MINUTIA AND INCONSEQUENTIA

Okay, so before I write a proper introduction to the Diaspora Blog, I figured I'd better clear away some of the back-log of stories to which I've wanted to call your attention over the last couple years. Some of these are just videos, some are interesting articles, others are just funny wastes of time. This is just the first of what will probably turn out to be a number of house-cleaning posts, so don't worry, I won't be dumping ALL that accumulated crap on your laps at once. Anyhoo, I hope everybody finds at least one or two links per link-alanche to be worth their while. Huzzah! - YOPJ

In 1979, the CBS news magazine program 60 Minutes aired a report about the Swine Flu Scare of 1976 and the massive vaccination program that followed. This episode was allegedly banned after first airing and didn't see the light of day again until 2009 when it was released on the Internet. The implications are chilling and the parallels between what happened 20 years ago and the growing panic over Bird Flu - although currently on the back-burner - are ominous. Forewarned is forearmed.

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If you thought the American government was doing something new when its agents started spraying pot crops with paraquat and other toxic chemicals in the 1970's... you'd be mistaken. The Powers That Be have been harshing our collective buzz for a very long time, as this article about certain toxic Prohibition tactics explains.

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Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb. It made yer old pal Jerky LOL quite a bit, and hopefully it'll do the same for you. After all, we could all use a larf in these dark and dismal days, couldn't we, guv?

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And speaking of larfs, finally, at long last, someone has crafted a sexually realistic R&B song... and they were kind enough to put together a hilarious video to go with it!

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This is, quite possibly, the best condom commercial ever conceived, produced and released, ever. Hands down. No contest. Also, aside from the fact that it's funny as hell, it managed to give me the chubbs! Not quite as pleasurable as a full-blown erection, but I'll take what I can get at this point.

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Doctors are people, too, as this video amply demonstrates. And you know what? It's fucking terrifying. After watching this, you may never shove another can of spray-on hair coloring up your asshole, again!

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This incredibly beautiful and transcendently moving video and the staggering implications it conjures moved me to my marrow and, honestly, it just about succeeded in squeezing tears from this cynical old misanthrope's usually bone-dry eyeballs. Let's find out if watching it has a similar effect on you.