12 August 2007

Web search for the humor in technology, world news, celebrities and mad events | 19 August 2007 | 05 August 2007

MyBlogLog Sunday is 21 tomorrow

Filed in: MBL sunday

MyBlogLog Sunday 21 will be up and running tomorrow. No candles or presents, but it will be overflowing with mini reviews of 10 blogs that you may or may not have heard of before. To take part, there is no catch, no hard "rules".

Around 11 am on Sunday I will take a screenshot of the MyBlogLog widget in my sidebar. If you are one of the 10 faces and you leave a comment linking to the best post you wrote last week, I will do a mini review of your site.

Apart from last week, where I screwed up big time, the featured blogs get to stay on the homepage (PR5) all week and live in the archives forever! And no strings. It is free to become a MyBlogLog member. and you aren't even obliged to join The Pisstakers scintillating community if you don't want to. How easy and useful is that?!!!

I said no strings attached, but in the spirit of an internet built on links between cool sites, it would be great if you mentioned the Pisstakers somewhere on your blog, in a post or install a widget for your sidebar.

Don't forget to call by tomorrow, and all you blogmasters looking for a bit of exposure, feel free to blitz me with comments with a link to the best post you wrote this week!

hasta tomorrow, babies!

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MyBlogLog Sunday 20 coming up.

Filed in: Ed's blog spot

Fancy a mini review as part of MyBlogLog Sunday 20? The mini reviews are quite fun and I aim to bring out the best in 10 blogs you may or may not have heard of. The "rules" are simple.

Around 11 am on Sunday I will take a screenshot of the MyBlogLog widget in my sidebar. If you are one of the 10 faces and you have left a comment linking to the best post you wrote last week, I will do a mini review of your site.

The featured blogs get to stay on the homepage (PR5) all week and live in the archives forever! And no strings. It is free to become a MyBlogLog member. and you aren't even obliged to join The Pisstakers scintillating community if you don't want to. How easy and useful is that?!!!

I said no strings attached, but in the spirit of an internet built on links between cool sites, it would be great if you mentioned the Pisstakers somewhere on your blog, in a post or try a widget for your sidebar.

Don't forget to call by tomorrow, and all you blogmasters looking for a bit of exposure, feel free to blitz me with comments with a link to the best post you wrote this week!

ciao babies!

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"Your name" is a Kiva lender	"Your site's screenshot" SmartLink Widget	Funny HQ humor store

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The fall and rise of America

Filed in: Ed's blog spot

Ed the Editor's personal blog corner

It has been a weird couple of days. At a time when nervous folks have been queuing up at banks to withdraw their money ahead of a perceived market crash, the people running those banks have been queuing up at the Fed. Sweating bankers in suits talked their heads off convincing the central bank to do something to save their shirt. True to form, Bernankepanky pulled a master stroke and appeased both the account holders and the banks - and averted a financial meltdown. Hooray.

Yesterday, Hurricane Erin popped and spluttered in the gulf, but Dean is still steaming over the ocean at a great rate of knots. (Can someone explain how a weak E hit land ahead of a strong D?) Anyway, next week, as the financiers in New York pat themselves on the back chuffing down caviar wrapped in sugar-coated greenbacks, picture the irony when Dean takes the roof off all their banks in Houston.

On the plus side, the hurricane will at least create plenty of work for local construction workers. This could be a bitter sweet experience for many of the guys who have been sold mortgages they couldn't really afford. To add insult to injury, they are working under a cloud because their livelihood is on the line due to the bankers' decision to no longer give away cheap mortgages to new house buyers.

It's a complex funny world in which we live.

If you ever miss a day without Ed, all the blogspots are here. This site has been completely widgetized. Check it out.

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Contests widget

Filed in: Ed's blog spot

If contests, sweepstakes and free stuff are your thing, ie calling all human beings who read this blog and any blog on the internet, I am pleased to announce the new Contests widget residing in the sidebar.

If you have a blog and want a snazzy widget that offers your readers fresh links to the latest contests on-line, please consider adding the new Contests widget to your sidebar.

Feel free to copy the code and paste it into your own sidebar.

If you are running a contest, consider adding your details to the widget. The contests appear one at a time with each page refresh. A new mug contest was added.

If your blog specialises in contests, consider adding the widget to your side bar. It is installed on the win a wii blog.

The contests widget was reviewed by WidgetLabs and Contest Blogger and DisregardMe.

It is a free service and the widget is maintained and served by The Pisstakers, so it is a win-win opportunity with minimal effort. You might even win something.

Contest Install the widget, or write a review, (short sweet or critical) and get a PR5 backlink. Send Ed the links

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"Your name" is a Kiva lender	"Your site's screenshot" SmartLink Widget	Funny HQ humor store

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Pisstakers Archives

Filed in: Recaps

A blogger's work is never done and over the last 24 hours I have introduced a Celebrity section (work in progress), added BlogCatalog discussions, sorted out the sidebars and experimented with the titles. If the site disappears off the radar, you know why!

Blogcatalog

Blogcatalog is a "clone" of MyBlogLog, but it has a great Discussions feature which gives it an edge in the competitive world of networking for bloggers. So I am trialling a dirty great widget here in this post, and if it loads quickly, I will move it to a permanent and prominent spot in the sidebar

Celebrity news bashing

And please, don't be too cynical about celebrities. They all have something valuable to offer society and I intend to find that little something and highlight it for your delight and delectation. The posts will be happy humorous ones, and only when there is nothing inspirational to relate, will I resort to bitchy posts about twitchy eyes, alcoholism and knickerless debauchery.

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"Your name" is a Kiva lender	"Your site's screenshot" SmartLink Widget	Funny HQ humor store

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Hurricane Erin blows for Wall Street

Filed in: Ed's blog spot

Ed the Editor's personal blog corner

Yesterday, "Hurricane" Erin, the first major weather system of the year, was heading for US shores with a vengeance. Holiday makers and airport managers in the gulf were crapping themselves, their nervous fingers on the trigger, ready to beat a hasty retreat to safety. At the other end of the gene pool, speculators had their fingers on the Buy Buy Buy trigger, ready to take advantage of the potential gloom for oil producers, airlines and houses in the line of fire. But how the mighty are fallen.

Erin, a synonym for Wall Street in more ways than one (it was named after CNBC Business Channel beauty, Erin Burnett) has been downgraded from a storm in a teacup to a depression. As you can see, the meteorological news has created plenty of irrational and depressing behavior from speculators betting on the wind, but the mind boggles at what is coming next. What will the so-say savvy folks on Wall Street dream up as solution (or do I mean knee jerk reaction?) to the credit crunch storm.

As financial institutions run by suicidal managers melt before his eyes, the following dreamy observation came from analyst Rick Rantelli. (Judging by the state of his eyes this morning, he was on the wrong end of three rounds with Warren "Iron Mike" Buffet.)

Traders were expecting to recoup recent credit crunch losses by trading on the misery of flight delays and wanton destruction in the Gulf. Now look at them. They are screwed and can't off-load their stocks quickly enough.

When pressed on a strategy to limit losses, he ranted.

Baby and bath-water are two economic terms that spring to mind here, folks. This disaster is an opportunity for buyers with cash. Oh, wait, no one has any cash and we can't get a loan either. As you were.

Joey Smugman, an Australian-born trader who had the foresight to flee to cash when the Dow Jones stood at a record 14000, was quoted as follows.

Hedge funds and financial wizards have been squirreling away billions in profits for years, and burning the trail to where their risk has been parked. Shame that when it matters most, they can't quite put their finger on where their liabilities are right now, but never mind, I'm alright.

When pressed on that callous remark, he raised his pint of beer and replied,

Cheers. Can you hear that? It is the sound of hedge fund managers unraveling and screaming, Houston, New York, London Tokyo, we have a liquidity problem. But I'm OK, I'm rolling in cash. When I'm not drinking amber nectar for 2 devalued dollars a pint, I'm telling my broker to Buy Buy Buy financials. Making money is like falling off a log now.

His answer to the pending housing crisis was equally harsh.

Hey, if you think it is a crisis when banks stop lending money to people who can't afford it, then shoot me.

He then put 20% down on the bar and secured a line of 12 beers on credit.

See, the only crisis here is i don't think I can stay conscious enough to finish those drinks.

Meanwhile millions of financially unsavvy homeowners and holiday makers breathe a sigh of relief, un-batten the hatches, and get back to an honest day's work and play, living on credit they can't service! On the floors of stock exchanges worldwide, the traders get crunched; rain cloud Erin gets the credit for a sudden surge in umbrella sales in Houston; and the real Erin's colleague Mark Haines leaves us with hot tip to ride the mortgage problems - buy buy buy tent stocks. Funny old world.

If you ever miss a day without Ed, all the blogspots are here. This site has been completely widgetized. Check it out.

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Greed is good?

Filed in: Ed's blog spot

Ed the Editor's personal blog corner

Gordon Gecko may have carved the Greed is Good mantra on the souls of millions of movie-goers, but sadly, a few entrepreneurs carved the Hollywood slogan on their heart and live out the fantasy.

One such greedy git was the Baptist Church fund raiser and investor. He was a credible man with a proven track record for financial responsibility and he wore his love of god on his expensive sleeve. His financial project was supposed to be a short cut to the Promised land for fellow church members. What wasn't to like about handing over life-savings to god's respected banker?

Unfortunately for the folks down south, the Baptist financial planner was a star in the greed stakes. The end result of his religious investments in duff real estate was a $300m difference between assets and debts, for the worst. The congregation were ruined, when the police caught up with him, he was ruined, faith in the church was ruined. Incompetence didn't come into the equation, by the way. When the gory details came out, he had trespassed so far on the wrong side of the law, he will be the guy you see at Beelzebub and Gecko's right hand.

Greed is good?

If you ever miss a day without Ed, all the blogspots are here. This site has been completely widgetized. Check it out.

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Institute Benjamenta or Films that disappointed

Filed in: Ed's blog spot

Ed the Editor's personal blog corner

Mrs Ed was telling me about the day she was banned from ever picking films for kids to watch. She had this idea in her head that Institute Benjamenta or This Dream People Call human Life, would be suitable for young teens. Apart from the Institute part of the title, I would have thought the opposite, as somehow, the name didn't conjure images of transformers, fluffy bunnies or superheroes. But that could just be me.

When pressed further about her choice, she said the director had a reputation for cool cinematography and, to her mind that meant an Amelie-style movie. OK, granted, if you get past the girlie bits, the adventures of Ms Poulain could be a good movie for boys too, but ordinarily, an independent foreign movie would hardly be the first example that came to mind for an American teen flick party fest.

Anyway, the long and the short of it was, the poor kids dutifully sat through a series of out-of-focus black and white cameo scenes loosely hanging by a broken thread of a story line set in a school for butlers. The actors who, as critic Carl Tait intimated, should just shut up, repeated their lines ad nauseam. Sounds gripping doesn't it!

In an effort to find out what possessed her to pick this Benjamenta pic, I did a little digging of my own. After a quick Google, I realised that she was possibly misled by a Village Voice critique, calling it "the strangest, prettiest, most mesmerizing debut since Eraserhead". Poor Mrs Ed had never heard of Eraserhead, and probably got confused by the Eraser part of the title, thinking it was a reference to the contents of a schoolkid's pencil case, rather than an intrinsic part of a cult movie where craniums explode left and right amidst B-rate drama.

But the probing insightful critiques really took a turn for the best on Amazon. The best observation likened the film to the scent of a zoo closed down many years ago by a local ordinance. I once heard Georgia (of the former Soviet Union) likened to a toilet that hadn't been cleaned since 1937, so I know exactly where that film critic was coming from. Take a look, there's more.

Bowing out gracefully, Mrs Ed would like to add, "Not only was it in black and white and out-of-focus, it was in German, with subtitles. And if you want to play a bad joke on someone, tell them that if they can sit through the first half, it is really worth watching."

Right, thanks to Mrs Ed for her contribution to those poor kids' education, now it's time for her to pay her penance. Sit through every Die Hard movie with me, eating chips and swilling beer, without complaining once. Mwahahaha

Gummi bear Contest

And to maximise the fun of this particular film, I am running an Institute Benjamenta contest. 1lb of gummi bears for the best review. Send them to Ed, and I will publish them here and link to your site, or send a link to where you have posted it.

btw, if you can explain what the deer are doing in the film, that would be cool too. I don't expect too many entrants, but those who do, may learn something useful?

If you ever miss a day without Ed, all the blogspots are here. This site has been completely widgetized. Check it out.

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The Simpsons

Filed in: Ed's blog spot

Ed the Editor's personal blog corner

I quite enjoy The Simpsons, but haven't followed them from the beginning. I was intrigued when someone said the original shows were really cutting edge and now they are a bit lame. After a trip through Youtube and clips of Willie the Groundskeeper in particular, I have to agree.

The Scot only comes out to play in small doses, but he is outrageous and plain funny when he does. I love the rip-off of Basic Instinct, where he is interviewed in the police station, sat in his kilt, crossing and uncrossing his legs... And the fight between Willie and Shamus, "I'm going to turn your groin into puddin'!" That is such an amazing swipe at the Scots who love their stodgy desserts and the romance of street-fights.

To gauge whether the new episodes are lame, we have to wonder, would Aboo ever dare warn a Chinaman not to eat his out-of-date flea-encrusted pastries, unless he wants to turn his intestines yellow, and to the consistency of Won Ton soup without the won tons? Probably not.

And talking of Won Ton. What a belly laugh, hearing Willie's version of Down Town. Doon Toon. It is up there with William Hung singing "She bangs"

I have watched a lot of Simpsons episodes in Spanish and one of the biggest double belly laughs came from reading the original banners and signs in English, and then reading the translations at the bottom of the screen. Like a double whammy.

In one show, there was a sign hanging outside the school on casino night, saying something like None of the profits go to Indians. It is such a succinct and funny line in English, and the Spanish laughed too, but a couple of seconds later. Not because it was a bad translation, but because in Spanish it takes up half the screen and takes a while to read.

There would be no room for the cartoon if they translated my stereotypical smart ass phrase: Most of the Indians who stayed on reservations drink because they lost their shirt to the white man, but the sober Indians now profit from drunk white men losing their shirt on reservations. Yes, the old ones are the best, and mine is not old.

If you ever miss a day without Ed, all the blogspots are here. This site has been completely widgetized. Check it out.

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"Your name" is a Kiva lender	"Your site's screenshot" SmartLink Widget	Funny HQ humor store

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MyBlogLog roll widget

Filed in: Ed's blog spot

To add to the value of MyBlogLog Sunday, I have a new widget available. The MyBlogLog Roll displays and links to a random batch of 10 MBL Sunday mini reviews. There are 17 batches so far included. It is in the sidebar here, and adapts pretty much to your blog's theme.

If you have been mini-reviewed, (which isn't at all painful if you aren't familiar with the MBL Sunday feature) why not install it in your side bar. This will lead more people to read the mini-reviews, yours included, and add to the buzz.

If you havent been mini reviewed, when you are, your batch will automatically be added to the widget.

An extra Stumble. Also, I am adding a masterstroke based on an idea by Untwisted Vortex, The featured blogs that leave a link to their best post in the Comments section get Stumbled too.

If you add the Stumble to the automatic link you get to your MyBlogLog community plus links to your homepage and / or individual posts, that is a lot of link love packed into a witty mini review! The widget is available here.

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"Your name" is a Kiva lender	"Your site's screenshot" SmartLink Widget	Funny HQ humor store

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MyBlogLog Sunday 19

Filed in: MBL sunday

MyBlogLog Sunday 19 hits the ground running today at about 10.30 sweaty Eastern time. Be thankful I don't offer a live video feed of the realities of blogging. I am sat here in the attic in my scrogs, strategically lined up with the air con to keep cool.

The screenshot of the MyBlogLog widget seems to be populated by several new visitors, which is good to see. Welcome! You will all get a mini review - as long as you leave a comment here with a link to your best post of the week. And to answer Nurse Myra, yes you can try and participate as many weeks as you like.

If you haven't done so already, you have till about 6pm to leave a link and then I will get to work.

Permalink is permanent
All mini reviews from today are instantly added to the archives, so you can get a permanent back link to your mini review when it appears later today.