No Plan B

All I seem to focussing on lately are American stories. Don't know what it is but it just seems to be such a rich seam lately.

This next one is right up there

As with many of these tales, it doesn't need any embellishment. It is so stupid it can bear being told straight.

Some time back an 89 yr old evangelical preacher in California - Harold Camping - boldly predicted that the world would end at 6pm on May 21 2011. Or to be more precise the Second Coming would arrive and all true believers would be swept up in the "Rapture". I kid you not. look up Rapture on Wikipedia. People are serious about this shit.

He was so confident he and his ministry, Family Radio International, invested millions in a national advertising campaign to alert true believers. Mr Camping said leading up to the 21st that he knew "without any shadow of a doubt" that "judgement day" is arriving. There is no "Plan B", he said

Apparently thousands bought into this hokum, sold up and moved to Califormia to be with Harold for judgement day! The story might just end there - a sad tale of gullible and stupid people taken for a ride that is somewhat enlivened by this great headline on the 22nd:


"Believers baffled as life goes on"

Except for two spinoffs.

The first was the wonderful energetic response of various Aethiest groups in America who organised a range of parties to celebrate the end of the world. Apart from the much needed reality check provided by such sanity, the parties also provided two more great tag lines:

I mean how can a party fail that is called the Rapture After Party fail? And who wouldn't be drawn to party with the tag line - "Countdown to backpeddling"?

The Rapture After Party in Fayetteville, North Carolina, was a two-day event organised by the Central North Carolina Atheists and Humanists.

"Though the absurdity of this claim is obvious to the majority of the world, it's a great opportunity to highlight some of the most bizarre beliefs often put forth by religious fundamentalists and raise awareness of the need for reason," said a posting about the party on the group's website.

Atheists in Tacoma, Washington, have headed their celebration "countdown to back-pedalling".
Events were also due to take place in Texas, Florida and California.
 The Rapture After Party
The second even better spinoff from Harold's crazy grandstanding is another shining example to American capitalism. There is a quote somewhere about a fool and his money being parted. It surely applies to this.

An atheist and entrepreneur from New Hampshire, Bart Centre, is enjoying a boost in business for Eternal Earth-bound Pets, which he set up to look after the pets of those who believe they will be raptured.

He has more than 250 clients who are paying up to $135 (£83) to have their pets picked up and cared for after the rapture.They would be disappointed twice, he told the Wall Street Journal. "Once because they weren't raptured and again because I don't do refunds."
 Eternal Earth Bound Pets

You cant make up stuff like this. No-one would believe it

There are no words to describe how crazy this is

"There is a pretty strong mental dialogue and engagement with fear"

So says Steph Davis a free climber in a video I found on the web. The clip is at the end of this blog. Read on and bear this quote in mind. At the end of the blog watch the clip and reflect just how much of a monumental understatement her quote is

The May edition of National Geographic had this article of free climbing at Yosemite National Park. In particular they featured a climber called Dean Potter. The article focussed on a rock face known as El Capitan

The prominent leading face is a vertical rock face 891m (2,884 feet) high  called the Nose. First climbed in 1957 it took 47 days of patient assault. It includes an overhang called the Great Roof two thirds of the way up. In 1975 two climbers managed to climb the Nose in a single day. But they needed cimbing aids to get past the Great Roof. In 1994 a lady - Lynn Hill - free climbed the nose - including the Great Roof - without ropes or technical aids in 23 hours. According to the National Geographic, climbers rate this effort as one of the greatest climbs of the 20th century

In 2010 Dean Potter climbed the Nose free style in 2 hrs 36 minutes! Think about that. 16 years ealier it took the greatest climb 23 hours. Dean does it is less than a tenth of that. He actually runs up the rock. You dont believe me - then watch the clip

Dean Potter soloing the Nose

And now the clip that I referred to at the start of the blog. If you though Dean running up the Nose was bad enough, the climbs in this clip are even worse. There truly are no words to describe this. (Apologies for the advert at the start - I dont know how to get rid of it)
Touching the Void

Threading the needle part deux

An update on Threading the needle

The bridge is now in place!!

My trolley is bigger than your trolley

I dont know if people overseas can see this MPEG on the BBC website but it shows the new bridge being moved into place


No problem guv

Slut walk

What a fabulous title and what a fabulous idea in response to Toronto Police Const. Michael Sanguinetti who told a personal security class at York University on 24 January that "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized."

He was reprimanded and underwent "further training," Chief Bill Blair said. Blair called Const. Michael Sanguinetti "inexperienced," adding the officer uttered "something stupid and he's apologized."

The constable's comment sparked outrage, prompting more than 1,500 protesters to stage a "SlutWalk" Sunday from Queen's Park to police headquarters on College St.
"I don't think the officer meant any offence," added Blair.

The idea has apparently spread like wildfire with walks held in cities across America and Europe

Go girls

CBC coverage of Toronto slutwalk

Toronto Slutwalk

Boston Slutwalk

(PS Michael is petrified that Sonya will join in if there is a Slut walk in London. I think she should join in just for that reason alone)

You can never let your guard down

Proof that you can never relax against extremism and zealots. Although i think also this one highlights crass incredulity and the naked fear of misogyny

Apparently Hillary shouldn't have been in that photo. The one with Obama. The one where she is in the side room of the Situation Room complex. I mean she is only the Secretary of State for god sake what did she think she was playing at. To remedy Hillary's oversight an ultra right wing Hasidic Jewish paper decided to put its photoshop talents to good use to correct Hillary's error and publish the photo as it should have been.

You think i jest. Think again

Removing Hillary

Removing Hillary 2

Removing Hillary 3

The reasons given for this act range from:
1 - we do permit photographs of women in our paper - so why choose this picture in the first place
2 - we dont approve of pictures of women because they are sexually suggestive - this one is really nasty and an offshoot of the burqa mindset of muslims that require their women covered from head to foot to stop them
3 - we didnt think we were being offensive to women - well i mean they just go and take ofence at the slightest thing dont they
4 - we didnt realise that we weren't allowed to alter copyright pictures - i mean who is the white house in comparison to gods word

As with many of these situations it is fairly redundant to add any form of commentary. These actions speak for themselves

That room

The world's most viewed photograph. Well in the last month anyway. What I can't get over is that room. I mean this is the mission that will make or break Obama's presidency and he watches in a small poky side room where he can't even get a seat at the table. (You would have thought the perks of power would have at least give him rights to kick someone out of their chair and pinch the seat with the best view.)

Apparently this room is one of the side rooms off the main Situation Room. Why weren't they using the big room?

If the White House website is to be believed it has nice comfy leather chairs and a really big screen

So why the poky side room?

On an aside I love the way Hollywood has dramatised the same room. In the West Wing they made everything so much more dramatic. In 2002 Jed Bartlett had too big screens

 and deep shadows for gravitas. By contrast George Dubbya had this anodyne corporate boardroom for a Situation Room as late as 2006

Nasty flouro lighting (bad for the complexion when chatting too bigwigs oversees) and only 1 screen. The new room apparently now has 6!

Intelligent life

Amidst all the chest beating zenophobic rhetoric spewing forth from the States over the last week since Bin Laden's execution I came across this relatively balanced article from an American media outlet.

Proof that sentient beings can exist in even the inhospitable environments

Rothkopf writing for America's National Public Radio

Even more impressive when you read CV. He is no bleeding heart Liberal. His company - Garten Rothkopf - is a fully fledged establish wonk tank