With the summer season well on its way, bathing suit-shopping tops the list of high-stress activities. Not because of negative body image issues (I have enough of those to make you feel better about yourself) but more how exactly are you going to wave your superhero-geek flag high in a season known for wearing less?
Well Spencer Gifts has released a new line of Officially Licensed bikinis for those chic geeks out there who want to show their love for their favourite superheroine.
Supergirl, Batgirl and Wonder Woman styled bikinis are now available online:
And before you get your underoos in a bunch, I didn’t forget about the men, who have a line of overpriced Diesel Underwear available in the stylings of Batman, Flash, Green Lantern and the Joker.
Diesel also released an embarrassing motion-comic-styled promotional video in which it strongly implies that the Joker is “The Renegade” among these heroes. Uh… no. He is not.
Facebook and your privacy is trending once again among news sites and the blogosphere. This time, Facebook is doing something right. They recently amended their Statement of Rights and Responsibility to reflect a current change among employers asking for potential hires and employees access to their personal Facebook accounts.
According to Facebook’s chief privacy officer, this is a no-no, “We don’t think employers should be asking prospective employees to provide their passwords because we don’t think it’s the right thing to do.”
Now two state senators are weighing in on the issue. Democrats Chuck Schumer of New York and Connecticut ‘s Richard Blumenthal are asking Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate if employers are violating federal law by making such requests.
While most companies are still content to Google your name, this new practice is walking a very fine line. “It’s an invasion of privacy for private employers to insist on looking at people’s private Facebook pages as a condition of employment or consideration in an application process,” ACLU’s staff attorney Catherine Crump said on Tuesday. “You’d be appalled if your employer insisted on opening up your postal mail to see if there was anything of interest inside. It’s equally out of bounds for an employer to go on a fishing expedition through a person’s private social media account.”
The ACLU also says the number of employers who ask applicants for access to their Facebook profiles has risen over the past year. “This practice is so new that until recently, many people weren’t even aware that this was happening,” said Crump.
A British student has been jailed as a result of offensive Twitter comments made during an argument about a black football player. Unlike some previous incidents, the case involved longstanding laws that weren’t specifically introduced to cover online activity.
Liam Stacey, a 21 year old student, made the comments about Fabrice Muamba, a Bolton Wanderers player who collapsed during a game with heart problems and was taken to hospital in a critical condition. He has since regained consciousness but is still being held in intensive care.
Stacey first mocked Muamba’s possible death, then responded to critics with a serious of racially-related insults. After complaints by other users to the police he was charged with incitement to racial hatred. He pleaded guilty and was today sentenced to eight weeks’ in prison.
The judge in the case accepted that Stacey had made the comments while drunk and now regretted his actions, but said this was no excuse.
Stacey’s conviction has reawakened the debate about the limits of free speech, particularly among those who post from behind the security of an online account. As with the conviction last summer of two British men who made Facebook posts ruled to be intentionally encouraging others to take part in riots, the case was based on laws that apply in all cases.
However, some Brits have been convicted under a specific law, the Communications Act of 2003, for “sending malicious communications that were grossly offensive.” These include another British student, Joshua Cryer, who was recently convicted and given a community service sentence for posting Twitter messages aimed at Stan Collymore, a retired black football player.
You know, in the 80’s, I would have thought this was the coolest cartoon. Actually, I still think it’s pretty cool, but for completely different reasons.
This is actually some guy’s Bachelor project for an animation workshop.
Really show off your music geekery with these hand-inked neckties adorned with some of the most obscure instruments in existence, from a Claghorn to a Aquaggaswack (I’m not kidding). You can choose deep red ink on taupe tie, blank ink on medium gray or black ink on light gray. Michael Phipps will even create a custom listing for you if you want it on a skinny or silk tie!
And if strange musical instruments isn’t your brand of geekiness, try out some of the other Scatterbrain Ties by Mr. Phipps. Here’s a few of my favourites:
