E-Filler Archives

Now that we're all a little older, we've lost touch with the "younger generation". So what's all the rage with the kids these days? I'll tell you: Video taping your friends putting Mentos into a 2 liter bottle of coke, then putting it online.

A quick search on Google video (my new favorite waste of time) yields some 73 matches. Some of the gems uncovered include:

Late night coke explosion

Rich kids, no swearing coke explosion

Let's try it in the bathtub coke explosion

2 kids and a warning sign coke explosion

Unpredictable ending coke explosion

Late night back alley coke explosion

I'm not gonna make a mess like that at home!!! Let's do it at work coke explosion (Sound familiar Brian?)

And yes, there was even a UWO coke explosion (in the court-yard of med-syd...no word on whether or not the Saugeen stripper was present).

I'm not sure which is dumber, building a homemade flame-thrower out of a cheap plastic water gun, or testing it in your garage (which I'm sure is full of gasoline vapours...).

Either way, you can check it out here.

Someone in the UK is selling a vanity license plate...the only problem is, it has a typo.

The plate reads HN51 FLU, however, if you've been reading the news, you know the upcoming pandenmic-scare is the H5N1 flu. Maybe this guy is just ahead of his time?

The face of Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale was busted this week for possessing and distributing child porn. Keiths is going to fire this dirtbag like Cheney's shotgun in retirement home.

The weird part is I already thought this guy deserved a beating.

This came up at last night's pub night, and no one believed me. But, a few years ago, Nike ran an advertising campaign in Australia that featured billboards like this one:

Another point of the campaign was that Nike started up a fake grassroots organization (an astroturf organization, if you will) called Fans Fighting for Fairer Football. This organization of ostensibly anti-Nike protestors would "vandalize" Nike's billboards with messages suggesting that Nike's shoes gave wearers an unfair advantage due to their superior technology. In reality, FFFF was invented by Nike's marketing to try and co-opt the anti-Nike movement.

Last pub night we were talking about how computers should come with breathalyzers to stop you from writing e-mails to ex-girlfriends. Somehow this turned into a web-based tool to automatically generate drunken e-mails to ex-girlfriends. With all my free time *ahem*, I have written such a tool. Feel free to try it out (keep in mind it's in rough shape; I just whipped it up this morning):

Your name:
Her name:

I need real data to work from, so if you've ever sent/received a drunken ex-boy/girlfriend e-mail, please send it my way :)

It's been a while since I posted some Simpsons Trivia, I think we're due: What religion is Duff Man (and cite where you found out)?

Also: I added the Olympic news to the headlines on the left...enjoy.

One of the writers behind Curious George has been killed. Very sad...I read so much Curious George. Good stuff.

I'm confused...is political correctness a good thing or a bad thing? Fishermen are now called "Fishers"...this is progress right? It's politically correct...we wouldn't want to step on anyone's toes...but in this article, the University of PEI's administration is being criticised for being "politically correct" about asking a prof to remove the cartoons of Muhammad from his door...

So, what is it? Good or bad?

Steve Fossett is trying to take his GlobalFlyer around the world...and then some. You may recall that he achieved the feat of flying non-stop around the world last year. Now he wants to go around the world, then cross the atlantic again...why? I don't know. The only practical distance to fly is 1/2 way around the world. Maybe he could try doing that with less fuel?

Thanks to Andrew for digging this gem up...click for a larger view.

(Emphasis mine...)

TORONTO (CP) - Rogers Communications (TSX:RCI.NV.B) filed a lawsuit on Friday claiming that its brands have been damaged by a series of Bell television ads and demands the ads be pulled by rival BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE).

The ads went beyond promotion of Bell wireless products and acceptable comparisons with a rival, Rogers Wireless chief marketing officer John Boynton said in an interview.

Rogers is all for competitive advertising and even comparison advertising, where one rival takes aim at another's products, he said.

"But when someone crosses the line and tries to disparage our brand, which is worth billions and billions, enough is enough. We have to do something to stop it," Boynton said.

The suit claims that Montreal-based BCE Inc. and its wireless subsidiary have depreciated the value of two Rogers trademarks, contrary to a section of the Trademarks Act.

It seeks court orders to restrain the defendants from using the Rogers trademarks "or any confusingly similar variation thereof" and to deliver or destroy any of the materials used for the ads.

Rogers is also seeking unspecified damages.

None of the claims in the suit has been tested in court.

A Bell spokesman said it was too soon for the company to comment

"Bell has just recently been notified of this matter. It is currently under review by legal counsel. Therefore, at this time Bell has no comment," he said, reading from a prepared statement.

In its statement of claim, Rogers takes issue with a TV ad featuring an animated cartoon where a cheetah, which a "scientist" character says represents Bell, and hare that the scientist says represents Rogers.

"At the start of the race, the cheetah devours the hare but then gags and regurgitates the hare," the statement of claim says.

"The Cheetah & Hare ad disparages denigrates, discredits, tarnishes, diminishes and otherwise depreciates the value of the goodwill associated with the Rogers trademarks and Rogers brand. Rogers is symbolically devoured, choked on and then spat out by Bell," the claim says.

Rogers also says it never authorized Bell to use the Rogers trademarks in the Cheetah & Hare ad or any other advertisement.

Boynton said Rogers founder Ted Rogers is clearly "not happy" that somebody was taking a shot at the Rogers brand but he didn't launch the action against Bell.

"I don't even think Ted saw the ads until well after we had been communicating back and forth with Bell. So this was not a Ted-driven command," Boynton said.

Toronto-based Rogers Communications owns Canada's largest wireless company, ahead of Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility, which are owned by Montreal-based BCE Inc. and Vancouver-based Telus Corp., respectively

Rogers also owns Rogers Cable, a chain of Rogers video stores, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Rogers Centre, Rogers Sportsnet and numerous other print and broadcast properties.

Rogers B shares closed Friday at $50, down 15 cents. BCE shares closed at $27.19, down eight cents, at the Toronto Stock Exchange.

From the Toronto Star this morning:

Some Danish paper went and published a cartoon that depicted Muhammad as wearing a turban shaped like a bomb. This (as many of you know) has sparked outrage in many conservative Muslim communities, particularly because depictions of Muhammad are prohibited by Islam.

In an effort to add insult to injury, several other news papers (most notably in France) have republished the cartoon (along with others) to send a message of support to the Danish news paper. This, in turn, has provoked more angry reactions.

Personally, I'm a little confused by the whole thing. Does freedom of speech equate to no-respect for others? Freedom or not, I think we can all agree that the comic was in poor taste, and that the republication was an even bigger folly.

I like Jack Straw's comments on the situation: He said freedom of speech did not mean an "open season" on religious taboos.

So in the last few days we've read about a number "front-runners" for leadership of the Liberal party saying "No thanks...":

• Frank McKenna
• John Manley
• Brian Tobin

Why is this?