Weird Flash animation, taking jokes too seriously, cyber-weapons, being dragged under a car, typhoid

This Flash animation is weird, but interesting!

Hmm. I just got some more email about Jon and Dallas' skating "date" (hehe) even though it was yesterday! Jon says that's the last time he invites Danielle out to something (haha) and provides dinner directions, Joey had something to do, and Randal tried to provide a lesson out of Steph / Danielle's joking that Jon and Dallas are dating! He thinks they have a sense of subconscious jealousy, and perhaps they're secretly intimidated by Jon's charisma and personal magnetism. ("When a man is the subject of a woman's sexually-charged allusions, it means that she has noticed him - and cannot take her eyes away." Hahahaha, oh dear...)

Dude, it was a JOKE of long-standing duration! Sure, we know that it's possible for two men to have a close and brotherly friendship (but not a romantic one necessarily)... but it was a joke, especially as Jon has a girlfriend AND Danielle has a boyfriend! I don't know about Dallas' romantic life, nor would I care to speculate about it. (not that I don't care about Dallas in a friendly way, but yeah...) Time for some private email, methinks... Steph's seen it and thought it was a bit weird but amusing. (she likes him even more now!) So do I... we've always joked about such things! I remember when Sean and Citrus would always pretend they were gay, just to freak Adela and Danielle out... that kind of joke has always been well-established around here, and it's high time SOMEONE should learn about that, haha.

Apparently, Jon's going to Harmony's house for dinner tomorrow... big step there! My Christmas Eve will be full of food... Uncle Sam's mom is taking us out for lunch, and then there's dinner at Dave's place. His mom always makes a lot of food, and I'm not kidding! For lunch one time, we had like eight dishes AND desserts! As for dinner, think twice the amount of food... and no, it doesn't have to be a special occasion!


Today's Virtual Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

A Shanghai online game player stabbed to death a competitor who sold his cyber-sword, creating a dilemma in China where no law exists for the ownership of virtual weapons. Qiu Chengwei, 41, stabbed competitor Zhu Caoyuan repeatedly in the chest after he was told Zhu had sold his "dragon saber," used in the popular online game Legend of Mir 3. Legend of Mir 3 features heroes and villains, sorcerers and warriors, many of whom wield enormous swords. Qiu and a friend jointly won their weapon last February, and lent it to Zhu who then sold it for 7,200 yuan (US$870). Qui went to the police to report the "theft," but was told the weapon was not real property protected by law. "Zhu promised to hand over the cash, but an angry Qiu lost patience and attacked Zhu at his home, stabbing him in the left chest with great force and killing him," the court was told.

Culled from: Reuters
Generously submitted by: Bruce Townley

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At first, I thought that it was a virtual stabbing!

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Ghastly!

A man from Plattekloof, Cape Town, was assaulted in front of a restaurant in Brackendowns in Alberton, shortly after the Cheetahs beat the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup final. Then, the unconscious man was reversed over by a car which raced away from the restaurant. Rozier van Blerk, 29, became entangled in the underbody of the car, which dragged him behind it for about 600m before the driver hit a speed bump and stopped the car near a petrol station.

The man was horribly injured, and eventually succumbed to his injuries:

"He had undergone eight operations since being admitted to hospital about six weeks ago. Most of them were to clean his wounds and do reconstructive surgery," said Bean.

Van Blerk's back was stripped of all skin and muscle. One of his lungs was ripped open and pieces of one of his kidneys and his liver had been scraped away.

His backbone was visible and his ribs were scraped almost clean. His right elbow was also injured.

Van Blerk's parents, Pieter and Louwrita van Blerk, remained at his bedside during his final hours and were too emotional to talk to the media.

Ludi Brik, spokesperson for the family, said Van Blerk had reacted when his mother talked to him the day before he died.

Birk said on Wednesday: "When she asked him to stick out his tongue or move his head, he did so."

A tragic story, indeed. But the truly ghastly part?

Pictures of the doomed dragged man!! They are truly wince-inducing!!

Dragged 1
Dragged 2
Dragged 3
Dragged 4
Dragged 5
Dragged 6

Thanks to Rene for the images and link.

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Wretched Recommendations!

Lissa has a book recommendation for us:

Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public's Health by Judith Walzer Leavitt

"The cover art will grab you immediately as it is a drawing of a woman cook throwing tiny skulls into a frying pan as though they were eggs. Obviously, this is the true story of poor Mary Mallon who was found to be the carrier of typhoid who infected 22 persons while working as a cook in various upper-class homes in New York, Long Island and the Jersey shore. At 37, she was taken into custody and forced to live out her remaining 26 years in isolation on a small island of New York. The book is written in several perspectives so that a full, socially relevant picture is given of Mary and also everything surrounding her life and the disease she spread. Hopefully, being printed in 1996, it is still in print so that others may get it. How often does one get such an account of someone who did so much damage, intentional or not?"