Show Notes for TWS092: Gimme something to scream about

On the show this week:

• Earth Dies Screaming
• Stuff Makes Me Happy
• That Just Isn’t Right…
• The Death Card Means Change (extras)

This week’s Challenge Question:
Can the Earth, as a whole, be considered a “being”? Or is that just over-anthropormorphizing it?
Leave your answer in the comments, send your email to weirdshow[[at]]gmail.com, record your message via the MobaTalk client on the right hand side of Encaffeinated!, leave an answer on Facebook or call in at 206-203-2292.

Full links to all stories covered and many more after the jump!

• Theme Song: Caffeine by Grubspoon from The Podsafe Music Network
• Promo: Chasing the Bard and Billibub Baddings — Two excellent writers are releasing their new books on August 8 — 08/08/08 — and I, for one, am going to be supporting them. Listen to the podcast versions of the books and decide if you want to, as well. I doubt you’ll be sorry you did!
• Earth Dies Screaming
  • I think this proves that the universe fundamentally is a creepy place.. – Yahoo!/Space.com: Earth’s Cries Recorded in Space
  • A reminder that we still live in a big, dangerous universe, and that just a mere 100 years ago, we may have nearly gotten our own kick in the head.. – Yahoo!/AFP: 100 years on, mystery shrouds massive ‘cosmic impact’ in Russia
  • Described as a giant “kick in the head”, Mars might have grown up to be something more like us if not bonked. – Fox/Space.com/Imaginova: Asteroid Impact May Have Made Two-Faced Mars
  • Asteroids and meteors have struck the Earth pretty often throughout the planet’s history. These kinds of studies always feel a bit like trying to figure out which was the first grain of sand on a beach or which was the drop of water which overflowed the bucket. Even more amazing? They often *can* do it.. – PhysOrg: Exploding asteroid theory strengthened by new evidence located in Ohio, Indiana
  • No, they aren’t talking missing Da Vinci paintings or the spaceship of the ancient Egyptians, but life hitching a ride on the bounce from meteor impacts.. Kinda like the moon was a nearby witness to an attempted murder of the Earth, and got a blood splatter.. Ew. – Space.com/Astrobiology Magazine: Bits of Ancient Earth Hidden on the Moon
  • EXTRA: Life began a long time ago. This much we know. It just seems like “long time” is getting longer every day.. – New Scientist: Did newborn Earth harbour life?
  • Once again, it’s up to Canada to do the necessary thing to protect the world. (Kidding!) (Mostly.) – The Globe and Mail: A Canadian gadget that may save the world
  • EXTRA: More claims that the root cause of UFO sightings is, in fact, poor taste.. – BBC: Wedding couple sparked UFO alert
  • EXTRA: Apparently, not all UFO sightings can be blamed on cheap Chinese floating lanterns. Corollary to Occam’s Razor: there is often a simple, direct solution for any apparently bizarre thing — and it is often wrong… – OpEdNews: UK Sightings Persist, Lantern Theory Crumbles and UFOs Invade The Outback
  • EXTRA: Even the crop circle fakers might be able to tell us something about the real thing. Or, grasping and stomping on straw for UFO-like behaviour.. – UFO Mystic: Crop Circle Science
  • EXTRA: There’s no doubt that they were meant to be seen from high above — only doubt that anyone had the means to see them. – UFO Mystic: Could Nazca Lines Have Been Made By Astral Projection?
  • EXTRA: Sightings are popping up all over the UK. Was there a sale on Chinese lanterns? Probably not! – The Independent: UFO alert! Aliens everywhere
  • EXTRA: American UFO sighting back in January trickles to the mainstream press. Did they see interstellar octopii? – ABC6: UFO sightings in Bucks County
  • EXTRA: Streakers aren’t new to LA, I’m sure, but the flaming balls are usually held downtown, not in the sky (I suspect). – Los Angeles Times: Mystery fireball streaks across sky
  • EXTRA: Yes, I know it’s a tourist trap now, but I still want to go to Roswell, at least once.. – KRQE-KBIM: Tourists invade Roswell for UFO Festival
  • EXTRA: Among the theories posited is the really tired one: “UFOs are just a projection of our own fears”. Cool! If I can project lights into the sky with my fears, that’s actually pretty awesome.. – The Guardian: We are the alien nation
  • EXTRA: Is there a man on the moon? Blurry photos may not convince, but it’s as plausible as anything else. I say we go take a look for ourselves.. – UFO Digest: Aliens Have Been On The Moon Since Ancient Times
  • EXTRA: Life is persistent and tough — like those mold spots in the bathroom — and tends to find a way, if a way is possible. Granted, *most* things were simply obliterated, so it shouldn’t be taken as any kind of solace in our case… – MSNBC/Space.com: Early life survived huge cosmic impact
• Stuff Makes Me Happy
  • The answer: cuz it’s *mine*! – Yahoo!/LiveScience: Why We Save Stuff
  • EXTRA: Maybe I should have done this a while ago.. But.. stuff!?! – Ananova: (o) Brit sells life down under on eBay
  • EXTRA: That might be a bit bigger an investment than most people are willing to make.. especially families.. It’s really just a place to hold my stuff. – Ananova: Woman offers herself with house package
  • Thank them for all the gadgety goodness. *presses button* I said: THANK THEM! – Fox/AP: Japanese Test Gadget Controls You Can Wear
  • EXTRA: I’m thinking that there are much more interesting uses of this, from making digital actors to using body gestures to control computers.. – New Scientist: Body-sensing shirt could sharpen up your tennis swing
  • If I had this, I’m sure most movies would be fast-forwarded through, as I grimace and groan at the screen… But that’s *why* I bought those crappy movies in the first place! – ScienceDaily: Computer Scientist Turns His Face Into A Remote Control That Speeds And Slows Video Playback
  • I think it’s a myth; I don’t think even penguins can tell eachother apart.. 🙂 – BBC: Biometrics picks up the penguins
  • Like a canary in a coalmine, as the inevitable analogy goes.. Or, as I prefer: like a chicken in the oven. Mmmm… Chicken… – Yahoo!/AP: Scientists say ailing penguins signal sea problems
  • All in an attempt to determine the kilogram precisely, but really this is only a localized constant within our notion of time-space in a limited set of dimensions.. – New Scientist: Roundest objects in the world created
  • It’s a bit like those over-sized cookies you get at truck stops. Or those giant cheques. – Science Daily: Physicists Create Millimeter-sized ‘Bohr Atom’
  • At first, I thought I read it as “fembots”. Still, kinda neat. – Yahoo!/LiveScience: Futuristic Chembots Squeeze Through Small Spaces
  • Well, if he says it is coming, then there is a pretty good chance that it might come — or not… – BBC: Sinclair dreams of ‘flying cars’
  • Um.. I guess it wasn’t a a drive thru? – Yahoo!/AP: Woman crashes into store then tries to buy beer
  • Well, at least they got that first accident out of the way. – Ananova: Student passed driving test – despite crash
  • Personally, I just have a problem with the ones that end in “day”. – Ananova: Blue Wednesday
  • It’s all subjective. If they had measured food portions, the US would e #1! – Yahoo!/Reuters: And the world’s happiest country is..
  • EXTRA: See! See! A car that runs on water! *ducks* – New Scientist: Steam car to go for land speed record
  • EXTRA: Turns out, it’s complicated. I would have thought that the answer would be transparent. I was shattered. – MSNBC/LiveScience: Scientists reveal why glass is glass
• That Just Isn’t Right…
  • Get randy at the picnic.. – Fox: Watermelon, the New Oyster? Fruit Said to Have ‘Viagra-Like’ Effects on Blood Vessels
  • Perhaps this is the beginning to some new giant monster movie.. – Ananova: Quake pig doubles in size
  • It’s not that dogs surf: it’s that there are multple annual competitions for dogs that surf.. – Ananova: Doggy dudes hit the surf
  • Is this the new stage of a man’s life? For the most part, it just sounds like “aging”. With added bonus hideous photo! – News.com.au: Man, I feel like a woman, says ‘she-man’
  • Hoax, optical illusion or a really fascinating anomoly? – The New Zealand Dispatch: Crowds roll up to see talking head
  • Why not create a gun that creates euphoria? Why so willing to cause pain? – Fox/The Sunday Times: British Police May Get U.S. ‘Pain Ray’ Guns
  • Oh, so they *tried* that.. – The UK Telegraph: Scientists at Porton Down researched comical non-lethal crowd control devices
  • EXTRA: “The ringleader is described as: tall, lithe, spotted, and answers to the name ‘Gerome’..” – Brisbane Times/AP: Giraffe helps camels, zebras escape circus
  • EXTRA: More coverage of the moonlight collector. At the very least, it makes for a good tourist trap. – The UK Independent: The lunatic fringe: Is moonlight the miracle cure?
  • EXTRA: Stranger: seller or buyers? Either way, less mosquitos is a good thing.. – Ananova: Man sells 10,000 mosquito corpses
  • EXTRA: For that much money, I hope the future is good at least.. – Newsweek: The $10,000-a-Month Psychic
  • EXTRA: Obituary of a popular oddball. – The Telegraph: Lyall Watson
  • EXTRA: It’s not the investigation which is interesting: it’s the fact that they are going *back* to a place they previously *dismissed*.. – Balkan Insight: Vatican to Probe Medjugorje Sightings
  • EXTRA: Why are people missing? Could it be disease or economic hardship? Or is it something more sinister? (Is this the beginning of another Monkey Man?) – The Kenya Standard: Evil exploits of the invisible people
  • EXTRA: Turns out, it was just disgusting, not necessarily supernatural. Still.. – forgetomori: The house with squirted blood: case solved!
  • EXTRA: Always ask for directions.. especially if you are giving them.. – Yahoo!/AP: Out-of-state crews post SC signs in wrong places
  • EXTRA: Well, at least he spelled it correctly.. – Yahoo!/AP: British student gets credit for expletive on exam
  • EXTRA: Anyone else thinking Little Shop of Horrors? Just me? Ok.. – Ananova: Singing dentist gets £1m contract
  • EXTRA: A dialect of English coming from the Polish — intention or natural organic melding? – Ananova: Parlez Ponglish?
  • EXTRA: No, not Adam Curry, host of the DSC, but the smell of curry. Ground curry, perhaps.. – Ananova: Curry grounds plane
  • EXTRA: Hey — you don’t stop the game, you play through the rough. Because they can afford it. *shakes fist* – Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Golfers robbed on the 16th tee
  • EXTRA: This is one of those things that is most likely a rumour, or not. – Yahoo!/AFP: Plane soars past destination as pilots doze: report
  • EXTRA: Just because you don’t wear any pants (but should) doesn’t mean you are a a pushover for candy. – CNN: Hostin: It’s Naked Cowboy, 1; naked M&M, 0
  • EXTRA: Some art moves you, some art just moves. – Ananova: Art show will run and run
  • EXTRA: The very definition of irony. Or perhaps pre-cognition? – Ananova: Cautious cashpoint user arrested
  • EXTRA: Face it: being unpopular does not make you a statutory minority. – Ananova: Birthday spat goes to parliament
  • EXTRA: I’m sure he was just quoting Niszka, and really got to know the *real* him.. – MSNBC: “Hanoi Hilton” jailer says he’d vote for McCain
  • EXTRA: Why is this news? It’s not like he’s on the front lines with a sonar helmet… is it? Hmm… – Yahoo!/AP: Blind Special Forces soldier: determined to serve
  • EXTRA: Creepy faceless people are appearing. Protest? Aliens? Probably just advertising. Oh well. – The UK Daily Mail: Faceless ‘aliens’ spotted in crowd at Wimbledon
• The Death Card Means Change (extras)
  • EXTRA: Some people will be dying to get this treatment.. – LiveScience: Cheeky Study Finds Beauty Secret in Cadavers
  • EXTRA: They really *do* know where all the bodies are buried.. – The UK Times: Museum of London’s skeleton key to the bodies under city’s streets
  • EXTRA: This is your brain. This is your brain on NASA TV. – New Scientist: Tiny scanner may monitor astronauts’ mental health
  • EXTRA: Note to scientists: don’t keep a truly sterile environment; the world is trying to give you hints. 🙂 – Yahoo!/Reuters: Accidental fungus leads to promising cancer drug
  • EXTRA: Show off! Why, if *I* had the heart of a younger person, maybe I’d do that — or would I consider life a little more preciously? – MSNBC/AP: Transplant recipient completes Yosemite ascent
  • EXTRA: Another case of someone changing their tune after a traumatic event. Are accents in-borne? Inheritable? – Ottawa Citizen/The Vancouver Sun/Canada.com/Canwest: Stroke survivor regains speech, but with an accent
  • EXTRA: Was this indifference or fear that caused no one to help? – CNN/AP: Woman dies ignored on hospital waiting room floor
  • EXTRA: The answer is: yes. But it would cost too much, so let’s just make them the old-fashioned way.. – New Scientist: Do we have the technology to build a bionic human?
  • EXTRA: A controversial case: you can’t prove exorcism in a court of law, but to imply that “laying on of hands” equates to abuse or molestation — especially if the girl actually *was* rolling around on the ground gutturally growling — is a bit absurd. What next? “You abused me!” “I shook your hand!” “You laid you hand on me in aggressive way!” “I shook your hand firmly.” “Firmly? That implies abuse!” “Huh?” – MSNBC/AP: Court: Exorcism is protected by law
  • EXTRA: It was just a bit of pre-emptive recycling.. – Yahoo!/AP: Up to 54 years for ringleader of body parts scheme
  • EXTRA: Personally, I’m thinking John Lennon’s “Imagine”, or maybe something by Weird Al.. – Yahoo/AP: Australians making odd choices for funeral songs
  • EXTRA: I think he might just be propping up his ego.. – Yahoo!/AP: Stilt-walker completes 830 miles across Michigan
  • EXTRA: I wonder if she then asked about all thos emissing socks… – Yahoo!/AP: Mich. woman gets back ring she lost in lake in ’54
  • EXTRA: Maybe this is why I get lost in the woods.. Either that, or psychic sasquatch. *shakes fist at psychic sasquatch* – Softpedia: Planet’s Magnetic Field Varies Much Faster Than Expected
  • EXTRA: So, maybe not *all* the ice is melting from the North Pole.. – New Scientist: Greenland ice sheet slams the brakes on
  • EXTRA: Turns out, diversity is a good thing. No kidding. – New Scientist: Decline in bee diversity could sting crop producers
  • EXTRA: Astronomers and historians, working to create even more dates for the masses to memorize. *sigh* – CNN/AP: Clues from Homer classic help date ‘Odyssey’ slaughter
  • EXTRA: Waitaminit… So the books don’t have all the *right* dates, even? – BBC: Doubt over date for Brit invasion
  • EXTRA: It’s kinda like the movie The Name of the Rose only without the murder mystery or Sean Connery. Still has Christian Slater in it, though.. – Discovery: Biblical Text-Writing May Have Poisoned Monks
  • EXTRA: Turns out, their musical tastes would have intersected with mine: long, creepy, death-like sounds emitted from skull flutes.. – MSNBC/AP: Researchers re-create pre-Columbian sounds
  • EXTRA: And older story, just to show that there was plenty of music to be had in the ancient world, but it was all so tragically unrecorded.. – New Kerala/ANI: (O) Ancient Hindu temples had musical pillars
  • EXTRA: All the great discoveries — whether in history or science — get corrupted by mankind’s nature. Or something equally profound and morose.. – MSNBC/The Washington Post: Moldy cave art prompts access debate
  • EXTRA: A fish with legs? Or a swimming land-critter? – BBC: Fossil fills out water-land leap
  • EXTRA: I wonder if it got legless from the beer.. – CNN: Crocodile visits bar, poses for snaps
  • EXTRA: The surveillance society doesn’t work for crimes, so it may not work for crytids either.. – Dunfermline Press: Webcam set to snare ‘Beast of Blairadam’
  • EXTRA: Life is short, but geez.. Just be glad you aren’t a chameleon and live life.. – National Geographic: Record-Breaking Chameleons Live Only a Few Months

Podcast: Play in new window | Download