Going off the topic of an injured reporter for a moment, I must say that this tradition is one of the most disgusting food preparation practices in existence. It's enough that it's basically rotten fruit juice and yeast crap; also throw in some toe cheese and foot fungus for measure? WTF were people thinking?

Heh...I was just watching Ice Age last night. I didn't think much of it the first time, but after a second viewing, it's not too bad. Some of the improv Lequizamo did cracked me up... "Mom? Dad? Uncle Fungus?"

Um, oh yeah, I guess I didn't make a clear point...

Point was this; evolution is an idea that jives with every scrap of evidence we've tossed at it. Significant challengers have risen, but further research has explained away the apparent contradictions to the 'natural selection' program.

Its incumbent on the current generation to inspire the next to keep piling up more clues and delving deeper into the intricacies of our natural world. In other words, one way science fails is by giving value to ideas that have little to no evidence to support them. And another way science fails is by allowing a neglect of critical thinking to flourish.

It is important to know that the earth revolves around the sun; we can then begin to understand seasons, shooting stars, other planets, the moon... etc. Similarly it is important to know that evolution occurs by natural selection; we can then begin to understand why there are hundreds of thousands of non-interbreeding beetle species, how ants know what to do, why my great grandfather looks just like me but was a foot shorter, why our bananas are in danger of being wiped out by a fungus, and why squirrels and cats can climb trees while little dogs can not!

Micophobia....i not skeered

Brilliant insights, fungus is our eternal pal-
This guy gets all the $$$ he needs, and a presidential appointment to, an office created especially for his research....use the money that Obama wants to steal from us for universal health care-If you told me that taxes would be raised for mycological research and not social programs, I'd bow down to the Hawaiian Muslim-

So, he is saying that the fungus acts as a nervous/circulatory system for the planet. He is advising the human race form a tight bond with this fungus.

Begin Secret Project: Voice of Planet.

Thanks for the dupe find

In reply to this comment by gorillaman:
Dupe.

*discard

I've tried everything to get rid of athlete's foot, to no avail. Since I actually contracted it in Japan, I think I'll go back and book myself in to the Kobe hospital for some acid water treatment. Seriously, when you wear those little plastic slippers each time you go into someone's home, or office space, fungus abounds!

With a couple of exceptions, it seems like everyone has missed the point of not allowing 'snuff' on VS. It's not because it will offend any particular person, but because it will attract rubberneckers like flies to shit. The rubberneckers then become part of the community and will post vids that continually push the envelope, attracting more flies, etc. That's my understanding of it anyway.

Leaving it to voting on these kinds of vids is crazy. There is already a distinct etiquette surrounding downvotes, particularly for posts still in the queue, which is that downvotes are generally used only for those posts which are most objectionable. Those kinds of posts are already taken care of rather quickly and summarily, and it's not what is at issue here. It is those posts which are borderline that we're discussing, and it is clear to me that upvotes will always win out. Introducing a new voting guideline for such posts is all well and good, except that community habits don't change that easily.

Asking Lucky to code up a complex system of gold only voting for these vids implies that the VS community in general should be more focused on these vids than any other, which I find highly objectionable. This would entail a significant amount of time, at the cost of other potential fixes and features which provide a benefit to the entire site.

Is anyone engaged in this discussion under any illusions about the horrific costs of war? Do you really need to be reminded that people are dying every day by watching it happen? I submit that the motivation to include such posts here is to bring attention to that horror to those who otherwise wouldn't see it. But I think this is kind of a case of preaching to the choir. The folks you want to reach are already aware of that horror, and those who will stick their heads in the sand aren't going to lift them out because of us (a certain discrete fungus comes to mind).

I like the idea of a War of Imperialism channel in the abstract, but I don't think it would solve this problem, especially given the way the channel filter works right now. In other words, there are loads of non-violent videos which would be included in that channel which would be 'inadvertently' filtered.

Raven, I know your heart is in the right place on this, but restricting this discussion to Iraq and Afghanistan is, pardon me, narrow-minded. Are the lives of those affected by combat in Iraq and Afghanistan any more important than those of the Sudanese, Burmese, Zimbabweans, Columbians, etc.? This discussion needs to consider the wider context of armed conflict around the world. I understand that there are vastly greater numbers of videos coming out of those two countries right now, but it's absurd to have this discussion for each and every situation.

I actually have a lot more to say on this topic, but I wanted to get this out there before the opinions of roughly a dozen people (which I respect greatly) are taken as a consensus for the community. This post is less than 10 hours old, and already folks are leaning towards considering it decided.

Dotdude used to feature some of his artwork via his avatar... kinda miss that... bring back the Dots Dude!

And yeah, gotta give choggie props for the selection, at first I was rather annoyed by them, couldn't keep track of who was commenting... but they have come to grow on me... like a fungus.

@mlx So that's Garbo, always wondered, but yeah, it is the perfect avatar, excellent choice.

@silvercord... anime uterus! unfortunatly not... that's V from V for Vendetta, another comic book icon!

An article in the LA Times claims that it may be fungus.

Fungus Update:

The rains are not steady enough for prime poppin' yet. I am finding new things this year, as in new fields used which make it harder. The established fields have more stages of cow-pie-decay, and the medium must be less than fresh, i.e. just right......I may have to get in the truck and do some established field finding a bit further away....the fields last year behind my home, are owned by someone else now, and they have moved cattle around.....time to get the rubber boots out, and start walking it......patience, they pop all year save a couple months here, and the summer if it doesn't rain.......Hurricane season, is generally pretty steady............Patience, I am burning to burn m'self, after watching the Hoffman viddy, again and again....I have seen this before on PBS, and had forgotten!

For what it's worth:

The man later got a prosthetic face (an interesting story by itself, created by a man who had his own history working for the CIA): http://www.healthaire.co.nz/images/mark_tatum3.jpg

And apparently he did die of unknown causes: http://www.mold-help.org/content/view/544/

"Mr. Mark Tatum, also known by many as the man without a face, passed 4:00 CST Saturday, February 26, 2005 at the Medco Center of Franklin, Kentucky. Tatum lost his eyes, upper jaw, and nose to a fungal infection in 2000. This type of infection is not that unusual, but the extent of the damage that it did to Tatum was very rare. Tatum was a medical phenomena due to the fact that he survived the infection. Due to his extreme experience, Tatum was highly profiled in the media by many people including Larry King, Maury Povich, and Ripley's Believe it or Not. He was a courageous individual who served as a symbol of strength for the thousands of people who have lost their health, homes, and livliehood from fungal exposure.

According to a friend who spoke to him that day, Mr. Tatum was in good spirits and feeling very positive towards his future. He had just been fitted with a new prosthetic face (see below). He was extremely excited about helping victims of toxagenic mold exposure so he could uncover the real truth about fungus as a synonymous predator to the virus and bacteria.

At this point, the cause of his death is still unknown. An autopsy has been requested by his family. More information will be posted when we obtain the results.

Funeral services were held March 2, 2005 at Crafton Funeral Home. The Rev. Winston Roberts officiated with burial at Hillsdale Cemetery. Tatum was a native of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and worked as a security guard until his fungal infection in 2000. He was the son of the late Franklin Eugene Tatum and Emma Thomas Tatum.

Donations in Mark Tatum's name will be gratefully accepted to assist the Children's Angel Fund:

Children's Angel Fund
P.O. Box 1026
Pepperell, MA 01463"

You can read more on the page. I will be sending along a donation for that fund soon. I was impressed by the strength and courage displayed by Mr. and Mrs. Tatum. I don't know if I would have had the same strength of will to keep fighting if I were in the same situation.

One more vote to send this to the front...

I wonder if this fungus attacks fire ants? It would be a great way to control this pest.

lol !! THATS SO COOL although could be anoying when it rains personaly i would get a metal plate over it ore perspex cover 4 for it im suprized how mutch of the head u can remove. im guessing eathor trama cused it ore he had agressive skin fungus and thay had to remove it all. thats so cool.