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One of these days, this would be a blast to do:

For the fifth year in a row, Disneyland will be creeping with mobs of black-clad death-rocker types for what organizers officially bill as Bats Day in the Fun Park, but what most people just call Goth Day.

So why would a tribe of people largely typecast as gloomy, depressed, trench coat-wearing, Bauhaus-worshipping creatures of the night want to spend a day at the Happiest Place on Earth? The sheer irony of it all, for one thing. Plus the always welcome chance to make the eyes of non-Goths bug out: one year, Korda managed to get eight boats on the It’s a Small World ride and an entire Davy Crockett Explorer Canoe filled with Goths.

(via Wil)

Also: Thanks to the randomness of the ‘net and the first few comments that this post got, the comment thread has turned into a fun little conversation between the fans (and a few cast members, particularly Daniel Bickerdike and Ashley Jones) of a 2004 Disney (England) series of shorts called Bus Life. I found one episode of Bus Life on YouTube:

I’m trying to decide what amuses me more — this Netscape News story about an infestation of giant gerbils in China, or the fact that the article mentions the fact that Britain has a National Gerbil Society.

The Gender Genie is a potentially cute little application that examines a block of text, and uses an algorithm to attempt to determine the sex of the author. According to the authors of the algorithm, it’s supposed to be correct roughly 80% of the time.

To give it a test, I copied the text of my ‘Oh, go ahead and point, it’s okay‘ post, hit ‘submit’…

…and discovered that I’m female.

Hrm.

I never knew.

(via 601am, via Anil)

My friend Tim is going to be selling a gorgeous panoramic poster of the Seattle skyline (the image can be seen here). More details and contact information can be found on his weblog.

How in the world does anyone, anywhere, at any time, come to the conclusion that this is acceptable behavior?

An aide in an Arkansas nursing home allegedly beat an 81-year-old woman with brass knuckles because she had been “disrespectful,” police said Friday.

[…]

An affidavit filed by sheriff’s detectives charged that Ryan was beaten on July 30 in her room at the Dallas County Nursing Home by Gayla Wilson, 44, who used brass knuckles.

The affidavit said Wilson complained that Ryan was repeatedly “disrespectful” of her.

Wilson allegedly recruited a second nursing aide, Shermika Rainey, 17, to hold Ryan during the attack.

(via Bill Maher)

August 6th marks the 58th anniversary of the A-bomb being dropped on Hiroshima….

[…]

Arguably the bombing was the most significant event of the 20th Century, and one of the most controversial decisions ever made by a world leader. In a matter of moments, Japan and America were inexorably linked by one of the greatest horrors of history, which neither side really wanted to look in the face.

[…]

As early as 1940, Japan was working on its own nuclear bomb, but after the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the country officially expressed its revulsion at nuclear arms and vowed never to acquire them. Times change. Debate has arisen in Japan as to whether or not they should seek to develop a nuclear weapons program in light of recent developments in North Korea.

[…]

Ironically (and very likely coincidentally), top U.S. officials met secretly this week in Omaha to discuss expanding America’s nuclear arsenal.

— Plastic: Those Who Forget The Blast Are Doomed To Repeat It

(via Jeremy)

I just noticed that Lane has titled his political blogroll “Revisionist Historians.” That’s wonderful!

That is all.