artwork of a happy couple consisting of a sailor and a native island girl. The painting does appear on a German single release of "By Your Side", however.

Measurements of Liquid and Wine

2010-11-11T00:00:00.003Z

Cost of a First-Class Stamp

2010-09-23T00:00:00.005+01:00

The cost of USPS (United States Postal Service) stamps goes up all the time, in order to keep up with inflation. The chart above shows the price of a stamp in January of each year going back to 1913 (red), as well as the actual value (in 2010 dollars) for each year after adjusting for inflation (blue).

Prices before 2007 are equal to the price charged for each ounce of an item's weight, each ounce requiring one stamp. After 2007, the price of the first ounce and each additional ounce would become separate.

Source: http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

The Other Roman Numerals

2010-08-09T00:00:00.007+01:00

There are seven letters used in constructing Roman numerals &mdash I is 1, V is 5, X is 10, L is 50, C is 100, D is 500, and M is 1000. Currently, the correct method of representing numbers follows a formula which divides the numeral into groups of units (ones), tens, hundreds, etc., much like Arabic numerals. Sequences of the same letter being repeated are allowed up to three (I, II, and III are 1, 2, and 3, respectively), but for numbers which would use the Arabic digits 4 and 9, a special method is employed. For the number 9, the Roman numeral is IX, in which the letter of lesser value is placed in front to indicate subtracting one from ten, rather than adding. This doesn't necessarily mean that this method extends to, say, writing 1999 as IM. 1999 would be constructed as MCMXCIX, using M for 1000, CM for 900, XC for 90, and IX for 9. This chart can be used for easy reference.

Note how more symbols are required when amounts in excess of 3999 are written. The horizontal line above a letter is a macron (or titulus), and multiplies a letter's standard value by 1000. Thus a V with a macron becomes the letter for 5000, and so forth. Presently, macrons are not readily available on computer keyboards, and are substituted by framing a letter or string of letters in brackets or parentheses.

But, while they weren't incorporated into this standard system of enumeration, and generally only appeared by themselves, every other letter of the Roman alphabet had its own numerical value as well. Usually, these were used for marking specific quantities. A would be 500, B 300, E 250, F 40, G 400, H 200, K 250, N 900, O 11, P 100, Q 500, R 80, S 7, T 160, Y 150, and Z 2000. Rule of applying a macron to multiply a letter by 1000 holds true for each of these amounts. As the Romans did not have a J, U, or W (at least, not in the same sense as we have them today: as separate, individual letters), these letters do not have values. W eventually took on the guise of representing 55 through puzzle books and almanacs of the Victorian era, as it was seen as two intersecting Vs.

Though none of these other letters were incorporated into longer Roman numerals, the letter S could be added at the end for the fraction one-half (1/2), as it was an abbreviation for "semis", meaning "half". Other fractions used by the Romans can be seen at this site.

Source: Skinner, Hubert M. The Story of Letters and Figures. Chicago: Orville Brewing, 1905.

Source: Pflughaupt, Laurent. Letter By Letter: An Alphabetical Miscellany. New York: Princeton, 2007.

Passwords: CD serials

2010-08-03T00:00:00.001+01:00

If you have a reasonably large CD collection, search out a few with shorter serial numbers on the right end of the spine, then make a password from the last ten letters and numbers there.

The Green Cipher

2010-07-24T00:00:00.002+01:00

In 1910, the U.S. Department of State published a codebook detailing The Green Cipher. In its 1400 pages were an extensive list of words, laid out alphabetically like in a dictionary, alongside each term's corresponding five-letter code. Pages were designated three-letter "root words", consisting of a consonant, a vowel, and a consonant in that order. The columns on the page lined up the entries with two-letter suffixes, either a consonant followed by a vowel or the reverse order. For example, on a page with the root word "Caf", the first entry would be the solution for the word "Cafba", and across the page would be the solution for "Cafab". Messages would be transmitted with each pair of words melded into one ten-letter string.

Additionally, an ingenious method of dating telegrams was also included, allowing a date and time to be condensed into a five-letter sequence. The first letter of the sequence would indicate the month. The code letter for January would be B, followed by C for February, D for March, F for April, G for May, K for June, L for July, M for August, P for September, R for October, S for November, and V for December.

Dates would be two digits, so January 1 would become "January 01". A vowel represented the first digit: O for 0, A for 1, E for 2, and U for 3. This would be the second letter in the sequence. The second digit of the two-digit date would become the third letter, following the same alphabetic sequence of consonants as the months, starting with B as 1 and ending with R as 0.

The time was given as an hour. The same sequence of consonants was used, with B as 1 and progressing through to end with V as 12. Generally, the last letter would either be I to designate A.M. or Y for P.M., but noon was also coded as an I, and midnight as Y.

For instance, this post is marked below as July 24 at 12:00 AM (midnight). In the green cipher, this comes out as LEFVY.

In 1919, the Green Cipher's name was officially changed to the more accurate Department of State Code A-1.

source: Wrixon, Fred B. Codes, Ciphers and Other Cryptic and Clandestine Communication. Black Dog & Leventhal, 1998. pp. 342-344.

Quiz: Wire Song Or Anime Porn?

2010-07-10T00:00:00.003+01:00

The titles below are either titles of songs by the avant-garde punk band Wire or titles of hentai anime released in the United States on DVD. The answer to each can be found by highlighting the area following each entry. See how many you can correctly identify!

Natural Obsessions ... is a hentai title
Three Girl Rhumba ... is a Wire song
Underwater Experiences ... is a Wire song
Women At Work ... is a hentai title
A Public Place ... is a Wire song
Perverted Thomas ... is a hentai title
Madman's Honey ... is a Wire song
Silk Skin Paws ... is a Wire song
Midnight Panther ... is a hentai title
Boiling Boy ... is a Wire song
Maison Plaisir ... is a hentai title
Surgeon's Girl ... is a Wire song

Stenotypy

2010-06-25T00:00:00.005+01:00

So, how do court stenographers copy down testimony so quickly? They pretty much type entire syllables all at once (often more than one syllable!) and use lots of abbreviations.

For example, on a standard keyboard, you type one or two keys at a time. If you wanted to spell "tar", you would hit T-A-R in that order. But on a stenography machine, you hit all three keys and release them at once to type the entire syllable in one fell swoop. If you try that at your computer right now, there's no guarantee that the letters would spell "tar". It could come out as "art" or "rat" or "tra". But, a steno keyboard only has a little more than 20 keys, as shown in the diagram above. There's also a "number key" which works like a shift bar, and is used to type numbers with the other keys.

There are seven consonants, followed by four vowels and an asterisk, and then ten more consonants at the end. For "tar", you would hit the T on the left, the A, and the R on the right, then release all at once, at which point the paper scrolls to allow the next line to be used. Many letters are absent from this sequence of keys, and are instead substituted with combinations of letters. For instance, a the word "lick" would be written "HREUBG". These combinations are arranged strategically, so that most sequences of consecutive consonants in English words are ordered correctly when typed.

There's much more to the stenography machine and its "secret code" than can fit here. If you'd like to learn more, you can download the book Stenotypy from Google Books.

The Saville Colors

2010-05-22T00:00:00.004+01:00

One of designer Peter Saville's best known works is the sleeve for New Order's 1983 single "Blue Monday" on Factory Records. It is die-cut to resemble a black floppy disk, and decorated with a string of colored rectangles down the edge and continuing onto the other side. The artwork for the following New Order album, Power, Corruption and Lies, features a similar sequence along the inner sleeve, as well as a short sequence on the front cover, accompanying a still-life by Henri Fantin-Latour. The rear of the album sleeve echoes the "Blue Monday" sleeve, with a corresponding white floppy disk design, accented with a large multi-colored wheel in the center.

Those who had the album noticed that the outer ring of the wheel was divided into 26 wedges, the same amount as the number of letters in the alphabet. From there, it was simple to divine that the wheel began with "A" at the top and proceeded clockwise. The inner sleeve spelled out "New Order Power Corruption And Lies", and the front cover sequence became "FACT 75", the record's catalogue number. The original issue of the album contained a misspelling of "Corruption" (irony of ironies!), and this corruption of spelling was noticed by at least two fans who wrote to New Musical Express about it. Later issues were re-colored to correct the spelling.

The "Blue Monday" sleeve, when decoded, spells out "FAC 73 Blue Monday and The Beach New Order". "The Beach" is the B-side's title.

The color code is simple: each letter is translated into its alphanumeric counterpart, with A equaling 1 and Z being 26. The colors, ten total, each correspond to a digit. The first nine letters of the alphabet are matched with the color of their single-digit code. Beginning with J (number 10), letters are given two colors in the same manner. Gray spaces are inserted to separate words.

The code also appears on Saville's sleeves for New Order's "Confusion" single and Section 25's album From The Hip.

Source: Thorgerson, Storm & Aubrey Powell. 100 Best Album Covers. London: DK, 1999. p.124.
Source: Designed By Peter Saville. New York: Princeton, 2003.

Mooning The Competition

2010-05-19T00:00:00.005+01:00

If you read The Old Farmer's Almanac, you can learn a lot of interesting things, regardless of whether or not these things can ever be scientifically verified. The 2010 edition of OFA has some very engaging data regarding astrology, particularly the Moon's position in regards to the Zodiac (pages 230-231). Here's the long and short of it:

The best days for dental care are when the Moon is in Virgo.
When the Moon is in Sagittarius, these days are best for camping.
Make sure to cut hay when the Moon is in Aries.
Wait until the Moon is in Aquarius before castrating animals.
Pouring concrete is best saved for when the Moon is in Capricorn.

Keep these things in mind.

UK / US Versions: The Psychedelic Furs

2010-05-13T00:00:00.003+01:00

With brothers Tim and Richard Butler at the helm, The Psychedelic Furs emerged from England's punk explosion of 1977 to release seven studio albums. Today, they're best known for "Pretty In Pink", off of their second album Talk Talk Talk, and re-recorded for the 1986 Molly Ringwald vehicle named for the song. This strong association with director John Hughes, renowned for his slew of 1980's films, has posthumously pigeonholed The Furs as a quintessential Eighties stereotype band. Maybe the only ones who saw this coming way back when were Columbia Records, who seemed desperate to change anything they could on the group's albums in order to sell more copies in America.

The Psychedelic Furs (1980): Both of the band's singles ("We Love You" and "Sister Europe") were already on this album, so instead the decision made by Columbia was to add on the B-sides "Soap Commercial" and "Susan's Strange". This decision was motivated by the need to fill in the gap left by removing the seven-minute long, unfortunately-titled track "Blacks / Radio". A few other songs found their way migrating from one side of the record to the other. On top of this, the album cover, originally featuring a garish green-and-pink color scheme, was replaced with a photo of the Furs in a mostly black setting.

Talk Talk Talk (1981): For this album, the American release simply rearranged the tracks on each side, but with the songs "I Wanna Sleep With You" and "She Is Mine" having switched album sides. This new running order was done deliberately to place "Pretty In Pink" at the very start of the record. Though the album's cover was essentially the same, the patches of color set against the bleached-out photographs were slightly re-colored.

Forever Now (1982): Like Talk Talk Talk, the songs remained the same, but the order was shuffled. However, some of the songs saw sudden re-brandings; "You & I" was now listed as "Only You And I" on the US record, and "Merry-Go-Round" was now called "Yes I Do". The original British sleeve was designed by artist Barney Bubbles, and had a checkerboard pattern set in green and pink (those colors again!) with the record title spelled out in a swirling pattern of stars. Columbia instead opted for an entirely new sleeve to be drawn up for their US copies, which upset the band to no end. More information on The Psychedelic Furs' association with Barney Bubbles can be seen here at the blog Reasons To Be Cheerful.

Self-Promotional Plug

2010-05-04T00:00:00.001+01:00

A new Blogspot blog by the author of this one has come to surface. It's official title is "Not New York, No".

The deal behind this blog is that it posts a new one-panel cartoon daily, and they are all drawn in a wide variety of styles. It's like having a free subscription to The New Yorker, if the New Yorker had no articles and only one cartoonist.

Also, if you don't get the jokes, that's the joke. Get it?

Number of O's in "Croooow!"

2010-04-13T00:00:00.000+01:00

If you watch the opening sequence of the series "Mystery Science Theater 3000", when the names appear onscreen during the "Robot Roll Call", Crow's name contains four O's, to match up with the accompanying theme song. The logarithmic chart above demonstrates the frequency of various spellings of the word "crow", each with a different number of O's. Presented in a straightforward graph, the drop-off is much sharper, and most of the data is too minute to be graphed visibly.

(x axis: y axis)
2: 43,600
3: 23,600
4: 7,640
5: 5,280
6: 7,640
7: 4,440
8: 3,880
9: 12,000
10: 2,010
11: 1,510
12: 636
13: 264
14: 238
15: 273
16: 494
17: 128
18: 145
19: 202
20: 90
21: 107
22: 99
23: 70
24: 34
25: 67
26: 70
27: 7
28: 36
29: 30
30: 8
31: 7
32: 5
33: 4
34: 3
35: 2
36: 2

List of Cities in Turkey Named "Batman"

2010-03-26T00:00:00.002Z

Here is a list of cities in Turkey named "Batman":

Batman, Turkey

More Odds and Ends in Music

2010-03-02T00:00:00.003Z

1966: Jan Berry, half of the surf-rock duo Jan & Dean, is involved in a near-fatal car collision which causes career-ending brain damage. Though an urban legend arises that it happened on the same road as in his song "Dead Man's Curve", this is ultimately proven false. Berry and songwriting partner Dean Torrence had recently come to loggerheads over a Berry-written song called "The Universal Coward", meant as a pro-Vietnam War anthem which took direct aim at those who protested the war, claiming their opposition was not borne of legitimate political concerns but of a fear of being drafted. Torrence stood firm and Berry ended up releasing the record as a solo project. Berry's car crash occurred just a couple of hours after receiving his own draft notice.

1972: Electric Light Orchestra's first album is released in America. The UK release was a self-titled album, but the American edition of the record is given the name No Answer. Drummer Bev Bevan explains that the title arose from a mix-up at United Artists in America; having phoned band manager Don Arden to confirm the record's title, the company only succeeds in reaching Arden's secretary, who doesn't have an answer for the caller at the moment. "No answer" is written down in the notes from the call, and is mistakenly understood by United Artists to be the intended name of the record.

1973: British comedy troupe Monty Python releases the record The Monty Python Matching Tie And Handkerchief. The first pressings of the album are packaged with and actual tie and handkerchief, and bore a notice claiming that the record came free with their purchase. Both sides of the record are labeled "Side 2". To add to the confusion, one of the two sides features two separate grooves, causing different material to play depending on where the stylus is placed.

1979: The second album by The Dickies is released, with the title Dawn Of The Dickies, containing ten songs including "(I'm Stuck In A Pagoda With) Tricia Toyota". The song is about the singer's imagined love affair with Los Angeles newscaster Tritia Toyota, who came to prominence as one of the first American newscasters of Asian heritage. Though her name was misspelled on the record sleeve as the more conventional 'Tricia', her real name was Letritia Miyake.

1982: "I Desire", a song from DEVO's fifth studio outing, Oh No! It's DEVO, contains lyrics lifted from love poems written by John Hinckley to actress Jodie Foster. Hinckley's obsession with Foster had led to his attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan one year prior. Arguments that erupt over the song's content eventually lead to the band's separation with their UK distributor Virgin Records. Some editions of the album give Hinckley partial songwriting credit for the track.

1987: Minneapolis-based band The Replacements release the song "Alex Chilton" on their album Pleased To Meet Me. The track, concerning the group's relationship with the titular musician, contains the line "Feelin' like a hundred bucks / Exchanging good lucks / Face to face". Despite seeming straightforward, this refers to a real incident where Chilton and Replacements singer Paul Westerberg exchanged hard-to-find albums by The Kinks: Face To Face and the bootleg Good Luck.

UK / US / Aus / NZ Versions: Debut albums! Again!

2010-02-13T00:00:00.003Z

Nick Lowe, Jesus of Cool (1978): Lowe's debut album had eleven tracks in its original UK edition on Radar Records. The US version on Columbia had a running order shake-up, as well as replacing two tracks and adding another. A live cut of "Heart Of The City" that ended the UK album was swapped out for the original B-side version, and "Shake And Pop" got the boot to make room for "They Called It Rock", which is the same song but with a different chorus and more of a boogie-woogie feel to it ("They Called It Rock" was actually a track by Lowe's side project group Rockpile). The new track on the US edition was "Rollers Show", a 1976 single on the United Artists label. In addition to all this, the title was changed to Pure Pop For Now People, and three of the six photographs of Lowe on the album cover were exchanged for new ones as well.

Buzzcocks, Singles Going Steady (1979): The first two studio albums by Buzzcocks (Another Music In A Different Kitchen and Love Bites) weren't released in America, making the singles compilation Singles Going Steady their US debut. No changes needed to be made because the record was specially made for overseas release. After word of the album made it back to the UK, the sleeve of the band's third studio effort A Different Kind Of Tension bore the legend "this is only the third album" along the spine of the jacket, just so consumers wouldn't be confused. Not long after, Singles Going Steady got a UK release as well.

Models, Local &/Or General (1982): A Melbourne-based group, Models' first LP AlphaBravoCharlieDeltaEchoFoxtrotGolf was not released overseas. The second album and international debut, Local &/Or General, did get released in the UK and Europe by A&M Records, but with the running order turned inside out. The songs "Atlantic Romantic" and "Two Cabs To The Toucan" were added to the British version, nudging out the group's cover of the Tornadoes' "Telstar" (which was just a drastically edited-down version of a B-side anyhow). The replacement songs were taken from the EP Cut Lunch. The 'personal ad' that came at the end of the song "Unhappy" was also removed from A&M's version.

Shriekback, Care (1983): For its US release, the two instrumental tracks from this album ("Hapax Legomena" and "In : Amongst") were taken out to make room for the singles "My Spine Is The Bassline" and "Accretions". Also, the running order was altered.

The April Spike

2010-02-11T00:00:00.001Z

In the United States, tax filings are due by April 15 annually. Here are the web traffic statistics for the some of the most popular tax-related websites, provided by Alexa.

The Californian Alphabet

2010-02-09T00:00:00.003Z

In 2003, a special recall election was held in the state of California to replace Governor Gray Davis. We all know how this ended: actor Arnold Schwarzenegger (star of such conveniently-titled films as "The Running Man" and "Total Recall"), won the election with a plurality of the vote.

As there was no time for primaries to be held, hundreds jumped into the race and each candidate who met the qualifications had to be listed on the final ballot. However, a law on the books in California mandates that, rather than listing candidates alphabetically, a new alphabetical order must be made up from scratch by holding a 'lottery'-type drawing in which the order in which the 26 letters selected would become the new alphabetical index for that election. This was done in order to combat the suspicion that a candidate has an advantage by being listed first on the ballot, despite the findings of several studies that this perceived bias does not exist.

The 2003 recall alphabet was as follows: R, W, Q, O, J, M, V, A, H, B, S, G, Z, X, N, T, C, I, E, K, U, P, D, Y, F, and L.

Now, according to California's own reasons for this law, any order would give one candidate an advantage, as any list has to have a first entry. In this case, David Laughing Horse Robinson would be listed at the top and Gary Leonard would have the misfortune of being at the tail end. Well, not so. The list would be 'rotated' from district to district, so that each district's ballot would start with a different candidate. Why the latter part of this process cannot be instituted without re-arranging the alphabetical order is still unexplained.

The Formula Revealed

2010-01-22T00:00:00.000Z

Odds and Ends in Music

2010-01-18T00:00:00.001Z

1971: The phrase "Mr. Mojo risin'" is repeated as a chant in The Doors' song "L.A. Woman". The phrase can be anagrammed to spell "Jim Morrison", the group's frontman and songwriter.

1971: The fifth album by Sly & The Family Stone is released, titled There's A Riot Goin' On. The title is meant to be the answer to Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On". The label lists a track on the record called "There's A Riot Goin' On", but its running time is 0 minutes and 0 seconds long.

1979: Their very first single a chart-topper, The Knack encounter an unexpected backlash from struggling musicians and radio audiences sick of hearing "My Sharona". Artist Hugh Brown creates the "Knuke The Knack" movement, complete with pins, bumper stickers, and T-shirts. Imitation groups, with names such as "Igknore The Knack" soon crop up. Twenty years later, Hugh Brown is hired by the band to create the artwork for The Knack's CD compilation "Proof".

1988: In separate incidents on the same day, Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg assaults two Vietnamese men on the streets of Boston. The second man, Hoa Trinh, loses his eye in the attack. Wahlberg is arrested and later sentenced to two years in prison for his crime. He serves 45 days.

1990: Rapper Vanilla Ice adamantly denies accusations of sampling the David Bowie and Queen collaboration "Under Pressure" for his hit song "Ice Ice Baby". Despite the immediate and glaring similarities between the songs, Vanilla Ice protests when asked, saying "Theirs goes, 'Ding ding ding dingy ding-ding.' Ours goes, 'Ding ding ding ding dingy ding-ding.'"

1996: Coolio, fresh from the success of "Gangsta's Paradise", claims comedic musician "Weird Al" Yankovic was denied his permission to record a parody of the hit rap song. Yankovic's song, the featured track on his Bad Hair Day album, is called "Amish Paradise". Since the beginning of his career, "Weird Al" has taken great care to always receive the permissions of the original artists before releasing a parody, even if it means throwing out a finished song or rewriting it to new music. Coolio would later be faced with claims that "Gangsta's Paradise" was an unauthorized copy of Stevie Wonder's "Pasttime Paradise".

American-style Crosswords

2010-01-13T00:00:00.001Z

Crossword puzzles began to gain popularity in the 1920's following the publication of Simon & Schuster's first book of puzzles. Today, Simon & Schuster's rules regarding American crosswords are taken as the standard for puzzle design:

The height and length of a puzzle must be the same, and must be an odd number of squares. The standard size is 15 by 15 squares, though larger sizes are quite common
The smallest allowable word size is three letters, and the diagram must have the same layout when turned upside-down.
The number of black squares must be confined to less than one-sixth of the grid.
Each white square must be part of an across answer and a down answer.

Individual publications have their own rules for which words are not allowed to be part of the set of answers, on the grounds that said words would be deemed "inappropriate" and would offend sensibilities of certain crossword-solvers, a group often broad-brushed as being an older audience. The 2006 documentary film Wordplay revealed that the words "URINE" and "ENEMA" are verboten in the New York Times puzzles, whereas GAMES magazine forbids "words suggesting death or disease".

Many puzzles have "themes", in which the longer answers have a shared trait. Because of this, these particular answers usually have very carefully-worded clues that could not be deciphered without many of the answer's blanks already having been filled in. A puzzle by Pancho Harrison which appeared in the May 2009 issue of GAMES Magazine, contained theme answers of "AREWETHEREYETI", "THEFAIRSIDE", "BORNTORUIN", "ANTIFARMS", and "SALIVATIONARMY". You can see that the common thread running through these answers is that they are more commonly recognized phrases and titles, each with the addition of a strategically-placed "I". The title of this puzzle was "Assert Yourself" (get it?).

Puzzles are generally constructed from theme answers first, then creating a layout for the grid to accommodate these answers. After this, the grid is then filled out and clues are written.

Short Break

2009-11-11T00:00:00.002Z

Just need a breather for a while; updates will resume in January.

To hold you until then, here are a few webcomic spotlight prospects that just missed out for one reason or another*:

*These six all carry a strong manga influence, and we wanted to keep the twenty we chose to be more diverse. Also, though no editorials were given for individual comics, we like all the ones that got posted (including those above).

Webcomics 20 - Almost Naked Animals

2009-11-04T00:00:00.001Z

"Almost Naked Animals" by Noah Z. Jones

Not quite a comic, "Almost Naked Animals" is a series of drawings of individual characters. Taking a cue from a well-known cartoon gag, the animals presented are shown in underwear and with only a few strands of fur here and there (even when the animal normally has no fur, such as an octopus). Each character's 'likes' and 'dislikes' are listed; for instance, Bison enjoys atomic bombs and motorcycle ramps, but hates complicated knots. An animated series for Canada's YTV is currently in development.

Read "Almost Naked Animals" at AlmostNakedAnimals.com

Webcomics 19 - The College Life

2009-10-28T00:00:00.003Z

"The College Life" by Natalie Nourigat

Tally and Hannah are roommates spending their freshman year drinking and generally raising a ruckus in room 406. Currently, there are only sixteen strips, covering the duo's first year in college. Installments concerning the characters' sophomore are forthcoming.

Read "The College Life" at smackjeeves.com

"Manga" is a four-letter word

2009-10-27T00:00:00.006Z

When typing a search into Google, a drop-down box will appear and follow what you're typing with suggestions based on other searches that users have made or phrases which appear with frequency. Typing "pinstripe" will give such examples as "pinstripe tape", "pinstripe alley", "pinstripe suit", "pinstripe baseball pants", and even "pinstripe bible". Of course, because Google is used by every last person with an internet connection (give or take), including children, common curse words do not appear in any suggestions.

Koi Koi Eleven researchers* have come across a strange abnormality in this modus operandi; in addition to profanities, the word "manga" in all its forms is also absent. Entering "yotsuba" or "yotsubato", the name of a very popular Japanese comic, will give such results as "yotsuba online", "yotsuba read", "yotsubato raw", and "yotsubato scanlation", which all hint at manga in different forms. Even "yotsuba anime" is present, even though there are no plans for producing an animated version of the series. Neither "yotsuba manga" nor "yotsubato manga" ever appear.

The creator of the Yotsubato! franchise is Kiyohiko Azuma, whose other wildly popular work is Azumanga Daioh. As you can see, the word "manga" is built right into the name. Because of this, the word "azumanga" never appears in any Google suggestions. The same goes for "manganese", an element of the periodic table.

Google reserves the right to censor out any words it wishes, but why "manga"? What is the logic behind this? And what other words are secretly verboten by Google?

UPDATE (June 5, 2011): This ban has now been lifted.

*read: "Vic"

Balloon Boy update

2009-10-16T00:00:00.007+01:00

In 1987, Peggy Hettrick was found murdered in a field in Fort Collins, Colorado. For the next decade, the Fort Collins Police Department doggedly followed and harassed Tim Masters, convinced he was the killer because of some drawings he did in his high school notebooks. Masters was just fifteen at the time of the murder. In their ongoing quest to connect Masters to the crime in any way possible, the police left copies of his mother's obituary in conspicuous places in order to torment him psychologically. Eventually, Masters was cleared by DNA evidence (after spending nine years in prison), and it is now believed that the killer was a convicted sex offender who lived just 300 feet from the crime scene.

This case has always struck a chord with me, as it should for anyone who drew cartoons in their notebooks for school on a regular basis. Of course, my drawings were nowhere near as violent as Masters' were, but it's still disturbing that something as flimsy as this can send an innocent man to prison and ruin his life simply because the Keystone Kops were more focused on catching anyone rather than catching the murderer.

Now, guess which police department is in charge of the investigation into this whole Falcon Heene "Balloon Boy" lunacy? Yeah. Of course.

EDIT: As of the 18th of October, Larimer county Sheriff Jim Alderden is expected to recommend charges including, but not limited to, making a false report to authorities and attempting to influence a public servant. Additionally, he claims to "have evidence at this point to indicate that it was a publicity stunt...", just two days after Fort Collins police held a press briefing announcing that the incident was not planned in advance.

Webcomics 18 - The Freckled Finger

2009-10-14T04:00:00.004+01:00

"The Freckled Finger" by Pat Keegan

Pat Keegan's "The Freckled Finger" (alternately capitalized as "THe FReCKLeD FINGeR") is a webcomic which is absolutely "not safe for work". The color strip updates about once a week. There aren't any recurring characters, but celebrities, politicians, and well-known cartoon characters show up regularly. There's much more that can be said about it, but its subject matter is remarkably difficult to describe without coming off as editorializing. Again: "not safe for work".

Read "The Freckled Finger" at TheFreckledFinger.com

Webcomics 17 - Pierre the Baking Cat

2009-10-07T00:00:00.000+01:00

"Pierre the Baking Cat" by Tommy Elfving

Pierre's dream of becoming the best baker in his town of Blup Village is facing some new obstacles, foremost of these being his rivals at Café de Laté. "Pierre the Baking Cat", which began as a manuscript for a children's book, is a black-and-white comic shaded with digital screentones and reads from right to left. The series began posting early in 2009, and a new installment appears each weekend.

Read "Pierre the Baking Cat" at pierreonline.net

Webcomics 16 - Dubmarine

2009-09-30T00:00:00.005+01:00

"Dubmarine" by Vic Fieger

"Dubmarine" is a slice-of-life humor comic revolving around an anime dubbing and localization company in San Francisco. Though it is a light-hearted humor comic, a theme that crops up throughout is money woes and the cost of living in modern America. It started in 2004 and appeared in color arranged as a page, then moved to a four-panel format in 2005. The strip updates on Mondays, currently in a black-and-white page format.

Read "Dubmarine" at VicFieger.com

Webcomics 15 - Being Five

2009-09-23T00:00:00.004+01:00

"Being Five" by George Sfarnas

Georgie maintains his own blog, with the original intent of allowing his grandparents to stay informed of his daily life. He'll often engage in conversations with his computer mouse, which he imagines as being a real mouse. Despite the tender age of the strip's protagonist, political and pop-culture references pop up from time to time. "Being Five" does not seem to have a predictable posting schedule, but averages about a dozen strips each month.

Read "Being Five" at blogspot.com

Entertainment Cover-Ups: Product Placement and VNRs

2009-09-22T00:00:00.001+01:00

"We are here to serve advertisers."
-Michael H. Jordan, former CEO of Westinghouse/CBS

Everyone already knows about product placement. If a character in a movie is drinking from a can of Pepsi instead of a fictitious brand, who's going to mind? But it's another thing entirely when paid product placement begins interfering with the content of a show, particularly if that show is a news broadcast.

A VNR (video news release) is one of the most common forms of these advertisements that air during programs rather than the commercial break. Local news outlets are paid to show them and pass them off to the viewing audience as legitimate news stories. For instance, a piece about a new diet-related product would be passed off as a 'health' story, and viewers will be led into thinking they're learning about an actual news item due to the way in which the ad is presented. Sometimes the piece will be filmed in its entirety and sent to stations, but this creates the problem of viewers at home being confronted by an unfamiliar correspondent, who they'll likely never see again. The more popular method is to send out footage with scripts so that a correspondent at the local station can provide a voice-over, or even appear on camera in inserted footage.

The Center for Media and Democracy conducted a study released in 2006 on the frequency and reach of VNRs, which can be read at this page.

Interfering with content by purchasing favorable coverage in programming has become so widespread that it has taken hold of even "fake news". Prior to the release of the 2009 film Star Trek, Paramount Pictures bought a paid story on the satirical news site The Onion. The video created for the Onion News Network claimed fans of the Star Trek franchise disliked the film as it was "fun" and "accessible". Also in 2009, a feud between MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Comedy Central's Jon Stewart erupted when Stewart mocked Scarborough for openly flaunting a product placement deal with Starbuck's. What Stewart conveniently overlooked was his writers' deal with Apple Computers to insert pro-iPhone and anti-Microsoft jokes into scripts for The Daily Show and its sister program The Colbert Report on a weekly basis. Apple spokesman John Hodgman is even a frequent Daily Show contributor.

Webcomics 14 - Leaf Diaries

2009-09-16T00:00:00.004+01:00

"Leaf Diaries" by Kim Kun

Kim Kun's "Leaf Diaries" is the saga of teenage Leaf and his housemates Alice and May. Still in high school, Leaf struggles to find a balance between his teenage responsibilities and honing his cartooning craft. In addition to a gallery page, the comic's website also features a "scraps" section showcasing art and sketches that didn't make it into the comic. New "Leaf Diaries" strips appear on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Read "Leaf Diaries" at ComicGenesis.com

Webcomics 13 - Hamleto the Hamster

2009-09-09T00:00:00.004+01:00

"Hamleto the Hamster" by Valentina "Tyn" Sgaggero

Best friends Alice and Elisa are the owners of a small cadre of rebellious hamsters, all named for characters in Shakespeare's Hamlet. The comic's title character serves as the ringleader of the group, and wishes he could rid himself of his roommate, a Russian hamster who calls him 'comrade'. As a teenager, the author herself owned a hamster named Teodoro Pelodoro. Strips are three panels in black and white, and are available in English and in Italian.

Read "Hamleto the Hamster" at blogspot.com

Webcomics 12 - Buttersafe

2009-09-02T00:00:00.004+01:00

"Buttersafe" by Raynato Castro and Alex Culang

Raynato Castro and Alex Culang split the duties of making new "Buttersafe" comics, which isn't a problem as the comics tend to be individual vignettes and one-shot gags, presented in a wide variety of visual styles. Once in a while, recurring characters such as Saddest Turtle and Punch Monster will crop up. The comic is updated twice weekly, with Castro's strips usually being posted on Tuesdays and Culang's on Thursdays, according to the site's "About" section.

Read "Buttersafe" at buttersafe.com

Webcomics 11 - Felinia va a París

2009-08-26T00:00:00.005+01:00

"Felinia va a París" by Rocío Perez "Momo"

Felinia is a cat from Monterrey, Mexico who flies to Paris in this black-and-white, animal-themed comic. Throughout her journey she visits many well-known Parisian landmarks, such as the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. "Felinia va a París" is available in both English and Spanish.

Read "Felinia va a París" at rocioperezmomo.com

Webcomics 10 - Lab Bratz

2009-08-19T00:00:00.005+01:00

"Lab Bratz" by Ed Dunphy and Antonio Maldonado

A workplace-based comic infused with a healthy dose of science jokes, "Lab Bratz" chronicles the goings-on of two bio-research labs sharing the same building. The line-up of characters ranges from a well-to-do "Donald Trump of science" to several talking rats kept as lab specimens. In 2008, Antonio Maldonado took over for Max Velati as the strip's artist.

Read "Lab Bratz" at ComicGenesis

Entertainment Cover-Ups: Mythbusters Censored

2009-08-17T00:00:00.006+01:00

"If it's on the internets, it must be true."
-Adam Savage of MythBusters

Their program on Discovery Channel has garnered them a reputation as guardians of truth, but there are some forces even the MythBusters can't hope to bring down; sponsors and their lawyers.

In 2007, the makers of MythBusters were planning an episode which dealt with industry claims about the security if RFID (radio frequency identification) chips, particularly the ones in credit cards. Word of this leaked to credit card companies and, led by Texas Instruments (a top RFID maker), they approached Discovery Communications threatening to pull their ads and launch a lawsuit if the episode aired.

Naturally, a controversy kept in the dark like this is bound to have conflicting versions of events. Texas Instruments claims that MythBusters contacted them for assistance and that TI was in support of the project from the beginning, though how co-host Adam Savage has gone on the record as describing the show and its producer as being "way, way out-gunned" by TI and the credit companies, suggesting that the companies were adamant about guarding facts about the chips' level of vulnerability to hackers.

Advertisers' influence on media content is a long story which can basically be summed up in two words: "Money talks". Next time, we'll be looking at how advertisers censor news programs and purchase favorable coverage.

Webcomics 09 - Small Wonder

2009-08-12T00:00:00.002+01:00

"Small Wonder" by Worth Gowell

"Small Wonder" revolves around Newt, a technologically-savvy boy in a small town, who is friends with a skunk named Nigel. Stories about Newt, Nigel, and their friends range from standard childhood fare (such as sports, school, and watching television) to local bird Rufus being elected president in a computer hacking mishap. Artist Worth Gowell announced plans to end the strip in January, but newly-colored editions of older strips are currently being posted.

Read "Small Wonder" at Worthwhilecomix.com

Webcomics 08 - Silence In The Darkness On Q16

2009-08-05T00:00:00.006+01:00

"Silence In The Darkness On Q16" by Tom Truszkowski

"Silence..." is the ongoing saga of the unseen characters on Station Q16, a space station undergoing an extended power failure. Little seems to be known about them, other than that the one on the left seems to enjoy talking more than the one on the right does. The comic, with more than 800 installments to date, is a spinoff of Tom Truszkowski's Station V3.

Read "Silence In The Darkness On Q16" at ComicOstrich

Webcomics 07 - South Pole

2009-07-29T00:00:00.002+01:00

"South Pole" by Mike Bonales

Scott the arctic fox and his friend Bob the polar bear move to Antarctica and strike up a friendship with penguin Linus, who is a zoo escapee. Together, the three divide their time between looking for love and raiding the local research station for food in this "funny animal" strip reminiscent of newspaper comic strips. Though the comic is finished, creator Mike Bonales is now producing a weekly Spanish-language comic entitled "Conejo Frustrado", or "Frustrated Bunny".

Read "South Pole" at southpolestrip.com

Webcomics 06 - Gastrophobia

2009-07-22T00:00:00.000+01:00

"Gastrophobia" by David McGuire

Set in Greece around the year 1400 B.C., "Gastrophobia" tells the tale of the barbarian warrior Phobia and her son Gastro. Together, they take on all manner of monsters from Greek mythology, though Gastro is more concerned with fulfilling his ambition of becoming a bard, rather than a fearsome warrior. "Gastrophobia" is presented in monochrome style with a separate color for each storyline. Self-contained gag comics usually appear in black and white.

Read "Gastrophobia" at gastrophobia.com

Things Japanese: Manga notation

2009-07-21T00:00:00.014+01:00

Approximately one-third of all printed materials in Japan are manga (comics), be they tankobon (books of collected, sequential installments of a particular series) or thick-as-phonebooks weekly magazines which these installments originally appeared in. For the Japanese culture, manga is an institution with as much importance as music or cinema, and with its own unique symbolism and techniques, which often seem nonsensical and confusing to the medium's newcomers. One of the most common of these devices employed in manga is the use of symbols appearing in the region of characters' faces as a humourous way of inflating emotional reaction.

Throbbing veins
Appearance: three or four angled lines resembling arrows without stems all gathered around a central point.
Emotion: anger, impatience, seething

Originally, these were drawn to represent exaggerated veins pulsing in a character's forehead as a comedic means of conveying rage. Like most of the other devices mentioned in this piece, what began as an addition to a facial expression would gradually devolve into a shorthand symbol for a reaction, sometimes now even as a substitute.

The sweatdrop
Appearance: a single, large drop of water hanging in the air over (or next to) a character's head.
Emotion: unease, indecision, mild frustration

Starting as a normal sweatdrop or two on a character's face, this symbol came to its current state through perspective and distance. If a character was drawn further away, the size of drops had to remain static in order to still be drawn, and seen, in a proper fashion. Like the 'veins symbol', exaggeration of the notation itself came into play, and the single sweatdrop became larger over time, particularly in anime (animation), where it is colored a pale blue.

Blush lines
Appearance: a series of slanted lines drawn across a character's face
Emotion: embarrassment, exhaustion, love

This appears in black-and-white manga to indicate humiliation by 'reddening', as it were, a face in a quick and efficient way, without the use of screentones. When carried over to anime, the lines always appear as red, often overlapping the more familiar blushing cheeks.

"Blue" lines
Appearance: an array of evenly-spaced vertical lines on a forehead or under one eye
Emotion: shame, disappointment, speechlessness

This type of hatching is similar to the blushing lines above, but is used to indicate a 'blue aura'
and feelings of depression or helplessness. Sometimes straight and sometimes wavy, these lines are always a shade of blue in anime. The background may also become dark and feature a pattern of vertical lines.

The alert
Appearance: a handful of short lines all 'pointing' to an unmarked point on a character's face
Emotion: various

These lines or bars have different meanings in different contexts. Often used to symbolize alertness when a character has noticed something important, they can also be seen as 'radiating' joy or rage. In the case of joy, the lines can be wavy. For rage, they might be jagged. The lines may flash quickly for alertness or rage in anime.

Rivers of tears
Appearance: lines representing the outline of thick streams running down the face from the eyes
Emotion: despair, sadness

Different from the rest in that they began in anime and eventually made the transition to manga, these notations are a comedic take on crying. Because they didn't originate in manga, it can be difficult to distinguish these as streams of water, and to a casual observer they may just look like four out-of-place lines scarring a character's visage. The lines can be drawn either wavy or straight. In anime, the streams tend to be pale blue without any outline.

"You should add manga notation to the flower vases and telephones in your home. It might get some laughs and save your family from falling apart."
-Koji Aihara & Kentaro Takekuma, "Even A Monkey Can Draw Manga"

Webcomics 05 - Col-erase Addicted / Marie-Lune

2009-07-15T00:00:00.003+01:00

"Col-erase Addicted" by Yllya

Yllya is an illustrator living in France, who posts works on her blog, along with several comics she produces. Her comics are mainly about frustrating or enjoyable aspects of everyday life, and are filed under the "5 - BD" category in the website's left-hand column. Additionally, Yllya has a comic book out centered around her character Marie-Lune, which was released in April by French publisher Vents d'Ouest.

Read "Col-erase Addicted" at Canalblog

Webcomics 04 - One Swoop Fell

2009-07-08T00:00:00.006+01:00

"One Swoop Fell" by Mike Dutton

"One Swoop Fell" is the story of a journey, set in a world where animal characters and humans interact regularly. A bird, known as "Swoop" (as that's all he can say), falls out of a large tree and meets a young bear named Topo, who volunteers to return Swoop to his home. The comic appears in full-page installments, often with original panel layouts and irregular borders.

Read "One Swoop Fell" at oneswoopfell.com

Webcomics 03 - Nemu Nemu

2009-07-01T00:00:00.006+01:00

"Nemu Nemu" by KimonoKitsy Studios

Billed as "A cute webcomic about magical stuffed animal pups and their owners", "Nemu Nemu" introduces us to twin stuffed puppies Nemu and Anpan. Their owners Anise and Kana accidentally bring the toy pups to life with the aid of an Aladdin-style magic lamp. The comic began by following a style of "yonkoma", a black-and-white manga presented in vertically-arranged four-panel strips. These strips were later re-arranged horizontally, and later installments would be colorized.

Read "Nemu Nemu" at nemu-nemu.com

Helvetica vs. Arial

2009-06-29T00:00:00.001+01:00

Better Words Than "Random"

2009-06-27T00:00:00.000+01:00

Misusage can often lead to overusage. Overusage inevitably leads to tearing hair out.

Over the past decade or so, the word 'random' has seen an upswing in English conversation as a catchall for things of an unpredictable nature. As an adjective, 'random' is defined as "lacking a definite plan, purpose or pattern", or "relating to a set whose elements have an equal probability of occurence". For instance, rolling a normal six-sided die would generate a number from 1 to 6 at random.

Nowadays, the definition of 'random' is stretched to fit uses such as "a random person" (an ordinary bystander, supposedly chosen at random) and "saying something random" (uttering something completely unexpected and unprovoked). Thus, the word now fills the contradictory duties of being a synonym for both 'ordinary' and 'out of the ordinary'. Sigh.

Here are just a few alternatives you may find are better suited to your purpose the next time you're tempted to reach out for the R word.

arbitrary: chosen for seemingly no rhyme or reason, pulled out of thin air, selected despite being just as good as any other choice

haphazard: lacking order or direction, thrown together, making it up as one goes along

unassuming: oblivious, otherwise unattached to the situation at hand (usually said of a person, or to give an anthropomorphizing quality to an object)

erratic: lacking consistency or regularity, uncontrollable

non sequitir (noun): something said with no apparent relation to surrounding conversation or happenings, a statement with no context

Webcomics 02 - Intragalactic

2009-06-24T00:00:00.007+01:00

"Intragalactic" by Steph Cherrywell

"Intragalactic" is a humor series following the starship CVS-0008 across space as its crew carries out their mission to deliver one ice cream to everyone in the galaxy. Overconfident captain Benjamin Glee, partially-dead science officer Piper Kaufman, robotic engineer Rusty, and their new recruits travel through the infinite void in this unconventional and unpredictable science-fiction spoof. New strips usually appear on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Read "Intragalactic" at intragalactic.com

Webcomics 01 - The Dictator

2009-06-17T00:00:00.015+01:00

"The Dictator" by Claus Thomsen

"The Dictator" is a newspaper-style comic strip focusing on the vain, self-absorbed ruler of the tiny nation of Costa Banana, whose governance revolves around his greed and egotism. He is accompanied by an unnamed government official, who serves as his right-hand man. Despite being far more intelligent and civil than the president, he usually finds himself at the mercy of his leader's poor decisions. The comic is available in both English and Danish.

Read "The Dictator" at Webcomics Nation

Word Riddles

2009-06-08T00:00:00.001+01:00

In each of the groups below, one word is different from the other five. Can you pick out which ones and why?

1. GOLF, EVIL, DASH, FLOW, GNAT, DELIVER

2. SIDEBURN, SILHOUETTE, SANDWICH, BLOOMERS, BOYCOTT, PUPIL

3. MAGAZINE, ROBOT, ALBATROSS, COFFEE, ZERO, SUGAR

4. FIXATED, HIJACK, STUNT, DEFINITION, WORST, CANOPY

5. WIND, SAKE, BASS, SPILL, ADDRESS, DOVE

6. GIVEN, GHOST, BIJOU, ALMOST, BENT, ADOPT

Answers (highlight to read):
1. DASH - all others can form another English word when spelled in reverse
2. PUPIL - the others are eponyms (words derived from peoples' names)
3. ROBOT - the other five originated from Arabic, "robot" is from Czech
4. FIXATED - the others each contain three consecutive letters which are also consecutive in the alphabet
5. SPILL - the other five can each be pronounced two separate ways
6. GIVEN - the letters in each of the other words are in alphabetical order

Wide Open Spaces

2009-06-02T00:00:00.000+01:00

Songs With No Rhymes: "The Waiting Game"

2009-05-23T00:00:00.002+01:00

"The Waiting Game" by Squeeze
(Chris Difford / Glenn Tilbrook)

rhyme attempts:
"upstairs / chair"
"rain / game"
"bath / laugh"
"state / game"
"late / takes / game"
"upstairs / there"
"hanger / understand her / forever"

SSN code

2009-05-19T00:00:00.001+01:00

The first three digits of a social security number (SSN) can be used to determine the birthplace of its holder.

000 (unused)
001 - 003 New Hampshire
004 - 007 Maine
008 - 009 Vermont
010 - 034 Massachusetts
035 - 039 Rhode Island
040 - 049 Connecticut
050 - 134 New York
135 - 158 New Jersey
159 - 211 Pennsylvania
212 - 220 Maryland
221 - 222 Delaware
223 - 231 Virginia
232 - 236 West Virginia
237 - 246 North Carolina
247 - 251 South Carolina
252 - 260 Georgia
261 - 267 Florida
268 - 302 Ohio
303 - 317 Indiana
318 - 361 Illinois
362 - 386 Michigan
387 - 399 Wisconsin
400 - 407 Kentucky
408 - 415 Tennessee
416 - 424 Alabama
425 - 428 Mississippi
429 - 432 Arkansas
433 - 439 Louisiana
440 - 448 Oklahoma
449 - 467 Texas
468 - 477 Minnesota
478 - 485 Iowa
486 - 500 Missouri
501 - 502 North Dakota
503 - 504 South Dakota
505 - 508 Nebraska
509 - 515 Kansas
516 - 517 Montana
518 - 519 Idaho
520 Wyoming
521 - 524 Colorado
525 New Mexico
526 - 527 Arizona
528 - 529 Utah
530 Nevada
531 - 539 Washington
540 - 544 Oregon
545 - 573 California
574 Alaska
575 - 576 Hawaii
577 - 579 District of Columbia
580 Virgin Islands
581 - 584 Puerto Rico
585 New Mexico
586 US Pacific Islands
587 - 588 Mississippi
589 - 595 Florida
596 - 599 Puerto Rico
600 - 601 Arizona
602 - 626 California
627 - 645 Texas
646 - 647 Utah
648 - 649 New Mexico
650 - 653 Colorado
654 - 658 South Carolina
659 - 665 Louisiana
667 - 675 Georgia
676 - 679 Arkansas
680 Nevada
691 - 699 Virginia
700 - 728 (railroad workers through 1963)
750 - 751 Hawaii
756 - 763 Tennessee
763 - 899 (reserved for future use)
900 - 999 (invalid / misc. purposes)

Source: Glover, Thomas J. Pocket Ref (Third Edition). Littleton, CO: Sequoia, 2003. p. 260.

Objects Explicit To Cartoons

2009-05-05T00:00:00.002+01:00

Here are some objects seen often in cartoons but rarely (if ever) in real life:

spherical black bombs
jugs of liquor labelled "XXX"
"silent" dog whistles
Y-shaped slingshots
human-shaped robots
white boxer shorts with red hearts
railroad handcars
remote controls with a single round red button
axes with bright red blades
womens' bloomers
firefighters with dalmatians
elephants that fear mice
those odd-looking matador hats
trapezoidal bars of gold
hobo bindles

Single-Letter NYSE Symbols

2009-05-04T00:00:00.000+01:00

A: Agilent Technologies Inc.
B: Barnes Group Inc.
C: Citigroup Inc.
D: Dominion Resources, Inc.
E: ENI S.p.A.
F: Ford Motor Company
G: Genpact Limited
K: Kellogg Company
L: Loews Corporation
M: Macy's Inc.
N: NetSuite Inc.
O: Realty Income Corporation
Q: Qwest Communications International Inc.
R: Ryder System, Inc.
S: Sprint Nextel Corporation
T: AT&T Inc.
V: Visa Inc.
X: United States Steel Corporation
Y: Alleghany Corporation

Assorted Images

2009-04-13T00:00:00.013+01:00

Malcolm Garrett is a graphic designer who created many album covers and single sleeves, often crediting himself on said sleeves with his name deliberately spelled incorrectly. Similarly, he would credit design to his firm, which would eventually become known as Assorted Images. Before settling on this name, he used a wide variety of pseudonyms each made from a word beginning with the letter A (usually an adjective) followed by the word "Images". Here is a partial list of these names, sorted by musical act and each with the respective release title in parentheses:

999

Anxious Images (Found Out Too Late)
Adult Images (Trouble)

BUZZCOCKS

Arbitrary Images (Orgasm Addict)
Assembled Images (I Don't Mind)
Auricular Images (Love You More)
Advance Images (Ever Fallen In Love...)
Altered Images (Promises)
An Image (Everybody's Happy Nowadays)
Adversative Images (Harmony In My Head)
Art Images (Strange Thing)
Art Images (Running Free)

RICHARD HELL AND THE VOIDOIDS

Accordant Images (The Kid With The Replaceable Head)

THE INMATES

Brash Images (The Walk) [ed: Was this one Malcolm Garrett?]

MAGAZINE

Abstruse Images (Shot By Both Sides)
Affined Images (Touch And Go)
And Images (Secondhand Daylight LP)
Aesthetic Images (The Correct Use Of Soap LP)

THE MEMBERS

Additional Images (Sound Of The Suburbs)
Affluent Images (Sound Of The Suburbs, die-cut sleeve)
awkard [sic] images (Offshore Banking Business)
Advance Images (Romance)
Abiding Images (Flying Again)
Agglomerated iMaGes (untitled compilation EP)

NEON

Acquiescent Images (Don't Eat Bricks)

YACHTS

Apolaustic Images (Look Back In Love)
Affable Images (Yachting Type)
Affective Images (Love You Love You)
Assorted Image [sic] (Box 202)
Afterward Images (Now I'm Spoken For)
Assorted Images (There's A Ghost In My House)
ASSORTED iMaGes (A Fool Like You)

The Major System

2009-04-11T00:00:00.004+01:00

The Major System is a mnemonic used for turning numbers into words. Each digit in a number is turned into a consonant sound, as shown here:

0: S, Z
1: T, D, (th)
2: N, (ng)
3: M
4: R
5: L
6: J, CH, SH
7: K, G
8: F, V
9: P, B

W, H, and Y do not have numeric counterparts. WHY? Because even though they are consonants, they are only audible when followed by a vowel sound. Like vowels, these consonants can be used freely without altering the numerical "translation" of a word.

If you wanted to remember the number "1401" (it could be an alarm code or the last four digits of a phone number), it could be translated using the Major System into the word "trust" or "dressed" or "waterside". Other numbers will be harder to find matches for and more than one word may be used. For instance, "4131" could be "hard mat" or "red meat".

Voiced and unvoiced consonant pairs (like P and B) are coupled together. To remember which sounds are linked to which digits, here are some simple tricks:

0: "Zero" begins with Z.
1: 1 resembles an upside-down T.
2: 2 on its side looks like an N.
3: 3 on its side looks like an M.
4: 4 resembles a mirrored R. (Really??)
5: A Left hand (five fingers) with the thumb out resembles an L.
6: 6 looks like a G (a soft G, like in "giant")
7: The letter K looks like two 7s back to back.
8: There are 8 Fruits and Vegetables in V8 juice.
9: 9 resembles a mirrored P.

In his 1978 book Ready, Set, Remember, Jerry Lucas laid out his list of multiplication tables which used the Major System. He would use an object to represent each number, such as a tin can for 12, then have an illustration of two objects interacting in a certain way for each problem. 12 x 12 would be two tins feeding clothes into a dryer (144).

For more information, visit this site devoted to the Major System: Pseudonumerology

Entertainment Cover-Ups: Always Picking On The Smart Guy

2009-04-03T00:00:00.007+01:00

Have you ever seen a movie or a television show made in the United States and thought, "Wow, the U.S. military is depicted in such a shining, glorious light in this,... I wouldn't be surprised if they had a hand in its production!" Maybe you were right, depending on the film. If a military-themed movie script meets an 'acceptability test', it is eligible for assistance from the armed forces, including usage of military vehicles, bases, and hardware (all originally paid for with American tax dollars). Some of these films include Armageddon, G.I. Jane, and Top Gun. In order to qualify, one scene from G.I. Jane was removed on the grounds that it carried "no benefit to the U.S. Navy". Likewise, a character in Top Gun had to be re-written as a civilian, as she was female.

It doesn't end with the military, though; the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has been revealed to be exercising editorial control over TV scripts. One of the more infamous incidents revolved around the program Smart Guy on the WB Network (now the CW Network). The lighthearted sitcom starring erstwhile child-actor Tahj Mowry found itself under the thumb of the ONDCP when an episode dealing with issues related to drugs had to be re-written to meet the government agency's standards. The changes included the re-writing of two minor characters taking drugs at a party, turning them from cool and popular into undesirable and unpopular.

Research by Daniel Forbes of Salon magazine in 2000, turned up a list of several shows which have had scripts re-worked by the ONDCP, including The Drew Carey Show, 7th Heaven, Sports Night, Cosby, and The Wayans Bros.

Source: Kick, Russ, ed. Everything You Know Is Wrong. New York: Disinformation Company Ltd., 2002. pp. 302-303.

The Trouble With Scrabble

2009-03-24T00:00:00.002Z

The newest edition of The Official Scrabble* Players' Dictionary is going to contain a few words that are upsetting some players, not simply because these words aren't standard English but because of their lengths and the letters they contain: "za", "qi", and "zzz". Because the tiles for Z and Q are the highest-valued in the game (at 10 points each), some players demand that these letters be devalued, as the new additions to the official Scrabble word list make these letters much easier to play. Some other players, who would rather not have the game's rules altered, simply wish that these words not be recognized. Here's a closer look at the trio of controversial words:

ZA: a slang term for "pizza", pronounced to rhyme with "blah". Allowing this term would make it far easier for people stuck with a "Z" they cannot unload to play it before the game's end. The case against this word is that it is essentially a slang term. Also playable: "zas", plural.

QI: a word that has been waiting in the wings for a while now, and is a Chinese term that designates a life force inherent in all things. In order to play an oft-troublesome "Q", all a player would need to do is find a free "I". Also playable: "qis", plural; "ki", "kis", alternate spellings.

ZZZ: the official word list defines this as an interjection "used to suggest the sound of snoring". This word seems unlikely to ever be used for the following reason: there is only one "Z" in a game of Scrabble. Yes, there are two blank tiles which can be used to represent any letter, but once a blank is played, it remains the letter it is played as throughout the remainder of the match. Since no points are awarded for their usage, and Z is a very rarely-used letter in English, it's extremely unlikely a player will use a blank to stand in for a Z. Therefore, in order for a player to play the word "zzz", he/she would almost certainly have to have both blanks and the lone "Z" tile in his/her possession, and make the decision that all three should be used at once, which is strategically illogical.

Given the anger that has erupted over these new words, we may be fortunate that "xe", "xes", and "xen" were never successfully integrated into the English language. These three words were proposed as pronouns referring to entities of undetermined gender, as substitutes for "he/she", "his/her(s)", and "him/her", respectively.

*Throughout this article, just imagine that each instance of the word "Scrabble" is followed by a superscript "TM".

Songs With No Rhymes: "I Palindrome I"

2009-03-16T00:00:00.000Z

"I Palindrome I" by They Might Be Giants
(They Might Be Giants)

rhyme attempts:
"money / exactly"
"side / I"
"clothesline / zigzag"
"decide / I"
"I / son"
"unwinding / windmills"

UK / US Versions: Elvis Costello

2009-03-15T00:00:00.002Z

Declan Patrick MacManus, better known as Elvis Costello, was one of the first artists to sign with independent British label Stiff Records, and has gone on to have one of the most celebrated careers in music today. After the release of his first album, he enlisted a back-up band in The Attractions, made up of Bruce Thomas (bass), Steve Nieve (keyboards), and Pete Thomas (drums). Costello's albums have been re-released with bonus tracks, most recently by Rhino Records. With his lengthy and labyrinthine discography, a few discrepancies between his UK and US editions are inevitable...

My Aim Is True (1977): Elvis' debut album was followed up in the UK by a non-album single, "Watching The Detectives", which would be the first in an unbroken run of eight singles to crack the British Top 30. The A-side of the single would be added onto the end of Side 1 of the US release of My Aim Is True.

This Year's Model (1978): The first album with the Attractions on the bill (and the first Costello album on Radar Records) would add the non-album single "Radio Radio" to the running order, but at the expense of two other tracks: "Night Rally" and "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea". The selection of tracks by Columbia Records (who sold the album in America) to be eliminated was baffling as "Chelsea" was a UK single.

Armed Forces (1979): This album was sold in America with the addition of "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding", a song released in the UK as the B-side of Nick Lowe's single "American Squirm". Though Lowe wrote "Peace, Love, and Understanding", the track was performed by Elvis and the Attractions under the name "Nick Lowe and his Sound". The addition would replace the song "Sunday's Best", which Columbia deemed to be "too English". Also, the UK album cover featured an image of a herd of charging elephants, where the US cover depicted bright splatters of paint spelling out the record's title.

Get Happy!! (1980): With twenty tracks, you'd think something would be amiss here, but the only change made for the US edition was the album cover. The UK sleeve featured simulated 'ring-wear' of the variety found on old and weathered LP covers, but this was removed on overseas releases.

Taking Liberties (1980): For buyers in North America this album was known as Taking Liberties, and featured the three tracks which were taken off of the US versions of This Year's Model and Armed Forces, along with B-sides from UK singles and other rarities that hadn't found their way across the Atlantic yet. The album would get a British release under the name Ten Bloody Marys & Ten How's Your Fathers, also as a rarities and B-sides compliation, but with non-album tracks "Watching The Detectives", "Radio Radio", and "Peace, Love, And Understanding" appropriately taking the places of the album tracks mentioned above. The UK version was available only on cassette until its 1984 re-issue.

Entertainment Cover-Ups: Conspiracy Theory Rock

2009-03-02T00:00:00.006Z

Saturday Night Live writer Robert Smigel created, among other sketches, short animated segments for "SNL" under the title TV Funhouse, which would eventually go on to receive its own spin-off on Comedy Central. One of these segments on SNL was pulled from the show after airing once and replaced with another animated sketch in reruns and syndication. This one was known as "Conspiracy Theory Rock".

It aired in March 1998 and was a spoof of the School House Rock shorts from the 1970's which taught children about subjects such as multiplication tables and American history using animation and catchy songs to help along the learning process. Created with frequent collaborator J.J. Sedelmaier Productions, the Conspiracy Theory Rock short informed the viewer of the "media-opoly" formed by four corporations who collectively own and exercise editorial control over approximately ninety percent of all American media outlets, a subject covered in great detail by Ben Bagdikian in his book The Media Monopoly, and its later editions. The segment also made mention of specific instances of editorial censorship by General Electric (parent company of SNL network NBC).

One may wonder why NBC would elect to air this piece at all. Smigel realized that by labelling the short with the term "conspiracy theory", it would divert the NBC censors' attention from the true purpose of the segment. Also, it tricked network heads into thinking Smigel was mocking the topic he was in fact showcasing, as calling something a "conspiracy theory" is generally accepted as a common way marginalizing an opposing argument. As this was the case, the cartoon's protagonist is a homeless man interjecting lines about voices in his head and GE being involved in the Kennedy assassination.

The short can be seen here, but it's YouTube, so it could vanish at any time. (Update: It's gone, please search elsewhere.)

Gerrymandering

2009-02-20T00:00:00.000Z

If you were given the task of dividing the map at top left into four sections so that each had roughly the same number of dots, how would you choose to do it? One of the more obvious solutions is in the upper right, with each section containing five dots, except for one with six.

Now, what if these dots represented large segments of people who tended to vote predictably in elections? What if each dot was replaced by a letter signifying each area's voting trends?

This seems fair, right? The partitions make sense, and each has about the same number of people. If this were a state divided into four Congressional districts, we'd probably have two Representatives for Party A and two for Party B, which seems to go along with the overall trend of the entire state (eleven A's and ten B's).

But what if you're not an average person? What if you want to do everything you can to help Party B and hurt Party A? And, what if you are given the task of redrawing the borders of the Congressional districts? Well, you'd want to make sure that Party B has an overwhelming advantage in as many districts as it can. So, maybe you'd draw the new borders thus:

So in the end, our fictional state still has four districts, but now three are likely to be represented by a member of Party B in the House of Representatives, whereas Party A is now down to one. In a body comprising 435 members, this many not make much of a difference. Unless lots of states started doing this.

And, in reality, they have. This is "gerrymandering", the practice of redrawing the borders of Congressional districts for the purpose of consolidating the political power of a certain party in that state... no matter how ridiculous the resulting divisions look.

Here, courtesy of NationalAtlas.gov, are some of the more obviously gerrymandered districts in America:
Alabama (6th)
Arizona (2nd)
Illinois (4th)
Illinois (17th)
Massachusetts (3rd)
Massachusetts (4th)
North Carolina (the entire state)
Ohio (6th)
Pennsylvania (12th)
Tennessee (3rd)
Tennessee (7th)

Disemvoweling decoder

2009-02-17T00:00:00.005Z

The 'disemvoweled' words below were taken from the 500 most common words in the English language. Words in parentheses may still contain a 'y', depending on the circumstances.

B: be, (by), (boy)
D: do, (day), idea
F: of, if
G: go, age, ago
H: he, hi, oh
M: (my), me, (may), am
N: in, on, an, one, no, (any)
P: up
R: are, or, (your), our, air, area
S: is, as, so, us, use, see, (yes), (say), sea, ease
T: to, it, at, out, (yet), too, eat, tie
W: we, (way)
Y: you, eye

BT: but, about
CH: each
HR: her, here, hear, hour
HS: his, has
MN: man, men, (many), mean, mine
ND: and, end, need
PN: open, upon
RN: run, earn, ran, rain
SH: she
TH: the, (they)
VR: ever, over, (very), (every)
WH: who, (why)

THR: there, their, other, either, three
THS: this, these, those

Disemvoweling

2009-02-14T00:00:00.001Z

"Dsmvwlng" s cncpt tht ws crtd fr th prps f cnsrng cmmnts n blgs. Whn cmmntr cntrbts smthng tht s blvd by th dmnstrtr t b n bd tst r vltn f th cmmnty's rls, th fv nglsh vwls (, , , , nd ) r rmvd frm th ffndng pst. Th prps f ths s t mk th cmmnt nly prtlly nrdbl. Whl th pst s ftn stll lgbl, t's blvd tht ppl wn't strn thmslvs t rd t. Ths, th dmnstrtrs cn clm thy dn't dlt cmmnts whl stll xrcsng cnsrshp.
Hwvr, th ffct f rmvng th vwls nly sms t drw mr ttntn t 'cnsrd' psts. Bcs rdrs wll ntrlly b crs bt th cntnt f cmmnts dmd t b ffnsv, sng cmmnt wth n vwls wll ntrlly drw thm n, nd thy'll ttmpt t dcphr th btchrd mssg. Pttng ths mch ffrt nt tryng t rd smthng ls hs th ffct f mkng t mr mmrbl thn th vrg pst. Crtnly sm wrds lk "d" r "r" wll prbbly nt b rdbl, bt mst wrds n nglsh wll stll b lgbl vn wtht vwls.

TRANSLATION (if you really need it):
"Disemvoweling" is a concept that was created for the purpose of censoring comments on blogs. When a commenter contributes something that is believed by the administrator to be in bad taste or a violation of the community's rules, the five English vowels (a, e, i, o, and u) are removed from the offending post. The purpose of this is to make the comment only partially unreadable. While the post is often still legible, it's believed that people won't strain themselves to read it. Thus, the administrators can claim they don't delete comments while still exercising censorship.
However, the effect of removing the vowels only seems to draw more attention to 'censored' posts. Because readers will naturally be curious about the content of comments deemed to be offensive, seeing a comment with no vowels will naturally draw them in, and they'll attempt to decipher the butchered message. Putting this much effort into trying to read something also has the effect of making it more memorable than the average post. Certainly some words like "adieu" or "eerie" will probably not be readable, but most words in English will still be legible even without vowels.

British-style crosswords

2009-02-09T00:00:00.005Z

Though they appear with regularity in some Canadian publications, British-style crosswords are not common in the United States. In America, crossword puzzles are generally dictated by rules laid out by the crossword department of the New York Times (we'll get to these rules another time), and British-style puzzles (or "cryptic crosswords") are confined to puzzle magazines or books dedicated to this type of crossword.

The grid makes the puzzles seem simpler than they really are, as they contain far more black squares than the American puzzles, and therefore fewer words. The clues are strikingly different, though. Each clue is made up of two separate clues pushed together to form a description or sentence that is often quite misleading. One half is a short clue very similar to an American crossword clue; for instance, if an answer is "OSLO", this part of the clue may read something like "Norwegian city".

The second part of the clue (which may come before or after the other part) is a hint given through (often cryptic) wordplay. At the end, the number of letters in each word of the answer is given in parentheses. The key to solving the puzzle is finding the spot in each clue to divide the two parts. This task is far easier once the solver is familiar with the common types of wordplay hints listed below:

Anagrams: anagramming the letters in a word within the clue will spell the answer. Example: "Norwegian city rearranged solo (4)" would be "OSLO". Words such as rearrange, scramble, upset, and the like are used to signify this type of clue. It also helps to look at the number in parentheses and search for a word or group of consecutive words with the same sum total of letters.

'Double Definitions' (Homonyms): two definitions are given for the same word. Ex: "Verdant color is inexperienced (5)" could be a clue in this category for "GREEN". This type of clue may also be used for words with different pronunciations for different definitions, such as 'WIND', 'SAKE', and 'BASS'.

Homophones: in addition to the definition, a definition for a separate word with the same pronunciation is given. Ex: "In speech, wager slab of beef (5)" is "STEAK", because another word for wager is 'stake', which sounds the same as the answer. Clues such as this are denoted by terms such as audibly, heard, and out loud, to let the solver know that the answer is pronounced the same way as the wordplay hint.

Hidden Answers: the answer is hidden within a larger word or phrase in the clue, such as how the word 'steal' is inside of the phrase 'taSTE A Lemon'. Ex: "Mr. Alda imprisoned in New Zealand (4)" is "ALAN", which is contained within new zeALANd. Keywords for this style of clue include part of, buried in, hidden in, and so forth.

Charades: the answer is spelled out piece by piece from smaller words. Ex: "Yen: a Japanese board game in the distant past (4, 3)" becomes "LONG AGO", as yen is another word for 'long' (as a verb, "to long for") and Japanese board game refers to 'go'. So, "long" plus "a" plus "go" adds up to "LONG AGO" (you have to look out for those smaller words like 'a' and 'in').

Reversals: a word or group of letters is spelled backwards. Ex: "Sweet dishes taxed in recession (8)" works out as "DESSERTS", because another word for taxed is 'stressed', which spells "DESSERTS" in recession (or, in reverse). Words such as back, return, and overturn are signals for this type of clue, which is usually used as part of a Complex Clue (see below).

'Containers': a word is placed inside of another to form the answer. Ex: "Patched-up mill housing twins (8)" is "REPAIRED", as mill (as a verb) is a synonym for 'reed', which contains twins (pair), in the answer "RE PAIR ED".

Deletions: a letter or letters are removed from a word to form the answer. Ex: "Most wonderful heartless beast (4)" would be "BEST", as heartless implies removing the letter in the center of the word beast.

Complex Clues: two or three of the above methods are used in the same clue.

When a clue ends in an exclamation point, this means that both parts of the clue are one in the same. Ex: "Disguised assassin in Japan! (5)" would be "NINJA", as the answer is disguised in the phrase assassiN IN JApan (see "Hidden Answers", above) and a ninja is, of course, a disguised assassin in Japan!

Also, be on the lookout for references to abbreviations (street for "ST", Maine for ME), Roman numerals (fifty for "L"), and parts of words (head of state for "S", end of month for "H", couple of kids for "KI").

Things Japanese: Goroawase

2009-01-21T00:00:00.007Z

Goroawase is a Japanese idea used to bridge the gap between digits and language.

Primarily used as a mnemonic device, goroawase can be used to remember strings of numbers by assigning each digit a syllable from the Japanese syllabary¹ in order to spell out a name, word or phrase. For instance, in order to remember the number 385, a Japanese-speaking individual may elect to think of the name "Miyako", a common Japanese girls' name. In this system, "mi" is conected to the digit 3, "ya" to 8, and "ko" to 5.

In the days before cell phones and 'texting', it was very common for goroawase to be used in reverse. Young girls and women took to communicating through pagers and leaving messages in digits to represent words. "0840" would be read as "o-ha-yo-o" or "ohayo" ("good morning"). This technique was known as "poke-beru² ango" (pocket-bell code) or "poke-kotoba" (pocket words).

Though pagers are gone, goroawase is still very much in use today. In the very popular manga/anime series Keroro Gunsou (Sgt. Frog), the number 723 is prominently displayed on many of Natsumi's clothes, due to the fact that 723 can be read as "na-tsu-mi".

SOME common goroawase readings are: 0: O 1: I, HI 2: NI, FU, TSU 3: MI 4: SHI, YO, HO 5: GO, KO 6: RO, MU 7: NA 8: HA, YA 9: KYU, KU 10: TO

¹ A syllabary is like an alphabet, but each character represents a syllable rather than a consonant or vowel sound.
² "Poke-beru" or "pocket-bell" is the Japanese term for a pager.

Wikipop 4

2009-01-09T00:00:00.001Z

Lancelot Hogben vs. Hulk Hogan
Goemon Ishikawa (folk hero) vs. Goemon Ishikawa (anime character)
William The Conqueror vs. William Shatner

Quiz: Educational Program or Punk Album?

2008-12-29T00:00:00.000Z

The titles listed below are either titles of albums by punk bands or titles of programs that air on The Learning Channel (TLC) in the United States. The answer to each can be found by highlighting the area following each entry. See how many you can correctly identify!

Addicted To Food ...is a program on TLC.
What Makes A Man Start Fires? ...is an album by Minutemen.
Real Wolf Kids ...is a program on TLC.
Superhuman Strength ...is a program on TLC.
Half Alive ...is an album by Suicide.
Plastic Surgery Disasters ...is an album by Dead Kennedys.
Shrinking The World's Heaviest Man ...is a program on TLC.
Animal Boy ...is an album by Ramones.
I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant ...is a program on TLC.
Half Man, Half Tree ...is a program on TLC.
The Baby Who Changed Colors ...is a program on TLC.
It's Still Living ...is an album by The Birthday Party.

UK / US Versions: Squeeze

2008-12-26T00:00:00.001Z

Squeeze formed in London around 1975, and originally contained five members: Glenn Tilbrook (vocals, guitar), Jools Holland (piano, keyboards), Harry Kakoulli (bass), Chris Difford (guitar, vocals), and Paul Gunn (drums). Gunn would be replaced by Gilson Lavis before the group began recording its first release. From 1975 to 1998, the pop outfit recorded and released twelve studio albums and countless B-sides, broke up, re-united, and saw the arrival and/or departure of around twenty band members. When held up against many of their British contemporaries, Squeeze's albums managed to slip into America relatively unscathed. Only those which have been futzed with are listed below.

Squeeze (1978): A legal problem surfaced when Squeeze crossed the Atlantic: a group with the same name (though some reports state the band in question was actually named "Tight Squeeze") had taken legal action to keep the British group from encroaching on their turf. In order to placate the American group, the first Squeeze album was sold in North America under the name U.K. Squeeze, and the band was identified in the same manner. The album covers were altered for this reason, but other than that, the U.S. version of the record was the same as the original. The American group broke up later that same year, and Squeeze was able to revert back to their original name. In Australia, the band continued to be identified as U.K. Squeeze, in order to avoid confusion with an Australian group.

Cool For Cats (1979): The original incarnation of "Goodbye Girl" contained the line 'My wife has moved to Guernsey' in the final verse, but was re-recorded for U.S. single releases replacing 'Guernsey' with either 'Boston' or 'Jersey'. Other terms like 'pool room' and 'waistcoat' were also substituted. Additionally, the music for each was mixed differently. Truth be told, I'm not even certain if any of these changes apply to the track on the Cool For Cats album, as there are so many recordings floating around out there that its hard to keep track.

Argybargy (1980): "If I Didn't Love You" was released as a single in the U.S., though not in the U.K. Buried in the middle of Side 2 of Argybargy, A&M Records felt it would better for U.S. audiences to have this track at the top of the album side. The album's running order was altered to make this accomodation, though no tracks were removed or added.

East Side Story (1981): The song "Mumbo Jumbo" contained the line "And now and then, a little Arab friend / She would saddle". Though it referred to an Arabian horse, the racial double-entendre didn't pass the smell test with A&M, and was changed to "And it's now, and now it's then / She would saddle" on the American release.

Singles 45's And Under (1982): This collection of twelve singles on one album originally contained "Labelled With Love" in its British incarnation. Across the pond, this song would be axed to make space for "If I Didn't Love You", previously mentioned for being a single in America but not Britain. To confuse the issue further, North American vinyl and cassette releases contain the "Boston" take of Goodbye Girl, while the compact discs would revert to the "Jersey" mix.

Ridiculous (1995): The original album cover, showing a person and a monkey against a white background was scrapped for American release and replaced with an image of a muscleman performing an impressive card trick. In 2008, the CD remaster and re-releases featured the U.K. cover.

Christmas Incognito

2008-12-13T00:00:00.003Z

Hard as it is to believe, the most expensive and stressful time of year can just make some people want to hide their faces and wish they were somebody else...

The Snowmen: Four fellows decked out in snowman outfits released the novelty single "Hokey Cokey" in 1981 to good reception in the UK. The quartet was long believed to be Ian Dury and the Blockheads, due to the raspy, Dury-like mumbling of the lead singer and the record's release on Stiff Records. A visit to Stiff's official website reveals the true identity of the performer to be Martin Kershaw. The Snowmen who posed for the single sleeve photo and performed on television are still unknown.

Aside: "Hokey Cokey" is the British version of the party dance and song known in other parts of the world as "Hokey Pokey" or "Hokey Tokey". So any drug-related puns involving the name "Snowmen" are likely dead-ends!

The Three Wise Men: Throughout their career, XTC loved taking on different personas. They released an EP and an album as the obscure 60's group The Dukes Of Stratosphear, and even contributed a song to a tribute album under the pseudonym Terry And The Lovemen. (It was an XTC tribute album, by the way!) The band took on the identity of The Three Wise Men for the one-off single "Thanks For Christmas" b/w "Countdown To Christmas Party Time" on Virgin in 1983, even going so far as to credit songwriting to Kaspar / Melchior / Balthazar, who were, of course, the original three wise men. The label promoted the record with a press release challenging the public to pick out the true artists from the Virgin roster, reading in part, "Could it be Culture Club, Human League, Heaven 17, China Crisis or even Slapp Happy?". The clue came at the beginning, quoting the first line of "The Twelve Days Of Christmas", however the Partridge in this pear tree was a very subtle reference to XTC's frontman Andy Partridge.

Ivory And The Brain Eaters: If anyone in the music industry knows the ins and outs of going incognito, it's The Residents. In nearly forty years of recording, performing, and mind-bending, the members of this group have never revealed their identities. 1972 saw the release of Santa Dog, the debut recording from The Residents and their self-built label Ralph Records. The EP contained four songs, each attributed to a different group and given a unique songwriting credit. The songs were entitled "Fire", "Explosion", "Lightning", and "Aircraft Damage", and the sleeve was cleverly designed to take on the appearance of a promotional item from an insurance company. "Fire", better known as "Santa Dog", was credited to Ivory And The Brain Eaters. This would be the first of many versions of this song which the band would go back to re-record at several intervals through the years.

The Yobs: And now, the best-known of them all! They started as The Boys, a punk group of both British and Norwegian origin who signed to NEMS Records in 1977. As a way of earning some extra money for Christmas gifts, the band bootlegged their own single "Run Rudolph Run", and signed into the studio under the new moniker The Yobs, as NEMS Records was on some hard times and owed money to several studios in London. The following year, The Yobs resurfaced with "Silent Night", and again in 1979 with "Rub A Dum Dum (Little Drummer Boy)". Several compilation albums have been released, including Yobs treatments of such holiday standards as "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" and "Silver Bells".

sources:
Stiff Records official website
TheBoys.co.uk
Chalkhills: The XTC Site
The Residents' Historical

Entertainment Cover-Ups: Death In Tasmania

2008-12-03T00:00:00.002Z

These days, it's hard to name a TV series which hasn't had at least a few episodes released on DVD, even (read: especially) animated series. Warner Bros. has recently put out DVD compilations of episodes of series such as Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Freakazoid!, and Pinky and The Brain. There is one animated TV series from this same era that Warner Bros. will probably never release though, and the reason may not be what you think it is.

Taz-Mania, a series which aired on Fox in the U.S., was centered around the life of Taz, best known as one of Bugs Bunny's numerous antagonists. The series was set in his home of Tasmania (or Tazmania) and introduced viewers to his family, as well as friends and neighbors, many of which were various Australian wildlife.

The voice and mannerisms of Taz's father were modeled after legendary crooner Bing Crosby. As Crosby was once a pitchman for Minute Maid orange juice, one common gag featured Taz's dad suddenly extolling the virtues of orange juice, or "O.J." as he called it, as a non sequitir. Believe it or not, this is where the trouble began.

Unusual though it may seem, [name redacted] trademarked the term "O.J." when he learned there was no current or previous ownership of it. Because of this, commercials and printed ads for orange juice brands no longer use the abbreviation, as they would have to pay royalties on it, or risk being sued. Likewise, Taz-Mania is now in legal limbo, as Taz's father appeared in most episodes and brought up the subject of orange juice on a regular basis. As there seems to be no other appropriate term to overdub as a replacement, and edits would be extensive, the series is now collecting dust and no plans for a DVD release are forthcoming or even being considered.

The Flying V

2008-11-30T00:00:00.003Z

In a "flying V", why is one arm always longer than the other?

Everyone knows the basics of it; at the end of the year, the birds in North America migrate to warmer climates in the Southern U.S. and Mexico to ride out the winter months, only to return in the spring. For practical purposes, the annual migration is often just called "flying south".

The easiest type of flock to recognize may be Canada Geese. They make the flight easier by flying in a formation that resembles a 'V' with one goose in the lead and the others following behind it in two lines. This is done to ease travel, as each goose's flapping wings create an uplift for the one behind it. Naturally, the lead goose has the most work to do, but the geese rotate, taking turns in the lead. This technique allows them to fly much greater distances than they would traveling on their own.

But, for the longest time, one thing has never been clear about this. Why is it that one of the arms of the "flying V" always seems to be longer than the other? Does it have to do with jet stream patterns? Maybe direction of travel? The direction the wind is blowing? People who have studied the phenomenon of the "flying V" have never been able to figure it out, but now the answer can be told. Prepare yourself, for this will end one of the great mysteries of nature.

The reason one side of the "flying V" is longer than the other is because it has more geese.

Wikipop 3

2008-11-19T00:00:00.000Z

Jude the Obscure vs. Joe the Plumber
California Gold Rush vs. San Francisco 49ers
Skeleton vs. Skeletor*

*This one was inspired by this passage.

Tributes to Garfield

2008-11-16T00:00:00.007Z

In 1978, Jim Davis's Garfield began appearing in newspapers and the rest is history. As one of the most successful and popular American comic strips ever created, it has earned its place in the annals of pop culture and, likewise, parody.

In more recent years, an internet subculture has sprung up devoted to deconstruction and unconventional analysis of Garfield strips. While some have earned cease-and-desist letters from PAWS Inc., others have been recognized and praised by Jim Davis himself. Here are a few:

Garfield Minus Garfield: Due to the character of Garfield being a cat who is only able to verbally communicate through thoughts, this page eliminates Garfield's existence entirely and depicts Jon's life if he had no pets.

The Garfield Randomizer: A slot machine of Garfield strips! The possibilities boggle the mind!

Lasagna Cat: Garfield strips are acted out to the smallest detail, including the backgrounds! Then, each one is remixed into a short music video. Every video ends with the same photograph of Jim Davis.

Realfield: These strips replace Garfield's abilities with those of a regular cat. This re-framing is similar to "Garfield Minus Garfield", but Jon is now speaking to a cat again. Whether this helps his situation is up to you. (Some of these are alterations of strips generated by "The Garfield Randomizer").

Barfield: Garfield's bodily functions are stretched to their limits. (Mature audiences only)

Nothing Garfield: Garfield as existential drama.

Arbuckle: Different artists contribute their own takes on individual strips from Jon's point of view. Again, no dialogue for Garfield.

Lost In Translation: Strip dialogue is translated (through Babelfish) into Japanese, and back into English. Nonsense emerges. (added 6 May 2009)

Garfield As Garfield: Adiós, el gato. ¡Buenos días, señor Presidente! (added 14 October 2009)

Square Root Of Minus Garfield: Various re-interpretations of strips, often done for purposes of comparing or contrasting, sometimes just for humor's sake. Warning: many of these are based on math or computer programming and will only be funny to a sliver of a fragment of a millionth of one percent of the population. (added 23 December 2010)

Passwords: Next Key Up

2008-11-14T00:00:00.002Z

On a standard QWERTY keyboard, the row containing the ten numerical digits is just above the first row of letters, and each successive row contains fewer letters than the previous one. Because internet passwords often require a mixture of both letters and numerals, a convenient trick can be used to encode everyday words by simply 'moving up' to the next row and typing the adjacent key.

Though they're typically not arranged in straight columns (as pictured in the chart above), this is still an easy trick to pull off. If you wanted your password to be "melbourne", this would come out as the much harder to decipher "j3og974h3". It certainly helps that R and T (two of the three most frequently-used consonants in English) are situated below the row of digits, along with every vowel except A. Most English words, by far, will contain numerals when enciphered like this.

An interesting note: enciphering the sequence "xkcd" works out to read "side". "xkcd" is the title of a popular webcomic whose author, Randall Munroe, refuses to reveal the meaning and origin of this term. Perhaps now we know.

Variations on this theme include "Next Key Over", in which the key to the left is typed (or the key to the right, either works but make sure to stick to your choice). In these variations, a 'wrap-around' format is used so that the key to the left of A is considered to be L, for example.

2008 Election Results

2008-11-07T00:00:00.001Z

Update: The final vote tally has now been recorded as Obama:365 and McCain:173. Nebraska, one of the only two states (along with Maine) to award its electoral votes individually by district, has awarded one of its districts to Obama.

How The Electoral College Works

2008-11-03T00:00:00.001Z

In the United States, the President is chosen not by a direct popular vote, but by the process known as the 'electoral college'. Here is an explanation of how it works for those in other countries who may not be aware:

The legislative branch of the American government is divided into two 'houses' collectively known as Congress; the Senate contains 100 members (two from each state) and the House of Representatives has 435 members. Representatives are proportioned according to each state's population, making sure the least-populous state has at least one representative. These numbers are adjusted depending on census figures, but the total number stays at 435, at least for the time being.

These numbers also reflect the votes given to each state in the electoral college. A state's electoral votes are equal to its number of representatives plus two. Therefore, each state has at least three electoral votes. The District of Columbia, where the capital city of Washington is located, also receives three votes, making for a total of 538 electoral votes.

Simply put, whoever receives the most votes in a state receives the total electoral votes for that state. There are some exceptions to this rule, but this is basically how the system works.
In the unlikely event of an electoral tie, with each of the two major party candidates receiving 269 votes, then the members of the House of Representatives holds a vote on which candidate will win the election.

Though they participate in the primaries held to choose the candidate for each party, the US territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the US Virgin Islands do not vote in the Presidential election and have no electoral votes.

Wikipop 2

2008-11-02T00:00:00.002Z

Gregor Mendel vs. Greg The Bunny
Boys' Town vs. Boy Meets World
Stanislaw Mikolajczyk vs. Mr. Mxyzptlk

Entertainment Cover-Ups: Judy Winslow

2008-10-31T00:00:00.002Z

Family Matters began in 1989 as a spin-off of Perfect Strangers, and was to be about a normal American family living in Chicago whose greatest challenges included money troubles, weight loss, and disobedient children. When the series ended in 1998, it would be remembered for being about time travel, cloning, genetic experimentation, and crime-fighting robots.

This major change in modus operandi came about when a new player was added to the show's regular cast of characters. At first only slated to play a role in one episode, Steve Urkel (played by Jaleel White) was so popular he became a fixture on the program and the breakout character for the remainder of the show's run. Due to such high demand for more Urkel, episodes in the first season would be re-edited to include new scenes featuring him to be played in reruns.

Many cast members came and went throughout the nine seasons, but their departures were often with little to no fanfare. Estelle, more commonly called "Mother Winslow" and played by Rosetta LeNoire, moved out when she married her longtime boyfriend Fletcher in the fourth season, but would still make appearances from time to time. Rachel (Telma Hopkins) would move out as well, but for retroactive continuity purposes, her son Richie (Bryton McClure) was now implied to be Carl and Harriet's youngest child. Even fan favorite Waldo (Shawn Harrison) would leave in the eighth season.

JoMarie Payton Noble would be replaced in her role as Harriet for the last season, leaving Reginald VelJohnson, Kellie Williams, and Darius McCrary as the only original cast members to be present for the duration of the series.

Perhaps the best known of all the sudden and unexplained cast changes in Family Matters is the disappearance of Judy Winslow (Jaimee Foxworth). Her part in the show shrunk considerably as Urkel's presence began to loom large, until the fourth season when she would be written out entirely as if she had never existed. Though one popular theory was that Judy was kidnapped, Foxworth stated in one interview "I'm still up there in my closet, putting on my clothes."

Riddle: Dartboard

2008-10-17T00:00:00.000+01:00

Shirley English was ranked the tenth-best darts-player by the British Darts League. One day, she wandered into a pub and saw the portraits of seven of the other top ten players on the wall under a banner reading "Wall Of Shame".

When she turned to ask the barkeep about this, she noticed he was Colin McDouglas, the greatest darts-player in British history, now retired. He explained that, despite being successful players, each one had failed to meet his challenge. Gesturing to three portraits on the opposite wall, he claimed "These three lads are regulars here, and they're the only ones who have been able to pass the test."

Before she could even ask what the challenge entailed, McDouglas warned "If I tell you what you need to do, you have to play, and you can only play once." A bit hesitant, Shirley agreed.

"Wonderful!", the barkeep replied, stepping out from behind the counter to the dartboard nearby. Taking it down, he turned it over and hung it with its reverse side showing. Now it looked more like an archery target than one meant for darts.

"To win a spot of honour on my wall, you must end up with the highest even-numbered score of anyone who has taken the challenge. If your score is an odd number, your picture goes up on the Wall Of Shame instead." McDouglas handed five darts to his challenger and stepped back. "And by the way," he then added, "I know you're in the league. They haven't heard from me in twenty years, but if you become the first pro to pass my test, I'll call up the head office tomorrow and sing your praises!"

Shirley wondered, "How could seven professional darts-players lose to these three everyday pub-goers?" Glaring at the target, it suddenly dawned on her. With the five darts at her side, she knew exactly how to play this if she wanted to win.

How did she do it?

Answer (highlight to read): All of the scores on the target were odd numbers. If all five of the darts hit the target, Shirley would end up with an odd-numbered score no matter what. Because all of the pros were skilled enough to hit the target with each throw, they all fell into this trap. Shirley simply played the game as she normally would, then threw her final dart so it would miss. If only four darts hit the target, the score is guaranteed to be even.

Wikipop 1

2008-10-16T00:00:00.007+01:00

Wikipedia is self-billed as the "free encyclopedia that anyone can edit", which most would assume would lead to an epidemic of vandalism. It does. Also, people who write for Wikipedia are generously volunteering their time to this cause, rather than being paid researchers. Given this amount of freedom, people generally gravitate towards supplying information and statistics on subjects they enjoy, so subjects which would normally receive entries in print encyclopedias will be neglected. Popular culture is popular, after all.

Recently, Wikia has made it possible for fans to create smaller, independent versions devoted solely to certain elements of pop culture, though this hasn't deterred Wikipedia's ongoing march towards becoming more of a pop culture directory than an encyclopedia. Many self-declared anti-Wikipedia organizations believe that the over-representation of trivia and entertainment on the site should be greatly curtailed, but Wikipedia dismisses these individuals routinely as "disgruntled former Wikipedia editors".* When Stephen Colbert (who has his own 'theme-Wikia' at Wikiality.com) mentioned on his program, The Colbert Report, that the Wikipedia page on lightsabers was far longer and more detailed than the one on the printing press, arguments against condensing the lightsaber article included: "We're trying to build a compendium of knowledge here", "I think the printing press has gotten as much press as it's going to get after a few centuries", and "Wikipedia's content and policies are not guided by what Steve Colbert wants."

Below are three more examples of disparity tilted towards subjects which have made relatively minor impacts on humanity. More to come!

Thomas Hobbes vs. Calvin & Hobbes
Jonas Salk vs. Jonas Brothers
sonic booms vs. Sonic The Hedgehog

*This entry has been written by someone who has never been a Wikipedia editor.

UK / US Versions: Debut albums

2008-10-08T00:00:00.002+01:00

The dawn of the Seventies in the music world brought forth an era of 'progressive rock', where musicians were already celebrated figures from Sixties groups, everything was approved by boardrooms before being committed to vinyl, and artists were writing and performing songs far longer than the standard three-minute pop songs of just a few years ago. It was expected for these established and well-financed musical acts to start recording albums straight away, rather than waste their time on singles, particularly since A) The Beatles had, with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, made albums the new dominant form of expression in rock and pop music, and B) LP's commanded a much longer shelf life and higher profit margin.

Then, some time around 1976, punk rock came along and artists were appearing out of nowhere. They didn't have the funding and experience necessary to record albums straight off the bat, even if they did get signed to a major label. From this point, singles became important again, so much so that picture sleeves for singles were now starting to be more of an expectation than a luxury.

One of the founding principles of punk involved not wanting to cheat the fans, so in these early days, bands often left previously-released singles off of their following respective albums, so followers wouldn't be paying twice for the same song. When many of the albums were to be released in the US, however, the companies expected the American audiences to have these tracks on the albums for the American audiences. So, U.S. versions of these albums, particularly groups' debut albums, often had to have some tracks sacrificed in favor of making room for singles. Here are just a few examples:

The Clash, The Clash (1977): The first Clash album was simply not released in America at first, as Columbia Records didn't think US audiences were ready for punk yet. Bernie Rhodes, the group's manager at the time, would call in Blue Oyster Cult svengali Sandy Pearlman to produce the second Clash album, entitled Give 'Em Enough Rope, in hopes this would convince Columbia to give this record a US release. It worked, although the track "All The Young Punks" would be renamed "That's No Way To Waste Your Youth" on US record sleeves, as the company still felt the word 'punk' was too volatile. While all this was going on, the original British The Clash album would become the best-selling import album ever up to that point, and Columbia finally caved. In 1979, The Clash was finally released in America, with five new tracks: the A-sides "Clash City Rockers", "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais", "Complete Control", and "I Fought The Law", plus the B-side "Jail Guitar Doors". The four tracks axed from the original release were "Deny", "Cheat", "Protex Blue", and "48 Hours".

The Vapors, New Clear Days (1980): Best known for the song "Turning Japanese", The Vapors' debut album had the single "Prisoners" added to the running order for its American edition. The song would have been short enough to just tack onto the album as it was, but instead, not one but two tracks from the original LP were cut. It has been speculated by Vapors fans that the songs chosen, "America" and "Cold War", were picked due to escalating US/Soviet tensions in Central Asia at the time, though neither would logically be considered a political song.

XTC, Drums And Wires (1979): Though it was actually their third LP, Drums And Wires would be XTC's debut album in the US. "Life Begins At The Hop" would replace "Day In, Day Out" on the American version. Though XTC had four more singles prior to this, none of them were considered as they hadn't charted in the UK.

The Cure, Three Imaginary Boys (1979): The original UK album featured twelve tracks plus a short 'hidden' instrumental at the end. For its US counterpart, the hidden track was left off, as were the songs "Meathook", "Object", "It's Not You", and a cover of "Foxy Lady". The singles "Boys Don't Cry", "Killing An Arab", and "Jumping Someone Else's Train" would be added, as well as the B-side "Plastic Passion". In addition to this, the title of the record would now be Boys Don't Cry, and the album cover art would be changed as well (though, strangely, the new image on the cover would be the incidental art for the song "Fire In Cairo"). At this point, with different songs, a different name, and a different album cover, could it really even be called the same album? Weirder still, some (but not all) of the cassette versions contained "World War", a track that wouldn't be released anywhere else until the album was re-issued on CD by Rhino in 2004.

Yachts, Yachts (1979): Like The Cure's debut, not only the songs but the album cover and title would be changed as well, resulting in what would essentially be a different album. The US version, S.O.S., would feature a newly-remixed version of the single "Look Back In Love (Not In Anger)", and a live version of the group's debut single "Suffice To Say" (chosen because the original singer of the studio version, J.J. Campbell, had departed the group immediately following the single's release). The tracks chosen to make way for the singles were "I'll Be Leaving You" and "Easy To Please".

Extreme Points

2008-09-29T00:00:00.002+01:00

Using only direction of travel (rather than strictly longitudinal coordinates*), the westernmost point in all of the United States and its territories is Udall Point, Guam. Coincidentally, the easternmost would be Point Udall, US Virgin Islands.

*Because the Aleutian Islands of Alaska cross the 180-degree line of longitude, the easternmost and westernmost points of the U.S. would both be located here if this strict, yet completely arbitrary, method is employed. Don't blame me, blame Greenwich, England!

Avant Garde vs. Futura

2008-09-23T00:00:00.002+01:00

Songs With No Rhymes: "That's Entertainment"

2008-09-21T00:00:00.000+01:00

"That's Entertainment" by The Jam
(Paul Weller)

rhyme attempts:
"siren / concrete"
"howling / blinking"
"boots / booth"
"tomcat / balls"
"Mondays / Wednesday"
"tea / walls"
"morning / petrol"
"yard / holidays"
"cigarettes / perfume"
"tarmac / far away"
"midnight / solitude"
"buses / affairs"

Entertainment Cover-Ups: The Window On ALF's Door

2008-09-19T00:00:00.000+01:00

The hit sitcom ALF, which aired its first-run episodes from 1986 to 1990, featured an alien (performed by show creator Paul Fusco) from the planet Melmac who crash-landed his spacecraft into a Southern California garage and was taken in by the Tanner family, owners of said garage, who needed to keep their new friend's existence a secret.
When visitors showed up at the Tanners' door, ALF was told to hide in the kitchen or another part of the house, though the kitchen was consistently used as a running gag as ALF would respond with a wisecrack, such as "'Get in the kitchen!' As a woman, I'd think you would be more sensitive to the demeaning undertones in that remark!" There was a small problem with the show's logic in this, at least for the first season.
The front door of the Tanners' house had a small window in it, not large enough to be immediately noticeable by the viewing audience, but certainly big enough to allow someone standing on the front stoop to peer in and see a large, furry alien waltzing around like he owned the joint. This could likely be chalked up to a failure of communications between writers and set designers.
Rather than replace the door, the window was simply covered up. An unusual-looking hinged hatch was fitted into this space, in what seems to be the most cost-effective way of fixing the problem without making the switch appear too obvious.
Lesson: If someone's door has a smaller door in it, it is being used to cover up a window on the cheap, and they are harboring an extra-terrestrial being.

Passwords: Books

2008-09-03T00:00:00.001+01:00

Here's a technique for generating unique passwords: Take a book, select a page, and a new password can be made using a combination of the page number and a string of letters beginning a stretch of lines. You can keep a list matching websites to page numbers in order to look up a password in case it's forgotten; "Yahoo: 125" would simply mean your Yahoo password can be found by applying this system to page 125 of your selected book. As long as the book in question is kept a secret, anyone who sees the list will not be able to crack your code.

UK / US / Aus / NZ Versions: Split Enz

2008-08-28T00:00:00.001+01:00

Split Enz (originally "Split Ends") is one of the best-known pop acts to originate in New Zealand. The thirteen-year career of the band included more than a dozen members and a total of nine studio albums. In 2006, all of these albums, as well as the singles compilation The Beginning Of The Enz, were remastered and re-released on CD. Like many Antipodean groups, Split Enz's albums were often radically altered for release in the British Isles.

Mental Notes (Aus, NZ 1975): This was the debut album, featuring ten tracks including "Walking Down A Road", "Time For A Change", "Titus", "Stranger Than Fiction", and closing with the diminutive title track. The sleeve art was a painting by Split Enz singer and guitarist Phil Judd which featured the seven current members of the band.

Second Thoughts (Aus, NZ 1976): The confusion begins when the band themselves elect to record new versions of "Walking Down A Road", "Time For A Change", "Titus", and "Stranger Than Fiction" for this album, as well as a new version of the early single track "Matinee Idyll (129)". Of the four original songs on the album, two are outtakes from Mental Notes.

Mental Notes (UK, US 1976): The British record called Mental Notes is in fact the same record as Second Thoughts, but with the track "Mental Notes" added to the end of side two. The cover art is similar to the original Mental Notes, but with a striped pink border added, and the painting altered. As the band's lineup and hairstyles had changed since 1975, Phil Judd went back and re-painted over his original work to reflect these changes. This version would also be released in the US.

Dizrythmia (Aus, NZ, UK, US 1977): This record had no alterations made to it for overseas release.

The Beginning Of The Enz (Aus, NZ 1979): This was the singles compilation featuring six pre-Mental Notes tracks, as well as early versions of the album tracks "Lovey Dovey" and "Spellbound". The ninth song was a previously unreleased song called "Malmsbury Villa".

Frenzy (Aus, NZ 1979): The original issue of this album in Australia and New Zealand contained twelve tracks, and is now quite hard to locate a copy of, as only 10,000 were pressed.

Frenzy (Aus, NZ 1979): The second version of Frenzy now included the single "I See Red", placed at the very beginning of the album's running order.

Beginning Of The Enz (UK 1980): This Chrysalis compilation, released in the UK and Europe, had nothing to do with the Australia - New Zealand compilation with a similar title! This British record featured four tracks from Dizrythmia, four from Second Thoughts, and the stand-alone single "Another Great Divide". All nine of these tracks had previously been issued in the UK, and was simply thrown together by Chrysalis from what Split Enz material they had access to during their relationship with the band in 1976 and 1977.

True Colours (Aus, NZ 1980): This version of True Colours featured "Shark Attack" as the opening track, followed by "I Got You". Together, the Australian and New Zealand record sleeves came in at least 10 different color schemes.

True Colours (UK, US 1980): Also available in sleeves with separate color schemes, the American and British releases (on A&M Records) transposed the first two tracks, putting the group's biggest hit "I Got You" at the very beginning. This change in running order was also adapted for a subsequent Australian release on laser-etched vinyl.

Corroboree / Waiata (Aus, NZ, UK, US 1981): In Australia, the record was called Corroboree, an Aboriginal word for a ceremonial festival in which music is a central aspect. In all other nations, including New Zealand, the title was Waiata, which is the analogous Maori term. The UK record sleeve featured a new color scheme, and the US received a choice of three new color schemes.

Frenzy (UK, US 1982): Following the success of "I Got You", Frenzy finally earned a release in Britain and America, but was nearly an entirely new record. Unsatisfied with the choice of producer for the original Frenzy, keyboard player Eddie Rayner supervised a remixing for this new A&M release. Among the plethora of changes, three songs ("Abu Dhabi", "The Roughest Toughest Game In The World", and "Famous People") were removed from the original album and were replaced by "Semi-Detached", "Holy Smoke", "Livin' It Up", and "Carried Away".

The remaining three studio albums had no significant changes made for international releases, though the final album, See Ya 'Round, was only released in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

Entertainment Cover-Ups: Songs in TV shows

2008-08-25T00:00:00.001+01:00

Have you ever wondered why nearly all the newer episodes of The Simpsons feature original songs? It's not because of a lack of usable character dialogue; those gaps are filled by montages to popular music. Rather, writers will go out of their way to write new songs because they'll be paid more for them.
Because of copyright laws, the writers are entitled to much larger sums of money for creating lyrics than they are for dialogue, so TV writers will use any excuse they can to have characters suddenly break into spontaneous song-and-dance numbers. Of course, this works much better with animated shows than it does for live-action, so programs such as Futurama, The Simpsons, South Park, and Family Guy suffer the most due to this fluke.
Even sitcoms like Scrubs and The Drew Carey Show have picked up on this with special "musical episodes".
Next time you hear an original composition in the middle of a program, try not to mentally replace it all with cash register noises.

The OK Soda Manifesto

2008-08-07T00:00:00.001+01:00

1. What's the point of OK Soda? Well, what's the point of anything?
2. OK Soda emphatically rejects anything that is not OK, and fully supports anything that is.
3. The better you understand something, the more OK it turns out to be.
4. OK Soda says, "Don't be fooled into thinking there has to be a reason for everything."
5. OK Soda reveals the surprising truth about people and situations.
6. OK Soda does not subscribe to any religion, or endorse any political party, or do anything other than feel OK.
7. There is no real secret to feeling OK.
8. OK Soda may be the preferred drink of other people such as yourself.
9. Never overestimate the remarkable abilities of OK brand soda.
10. Please wake up every morning knowing that things are going to be OK.

Distribution of Scrabble tiles

2008-08-06T00:00:00.000+01:00