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“Why Do the Terrorists Want to Hurt Me?”

Via the blog titled World O’ Crap, here’s something that hits such ridiculous heights that it’s quite hard to tell whether or not it’s the genuine thing or a skillful parody: it’s Why Do to Terrorists Want to Hurt Me? by Archibald Campbell. It’s a children’s book in Flash animation form that attempts to explain to America’s children, some of whom are too young to recall Setember 11, 2001, what’s at stake.

Here’s the title page. Yes, the terrorists are watching you say your prayers before bed:


The book opens with its narrator — a squeaky-voiced kid — running through a laundry list of things that make him happy. Things like videogames, NASCAR races, Yankees jackets and kittens. It’s reminiscent of the list recited between verses in America, Fuck Yeah! in the movie Team America: World Police.


But the terrorists? They’re not into any of that hooh-hah. Especially the kittens:


As Goebbels and anyone in public relations will tell you, repetition is important if you want to get your message across:


According to the book, we’re under constant surveillance by terrorists in bad hiding places wearing even worse disguises:


You can’t even do your grocery shopping without being followed by some terrorist spook:


And your classmate “Akmad” may be leading the class in math, but he’s also leading the terrorist’s advance scout operations…


Ah, finally, the good part — how do I keep safe from the terrorists?


One thing you can do is report all suspicious, smelly, brown-skinned people who have been rolling in their own filth:


Remember, kids, paranoia begins at home!


And be sure to reinforce that paranoia through a steady feed of broadcast and cable news:


And finally, the most important thing you can do to keep safe is…


Upcoming Archibald Campbell Pieces

These haven’t been finished yet, but I’m waiting with bated breath for the day they get reelased!

Cover of “The Bible Says Boys Wear Pants, Girls Wear Dresses”

Here’s the blurb for The Bible Says “Boys Wear Pants, Girls Wear Dresses”:

“The Bible Says…” series educates our youth about the Christian Fundamentals of our great country. In the first book we are taught that God has created boys and girls to be different from one another and to follow their ordained roles in life. Your children will learn that being a part of this great land requires certain convictions in the way we dress, act and worship, and that God has a wonderful plan for children who wish to be good little boys and girls.

Cover of “Border Out of Order”

Here’s the blurb for Border Out of Order:

Johnny Freedom has a problem; whenever he goes to the ice cream shop, or passes by the basketball court or even when he is sitting in class, the people around him sound strange and don’t make sense! When Johnny goes to the doctor to have his ears checked, he finds out that, his ears aren’t “out of order,” it’s the border. This book shows how foreign languages and illegal aliens are working to undermine the security and the values of our country. Your children will learn about the broken borders and the invasion we natural citizen’s face everyday. Your children will also learn about our Minutemen Heroes and how they are working to protect our freedom.

Earnest wingnut kids’ books or parody? It’s really hard to tell.

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Can You Identify this Accordion?

My brother-in-law ANDY RAMONIAC acquired an accordion and he’s trying to identify it. I suggested that I post the pictures here and harness the power of the “Lazyweb” — maybe someone out there can tell us what its make is.

Accordion of unknown make owned by Andy Ramoniac

Here’s what is known about the accordion:

  • It has a two-octave piano keyboard and 12 bass buttons.
  • It says “Made in Italy” on the back and “Castelfidardo” near the bass buttons, but that Italian city has a zillion accordion makers. You might as well go to a Chinese restaurant and ask for “the dish made with pork”.
  • Below the “Made in Italy” marking is the number “123”, which appears to be a serial number.
  • Andy thought it was a Fisitalia based on the name with the missing letters, but they told him that they’ve only been around 12 years, and this thing is visibly older.

Accordion of unknown make owned by Andy Ramoniac

Can you help ID this squeezebox? Any ideas, clues, hints or suggestions should be posted to the comments or sent to me at joey@joeydevilla.com.

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“Simpsons” Scenes and their Reference Movies [Updated]

Update: Some quick notes:

  • I didn’t compile or make these images; I found ’em, thought they were neat and posted them for everyone to see.
  • You can find more images like this at Actualidad Simpson.
  • Yes, they’re stills and not scenes. Time was short when I posted the images and I used the wrong word. Anyone seriously incovenienced by that is eligible for a full refund.
  • Time was so short, that I posted a duplicate set of stills. There are only 66 in the set.
  • Time being short, I also didn’t post movie names. Feel free to identify them in the comments!

Here’s something for you film buffs who are also Simpsons buffs: 66 stills from various episodes of The Simpsons, each one beside the still from the movie scene to which they refer, courtesy of my friend Miss Fipi Lele:











Update: I’ve posted more Simpsons homages:

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At Least the Sign Practices What It Preaches

Chinese sign: “Mistakes are an essential part of education. — ertand Russell, Bdritish philosopher”

[Found via Boing Boing, who found it at Language Log.]

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Tucows’ Bill Sweetman Talks to Amber Mac About Domain Names

Amber Mac on “Homepage” with Tucows squishy cows
Click on the photo to see the video.

The lovely, talented and geeky Amber Mac took some time to invite my co-worker Bill Sweetman over to her TV show, Homepage, to talk about domain names. We’ve got all the details on the Tucows Blog.

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This One’s for Andy Ramoniac…

…my brother from another mother, who also plays a big-ass, bad-ass balalaika:

Balalaika busker
Photo courtesy of Miss Fipi Lele.

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That 70’s Dollar

That 70s Dollar

As of this writing, the exchange rate between the Canadian and U.S. dollar, according to XE.com, is:

1.00 CAD = 0.998511 USD

This could make trade with the U.S., our largest trading partner (as we are theirs) a little more difficult, but on the personal scale, it’s good — I’ve got a handful of trips down south scheduled in the next couple of months. Why, oh why wasn’t it this way from 1999 through 2002, when I was flying to the U.S. at least once a month and my bank account was getting beaten up on the exchange?

The last time our currencies were at par was back during the Ford and Trudeau administrations, back when I was a still a landed immigrant and Wings’ Silly Love Songs was the #1 song on the Billboard Top 100 for that year.

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