Dawnsinger

Vanilla Ice 'Down Under' . . .

Now this is a scary vision. 42-year-old politico Down Under pulling out the old "Bling-Bling in Every Crib" maneuver.

Read the story . . .

I'm getting this really frightening picture of the presidential debates. Kerry & Bush "bling-blinged" out, Band-Aids on cheeks, saggin' and crotch-grabbing in a desperate hip-hop smackdown.

Word.

Outsourcing our woes

Buzzmachine's Jeff Jarvis picked up on this interesting post from Om Malik, on "The Dark Side of Outsourcing," a look at the descent of outsourced phone-bank workers on the outskirts of Delhi who are descending into drugs, sex & rock 'n' roll as they toil on the 24-hour treadmill exported from America.

Amid their sometimes drunken but polite arguments, you hear the cry for help. The constant pressure of trying to be someone else, faking accents and trying to deal with the abusive behavior of their customers, you find many are crumbling. The late nights, cooped up in cool but antiseptic halls, the call center workers are turning to drink, drugs and sex to find some meaning to their lives.

Hello Delhi . . . welcome to the Dark Side of the American Dream.

Read Om's essay, and follow-up comments . . .

Quo vadis, anime?

Japan's government is compared to a man with erectile dysfunction in this review of a book exploring the country's search for a national/cultural identity. (Read the review)

Meanwhile, just for a mental image of part of this culture-in-search, behold the attempt to stop the sex-shop traded in soiled undies.

Read the story . . . (warning: this is straight news, but subject matter is a little strong even by Bourbon Street standards)

Angry virgins, abstinence & cows

Bulletin from the newsroom: Twenty angry virgins enraged over the Zulu king's latest marital acquisition - a child bride who is supposed to abstain from sex - demand a punitive cow.

No comment. Read the story . . .

OK, I succumb to temptation. How would you find twenty virgins in New Orleans? You supply the punchline.

Execution by Toyota

>> music << . . . you asked, for it, you got it, Toyota . . .

I'll never look at my Tercel the same way after reading about China's "Toyota of Death" mobile execution chamber. Appears to be quite an improvement over the Nazi's experiments with running exhaust hoses into the back of trucks scooting around scenic Bavaria.

Which may be why you have to read this in Die Zeit . . .