The Null Device
2000/11/27
Online payment system PayPal now supports customers outside the US (including Australia, the UK and Europe). Mind you, they don't support access to bank accounts there, only payment through a credit-card mechanism.
And you thought it was just a party trick: A stage magician in Hong Kong saved a woman from a knife-wielding attacker, by making the knife disappear.
First the Teletubbies became a sensation among pill-popping ravers, and now the Wombles become gay icons.
The World's Greatest Democracy: Florida's Secretary of State Katherine Harris has declared her friend George W. Bush the winner of the election, and the US Presidency, discarding the results of a recount from Democrat-leaning Palm Beach. Harris will probably get a cushy job out of all this. Meanwhile, the Democrats intend to take it to court.
A study from Harvard Medical School has shown that almost half the cigarettes smoked in the United States are smoked by mentally ill people. It is not known which is the cause and which the effect. (via Unknown News, who are back)
Big business: Renowned Melbourne brothel the Daily Planet, said to be the largest such establishment in the southern hemisphere and/or one of the Great Brothels Of The World, plans to list on the stock exchange, assuming that the move passes laws regulating brothel ownership.
The LA Weekly has an interesting essay on tDR-esque cult cartoon The Powerpuff Girls, and how it fits into the world of animation today: (via RobotWisdom)
"Cartoon Cartoons," which is not redundant but specific (the first word modifies the second), is the slogan of the network... Says Linda Simensky, "I think the main difference between us and other studios is that what we're making really are cartoons -- they use all the elements of cartoon making, right down to the occasional lapses of logic, where a character can pull out something enormous from behind his back or a tiny character can beat up an enormous character. Their logic is cartoon logic. I think the other networks' cartoons are a little more about real kids and real kid issues."
"It's like if you want to study great design you look at UPA and early Hanna-Barbera, and if you want to study great timing you look at Tex Avery and Bob Clampett shorts. For action sequences look at anime -- they really do it better than anybody's ever done it before. So it's just a matter of knowing where the best people are and learning from them, and all those influences are sprinkled throughout all our shows."
(Apparently Professor Utonium is inspired by "Bob", too.)