Wake n’ Bacon - "The Wake n’ Bacon is a collaborative alarm clock design by Matty Sallin, Daniel Bartolini and Hsiao-huh Hsu. It wakes you up with the delicious scent of bacon instead of beeping."

KFC bolsters security - for secret recipe - "Colonel Harland Sanders' handwritten recipe of 11 herbs and spices was to be removed Tuesday from safekeeping at KFC's corporate offices for the first time in decades. The temporary relocation is allowing KFC to revamp security around a yellowing sheet of paper that contains one of the country's most famous corporate secrets."
TMM: "how did KFC get certified halal if no one knows what's in it"

Four categories of women who work as topless dancers - "Many involved in the feminist debates over sex work have polarized the construction of women in the sex industry as either victims of exploitation, or free agents who choose this work. This study examined the life circumstances of 30 women who worked as toplesS dancers to determine, how, if at all, the polarized debates reflect the realities of the women in this study. Four catagories of women who worked as topless dancers emerged: (1) survivors, (2) workers, (3) non-conformists, and (4) dancers. These categories suggest that there is a continuum of experience with varying degrees of choice, and demonstrate the limitations of dichotomous thinking when it comes to understanding the lived experiences of women in the sex industry."

Power station protesters cleared - "Six Greenpeace activists have been cleared of causing criminal damage during a protest over coal-fired power. The activists were charged with causing £30,000 of damage after they scaled Kingsnorth power station in Hoo, Kent... The defendants said the protest was lawful because it aimed to prevent damaging emissions. Energy firm E.ON said lives had been put at risk... Ms Highmore called for an "open and honest debate" about the challenges of energy and climate change, but added: "That's a debate that shouldn't be taking place at the top of a chimney stack.""
Someone should try messing with the organic and anti-GM food lobby, since they're wreaking havoc with lives in the Third World. Too bad it's not as charismatic as being anti-coal.

Singapore Repertory Theatre presents Avenue Q - Merchandise - "You can purchase a copy of the Original Broadway Cast Recording for $20 at SRT's box-office or at the Esplanade Theatre during the run of the show."
It's >$50 at Borders

Manbag - Wikipedia - "Here is a close up of the man bag in action. It is hand-held and can be used as a cushion. Note the strap is easily accessible in the event that it needs to be used to swat an abductor (but not technically a weapon). Here is a man bag in use. It is so convenient that the owner can play piano with one hand and hold the man bag with the other."
Cock.

Teen suicides over 'Big Bang' fear - "Her father, identified on local television as Biharilal, said that his daughter, Chayya, killed herself after watching doomsday predictions made on Indian news programmes... For the past two days, many Indian news channels held discussions airing doomsday predictions over a huge particle-smashing machine buried under the Swiss-French border... In east India, thousands of people rushed to temples to pray and fast while others savoured their favourite foods in anticipation of the world's end."

Buddhism in a Muslim State: Theravada Practices and Religious Life in Kelantan - "Malays also make frequent visits to the temple mainly for some other reasons. Quite a number of monks are noted for their ability to dispense traditional medicine and herbal formulæs for various ailments. Many monks are also known for their expertise in dealing with victims of black magic and sorcery. Malays who come to the temple during non-festive occasions are likely to be regular clients of these specialist monks. A common practice among Kelantanese Malays is to consult Siamese monks for cases that proved ineffective when treated by Malay practitioners. In fact, traditional taxonomy of Malay diseases and ailments tends to attribute certain types of illness to Siamese and Brahmanistic origin, including the infamous effect from the use of oil extracted from the corpse of murder victims or person who died a violent death (Thai: nam man tai hong: Malay: minyak mati dibunuh). Hence the prevailing belief is that the best treatment should be handled with the help of Siamese specialists. Cases suspected to be caused by black magic and sorcery of Siamese origin are quickly referred to these specialists instead of being sent to Malay healers (bomoh). Likewise, Malays do consult Siamese magician for ‘augmentive’ magic, such as in the case of those looking for charm medicine. Otherwise Siamese specialists are frequently approached for preventive and curative magic"

Games Without Frontiers: Fun Way to Lose Weight: Turn Dieting Into an RPG - "As with an RPG, you roll a virtual character, manage your inventory and resources, and try to achieve a goal. Weight Watchers' points function precisely like hit points; each bite of food does damage until you've used up your daily amount, so you sleep and start all over again. Play well and you level up -- by losing weight!... Even the Weight Watchers web tool is amazingly gamelike. It has the poke-around-and-see-what-happens elegance you see in really good RPG game screens. Accidentally snack on a candy bar and ruin your meal plan for the day? No worries: Just go into the database and see what spells -- whoops, I mean foods -- you can still use with your remaining points. And those 35 extra points you get every week? They're like a special buff or potion -- a last-ditch save when you're on the ropes."

Prayers for a safe race weekend - "Representatives from 10 religious groups in Singapore conducted prayers for a successful and safe race here from September 26-28. The idea was the brainchild of Singapore GP deputy chairman Colin Syn, who said: “We are a multi-cultural society and this is something that we are accustomed to here. I believe getting all the religions involved to pray for a safe weekend is a good thing.”"
*facepalm*

Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995 - Wikipedia - "Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995 (1995), also known as "The Tent", was an artwork created by Tracey Emin RA... The work was a tent with the appliquéd names of, literally, everyone she had ever slept with, but not necessarily in the sexual sense. It achieved iconic status, was owned by Charles Saatchi, and was destroyed in the 2004 Momart London warehouse fire. She has refused to recreate it."
Never sleep with an artist

Your brain lies to you - "False beliefs are everywhere. Eighteen percent of Americans think the sun revolves around the earth, one poll has found. Thus it seems slightly less egregious that, according to another poll, 10 percent of us think that Senator Barack Obama, a Christian, is instead a Muslim. The Obama campaign has created a Web site to dispel misinformation. But this effort may be more difficult than it seems, thanks to the quirky way in which our brains store memories - and mislead us along the way."

Road Hog: Vegetarian Driver Suffers Pig Nightmare on Motorway - "The sight of a truckload of pigs headed for the sausage factory proved too much to bear for a German vegetarian woman who lost control of her vehicle as a result. Unfortunately, she crashed into another truck carrying pigs."

He’s done time in Feltham and created one of London’s most dangerous gangs, Peel Dem Crew, now Elijah “Ja Ja” Kerr tells Dominic Midgley why the gang was a substitute for family - "His mother, Sharon, was a 14-year-old schoolgirl in Birmingham when she got pregnant by her Rastafarian boyfriend Delroy., who turned out to be a violent waster, and JaJa had his first run-in with the police aged seven when he was caught shoplifting... As his mother worked long hours to keep them, JaJa was left to run wild... The motivation for all this crime was mundane: trainers. Despite her 17-hour days, Sharon wasn’t earning the sort of money to allow her children to keep up with the Joneses... "We had friends everywhere but they are like lost children, looking for substitute families. Being in a gang gives people a comfort zone.""
Just as alternate family forms are equally valid and should not be discouraged compared to the traditional one, so too is a gang an equally valid social structure which should not be discouraged.

Blood types in Japanese culture - Wikipedia - "There is a popular belief in Japan that a person's ABO blood type or ketsueki-gata (血液型, ketsueki-gata?) is predictive of their personality, temperament, and compatibility with others, similar to the Western world's astrology. This belief has carried over to some extent in other parts of East Asia such as South Korea. Ultimately deriving from ideas of historical scientific racism, the popular belief originates with publications by Masahiko Nomi in the 1970s. The scientific community dismisses such beliefs as superstition or pseudoscience."
Damn Japs.

Japanese Banquet of Cannibalism - "A “body” is made from food and placed on an operating table, much as though in a hospital. You can operate anyway and anywhere you want by cutting open the body and eating what you find inside. The body will actually bleed as you cut it and the intestines and organs inside are completely editable. It’s a banquet of Cannibalism."
Damn Japs.