Perhaps never before has such predictability promised such popularity.

GNR + STP = VR

Yes, my friends, it's just that easy.

Perhaps already sensing the inevitable meltdown of Velvet Revolver -- catch 'em while you can, kids -- Slash was a strutting, swaggering, all-or-nothing marvel at the 9:30 club Thursday, leading his much-hyped throwback band through a power-chords-aplenty 75-minute set that had a sold-out all-ages crowd of aggressive guys (and a few understandably skittish gals) eager to bang their heads -- and any other nearby noggins, as well.

After all, this is an LA-born band, and its sole function is to sell the naughty lifestyle of the Sunset Strip.

... Here's hoping Slash's next doomed band is just as entertaining.

This band is profiled in the Frontline program "The Way The Music Died."

Something to sample if you are into LA rock.

Axl keeps threatening to release another GNR album. That's unlikely, and if he does it will suck. These guys are certainly good for some drama, and maybe even an overdose. Someone must keep VH1 busy documenting something.

Who knows.. Maybe they will be able to keep it together long enough to make a rock album that doesn't suck, that manages to be unique. Its possible, damnit. I can't deal with anymore of this White Stripes Iggy Pop ripoff shit.

Velvet Revolver, Making a Bang

] Pope John Paul warned several U.S.
] bishops Friday that American society is in danger of
] turning against spirituality in favor of materialistic
] desires, giving way to a "soulless vision of life."
]
] To fight this, the pontiff argued, the U.S. church must
] study contemporary culture to find a way to appeal to
] youths. He made his remarks to bishops from Indianapolis,
] Chicago and Milwaukee who were making a periodic visit to
] the Vatican.

The Pope has yet to see Dance Dance Resurrection.

Yahoo! News - Pope Worries About 'Soulless' U.S. Life

] This game will bring the love of our Lord into the lives
] of these children, who otherwise would continue down the
] videogame path straight into the claws of Satan, and also
] bring a little much needed cash into your treasury - 25c
] of every dollar spent in one of our DDR machines will be
] paid directly into your Churches' account!

Dance Dance Resurrection - A new Concept in Christian Electronic Entertainment

Ex-technologist turned to law posts (mostly IP related) ideas, rants, discussions, short plays, etc.

Hacking The Law

] I am sorry to report that much of Elena's story is not
] true. She did not travel around the zone by herself on a
] motorcycle. Motorcycles are banned in the zone, as is
] wandering around alone, without an escort from the zone
] administration. She made one trip there with her husband
] and a friend. They traveled in a Chornobyl car that
] picked them up in Kyiv.
]
] She did, however, bring a motorcycle helmet. They
] organized their trip through a Kyiv travel agency and the
] administration of the Chornobyl zone (and not her
] father). They were given the same standard excursion that
] most Chernobyl tourists receive. When the Web site
] appeared, Zone Administration personnel were in an uproar
] over who approved a motorcycle trip in the zone. When it
] turned out that the motorcycle story was an invention,
] they were even less pleased about this fantasy Web site.
]
] Because of those problems, Elena and her husband have
] changed the Web site and the story considerably in the
] last few days. Earlier versions of the narrative lied
] more blatantly about Elena taking lone motorcycle trips
] in the zone. That has been changed to merely suggest that
] she does so, which is still misleading.

The photos were very cool. However, everything else you know is a lie force fed to you by the KGB.

Boing Boing: 'Girl Photoblogs Chernobyl on Motorcycle' thing a fraud

] President Bush has condemned the torture of Iraqi
] prisoners, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld labeled
] it "un-American" and a recent Gallup poll found 79
] percent of Americans "bothered" by the abuses. But Rush
] Limbaugh was gleeful. For weeks, the conservative talk
] show host has been dismissing the scandal as a
] "fraternity prank," mocking Democrats and others for
] expressing outrage and suggesting the prison humiliation
] -- which he dubbed "a brilliant maneuver" -- was "no
] different than what happens at the Skull and Bones
] initiation" [at Yale]. He described the images of torture
] as "pictures of homoeroticism that look like standard
] good old American pornography" and assured his listeners
] "there was no horror, there was no terror, there was no
] death, there was no injuries, nothing."

As is normally the case, for every point out of Rush that I agree with, there must be two that I can't stand, and the point I agreed with must be put forth in a way which makes me cringe.

Those picture were gay. Very gay. And in a very frat house kind of gay way as well. I was sure to point this out and make fun of it at the time, but in a way which was, how shall I put it, not documented. (So much for that..) Most of America did the same.

Rush goes to the next level. This is the reason I don't like Rush, and also the reason I didn't much care for frats in college. Confirmed, again.

Rush came out of the closet about his pill popping recently, maybe he has something else up his sleeve that he is building up to. Maybe Rush will just slowly go insane over the course of the next few years to get more listeners. After all, Stern got his popularity by people who listened to "see what he did next". Or, maybe Rush's tertiary syphilis has finally set in.

What's the opinion of the troops about Rush's presence on American Forces Radio? Do they poll for such things? Or is it don't ask, don't tell..

Salon.com News | Rush's forced conscripts

] Pushed by their government, Chinese firms are shunning
] technological protocols invented abroad and developing
] their own.
]
] They want Chinese-made video discs to run on
] Chinese-invented players. They want Chinese consumers
] linking up with China-developed mobile gadgets.

A very interesting strategy. If Chinese people have Chinese electronics that only communicate using Chinese protocols then incompatibility will limit their exposure to "corrupt" western culture.

CNEWS - Tech News: China seeks to develop its own technology standards

] The discovery was made by chance by two biochemists
] conducting research into drugs for cancer and Alzheimer's
] in a medical laboratory at Vanderbilt University,
] Nashville, Tennessee.

Ask for cures for cancer, get blue roses. Interesting. Gotta love the way certain fields of science can be...

This feels like a good time to remind everyone that we have asked for killer robots, robot servants, and every other type of robot device imaginable.

Telegraph | Scientific breakthrough: the blue rose

The epic battle launched by bin Laden is not over. If anything, al Qaeda’s commitment and sense of purpose today are arguably greater than ever.

The Terrorist Leader as CEO

] "Cisco believes that the improper publication of this
] information does not create increased risk to customers'
] Cisco equipment," the company said in a letter to
] customers and partners posted on Wednesday on its Web
] site.

Lets hope they are correct. That leaked code is going to have many eyeballs parse it. The effects of a Cisco router worm are not something I'd care to see.

] Cisco said it does not appear the theft was the result of
] a vulnerability in any of its products, nor does the
] company believe it was the result of any action taken by
] an employee or contractor.

Any word on how the code leaked?

Yahoo! News - Cisco Says Software Stolen, But No Damage Occurred