Graphics fail: chocolate shop "In space no one can hear you scream"

Spotted in London Bridge station underground gallery of "cool" shops, this instantly evoked the poster for the first science fiction horror Alien film, with the catchphrase "In space no one can hear you scream":

Practise what you geek

Nemi on geek snobbery and hypocrisy, by Lise Myhre, spot on as usual:

By the way, if you haven't seen it yet, don't miss the interview (6 minutes) with Ben Stein where Richard Dawkins defends intelligent design. Yes, seriously, his answer describes intelligent design in all but name, and he goes further to posit extra-terrestrials as the intelligent designers. I would have thought that he would classify aliens along with the tooth fairy and Father Christmas, not to mention the despised Judeo-Christian God. Striking irony.  View it here.

Breast cancer campaign fail: it has made no difference because it has not addressed the root causes

The Pink Ribbon campaign, for all its high profile and huge investment, has led to no detectable reduction in breast cancer, for a simple reason: it is not encouraging women to do the three things known to reduce breast cancer risk:

- have children earlier in life
- refrain from artificial contraception
- avoid induced abortions

The likely reason for this failure is that to encourage these things would be to challenge the very foundations of the sexual revolution.

For better words than I can muster and references to useful sources, see Fr Tim's blog.

Eco-Farming Can Double Food Production in 10 Years, says UN Report

Masanobu Fukuoka, pioneer of natural farming

GENEVA- 18 March 2011, the Special Rapporteur presented his new report “Agro-ecology and the right to food” before the UN Human Rights Council. Based on an extensive review of recent scientific literature, the report demonstrates that agroecology, if sufficiently supported, can double food production in entire regions within 10 years while mitigating climate change and alleviating rural poverty.

The report therefore calls States for a fundamental shift towards agro-ecology as a way for countries to feed themselves while addressing climate and poverty challenges.

You can download the document and read related material here.

Art discoveries - illustration - Anthony Vanarsdale

Thanks to the Catholic Illustrators' Guild, St Joseph and the child Jesus:

Fruity computers

Here's my laptop, a special edition Banana EeePC from Asus. I could not resist this cheerful picture so stuck it on to see if it would cheer up anyone else. So far not a flicker from other commuters on the morning train into London (perhaps they're too busy looking at their Blackberries and Apples to notice!).

Update: my little daughter Therese took a liking to the picture and tore it off so I let her keep it. I was touched by her appreciation.