Simian Uprising by Jer Clarke

Quick note that the new A Softer World may or may not feature some very sexy people that you may or may not know.

(the photo is from about a year ago, and yes, we are both wearing different versions of the simian uprising shirt.)

Edit 2015: Later another A Softer World was posted with a photo of me from that same night of urban exploration.

For archive purposes the two comics are copied below.

It’s great to see the Archaic Totalitarian Religious Institutions appealing to the Archaic Totalitarian Political Institutions for help when they can see that they’re losing, though it’s hard to not feel a bit insulted when they go over the heads of the voting public in lame, insulting attempts to eschew democracy in favor of stagnant social policy. Link to Canada.com story.

It appears that as zero-hour for the passing of the Same-Sex Marriage bill (bill c-38) approaches, a group of zany christians have decided to appeal directly to the source of ultimate power in Canada, the queen . David Mainse, a former christian television host, has used his traditional definition of marriage” website to start a letter writing campaign to Buckingham Palace in the hopes that Her Majesty will force Canada’s Governor General (Adrian Clarkson) to deny Royal Assent for the bill. From the letter:

Our beloved Queen Elizabeth II, I know that the refusal of the Governor General to give royal consent would precipitate a crisis. Millions have nowhere else to turn but you, …

Should you act in this, millions of us would surely become more fervent supporters of the monarchy than ever.

This course of action is not only desperate and mockingly ridiculous (I don’t see how it can even be anything but an insult to legitimate anti-fagmarriage movements) but manages to nonetheless be completely demeaning to both democracy in Canada and whatever vestigial monarchy may be present. “We’d all be your friends if you support our hate” just doesn’t ring true somehow.

Whether you agree with gay marriage or not, this is just tacky and insane. Mr. Mainse should go back on TV where that kind of bullshit belongs.

Just a quick note that I upgraded the WordPress installation for the Simian Uprising blog from 1.2 to 1.5.1.3.

That is probably very unimportant to you, but give me a shout if you notice any weird behaviors or if anything seems to be not working like you expect it to (the comments system is a bit different, but should be easier not harder).

Also, anyone using RSS syndication (check out that link if you dont’ know what it is) to follow Simian Uprising should probably update their links. The new feed is here.

As I consider the possibility of a third encounter with the generous scientists and medical professionals at Algorithme Pharmaceutical, I can’t help putting myself in the place of Martin and Julie. Young, intelligent and adventurous, I feel like I could use the extra dollars for something, even though I’m obviously too cool to actually need them.

There’s just something so tempting about the few studies that involve waste collection rather than constant blood sampling (they advertise these specifically, i.e. now). The needles are liquid hate, but I have no problems drinking a lot of extra water and using the bucket, and 900$ is 90,000¢, whether I need that many pennies or not.

Will I be a tool for eating the mandatory non-vegetarian meals? What if I enjoy them?

[[EDIT: Does anyone want to join me on this adventure? The worst part is the waiting and sitting around all weekend (it’s two weekends in a row of sitting around in a closed room with a bunch of other guys). You’d probably have to not smoke or have too much detectable drugs in your system. Email me if you’re planning on applying (there’s tests and stuff) jer [at] simianuprising [dot] com ]]

Twila Raftu and Shaun Cronin began Project Free Zarathustra in May of 2004 with the goal of teaching others about digital rights. “Alternative Freedom” is their feature-length documentary about the invisible war on culture.

It can only be good news that these guys found the dollars to put together this film that so dearly needs to be made. Featuring speakers like Lawrence Lessig, Richard Stallman and DJ Danger Mouse, it seems to cover the myriad freedoms that are at risk of being destroyed by the consolidation of law and technology (overbearing copyright law mixed with overarching DRM = ultimate control by media owners and disempowerment of citizen).

If the trailer is any indication, the movie will also be really fun and compellingly assembled. YES!
Link to Alternative Freedom page on OurMedia.org.
Link directely to .mov trailer file.

(thanks to Copyfight for the link.)

Also, while we’re at it, Dinosaur Comics recently posted a great comic about copyright law, even if the use of (cc) on the comic itself was a bit fatuous (and vague).
(p.s. Anne of Green Gables is a loser.)

David points out yet another example of the weak, tacky trend where huge corporations use imagery ripped off from indy/punk/artistic creations to shill their generic crap.

Pictured above is the cover of an early eighties Minor Threat cover next to a poster recently used by Nike to promote a skateboard tour it was holding. How nice of them to also rip off the silkscreen/xerox aesthetic common to the indy scene because silkscreen and xerox are the only means available on a slim budget (10$ says the “Major Threat” posters were four-color printed on glossy).

LINK to BoingBoing article with more detailed links.

(click image for larger version, I am the one with blue hair and a simianuprising shirt)

Note that Second Life now has a live video feed available from their front page. It’s not eactly CNN in terms of excitement (nothing blows up on SLTV) but it kind of gives you a sense of what’s going on generally (of course, mostly showoffs show up, and there’s music you can’t turn off, though it’s alright too.) Direct link to video page.