Expensive socializing

Twitter was offered $500,000 for advertising space this week, according to the Telegraph UK. And while half-a-million seems like small potatoes for the advertising world, this costly ad campaign was for a single day of advertising. Apparently an ad company called uSocial made the offer to have just one measly banner on Twitter for one measly day.

Twitter doesn’t have any ads right now, but as The Uniter’s managing editor pointed out, Twitter sure could use some extra money. He’s sick of being blocked from updating his status because of too many other tweets.
It’s not yet known if Twitter accepted the offer and it’s thought that the type of advertising by uSocial may be objectionable to Twitter’s standards.

Better off at Dollarama

The enormous popularity of Etsy, a site dedicated to helping artisans distribute their handmade merchandise, has led to a plethora of crafty-crap clogging up the Internet.

Regretsy, an aptly named blog, has taken the advantage of the hilarious garbage on Etsy and compiled it into a central locale, reported New York magazine. Items on Regretsy include wall-mounted “masturbating dinosaurs” with eight-inch penises ($29), a “sexy vampire reusable menstrual pad” ($12) and a teddy-bear with a plush vagina ($35).

“Not safe for work” labels abound on the site, so be careful.

The Illustrated Old Testament: Rated R

A new version of the Bible illustrated by Robert Crumb is finding harsh criticism with Christian organizations. This latest edition Bible is a comic-book style version of the book of Genesis from the Old Testament, reported the Telegraph UK.
The artist Robert Crumb is a well-known graphic novelist and cartoonist, famous for racy comics and animations.

Crumb’s Bible renders much of the text explicitly in cartoon form, including graphic sex scenes from the more exciting bits of the Good Book.

It’s been labelled “scandalous satire” and isn’t recommended for young ones, and while several groups have condemned the book, some Christian thinkers admire Crumb’s “really engaged” version of foundational Christian stories.

Other recent Bibles include The Green Bible, a version that renders any Earthly matters in green text, the LOLCats Bible (online only) and the Conservative Bible, which removes any scritpure that is deemed too liberal.

Private Internet

Ever have a slow wireless connection? Ever want those pesky neighbours to stop stealing your wireless Internet? Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a solution: Wi-Fi-blocking paint. The electro-magnetic paint, which is used like normal house paint, stops wireless signals, according to PSFK.com.

Apparently, the newly developed pigment mimics the frequency at which wireless Internet signals are broadcast, causing the signal to deaden on contact.

Possible uses include stopping cellphone calls in theatres, securing private networks and stopping poachers from downloading high-quality versions of Twilight on your dime.

Published in Volume 64, Number 9 of The Uniter (October 29, 2009)