Joffer's Traffic joke has not evolved since the World's oldest joke traced back to 1900 BC

"What they all share however, is a willingness to deal with taboos and a degree of rebellion..."
NVDL: I wonder what the Joker would say. Maybe, "...what doesn't kill me makes me stranger..."

clipped from news.yahoo.com It is a saying of the Sumerians, who lived in what is now southern Iraq and goes: "Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap." A 1600 BC gag about a pharaoh, said to be King Snofru, comes second -- "How do you entertain a bored pharaoh? You sail a boatload of young women dressed only in fishing nets down the Nile and urge the pharaoh to go catch a fish." The oldest British joke dates back to the 10th Century and reveals the bawdy face of the Anglo-Saxons -- "What hangs at a man's thigh and wants to poke the hole that it's often poked before? Answer: A key."

Ozzie (travel)Commercial: WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU...?

Britney wants no contact with Sam Lutfi

"He was a fixture in Spears' life during a period when the star exhibited erratic behavior, including being photographed without underwear, and occasionally looking dazed in public and had to twice be hospitalized."

clipped from ap.google.com LOS ANGELES (AP) — An attorney for Britney Spears said Wednesday that he will not seek an extension for a restraining order against Osama "Sam" Lutfi, but that doesn't mean the pop star wants her former sidekick back in her life. "Britney has made clear to everyone that she does not want to be further harassed or contacted in any way by Osama 'Sam' Lutfi, now or at anytime in the future," Spears' attorney Samuel D. Ingham III said in a statement to The Associated Press.

More:
Britney Spears beds her minder
Britney Spears turns her back on Sam Lutfi
Britney Spears dating her bodyguard?

Depp to play The Riddler in Batman sequel?

This is a tough one. Just goes to show, Ledger left an incredible vacuum, big shoes to fill.

clipped from www.rte.ie Following the huge box office success of the Christopher Nolan- directed 'The Dark Knight', producers are hoping that they can convince Depp to take the role. The National Enquirer also reports that studio bosses are hopeful that Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman will take on the role of The Penguin. "He'll be able to take direction from director Chris Nolan and still make the character his own. And what better Penguin is there than Philip Seymour Hoffman."

Dark Knight Sequel To Star Matthew Lesko as Riddler?

Wiki: Matthew Lesko (born 1943) is an American author and host of an infomercial often played late night on basic cable. He has authored reference books telling people how to get "free" money from the United States Government. He is popularly known as "that question mark guy" for the Riddler-like suit that he wears in his television commercials, infomercials, interviews, and in everyday use.

clipped from www.huliq.com Gotham is abuzz with media reports that mega-manic infomercial kingpin Matthew Lesko has been tapped to play the Riddler in the next Batman/Dark Knight sequel, “The Dark Knight Forever,” slated for 2010. The announcement, which appeared Tuesday on Google, quoted Warner Bros. production president Jeff Robinov. "I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but my gut tells me [Lesko’s] a natural for this part. There's just something about his look that screams 'Riddler!'"

Urban Design: Bonding Humanity and Landscape in a Perfect Circle

[Below]John Lautner’s Mar Brisas House (1973), in Acapulco, Mexico, has a pool that echoes the shape of the beach below it, as if they were created by the same hand

clipped from www.nytimes.com LOS ANGELES — For those who find consolation in visionary architecture, this city has always been a powerful antidepressant. Its wealth of 20th-century treasures, mostly private homes, reminds us that it is possible to find quiet corners of enlightenment in dystopian times. Viewed one after another, the drawings are a powerful expression of a creative mind at work, and of Lautner’s struggle to strike a balance between individual and community, privacy and companionship.

Good 'Mojo' for Mobile Journos

Stephen Quinn: A quarter of 18 to 25 year olds in the U.K. use their mobile to check social networking sites such as Facebook. Two in five U.K. mobile owners surf the Internet on their handsets, mainly via unlimited data plans.

For one in five mobile phone users in Japan, their handset has replaced the PC as the way they go online. Upward of a third of university students access the Internet via their mobile.

Nielsen found that four in five iPhone owners accessed the mobile Internet.

clipped from english.ohmynews.com Reporters who carry nothing but a mobile phone -- known as mojos or mobile journalists -- are operating in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe, as well as in the United States and even Africa. In Norway, Frank Barth-Nilsen trains mojos for NRK, the national broadcaster. "A lot of other broadcasters and newspapers are interested in our findings," he said. Barth-Nilsen said NRK's various departments planned to use mojo content for mainstream platforms like television. In London, the Reuters news agency equipped its journalists with a mobile journalism toolkit about a year ago. Ilicco Elia, product manager of mobile and emerging media at Reuters, said this was the start of a future form of journalism and a new way to tell stories. Darren Waters, technology editor of the BBC, has been filing mojo reports from various parts of Europe since late last year.

Keira: Flat is better

I happen to agree.

more about "Keira: Flat is better", posted with vodpod

Dutch Analysts see oil rationing as imminent (so do I)

...demand rationing will be required in the OECD countries and particularly in the US, in order to accommodate growth in the newly developing countries, notably China and India. Different fuel prices for end-consumers in the different countries will be the dominant factor behind this ‘oil redistribution’.

clipped from europe.theoildrum.com An important Dutch energy institute, the Clingendael International Energy Program (CIEP), recently published a report that confirms most of the conclusions about the oil market reached over the years at the oildrum. That the floor price of oil is now 110 dollars per barrel, that supply will not rise beyond 100-105 million b/d in the coming decades, that there will be an oil supply constraint for most of the next decade, that there are insufficient quantities of alternative fuels available and that thus demand destruction is inevitable. CIEP is especially important because it is endorsed by amongst others BP, Shell Netherlands, Total E&P Netherlands, three Dutch Ministries, Wintershall, Vopak Oil Europe Middle East and several Dutch energy companies. The report in english can be downloaded here (PDF 2.8 megabytes, 108 pages).

2 Van Gogh's for the price of 1

Van Gogh was such a passionate painter, and so desperately poor for materials, he painted some paintings over others.

clipped from news.yahoo.com AMSTERDAM (Reuters Life!) - Scientists have made a colored view of an early rejected painting underneath Vincent van Gogh's 'Patch of Grass' painting, using advanced X-ray techniques, a Dutch university said on Wednesday. The very detailed image shows the face of a woman and may give art historians a better understanding of the way Van Gogh developed as a painter. "It is estimated that one third of Vincent van Gogh's early paintings have been painted on top of existing ones. Van Gogh literally recycled his own canvasses," scientist Joris Dik of the Delft University of Technology said.

Revealing...The Most Beautiful Woman in the World (PHOTOGRAPHY)

10 Habits that Bosses Love

Every boss wants employees who do their jobs well. But even among highly competent employees, there are distinctions. Here are 10 tips for making sure you're on the boss's A-list:

clipped from hotjobs.yahoo.com 1. Communicate, communicate, communicate. Especially at the beginning of your relationship -- that is, when either you or the boss is new to the job -- err on the side of giving your boss too much information and asking too many questions. 2. Acknowledge what the boss says. Bosses appreciate "responsive listening," says John Farner, principal of Russell Employee Management Consulting. When your boss asks you to do something or suggests ways for you to improve your work, let her know you heard. 3. Collaborate. When your boss has a new idea, respond to it in a constructive way instead of throwing up roadblocks.

Oil Jumps $4, but maybe if we hold thumbs it will go down again...

China is eating up the slack from the US.

The Long Emergency is about a succession of crisis, each one worse than the last, with people hoping for a reprieve only to find the next economic phase worse than the former. We continue on this path of wishful thinking at our own peril. The oil price is trending PERMANENTLY upward which means our lifestyle/habit changes need to be permanent also. Anyone think that's gonna happen?

clipped from news.yahoo.com U.S. gasoline stocks fell by 3.5 million barrels last week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, countering analyst calls for a 200,000 barrel build. Strong growth from emerging economies like China has stretched poor supply growth over the past six years, launching a rally that sent crude up sevenfold at its peak. Further support has come from investors buying commodities as a hedge against inflation and the weak dollar, tensions between Iran and the West and supply disruptions.

South Africans hoping fate smiles this time round at Edgbaston

This article is illuminating not least in that it shows how small things - potentially - have life changing impacts further down the road for not one, but many people.

clipped from www.iol.co.za Cricket is a game that is hugely influenced by people's mindsets, whether through rational causes or rank superstition. From the viewpoint of many South Africans, the ground is the scene of the most painful reverse they can recall, when Lance Klusener and Allan Donald somehow contrived to eliminate South Africa from the World Cup in that painful climax to their World Cup semi-final against Australia in 1999. Brutal It was a brutal moment, shared by captain Hansie Cronje and coach Bob Woolmer who are other names to conjure with. Cronje's future may well have been different if South Africa had lifted the World Cup, while that match was effectively Woolmer's last hurrah as a great coach on the international scene before he died mysteriously in the West Indies last year.

Randy Pausch dies

It was hard to believe watching the video that within 10 months he'd be dead. But he is.

clipped from www.moneyweb.co.za Professor Randy Pausch, the man who inspired millions with his acclaimed "Last Lecture" has died. The Carnegie Mellon University professor gained international fame when he presented a remarkable talk called "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" at the US university to a packed audience as part of a series that was ironically called "The Last Lecture". If you haven't seen it yet and have just over an hour to kill, Pausch's lecture is worth the effort and the bandwidth. Some 4,031,952 people have watched the video on Youtube. Prof Pausch died at his home ten months after giving his last lecture on Friday July 25 of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 47.

It's not important that South Africa win any medals, just make sure there aren't too many whites

South African row over race and sports brews ahead of Beijing Olympics.

clipped from sportsillustrated.cnn.com CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) -As athletes around the globe focus on winning gold at the Beijing Olympics, the South African sporting world is embroiled in yet another row about politics and race. "We are not going to abandon black people who are at the rock bottom,'' Komphela said. "And I'm not ashamed to say black people in this country are on the receiving end; it is time for us to talk about transformation.'' Komphela has a reputation for being outspoken. Last year, he said the government should strip Springbok players of their passports to prevent them from going to France for the rugby World Cup after only two black players were included in the starting lineup. The team went on to win the tournament and one of its black players, winger Bryan Habana, was named player of the year.

Island, village square in Carribean submerges under rising sea levels

Scientists standing knee deep in the water were quoted as saying: "Do you think this could have anything to do with climate change?"

clipped from news.yahoo.com 7-square-mile ice sheet breaks loose in Canada EDMONTON, Alberta - A chunk of ice spreading across seven square miles has broken off a Canadian ice shelf in the Arctic, scientists said Tuesday. "We're in a different climate now," he said. "It's not conducive to regrowing them. It's a one-way process."

Jesus spotted in a Cheeto

If Jesus wanted to appear, why would he resort to a Cheeto, or a piece of toast, or anything obscure. Why not just go: Shazam!
Some people theorise that God is a trickster, hence putting fossils in the archaeological record (between rocks|). To throw us off track. Yeah, that sounds plausible!

Pornographic Reporting

This idiot is saying to relax and not worry about:
- food shipped from distance shores (we should be growing more locally, and consuming more locally)
- use plastic bags freely (he reckons they don't cause much pollution to make. Maybe, but they sure do cause a lot of pollution after they've been created, whereas paper bags do breakdown and are less unsightly when blowing in the wind
- because the Arctic ice melt has broken an all time record, this twerp reckons its nothing to worry about
Sent this oke to Arkham Asylum please.

clipped from www.iht.com 10 things to scratch from your worry list What I can guarantee is that I wouldn't spend a nanosecond of my vacation worrying about any of these 10 things: 1. Killer hot dogs. What is it about frankfurters? There was the nitrite scare. Then the grilling-creates-carcinogens alarm. And then, when those menaces ebbed, the weenie warriors fell back on that old reliable villain: saturated fat.

Life can be Quirky: Bug Hunter Survives the Outback

NVDL: This is classic!

clipped from news.yahoo.com Pest exterminator lost in Outback survives on bugs SYDNEY, Australia - Lost in the rocky, remote Australian Outback, a former pest exterminator faced dehydration and death. Desperate for food, he turned to what he knew best — bugs, he said Wednesday. Theo Rosmulder, 52, managed to survive for four days by feasting on termites and other insects before local Aborigines happened upon him Tuesday and brought him back to civilization.

How Can I Tell If My Partner Is Cheating?

The most obvious are fewer requests for intimacuy, and one becomes aware of this initially through a gut feeling. Trust your gut.

clipped from health.yahoo.com 3 Signs That Your Man is Cheating Posted Mon, Jul 28, 2008, 11:30 am PDT How do you know if you are dating a cheater? You don't need to be a private eye to suss out these warning signs: Revived Interest in Appearance: If your partner suddenly undergoes a makeover of sorts, in which he spends much more time on his appearance, it could mean that he is trying to impress someone new. If he all of the sudden ditches his old khakis and sweats for something more stylish, it might be because he is trying to look his best for a new woman. Missing in Action: If there are large periods in which your partner is absent and unaccounted for, it could be because there are mischievous motives behind his AWOL behavior. Whether it is a run to the corner store that takes over an hour, or whether he is constantly "working late," a missing husband could mean something sinister.

B. E. A Yewtiful (PHOTOGRAPHY)

The Dark Knight on IMAX is a BIG BIG DEAL

So I saw Dark Knight for the 3rd time at Menlyn's IMAX, just outside Pretoria. From Johannesburg take the N1, and turn left on N1 East. It will take you straight to Atterbury. If you stay on the road, in other words if you miss the exit to the N1 East (a left turn close to Pretoria) you end up in Potgieter Road driving through some yucky areas of Pretoria. The N1 East takes you directly to Menlyn.

On a Tuesday night at 9pm the cinema was packed. A girl on my left at one point had her arms wrapped around herself, the way someone trying to protect themselves from flying shrapnel might hold themselves. The dude on my right had his hand over his mouth. A brutal, but also brutally intelligent flick.

Three aspects of the flick I'd like to highlight.

1) The buzz saw noise, a low pitched droning, buzzing sort of noise. It is the sound of the collective human condition, our collective headache, in the face of increasing stress, and duress.

2) A gloved fist hitting hard against a gloved hand - you hear that sound a lot. It's a hard noise.

3) The sequence where Batman flies through Hong Kong on the IMAX screen is simply priceless. Great job Mr. Nolan.

I'd advise trying to get a seat in row H or higher. We were in C, which was awesome but slightly too close. Tickets cost R25 apiece. Sssh. I'd be prepared (whispering) to pay about 10 times that.

In the next installment will we see Robin and the Riddler, or perhaps Green Arrow?

clipped from english.ohmynews.com The Violence Vice Unlike McCartney I don't believe directors are at fault for putting violence in movies. Our society is at fault for allowing itself to unravel to the extent that it has. The fact that more people want to watch these violent scenarios is merely a reflection of where movie realism is resonating with the real world. It is difficult not to believe that the world is tipping ever closer to a world war scenario, along with many other bleak possibilities, including pandemic flu, hunger shortages and worldwide social disorder (riots, etc.). While the average person might call these imaginations "doomsday," the truth is that subconsciously it is neither illogical nor farfetched given the rapid declines in world economics. "The Dark Knight" embodies a mythos that resonates with many: that there is a growing craziness and disorder that is threatening to break loose. We all sense now that criminal elements (or terrorism) are becoming harder to contain.

Posh, close your legs (PHOTOGRAPHY)

NYT: Beijing Still Belching Toxic Soup For Athletes to Inhale

BEIJING — Less than two weeks before the Olympics, Beijing’s skies are so murky and polluted that the authorities are considering emergency measures during the Games beyond the traffic restrictions and factory shutdowns that, so far, have failed to clear the air, state media reported on Monday.

clipped from www.nytimes.com Beijing Weighs Added Pollution Plans for Olympics For the past five days, Beijing has been a soupy cauldron of humid, gray skies. Local pollution ratings have exceeded the national standard for acceptable air since last Thursday, despite a temporary air pollution control plan that began on July 20.

Oil Shocks - an Excellent Series (Washington Post)

I feel like my job is done communicating on oil issues when I read intelligent reporting like this. Unfortunately, most of the media still don't understand what is going on. Ssssh. It's the speculators right? Right?

clipped from www.washingtonpost.com OIL SHOCK This Time, It's Different Global Pressures Have Converged to Forge a New Oil Reality Early this month, Valero Energy in Texas got the unwelcome news that Mexico would be cutting supplies to one of the company's Gulf Coast refineries by up to 15 percent.