Index Librorum Prohibitorum
 

Banned Books Week

It's the 25th anniversary of Banned Books Week. The Vatican stopped banning books in 1948, after 400 years, but the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice is non-denominational. The American Library Association sponsors Banned Books Week and has lists of recently banned, challenged, and burned books. Amazon and Google have lists of banned books for purchase; and the University of Pennsylvania has links to online texts of banned books.

ALA Banned Books Week

Amazon banned books

Google banned books

Banned Books Online

CD Shrapnel
 

That CD blowed up real good...

Faster and faster, CD players are redlining: they cannot spin CDs any faster or else the CD will literally fly apart. Sad to say this is not an urban legend, the newer 48X speed CDROM drives can cause CDs to explode. According to CD manufacturers, your one in 10,000 risk of CD shattering is more likely with CDs that are old, scratched, cracked, or unbalanced (like with an off-center label). So stop sitting in front of your CDROM drive.

PowerLabs High Speed CD-Rom Experiments

The Case of the Exploding CD-ROM

Exploding CDROMs

(more) Exploding CDroms

Foto Decadent 

War-on-Terror-themed photo spread in Vogue Italia

While America is being duct-taped into pre-election terror fear, Europeans via Vogue Italia are being subjected to what may be the first-ever mainstream TSA softcore porn. "State of Emergency," a fashion pictorial shot by Steven Meisel is available as a Flash slideshow at the official Vogue Italia website or as scanned pages on a livejournal. So does this help the terrorists?

State of Emergency: Vogue Italia photostory

State Of Emergency: livejournal

CWA's "The Insane Asylum": 261 lbs., 6'8" (all other records "withheld by the Killermore Mental Institution").
 

Body Slammin' for Jesus

"I'm not going to sit here and listen to a shirt-and-tie preacher. But I might listen to a guy in spandex because he's like me," said Timothy "T-Money" Blackmon owner of Wrestling for Jesus. South Carolina is also home to the Christian Wrestling Alliance, Georgia has Ultimate Christian Wrestling, and Texas hosts the Christian Wrestling Federation. There's devil costumes, wrestlers strapped to massive wooden crosses, and monikers like Apocalypse, Jesus Freak, Damien Sinn, Mr. Evil, Hallow Wicked, The Urban Legend, J-Lo, and my favorite, Dexter Poindexter.

Wrestling For Jesus

Christian Wrestling Alliance

Ultimate Christian Wrestling

Christian Wrestling Federation