Archive for June, 2001

Just when you thought you’d stumbled across just about every useful resource to be had, along comes a guide to dermatolgy in the cinema. Naturally enough it includes a section on actors with skin conditions.

My surname, Lewry, is the 70,796th most popular last name in the United States. That’s less popular than Bundy, McVeigh, Ramirez, Lucas, and a host of other killers.

This is my cat, Lulu “Jive Turkey” Jones. She hates you. Why? Because you’re a pathetic loser. Very nice – it’s the gospel according to www.mycathatesyou.com. [via follow me here]

Once again I’m short of inspiration, and turn to Dave for ideas (by the way, he’s redesigned again). This time Dave points me in the direction of a site featuring just about the cleverest bit of DHTML I’ve ever seen. Just beautiful. For the curious, here’s a picture of Dave. Handsome fella, ain’t he?

Exclusive McVeigh Execution Footageit’s here, the tape that everyone wants to see. And because everyone wants to see it, there’s sure to be plenty of hoaxed material surfacing. This may or may not be just that. Or it might be a gateway to a virus. [via lubacov]. Meanwhile, here’s McVeigh’s death certificate.

Yesterday I wuz bored. This is what happened:

Joel made this fantastic high-tech tribute to the God Among Men that is Mark Knopfler (out of Dire Straits)

Mark Knopfler News, quite bewilderingly, declined to link to it. Unfortunately, some people found out about this and started appealing to the guy who runs it. Joel managed to obtain the relevant correspondence, including my unfortunate contribution.

Craig of Flip Flop Flying wrote:

I understand that you to link to more http://www.rathergood.com/knopfler / -as lifelong terrible Straits lover and Knopfler ventilator, I find this, around a terrible dishonor to be indicate. I sick by largely quantity of info what is copy on one hundred similarly websites, and find it very renewing to see to something what to be completely to be intended to have to celebration of this large man and its music. It is one my faves. I think that you should set her inside.

Liebe,

Craig

I then wrote a mail pupporting to be from markknopfler@direstraits.com:

Hi Terry,

I understand you have declined to link to http://www.rathergood.com/knopfler/- I find this a little disconcerting, as it is by far the most favourable online tribute I’ve seen to myself.

Whilst there have been a lot of mediocre tributes to have appeared recently, the page at rathergood is an absolute tour de force, summing up what it is to be in Dire Straits far better than any other piece I’ve seen.

Yours,

Mark Knopfler
(Guitar, Dire Straits).

Mark Knopfler News became agitated, but still there was no concession.

Andrew Sheerin of Hairytongue sent this:

Hi Terry,

I have the privilege of knowing Mark Knopfler quite well. So when I realised you were actively discouraging rightly deserved praise of this guitar legend (I’m referring, of course, to your refusal to link to Joel’s tribute page – www.rathergood.com/knopfler) I felt compelled to phone Mark and get his side of the story. Here’s what he said.

In the words of the great man himself. Please. Re-think.

All the best,

Andrew.

You can listen to the recorded conversation by clicking here to download.

At this point, Mark Knopfler News told Joel “please tell them to stop.” In fact, Knopfler himself was invoked against the perpetrators: “I can assure you that Mark himself would be seriosuly unhappy”

So we backed off.

99% of the above text was not written by me, but by someone far more talented.

Some people really need to get out more. And some people go out all the time.

Jesus Christ. Someone’s come up with a list of Christian chat-up lines. Unfortunately, they’re all crap.

As the US still carries on murdering people to prove that murdering people is wrong, it’s worth taking a look at a typical execution: Sept. 2, 1983. Mississippi. Jimmy Lee Gray. Asphyxiation. Officials had to clear the room eight minutes after the gas was released when Gray’s desperate gasps for air repulsed witnesses. His attorney, Dennis Balske of Montgomery, Alabama, criticized state officials for clearing the room when the inmate was still alive. Said noted death penalty defense attorney David Bruck, “Jimmy Lee Gray died banging his head against a steel pole in the gas chamber while the reporters counted his moans” (eleven, according to the Associated Press). Later it was revealed that the executioner, Barry Bruce, was drunk. OK, maybe not a good example, but there are plenty of other botched cases, and another nine chances to get it wrong to come. This month.

I don’t really care if this is real or not, but Manchester United Are Best Ever! is utterly, utterly brilliant. Another in the growing number of sites touted as “the new Mahir”, it has everything. The terrible design, the cheap graphics, the bad English: an undoubted tour de force.