Thanks to Dave T. for passing along the shocking, shocking news regarding the existence of the Finger Forks. These contraptions, which were recently featured on BoingBoing, are clearly a shameless rip-off of my ingenious Chorks concept:
Two words: prior art! I am so calling my patent lawyer…
…Your life-jacket can be found under your seat, but please do not remove it now. In fact, do not bother to look for it at all. In the event of a landing on water, an unprecedented miracle will have occurred, because in the history of aviation the number of wide-bodied aircraft that have made successful landings on water is zero. This aircraft is equipped with inflatable slides that detach to form life rafts, not that it makes any difference. Please remove high-heeled shoes before using the slides. We might as well add that space helmets and anti-gravity belts should also be removed, since even to mention the use of the slides as rafts is to enter the realm of science fiction.
Apple continues to demonstrate that they just might have the most innovative consumer electronics product designers in the world. Check out the new iPod Shuffle. One gig of memory. 240 songs. 1.62 inches long. 78 bucks. A built-in clip. Wow.
The Washington Post’s Gene Weingarten supplies some very amusing tips for men in their twenties.
The LAT’s Richard Paddock has published a revealing story about the Myanmar government’s efforts to “rebuild” the country’s ancient temples.
(Via.)
Speaking of Matt Gross/the Frugal Traveler, let’s give it up for another peripatetic Matt. I speak of Matt Hoffman, a dude who visited some 39 countries and did his goofy (yet oddly infectious) dance in each of them. Check out the video above or visit his site.
(Via.)
In my latest Gridskipper post, I take a look at Matt Gross’s final dispatches from his round-the-world journey as the New York Times’s Frugal Traveler.
Related: World Hum’s Mike Yessis recently published an interview with Matt.
[Photo: Matt Gross/NYT]
Colum Murphy has a comprehensive essay about Thailand’s political situation in this month’s Far Eastern Economic Review:
Inside the entrance to the Thai Rak Thai’s party headquarters in Bangkok hangs a giant photograph of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra bowing to King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Dressed in the white uniform sometimes worn by government officials, the prime minister is prostrate before the much-revered king in a gesture of devoted servitude. Yet few in Thailand believe that relations between the two men are as amiable as the photograph suggests.
“He [Mr. Thaksin] has pitched a fight with the Bangkok elite, including the palace—and that means the king himself,” says a Western diplomat. Earlier in the year, Mr. Thaksin reportedly said that he would step down if the king “whispered in his ear” to do so. “Well the king has not just whispered it, but has said it indirectly in public,” adds the diplomat.
With fresh elections planned for October 15, it could be only a matter of weeks before a major showdown occurs. But more is at stake than Mr. Thaksin’s political career. There would be ramifications for the monarchy as well, and its relationship with the country’s still-weak democratic institutions. A drawn-out dispute between Mr. Thaksin and the king, also known as Rama IX, threatens to derail efforts to address the challenges to Thai society such as the disparity between the rich and poor, the urban and rural, as well as systemic corruption.
(Emphasis mine.)
The 2005 martial arts action flick Tom Yum Goong appears to be headed for Western theaters; its new title is The Protector. You can watch the trailer here. The film features Thai celluloid star Tony Jaa. Why it is, precisely, that the flick is named after one of my all-time favorite Thai dishes remains a mystery.
From the promo copy:
His world shaped by ancient traditions, a young Thai fighter (Jaa) is called upon to defend his people and their honor after outsiders invade their home and destroy all that is sacred.Fueled by desire to protect a way of life and avenge the wrong done to his family, he will bring the fight to their city.
The real question: Tony Jaa vs. Rambo. Who wins?
RISBANE, Australia – Steve Irwin, the Australian television personality and environmentalist known as the “Crocodile Hunter,” was killed Monday by a stingray during a diving expedition, Australian media said. He was 44.
Irwin was filming an underwater documentary on the Great Barrier Reef in northeastern Queensland state when the accident occurred, Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on its Web site.