23.3.07

If this isn't a hoax I'm going to be sick...

I've done a quick check of all the hoax sites and can't find any sign of this being a joke--

A father-of-two hanged himself live over the internet in Britain's first 'cyber suicide'.
Kevin Whitrick, 42, took his life after being goaded by dozens of chatroom users from across the world who initially believed he was play acting.
But as they watched in horror, Mr Whitrick climbed onto a chair, smashed through a ceiling and then hanged himself with a piece of rope.
Kevin Neil Whitrick, 42, was found dead by police in Wellington, after being alerted by a web user who is thought to have watched in horror as the man harmed himself
Stunned by what they had witnessed - broadcast on a popular chatroom website used by millions of people across the globe - chatroom users immediately contacted the police.
Officers rushed to the electrician's home in the Wellington area of Shropshire within minutes, smashing down the door to try to save him.
But despite their efforts to save him, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Last night it emerged that Mr Whitrick had been suffering from depression after being badly injured in a car crash last year.
Friends said that the breakdown of his marriage with wife, Paula - with whom he had 12-year-old twins - and the recent death of his father had also been causing him some distress.
Mr Whitrick told users of web-chat site PalTalk what he was going to do two hours before he killed himself on Wednesday night.
He was logged on with around 50 other users to a special "insult" chatroom where people "have a go at each other".
Today distraught users of the site said that they felt sick and had previously thought the web broadcast was a hoax.
They confirmed Mr Whitrick told friends in the internet chat room of his plans to kill himself but, thinking he was joking, they egged him on telling him to make sure the his webcam was on.
Mr Whitrick, using the user-name Shyboy-17-1, switched on his webcam and went ahead with his grisly plan.
One anonymous user said: "He tied a rope around an uncovered ceiling joist and stood on the chair as he tied the rope around his neck.
"Some of us chatroom users, talking to Kevin over text chat, microphones and video tried to convince him to step down, but others egged him on telling him to get on with it.
"We just couldn't believe he was doing it - it was surreal.
"One chatter said: 'F***ing do it, get on with it, get it round your neck. For F***'s sake he can't even do this properly'."
Another user who did not wish to be named said: "When Kevin stepped off the chair and was left dangling, the mood in the chatroom changed and people began to realise what they had just seen.

21.3.07

And you thought George Lucas had a big goiter?

This dude from China puts Lucas to shame. The paper says that the guy lived with it for seventeen years before he decided to see a doctor about it.

19.3.07

If you've run out of things to collect...

I wasn't aware of the massive number of 'life masks' that were available to collect and call your own. I stumbled across a bunch of them on eBay and they run the gambit from Abraham Lincoln to Tom Cruise.

Below you'll find Angelina Jolie, Christopher Walken and David Bowie. I can only imagine what people are doing with the Jolie mask.

Eric Poulton does Steampunk Star Wars


This guy rocks my world. What a great concept. Check out his Blog for more images.

Ooooooh, that's rich...


Hey all. Do yourself a favor and get some Izzard on by watching The Riches. It's on FX and it's pretty tasty. Really.

Escape From John Carpenter


Lotsa fans of the original Escape From New York have their panties in a bunch over talks about a remake—but not me. The idea of a remake makes me as happy as a little girl.

The only John Carpenter films that I can watch repeatedly are the original Halloween and The Thing—the rest leave me cold (even Big Trouble In Little China). Sure, I kinda liked Escape From New York back in 1981, but the cheese factor in it is much too high for repeated viewings. The premise is brilliant but the execution is seriously lacking—for me. Everyone seems to be hamming it up and almost winking at the camera. Plus, I felt that Kurt Russell was too pretty and light to play a badass like Snake Plissken. The Kurt Russell I see in the upcoming Grindhouse would be perfect.

John Carpenter movies just don’t seem to have a soul. Maybe it’s me. I always get excited when I hear what his latest movie is about (like, Vampires and Ghosts of Mars) but I always walk out of the theater shaking my head. Again, maybe it’s just me.

Rumor has it that they’ve nabbed Gerald Butler to star. The dude can roar—as we’ve heard in 300—I just hope they nab some talented young buck with a bombastic directing style to bring the potential of Escape From New York to life.

An order of Ratatouille to go, please...

This is an Asian advance poster for Ratatouille. Can someone run it through Reed Richards' Universal Translator and tell me what it says?

Oh mommy...


Salma Hayek may not be the greatest actress of our time, but wow is she going to have a happy baby.

My mother never breast fed me--she said she just wanted to be good friends.