The Nappy Cat Chronicles

Miss Bimbo:

Welcome to Miss Bimbo. Enter the exciting world of the first ever, virtual fashion game ! Become the most famous, beautiful, sought after bimbo across the globe!

• Find your own cool place to live.
• Find a fun job to pay for your needs and all the clothes a Bimbo could possibly want.
• Shop for the latest fashions and become the trendsetting bimbo in town !
• Become a socialite and skyrocket to the top of fame and popularity.
• Date that famous hottie you’ve had your eye on and show the Bimbo world the social starlet you are !
• Even resort to meds or plastic surgery. Stop at nothing to become the reigning bimbo !
• Tackle your 104 tasks as quick as possible to become the rising star bimbo !!

ABC News’ take:

Boob jobs, diet pills and boyfriends are the name of the game for many girls joining a new online game that allows users to do whatever it takes to become “the most famous, beautiful, sought-after bimbo across the globe.”

“Miss Bimbo’s” users — who are primarily teenagers but are as young 8 — create virtual characters known as bimbos, dress them, groom them and can even navigate them right onto a plastic surgeon’s operating table.

Launched by business partners Chris Evans and French entrepreneur Nicholas Jacquart two months ago in Great Britain, “Miss Bimbo” has already attracted more than 200,000 users in Britain. The French version, created a year ago, boasts more than 1.2 million users.

Described by Evans as a cross between “Barbie” and “Tamagotchi,” the virtual pet game created in Japan, “Miss Bimbo” hinges on users creating bimbos and then making sure they’re taken care of.

“It’s a virtual reality fashion game,” Evans told ABCNEWS.com. “[Users] create a bimbo, buy her clothes, send her to university and love her and nurture her.”

But it’s the kind of loving and nurturing available in the game that has alarmed many body image experts who charge that the site is sending a bad message to young girls about what it means to be attractive and sexy.

“The fact that the game is encouraging girls to get boob jobs or go to the tanning salon or nab a rich boyfriend to make them more attractive or happier is just a sad awful message,” said Leslie Goldman, the American author of “Locker Room Diaries: The Naked Truth About Women, Body Image.” “It’s a horrible example to set for girls in terms of what is fun and cool and what it means to be a woman.”

I’m sort of on the fence about this. On one hand I can see this as satire and a typical Ponzi scheme. On the other hand, if you read the entire ABC News article, you’ll see that Chris Evans uses the words “in real life” a few times. He’s lying of course. Sitting at a computer and “nurturing” a fictional character (also known as “leveling up” in in fantasy game circles) is not an activity that confers real life lessons.

The byproduct of of our digital revolution is, for some, a loss of autonomy, personal authority, and socialization with family and friends. Digital concepts like Miss Bimbo represent the inevitable culmination of technology and the human desire to become a slave to the pursuit of achievement. Just one more hour and you’ll be a few pegs higher on the leaderboard. All the while, time spent with the shareholders of your life is lost.

I went through this with my father. The thrill of competing on America Online with others for the attention of others led to his estrangement from myself and my mother. That end isn’t inevitable of course. But, what sort of life vest do you throw to someone who is drowning in the belief that maintaining a virtual character is more personal and relevant than taking care of him or herself and those to whom he or she is responsible?

– DeVotchKa photo courtesy of mog.com –

For the cold weather, good riddance to March. The only thing I hate about April is April Fool’s Day. 90% of websites try to out onion the funny 5% and fail miserably. The other 5% just get high.

Musically, March had a few noteworthy additions. Included in this edition are singles from the band that’s the farthest thing from rap also known as DeVotchKa, the singer/songwriter Destroyer, the poppy collaboration between singer/songwriter M. Ward and actress Zooey Deschanel named She & Him, the alternative rock band The Raconteurs, and the independent rock band, who stole their name from Jerry Lee Lewis, What Made Milwaukee Famous.

(Click the arrow after each track for more info.)

Has the Lost mystery been solved? The ins-and-outs of the theory seem completely plausible. Of course, given that I have no idea what the hell is going on in the show anymore, I could be completely off base.

On the Thursday edition of NPR’s Most E-Mailed Stories Podcast, I heard the sad story of Charles Morris, the banker and economic historian who noticed the recent economic travesties and wrote a book about it. However, regardless of his place on the best-sellers list, evolutionary psychology teaches up that, essentially, many people could have read his book but would have not heeded his warning.

Error management theory posits that, when faced with a decision of which we are not sure of the consequences, we are more apt to “play it safe” and deny the option that is likely to produce the most adverse consequences. Ponder:

The allure of “getting rich” and the notion of economic scarcity are so strong that, in my opinion, people will gamble away their savings. However, this assumes a level playing field: If you play your cards well enough, you will procure a gain. Even a modest gain would be acceptable. Unfortunately, everyone else plays the game to make money and the few who have the resources to make the system work to their advantage will do so. They will purposefully create a scenario in which you will give them your savings and you will never see a return. And there will always be a plethora of people willing to take that risk. Hence obtaining more money and engaging in more wars will always be the goal of our wonderfully jingoed rulers.

Say not in grief that she is no more
but say in thankfulness that she was
A death is not the extinguishing of a light,
but the putting out of the lamp
because the dawn has come.

- Rabindranath Tagore

Today, I was prompted to read about Fauvism. Upon hearing the word in my mind I immediately pondered the potential greatness of Farvism:

Granted, it’s hideous but you’ve seen much worse done in the name of art.

Ancestry.com/MSNBC/The Today Show have a poll of the “worst, most humiliating, silliest, craziest and downright cruelest” names in the world. When I was a kid, I knew a “Plattenburger” family. They were strange.  I also knew a “Russel Finkle” in high school. He was strange too. So, despite the odds, I really hope that these kids turned out alright:

Uranus Stukey, Ghoul Nipple, Acne Fountain, Lust T. Castle, Mary A. Jerk, Ima Whore, Mutton Bucker, Hugh Jass, Fanny Whiffer, Tackle Feigenbutz, Envy Burger, Bum Snoddy, Mule E. McCart, Lard Mooney, Good Hell, Emma Royd, Noble Butt, Naught E. Bishop, Stud Duck.

The last time Easter was celebrated on March 23 was in 1913. This will occur again in 2160. The earliest possible day on which Easter can be celebrated is March 22. This occurred in 1818 and will occur again in 2285. The latest possible day is April 25. This occurred in 1943 and will occur again in 2038.

When I was Catholic, I’d go to Mass about half a dozen times during the week preceding Easter. Something about Lent and 40 days and a zombie named Jesus. Now that I’m past all of that, I celebrate Easter by taking a shower and looking at the WaPo’s “Peeps Show” (I ate with family yesterday).

Of the top 37, my favorites are:

U2 Peep-D

Peeps Atop a Skyscraper (c. 1932)

Sesame Peep

‘Peep Set Me Up!’ (D.C. mayor Marion Barry’s infamous 1990 arrest.)

Have a happy Easter everyone.

Barack Obama was smeared recently for the words of his long-time friend and mentor Jeremiah Wright, former pastor of Obama’s church, Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Obama has had his patriotism repeatedly questioned and his connection to Wright, who is explicitly Afrocentric, did nothing to quell the onslaught of lovingly raised eyebrows from the right-wing thought police.

Incidentally, Wright worked as a med tech in the Navy. And, incidentally, Wright assisted during surgery on President LBJ. Via TruthToPower:

This won’t make all those Sean Hannitys feel any better though. I’m sure the answer will be something like “Well, what about all those surgeries on American presidents that Hitler participated in?” Still, I hope the normal slightly-left-of-center media runs with this and Obama can freely acknowledge that he’s proud of Wright’s service.

My friend Michael emailed me this post from Dilbert owner and operator Scott Adams. In short, Adams created a character named Jesus (pronounced “Hay - Soos”). In the final installment of the Hay - Soos series, Jesus returns to save everyone’s pensions. His story will never be told because Dilbert’s pointy-haired boss forgot to write it down.

Anyway, oddly enough this series offended some Christians. From Adams’ post:

Hello! Mr. Adams,

Mr. Adams I just want to tell you that I don’t really appreciate you making a mockery of my faith. I used to think that your comic strip was funny, now I think it is very disgusting and not funny at all. I have found your last comics strips in reference to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ very offensive. There is a place for everything and there is a place for humor and humor has its limits, especially when it comes to those things and issues that some of us hold as sacred. I will pray for you and that some day you may come to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Otherwise you will find Him some day as your judge, and He will justly judge you for your sins and whether or not you believe in Hell that day you will believe and you will repent when you see Him face to face, but then it will be too late. Repent from your wicked ways and stop making fun of my Savior.

Thanks for your time.

Pastor (name deleted).
California

My response…

Thank you for taking time out from feeding the poor to complain about comic strips. I know Jesus would have played it the same way.

Scott

The email made me wonder if people have always been this easily offended. I tend to think so because people have always wanted to destroy that which they do not understand and that which threatens their worldview.

Ironically, the Biblical Jesus became a victim of that mentality.

Right now in the “trends” section of my Google Reader:

Although I’m averaging ~ 53 articles/posts read per day, I realize I’ve never written about this. Google Reader is an article/blog aggregate that combines and presents the content from all of the websites that you are subscribed to in one easy to use website. The top 10 websites that I’ve read the most are:

1. Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish
2. John Cole / Balloon Juice
3. Pharyngula
4. Reason Hit & Run
5. Radley Balko / The Agitator
6. The Consumerist
7. Who Is IOZ?
8. Right Wing Watch
9. TorrentFreak
10. Box Turtle Bulletin

Andrew Sullivan, John Cole, Radley Balko, and ‘Who Is IOZ?’ are informative and well-read bloggers who comment on politics, culture, religion, war, and life in general. Pharyngula is ran by atheist and biologist PZ Meyers who usually comments on religion and, unfortunately, makes a fool of himself when he comments on politics. Reason Hit & Run is a libertarian blog. The Consumerist is, like its name implies, a great blog that comments on consumer issues. Right Wing Watch watches and comments on the right wing of the Republican party. TorrentFreak is a blog devoted to technology and piracy-related issues. And, finally, Box Turtle Bulletin covers homosexual issues.

I’m not sure how it got so bad. It started with a few blogs. Suddenly, I was reading about why drugs should be legal and why religious fundamentalists should not be crafting public policy and more why’s and more stuff about stuff. I can’t remember if I remember half of what I’ve read. It’s not War & Peace but it’s so much more informative and more likable than cable news.

A bizarre multiple murder story from Thailand:

“When I began shooting nobody pleaded for his life because they were all drunk,” he said after his arrest.

He said he was so furious with their awful singing that he did not notice he had murdered his own brother-in-law.

“I warned these people about their noisy karaoke parties. I said if they carried on I would go down and shoot them. I had told them if I couldn’t talk sense into them I would come back and finish them off,” he added.

Jonathan Chait on Hillary Clinton’s egomaniacal presidential bid:

Clinton’s path to the nomination, then, involves the following steps: kneecap an eloquent, inspiring, reform-minded young leader who happens to be the first serious African American presidential candidate (meanwhile cementing her own reputation for Nixonian ruthlessness) and then win a contested convention by persuading party elites to override the results at the polls. The plan may also involve trying to seat the Michigan and Florida delegations, after having explicitly agreed that the results would not count toward delegate totals.

Introduction: The BSCT Program

In a review of unclassified United States government data, Denbeaux et al. (2006) concluded that, of the 517 “unlawful combatants” detained at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp for more than four years, 55% had not been charged with engaging in hostilities against the United States or its coalition allies and 60% are detained for being “associated with” one or more terrorist organizations. Additionally, “[o]nly 8% of the detainees were characterized as al Qaeda fighters. Of the remaining detainees, 40% have no definitive connection with al Qaeda at all and 18%…have no definitive affiliation with either al Qaeda or the Taliban” (Denbeaux et al., 2006, p. 2).

In 2005, a small group of civilian medical professionals, which included New England Journal of Medicine contributing editor Dr. Susan Okie, visited the Camp Delta to be briefed by the commander of Guantánamo Bay, Major General Jay W. Hood, on the current state of the medical and mental health care provided to the detainees. Because of safety and privacy concerns, the group was not permitted to see or talk to the detainees (Okie, 2005). Of main concern to the group was the possible involvement of medical personnel in the mistreatment of the detainees. Specifically, the group was curious about the Behavior Science Consultation Team (BSCT, pronounced “Biscuit”) program.

The BSCT program began in 2002 and was approved for use at Guantánamo Bay by then commander Major General Geoffrey Miller to develop behavioral and psychological strategies that would expedite the gathering of intelligence from the “more than 100 detainees considered to have high intelligence value” (Okie, 2005, p. 2532). The BSCT at Guantánamo Bay included a psychiatrist and a psychologist who “prepared psychological profiles for use by interrogators [and]…sat in on some interrogations, observed other from behind one-way mirrors, and offered feedback to interrogator” (Bloche & Marks, 2005a, p. 7). The role of the BSCT medical personnel in the abuse of Mohammed al-Qahtani, a detainee determined to be of high intelligence value, is well documented (Miles, 2007).