Some things that I feel are worth noting:
Evolutionary theorist Oliver Curry of the London School of Economics predicts that the human race will eventually split into a genetically superior upper class of intelligent elites and a dim-witted underclass. In his study of how people will evolve (or not) over the next 1,000, 10,000, and 100,000 years, Curry predicted that as the wealthy classes become choosier about their sexual partners, two classes of humans will emerge, similar to the Eloi and the Morlocks foretold by HG Wells in his 1985 novel The Time Machine. As a whole, human beings will take on more attractive traits: men are expected to have square jaws, deeper voices, and bigger penises, while women would develop more glossy hair, pert breasts, and larger, clearer eyes. The grim side of the prediction is that our growing sense of individualism will lead to the diminishment of sympathy, trust and emotions that allow human beings to care for each other or to work in teams.
The unemployed teenage fighters of the Mahdi Army in Baghdad’s Sadr City, one of the world’s largest slums, taunt American occupiers with the promise that their main boulevard is “Vietnam Street.”
A recent study in Science magazine projected the demise of all edible fish from the oceans by 2048.
MediaCart, A “next generation shopping cart” has been rolled out in three US test stores. What seems like convenience for shoppers is a wet dream for retailers and advertisers. Sure, it offers handy features such as in-basket product searches and price checks, but through the use of shelf-mounted radio frequency ID (RFID) chips, the cart is able to follow your every movement, record your “dwell time” in front of various products, and, naturally, play commercials on the cart’s built-in monitor when you approach their advertiser’s brands. Combined with existing loyalty card programs, MediaCart will enable retailers not only to profile your personal spending habits in detail, but also to determine which ads pull your strings the most effectively. A nationwide launch is planned for the end of this year.
GM recently agreed to modify a TV spot featuring an industrial robot that commits suicide after being sacked from a GM factory. A group of organizations including the American Foundation For Suicide Prevention petitioned GM to alter the spot on the grounds that it could lead to copycat suicides.
A recent Unicef report (the UN’s first ever on the state of childhood in the industrialized West) found that British children have the most miserable upbringing in the developed world. American children come next, second from the bottom. The study measured 40 indicators of quality of life, including the strength of relationships with friends and family, educational achievements and personal aspirations, and exposure to drinking, drug taking and other risky behavior.
…This was an old journal post. I just wanted to dig something up to get this thing started. I think most or all of this was yanked right out of Adbusters’ ‘Capitalisma’ issue from a couple months back.
About Skwerl
Kevin "Skwerl" Cogill was taught his first computer programming language by his Mother's marijuana dealer at age ten. His first job involved hustling TicketMaster lines on behalf of a New Jersey concert ticket broker at age fourteen, followed by a job in graphic design shortly after graduating high school and trade school simultaneously in 1998. He built his first website in 1996 or so, and continues to do things the way they should be done, rather than the way everyone else does. He's a bit of an asshole, but he's fiercely loyal to his friends, and to fellow fans of good music.Born and raised in Philadelphia, Skwerl now resides in Los Angeles.
