Blowing smoke

Jake's still a rollin'

(Group shot in Austin)

Jake popped up for the first day of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, with the rest of the Mumford crew. No word if he joined in the horn section this time.


The shave head look doesn't minimizing the size of Jake's biggie noggin, but maybe he's discovered hanging with people equally above average sized craniums makes it appear smaller than it actually is.

Tweets were he was taking in a bit of New Orleans French Quarter, stopping by the French Market Restaurant, and even Pinkberry. (What no chicory coffee and beignets at the Cafe du Monde?

Jake has now surfaced in Memphis as Mumford plays as they play the Beale Street Music Festival today. And if it's a Saturday it's no surprising it would be at a Farmer's Market.

Update: Looks like he had to get his trademark coffee fun into.

Memphis looks like the last stop for Jake with Mumford & Sons not picking back up their tour until June. With just weeks till he films EoW, he will have plenty of other things at the top of his agenda.

So many have lost their homes due to the unprecedented weather in the last few days. Austin gave an easy solution how to help.

Easy thing. Text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 for Tornado Relief. RT this por favor. - AUS10

Royal Flush

Did you see those suits on Princes William and Harry. It looked like they were headed into battle. I want one. - AUS10

You know Austin would pick the guy to the right's hat to go with it if he could.

With Austin's height and carriage he would look like a Disney prince.

A little different than this Disney Prince, think he could easily see Austin as a prince charming.


One more day to get your queen on.

Tomorrow is Holland's Queen's Day.

Here's one place "celebrating" future queen Maxima.

Happy Austin Friday!

Exposing the Supernatural in India

If you enjoyed yesterday's documentary with Derren Brown exposing the tricks of faith healers, you'll be pleased to know that there is a group of people traveling through India also teaching the locals some basic critical thinking skills, and exposing in the process the cheap ploys used by scam artists who are only too happy to take advantage of the poor and the uneducated...



If you're a messenger from God, would you really need a team of bodyguards?
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Craftstravaganza Time!

Shave and Haircut - new bits

Austin got a haircut and whether or not he gets the part, he is winning with the new 'do.

I had an audition for an adam sandler movie. Military guy. Will I get the role? - AUS10

What a difference
a day
scissors
and a razor make ....


Austin in a comedy? Heck yeah. Who can't see him taking all that quirk and channeling into something great.

Jake finished his adventures on the rails and now it's back home. He and George Lopez will be presenting scholarships at the LA Conservation Corps 25th Anniversary Luncheon tomorrow.

LA Conservation Corps has been a cause that Jake has been supporting for years. This is the third year he will be participating in giving out LACC scholarships.

Founded in 1986, the LA Conservation Corps was established to provide 14 to 24-year-olds with opportunities through jobs, education and work experience, particularly within the conservation field.

This year Jake will be both crutch and hair free.

Derren Brown - Miracles for Sale

It's hard to come up with many examples of practices more cruel and exploitative than faith healing because its practitioners deliberately prey on the poor and sick by taking advantage of them in their greatest time of need and desperation. If your kid is diagnosed with an incurable and terminal disease, for instance, and science-based medicine can't help, it's understandable that you might try other 'alternative' methods. What parent wouldn't be willing to try anything to help their children?

And that's precisely what faith healers are counting on. They exploit the general population's lack of critical thinking skills by poisoning the well in such a way that no matter the outcome, it will somehow 'confirm' their doctrine: if you feel immediately better because you've been touched by one of these charlatans (while all the work is really being done by a temporary rush of adrenaline coursing through your body), that counts as evidence of a miracle; but if you don't feel better, or your symptoms come back later (as they inevitably do), it's your own fault for not having enough faith. It's a win-win... for the 'healer'. It's a lose-lose for you.

What kind of purpose drives these healers? No, it's not love for their fellow man... it's greed: you have to pony up a pretty penny to show that you have the requisite faith for the holy spirit to descend upon you (and it takes cash and credit cards... no checks, though).

But the problems don't stop with the healing session itself: because faith is hammered into your head as the cause of your improvement, it wouldn't show much faith on your part if you continue to take the real medicine that medical doctors have prescribed for you. As you might imagine, people stop taking their medication and the result is that they get worse, cancers relapse, medical conditions deteriorate, and some people even end up dying...

Luckily, Derren Brown has been working really hard to infiltrate this group of disgusting con artists and expose them for the frauds they are by training an ordinary man and turning him into a 'faith healer' and unleashing him somewhere in Texas. This documentary should be mandatory in the Bible belt...



And for more, check out The Enemies of Reason.
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A.C. Grayling on Colbert

Philosopher A.C. Grayling (whom you've seen debate along with Richard Dawkins against the notion that atheism is the new fundamentalism), has just come out with a secular bible.

His book tour just had him land for a visit with Stephen Colbert, who claims that you can't have a Bible unless it's endorsed by God... or unless you're willing to kill someone else in its name :)

And for an entirely different take, listen to Grayling and philosopher Patricia Churchland discuss The Machinery of Mind.
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Hair Today, Gone A Week ago

Jake's latest look is a tad familiar.

Yeah that.

But this too.


And from that inspiration was born.


Look what you can do.

The Disco Stu


The Travolta

The Mr. T

The Larry Moe and Curly

The Groucho

The Emo

The Liddy

The Mutton

The Amish

The Mr . Hooper

The Youk

The D'artangan

Custom dice

I want to get some 14mm custom dice - specifically with a Russian and American theme for my Spearhead WW2 forces.  Clearly I choose NOT to pay £8.99 for a Flames of War dice set which comes in at about 90p a dice!

But this is proving tougher than I thought.

Dice.co.uk do custom dice BUT they also produce the dice for Flames of War so clearly a conflict of interest

EM4 Miniatures do them but they're 16mm (a bit too big for me) and also come in at 60p a pop.

Chessex do custom dice - but as they're shipped from America I hate to think what the final cost would be.

There's also someone called Q-Workshop but again I think their custom price is a bit hefty. 

So the search continues.  Any guidance gratefully received.

India's Top Physicists Develop Plan to Get the Hell Out of India

A new Manhattan (or maybe London) Project is coming!




I wonder if they'll outsource their call centers :)
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Lost in the Woods

Looks like Squatchi is heading back back to the Tree and into the woods. Talking about not seeing the forest for the Trees.

But back to the guy who promise to do naked tree hugging (don't mean shirtless Julian hugging it up on the show )

A tree guide might be helpful before you get involved.

Hemlock - too suspect

Buckeye - too collegiate

Fraser Fir - too Kelsey Grammer

Oak - too much Chardonnay

Pine - too sappy

Willow - too weepy

Palo Verde - too green ?

Redwood - too big? ; )

Birch - too smooth

Money Tree - too easy

and of course

Tree Hill - too crazy
Ooops!



Tonight on the Crazy Tree

" Where Not to Look for Freedom" The Real Housewife of Tree Hill is home taking care of the new baby, BikiniQuinn plays concert promoter at Tric, photographer to concert promoter (it's practically the same thing right?) BrookeDavis(TM) gets an offer (which she shouldn't refuse - JUST GO!) to head back to NY head up Clothes Over Bros, because she's BrookeDavis(TM) dammit and if she can't get a baby she'll take Manhattan. Nathan sets his sights on exposing Professor Kellerman causing the accident with BrookeDavis(TM) and Jamie. Feats of Clay spills the bean to Julians about Nathans discovery, and Julian makes an angry face.

Get Your Butt In the Saddle Today. Gas Is Too Expensive!! -AUS10