violence
Weapons
Teacher Confronts Student Armed With Bombs, Chainsaw, Sword
10:40AM Sean Fallon | No doubt weighed down by his arsenal of 10 pipe bombs, a chainsaw and a sword with a 0.6-metre blade, a disturbed 17-year old’s plan to wreak havoc in a San Mateo, CA high school was thwarted by a teacher. More »
Random Stuff
Verizon’s Tech Support Repertoire Includes Punching You In The Face
11:30AM John Herrman | This according to a young gentleman in New York City, who says that a Verizon support guy sent to fix his phone ended up fixing his face, with fists. In corporate speak, I believe that’s called “thinking outside the box.” More »
Games
4:16PM Nick Broughall | David over at Kotaku is pointing out that the OFLC has refused classification to the RPG Risen, based on the fact the game contains “sexual activity and drug use related to incentives or rewards.” More »
Another Game Gets Refused Classification in Australia
4:16PM Nick Broughall | David over at Kotaku is pointing out that the OFLC has refused classification to the RPG Risen, based on the fact the game contains “sexual activity and drug use related to incentives or rewards.” More »
Gadgets
Air Compressor Alarm Clock Pounds Your Head Into Consciousness
4:00AM Jack Loftus | The inventor of this head-pounding “alarm clock” is admittedly a bit quirky (”Hi Mum!” cliche, check!), but I’ll be damned if I don’t give him kudos for inventing the most violent, aggressive alarm clock I’ve ever seen. More »
Phones
Old Lady Tells Young Dude to Stop Playing With Phone, Young Dude Breaks Old Lady’s Face
5:00AM Matt Buchanan | I hate obnoxious people on trains, but there’s a reason I only make snide remarks to obviously weaker opponents. Because if you yell at them, like this old lady, they might break your face. More »
Games
4:30PM Nick Broughall | Ahh. Now Atkinson’s decision to not offer an R18+ rating is starting to make sense. Instead, violent games end up in the hands of younger kids, who are training to kill zombies. Nice.
[The Onion] More »
Are Your Children Trained To Deal With The Apocalypse?
4:30PM Nick Broughall | Ahh. Now Atkinson’s decision to not offer an R18+ rating is starting to make sense. Instead, violent games end up in the hands of younger kids, who are training to kill zombies. Nice.
[The Onion] More »
Games
30 Year Old Brothers Get Stabby, Chokey Over PS2 Controller
6:30AM Sean Fallon | Winter weather and cabin fever can lead to some strange behaviour. Take this tale of two thirtysomething Wisconsin brothers for instance. Apparently, a fight over a PS2 controller lead to punching, choking and stabbing. More »
Toys
Macabre Plush Toys Are Perfect Xmas Gift for Future Psychokillers
12:45AM Jesus Diaz | Why buy a stupid Elmo when you can permanently disturb that young mind with a cute knitted plush rabbit killed with a giant carrot? Or a beautiful tiger eating some human remains? I love these. More »
Press
Woman Stabs Boyfriend in Epic Fight Over Remote Control
2:00PM Elaine Chow | After a heated argument over who ought to get dibs on the remote control, a Minneapolis woman decided to drive her point home by stabbing her boyfriend in the gut. Oprah would not approve. More »
Online
4:00PM Nick Broughall | Why is it that there are people out there who spend their days trying to prove a correlation between violence in movies/games/online/tv and violent behaviour? You’d think that after almost half a century of TV and still no final conclusion, these researchers would realise that they will never be able to prove anything.
The latest, courtesy of News.com.au, comes from Pediatrics, and was conducted by a group called “Internet Solutions for Kids”. Yeah, like they don’t have an agenda. They surveyed 1,588 young people aged 10 to 15 years old about their online media habits and predilection towards violent behaviour. The researcher then went on to claim that the interactive nature of the internet could mean that its influence is more powerful than other media… wait, isn’t that what critics say about games?
So, even though I’m not a scientist or a professional researcher, I do have a small amount of common sense, (which the people who conduct these studies always seem to lack) and I’m going to use it to explain why every single one of these studies is a waste of time, money and effort and only diverts attention away from the real problems of the world. You ready? Here goes:
More »
Study Shows Violent Websites Linked To Violent Behaviour
4:00PM Nick Broughall | Why is it that there are people out there who spend their days trying to prove a correlation between violence in movies/games/online/tv and violent behaviour? You’d think that after almost half a century of TV and still no final conclusion, these researchers would realise that they will never be able to prove anything.
The latest, courtesy of News.com.au, comes from Pediatrics, and was conducted by a group called “Internet Solutions for Kids”. Yeah, like they don’t have an agenda. They surveyed 1,588 young people aged 10 to 15 years old about their online media habits and predilection towards violent behaviour. The researcher then went on to claim that the interactive nature of the internet could mean that its influence is more powerful than other media… wait, isn’t that what critics say about games?
So, even though I’m not a scientist or a professional researcher, I do have a small amount of common sense, (which the people who conduct these studies always seem to lack) and I’m going to use it to explain why every single one of these studies is a waste of time, money and effort and only diverts attention away from the real problems of the world. You ready? Here goes:
More » 