RACING THE DRAGON BOATS

No work today, thanks to the Tuen Ng Festival. And you know what that means: dragon boat racing! From very far away!





They have dragon boat races in a few locations around HK – the big races take place in Stanley and Tai Po, but we also have an event in Disco Bay, where I live (and where I took the crappy pics above). We didn’t go watch, though – I slept most of the day, which is as well since it rained for much of the race. Then we went to Causeway Bay to do some Ikea recon for reasons that will be disclosed soon.

SHAVING UPDATE: By the way, thanks for the kind words on the state of my face. I never would have thought of John Cleese in a million years (though, to be honest, if you saw the other photos, you’d have probably gone with Ned Beatty). However, I haven’t shaved since. I’m not 100% committed to growing it back just yet, but five days later I still can’t get used to my own face. Which says more about the inside of my head than the outside, I know.

Without a paddle,

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EVIL WEARS A BOW TIE

Artlessly stolen from jreynolds , it’s the Hammer Villain Trifecta: Christopher Lee, Vincent Price and Peter Cushing! With bow ties! FTW!



Evidently all three of them had birthdays this week, though of course Lee is the only one still alive. He’s 87, you know.

Dressed for evil success,

This is dF

WHAT YR COMICS COLLECTION SAYS ABOUT YOU, AND WHY YOU CAN BE ARRESTED FOR IT

ITEM: In an obscenity first, a US comic book collector has pleaded guilty to importing and possessing Japanese manga books depicting illustrations of child sex abuse and bestiality.

The 39-year-old office worker was charged under the 2003 Protect Act, which outlaws cartoons, drawings, sculptures or paintings depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and which lack “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” Handley’s guilty plea makes him the first to be convicted under that law for possessing cartoon art, without any evidence that he also collected or viewed genuine child pornography. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

I realize I may catch hell for saying this. I’ll say it anyway.

While I don’t think that kiddie porn should have 1st Amendment protection, simulated kiddie porn (i.e. words, drawing and Photoshopped pics) is a different matter, because actual kids are not victimized in their creation. But I’ve also heard all the arguments about zero-tolerance policies, so we’ll take those as read.

Either way, basically what you have here is a guy who owned no “real” kiddie porn at all and has no history of pedophilia, and has been convicted of possessing materials that the State believes would cause him to molest kids sooner or later.

In some circles, that’s called “precrime”.

Which is why comics fans find this story so alarming. If the justification for jailing people for owning lolicon is that it will cause them to go out and commit an illegal act, why not jail Batman fans for assault and vigilantism? You know, just in case?

To be fair, the law that this guy was prosecuted under (the 2003 Protect Act) contains the caveat that the material has to meet the legal definition of obscenity in the community where the trial takes place (southern Iowa, in this case). Still, obscenity laws are usually aimed at the producer, not the consumer. By the same argument, anyone who ever bought a 2 Live Crew album in Broward County, FLA in 1990 would have gone to jail.

“What’re you in for?”

“Robbed a liquor store and burned it down with everyone inside. You?”

“Bought a 2 Live Crew album.”

“Dude, yr cold-blooded.”

Okay, lolicon is a step up from 2 Live Crew (who were eventually vindicated anyway). It’s pretty awful, actually. If you’ve never seen it, don’t. It’s one of those things that burns itself into yr retinas. But so are those YouTube videos of people breaking their arms from skateboarding accidents (something I never, EVER want to see again).

So yes. I’m having trouble processing the idea that you can do time for owning comics on the pretext that prosecuting you will prevent the crime depicted in said comics.

But maybe that's necessary, or at least a trade-off most of us can live with. Maybe we’ll always limit it to obvious beyond-the-pale stuff like kiddie porn. Maybe we won’t. But plenty of people argue – on the weakest of evidence – that simulated sex and violence in TV shows, video games and comics make yr kids more violent and more likely to rape women.

So really, why stop at the obvious?

Just asking.

Who’s next,

This is dF

PRO WRESTLING + ZOMBIE MERMAIDS + JAPAN = ENTERTAINMENT!

ITEM [via io9]: Coming in July to a DVD player near you (provided yr DVD player is in North America): the first western release of the 2004 Japanese cinema classic, Oh! My Zombie Mermaid.



The plot: A Japanese pro wrestler throws a housewarming party for his wrestler friends. His arch enemy shows up uninvited and taunts him for killing his brother in the ring, and blows up his house. The wrestler’s wife survives but turns into a mermaid. Vengeance ensues.

Nifty!

Big fish,

This is dF

YR APPLICATION TO BRING GUNS TO YOSEMITE PARK HAS BEEN PRE-APPROVED

ITEM: A new law passed by Congress and signed by President Obama makes it now 100% legal to bring guns into national parks and national wildlife refuges.

What law is this, you ask? Remember that law on credit card reform? That one.

What do credit card rules have to do with making guns legal in national parks?

Not a goddamn thing. But, see, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) attached it as an amendment to the bill (claiming it’s necessary to reduce crime in parks) and the Senate – which is run by the party who wanted to take all yr guns away in the election last year and give them to Mexicans – approved it 67-29.

So there you go.

PRODUCTION NOTE: Hunting is still illegal in national parks and national wildlife refuges. The guns are only for defending yrself against bears and punks.

And that’s ... um ... change you can believe in.

Get it on credit,

This is dF