The Stick Game

I was reading some stuff from this guy who is a Viking LARPer, and while they have a pretty bad rep I have to say that some of their research turned up some pretty awesome stuff like "the stick game"

"The stick game": Played while drinking. Opponents face each other, and are handed a stout stick about 8-10 inches in length. Both opponents grasp the stick with their right hands. The loser is the first person without a hand on the stick. There are no other rules, but it's considered rude these days to interfere with the opponents groin in any way. It's really physical and people get hurt quite often, with opponents getting thrown around and contorting each other. Our current Holder Of The Stick is a girl who's about as big as one of my legs. She's extremely vicious and flexible, and her light weight makes throwing her around less effective than it would be with a large opponent. I'm useless at the stick game.

The Disasterous Reporting of Fukushima

I know that it's often rather eye-rolling to see controversial political advocacy, but I'd really recommend checking out what Fareed Zakaria has to say in this report. I think he does a good job of putting the issue into context. I don't think he goes far enough in terms of alleviating concerns over the Fukushima accident, nor in supporting the idea of clean nuclear energy, but he's one of the first Western reporters covering the story that I've been able to nod my head with.

For the last week I've been in quiet despair over the baseless fearmongering and sometimes stark racism that seemed to afflict Western media covering the disasters in Japan. Some of my favorite news agencies - ProPublica, NYT and NPR among them - were not unaffected by this seeming free-for-all of dire speculation that has caused so much panic. I was glad to see that at least one reporter has managed to retain some level of journalistic reserve and perspective on such an explosive issue.

Pet Peeve #465

Why the heck are you putting stuff up on a vehicular dashboard? Don't you know that someone is LOOKING through that area so as to avoid a massive collision! And that furthermore, have you noticed how those items tend to shift back and forth distractingly, in a way that may contribute to DEATH? Are you somehow unaware that there is a plethora of places to put extra items in a vehicle, such as the glove box, side pockets, or the floor in front of you? And how did you get such an item into the vehicle in the first place, why don't you simply put it BACK there instead of littering my car! My dear friend, get your crap off my dashboard!