Easter Island cures cancer

Medical researchers have found that drugs made from bacteria in Easter Island's soil helps deal with kidney cancer. No word on side effects having anything to do with the size of your head.

All the religion news that's fit to print

Here's your Jesus roundup:

A new survey says more people believe Jews responsible for Christ's death. The survey takes into account that Mel Gibson movie everyone's talking about:
Generally, there is a correlation between seeing the movie, and expressing an intention to see it, with holding the view that Jews were responsible for Christ's death. This is especially the case among younger people. Of those age 18-34 who have seen the movie, 42% believe Jews were responsible for Christ's death. Similarly, 36% of those age 35-59 who have seen "The Passion of the Christ" express that view. Still, majorities in both of these age groups ­ whether they have seen the movie or not ­ say they do not feel that Jews were responsible for Christ's death.

In Texas, man sees "The Passion" and confesses to murder that had been ruled a suicide.

The Revealer reviews the South Park episode about "The Passion of the Christ" (which was a hilarious episode, I must say.)

Swedish textiles expert says he can prove the Shroud of Turin is real.
Swedish textiles expert Dr Mechthild Flury-Lemberg, who discovered the seam at the back of the cloth during a restoration project, says: "There have been attempts to date the shroud from looking at the age of the material, but the style of sewing is the biggest clue.
"It belongs firmly to a style seen in the first century AD or before."

Woman says the image of Jesus has appeared in her fireplace. It's not the first supernatural occurrence at her house:
"On January 2, 1999 the first word appeared on the wall," said Rose-Mary. "It was the Welsh for 'peace be with you'. In that first month we had about 20 words come and go.
"Since then pictures, crosses and Welsh words have been appearing all the time on the wall and around the fireplace in a brownish stain.
"They come and go. The words always seem to have a virtuous or religious connotation.
"Watching the fireplace in our house is as entertaining as watching the television!"

And Cosmopolitan has added a column on spirituality.

In politics the Bush administration accuses Kerry of using scripture for political purposes.
''John Kerry's comment at New Northside Baptist Church was beyond the bounds of acceptable discourse, and a sad exploitation of Scripture for a political attack,'' said Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt.
Because, the Bush administration would never use God in politics. As far as I'm concerned, both sides should shut up about God and starting worrying about politics.

Farscape returns

Sci Fi Wire reports that SciFi channel is picking up a Farscape miniseries, "Peacekeeper Wars."

Lansdale interview

Good interview with Joe R. Lansdale from the Houston Chronicle. The article includes a lot of biographical detail about the author that I didn't know. (Link found at Beatrice.)

Movies for the sick bed

So I've been sick for the last five days and have not felt like coming anywhere near the computer. Sorry for the derth of posts lately.
When I'm sick I can't concentrate on books or deep thoughtful movies, so I ended up watching lots of monster movies and action films this weekend. It's like chicken soup to me. So here are my capsule reviews:
"Equilibrium": Cool action rip-off of Fahrenheit 451. Christian Bale's action scenes are truly impressive.
"Deep Rising": Total popcorn movie fun. A big squid, octopus monster hidden inside a giant ocean liner, killing people off one by one. Good fun. Not much more.
"Impostor": One long chase scene. It captures a few good science fiction ideas, but mostly it's just characters running around.
"Mystery "Men": Funnier in concept than execution. I'm surprised at how good a rating Rotten Tomatoes gave it.
"Cabin Fever": Fun horror movie. Lots of references to 70s and 80s horror movies. Lots of humor. A good time. Gory.
"Underworld": Action movie with vampires and werewolves. Takes itself very seriously. Didn't buy the love story. Eh.
"Dog Soldiers": Surprisingly good low budget soldiers vs. werewolves movie. Kind of a "night of the living wolf" movie.

I also managed to crawl out of my hole long enough to see "Hellboy". I thought it was great. But then, I'm a big fan of the comic book and it's very true to the comic. Still, I though it was an exciting, fun movie with good characters and awesome monsters.
Back to regular linkage tomorrow.

Del Toro At the Mountains of Madness

Thanks to an off-hand mention at Caitlin Kiernan's Low Red Moon journal, I found out that Guillermo Del Toro, director of Hellboy, Kronos, Mimic and The Devil's Backbone, is also attached to direct an adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness. This is great. I saw Hellboy the other day and was very, very pleased. And The Devil's Backbone was truly a great spooky movie. I think he could really do the H.P. Lovecraft story justice.

Keanu Reeves in A Scanner Darkly

Dear God, why?

Just weird

I don't know what this is, but it's hilarious. (Link found at The Daily Column.)

You always knew this was the case

Exploring the Hostility of Things:

"During some research into the relation between periods of the day and human bad temper, Clark-Trimble, a leading Cambridge psychologist, came to the conclusion that low human dynamics in the early morning could not sufficiently explain the apparent hostility of Things at the breakfast table - the way honey gets between the fingers, the unfoldability of news-papers, etc. In the experiments which finally confirmed him in this view, and which he demonstrated before the Royal Society in London, Clark-Trimble arranged four hundred pieces of carpet in ascending degrees of quality, from coarse matting to priceless Chinese silk. Pieces of toast and marmalade, graded, weighed, and measured, were then dropped on each piece of carpet, and the marmalade-downwards incidence was statistically analysed. The toast fell right-side-up every time on the cheap carpet, except when the cheap carpet was screened from the rest (in which case the toast didn't know that Clark-Trimble had other and better carpets), and it fell marmalade-downwards every time on the Chinese silk. Most remarkable of all, the marmalade-downwards incidence for the intermediate grades was found to vary exactly with the quality of carpet."

Your toast knows what kind of carpet you have.
(Link found at Cylindrical Primate Storage Unit.)

No explanations for 'fairy circles'

Scientists in South Africa are baffled by Namibia's 'fairy circles.'

The circles comprise innumerable discs of completely bare sandy soil, ranging from two to 10 metres across, found in grass on Namibia's coastal fringe.

Scientists looked at three explanations: the milkbush, termites and radioactive soil. All of them have been discarded.

Lead scientist Gretel van Rooyen, a botanist at the University of Pretoria, is now exploring the theory that, somehow, toxic elements are deposited in the shape of the circle, making it impossible for plant life to get established there.
"But even if we find them, how they came there is the next problem," New Scientist quotes her as saying in next Saturday's issue.
For the moment, she admits wryly, "we're left with the fairies".

More Godzilla plushies

Toy Vault will be releasing a plush Baby Godzilla, 50th anniversary Godzilla, Gigan and Megalon.

ROMA ANNO DOMINI C: LOCI

Here's a clickable map of Rome in 100 AD. (Link found at Rogue Classicism.)

Computer zombies

Look! Night of the Living Dead is in the public domain and free on the Internet now! Go and get it.

Manuscript of bizarre creatures

Here are illustrations and descriptions from Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing, an illuminated Persian manuscript. There are centaurs and dragons and flying fish here, but also men with heads on their chests, fish with a man's head, a yellow monkey and lots more. (Link found at Maud Newton.)

Because even mermaids should have a body complex

A Polish town wants to give its mermaid symbol a boob job and a diet.

"There was a discussion about the coat of arms and one female councilor said jokingly that the mermaid's breasts were too small and that she was a bit fat," city hall spokesman told Reuters.
The joke became a serious idea when local and national media got wind of the debate, giving sleepy Ustka plenty of coverage.
"We are now considering altering the mermaid slightly by making her breasts bigger and making her leaner," the spokesman said. "She will become more attractive and Ustka will gain publicity."

Allegedly, you can see a picture of the mermaid at this site: http://www.ustka.pl/ustka.html?section=40, but I can't get it to work.

Enemies of the state

According to a new book, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff in the early 1960s wanted to blow up civilians or soldiers to justify going to war with Cuba. The plan was drafted and accepted by the Joint Chiefs and then presented to President Kennedy's defense secretary Robert McNamara. The plans didn't go any farther and the head of the Joint Chiefs, Army Gen. Lyman L. Lemnitzer, was removed shortly afterwards.

Code named Operation Northwoods, the plans reportedly included the possible assassination of Cuban émigrés, sinking boats of Cuban refugees on the high seas, hijacking planes, blowing up a U.S. ship, and even orchestrating violent terrorism in U.S. cities.
The plans were developed as ways to trick the American public and the international community into supporting a war to oust Cuba's then new leader, communist Fidel Castro.
America's top military brass even contemplated causing U.S. military casualties, writing: "We could blow up a U.S. ship in Guantanamo Bay and blame Cuba," and, "casualty lists in U.S. newspapers would cause a helpful wave of national indignation."

A real big foot found

A giant foam foot was found in Buckmaster Pond in Westwood, Mass., Monday morning.
The unusual item is about 5 feet long, 3 feet high, black in color, and very detailed, including well-defined toes and toenails. Sicard said there were reports that the foot might have been sitting on a park bench in the area during the weekend.
Police are seeking the owners of the foot.

Overlooked gems

Here's a list of "100 movies that deserve more love." (Link found at Metafilter.) I'm amazed at how much I agree with what I've read so far. If I didn't love the film, it's something I haven't seen yet. Check it out.

Sonic weapon

Marines will use a bizarre new "Secret Scream" gun to disable people.

The actual sound used is a recording of a baby's scream played backwards.
"For most people, even if they plug their ears, it will produce the equivalent of an instant migraine," said Woody Norris, chairman of American Technology Corporation, the Californian company that has produced the weapon.
"It will knock some people to their knees."

The gun was created through secret Pentagon research:

A secret division in the Pentagon has been financing research on futuristic weapons for more than 15 years.

He probably only painted the tip

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - An artist with 780 gallons of red paint, three fire hoses and a 20-member crew at his disposal went to Greenland in search of a blank canvas large enough to accommodate his creative impulse.
The result is a blood-red iceberg now sitting off the country's western coast.

A photo can be seen here at the artist's Web site.

A little about the artist:
Evaristti, who was born in Chile, drew widespread attention - and disdain - when he displayed 10 working blenders filled with goldfish in a Danish gallery in 2000.
He invited guests to turn the devices on and someone did, grinding up a pair of goldfish.
The gallery director was tried on charges of animal cruelty, but acquitted.