[history] newsUnlimited asks: Did Britain poison Napoleon? [Text Only] …when his remains were brought back to France in 1840 prior to ceremonial burial in Les Invalides, his body appeared perfectly preserved. At the time it was seen as a miracle. Today scientists say the phenomenon is symptomatic of arsenic poisoning.

[mayor for london] “If the Archangel Gabriel had stood with the name Winston Churchill, Ken would still have won.” — Jeffrey Archer. So what does a London mayor do anyway?

[comics] Grant Morrison posts on Nexus: ‘Imagination is the Fuel of the 21st Century. I’ll be right here on and off for the rest of the week at least. Ready to start fucking with the future, padre?’

[mayor for london] The results of the London Mayor election have been held up by “dust in the air”. Did they get British Rail into count the votes? [Updated 12.27pm] Anyway — Ken wins.

[MP3] The Register points out that the phrase MP3 has been sprayed on statues and walls in Whitehall after the Mayday protest: ‘Quite why these hardened anarchists and eco-twats felt the need to paint a computer format alongside cries for revolution is unclear – is this the first sign of an internet generation, lost and disillusioned and unable to function without a keyboard, crying out for attention? Who cares.’

[virus] When I’m not blogging I do Tech Support… anyway this morning we’ve been swamped with copies of the “ILoveyou” virus. Don’t open any attachments from emails with the subject: ILoveyou UPDATED: BBC News report, it looks like it’s happening all over the place….

[mayor for london] It’s voting day in London. I voted at 7.00 o’clock this morning on the way to work… Here’s a couple of reports from BBC News and newsUnlimited… newsUnlimited is also reporting that a “virtual poll” has Livingstone winning cleanly in the first round.

[weblogs] British blogs are discussing the vandalism of the cenotaph. Check out: kitschbitch, Barbelith and Blue Lines.

[mayor for london] Susan Kramer sent me a postcard today…. and asked me to download a song called Follow in my footsteps by Sarah Gillies. God knows why…

[tech] Slashdot reports that the Internet goes into orbit after a satellite is pinged from earth. 15 minute ping times, sure. But how the fsck will RIAA stop us from downloading MP3s when the servers are located in deep space? :) :) :)

[major for london] Voting day tommorrow — here’s a BBC News timeline on how the race developed… and a guide to how the vote works.

[ebay] A spooky haunted picture sold on Ebay… WARNING: DO NOT BID ON THIS PAINTING IF YOU ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO STRESS RELATED DISEASE, FAINT OF HEART OR ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH SUPERNATURAL EVENTS. BY BIDDING ON THIS PAINTING, YOU AGREE TO RELEASE THE OWNERS OF ALL LIABILITY IN RELATION TO THE SALE OR ANY EVENTS HAPPENING AFTER THE SALE, THAT MIGHT BE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS PAINTING. THIS PAINTING MAY OR MAY NOT POSSESS SUPERNATURAL POWERS, THAT COULD IMPACT OR CHANGE YOUR LIFE. HOWEVER, BY BIDDING YOU AGREE TO EXCLUSIVELY BID ON THE VALUE OF THE ARTWORK, WITH DISREGARD TO THE LAST TWO PHOTOS FEATURED IN THIS AUCTION, AND HOLD THE OWNERS HARMLESS IN REGARD TO THEM AND THEIR IMPACT, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED.

[something fell!] newsUnlimited talks about Space Junk [Text Only] after a large red-hot metal ball falls on South Africa.

[weblogs / tech] WinerLog — very funny if you visit Dave Winer’s Scripting News. Speaking of disconnects, I got an email from Dave Userland support. It begins “We’d like to stop hosting winerlog.” Weird. We’d say, “Sure Dave, whatever you want, because we love you!!!!!!!”

[tech] Richard Stallman on Metallica: Metallica justifies their lawsuit saying they think it is an outrage that their music has become a “commodity”. Apparently they think music is a commodity when shared between fans, but not when large companies sell copies through record stores. What hypocritical absurdity! Such drivel is normally laughable. But Metallica is presenting it as an excuse to attack our freedom, and that is no laughing matter. I encourage people to write letters to periodicals that cover this story, stating disgust for Metallica’s lawsuit and rejecting their views. [via Slashdot]

[comics] Whatever happened to Reverso-Brendan McCarthy? [via 2000AD Links Project]

[comics] Comicon reports Alan Moore is to change his name to “Alan Marvel-Vagina!” [second story on that page]

[uk] Coca-Cola plan mini-me Wembley Stadium at the Millenium Dome. Another stupid idea… the dome seems to generate them…

[uk internet] BBC News is reporting that T-Online wants to buy Freeserve.

[mp3] Another MP3 application I use all the time MP3ext gets updated. Useful if you have a large collection of MP3’s stored on a Windows PC. It enhances Windows Explorer so you get a properties pages when looking at MP3 files. Very useful and free as well!

[comics] PopImage has a fantastic profile on Matt Wagner and his work (creator of Grendel, Mage and various other comics).

[tv] Ali G to star in Madonna video reports BBC News.

[mayor for london] BBC News reports that Ken Livingstone expects to return to the Labour Party after the election next week.

[tv] Channel 4 have a list of the greatest UK TV ads.

[tech] The wisdom of Jerry Pournelle: Installing A Linux Server Takes Savvy. Guh?

[films] filmUnlimited reports on the state of the British gangster movie. There lies the key difference between gangster flicks new and old: they used to be fully rounded thrillers which, due to the nature of their setting, would inevitably involve elements of violence and black comedy.

[comics] DC Comics ordered the complete print run of Alan Moore’s League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen #5 destroyed because the reproduction of a Victorian age advertisement contains the phrases “Marvel Douche Company” and “vaginal”. Moore comments: ‘My parents raised me as a gentleman and everyone at Marvel should rest assured that I would never make reference to any person there as a “douchebag”.’

[uk] jobsUnlimited reports on the man who got fired for having porn delivered to his workplace the old fashioned way. “The tribunal decides against Steve in a relatively uncensorious fashion. There seems to be a tacit agreement that he has suffered enough. We can all go home and forget about Planet Mammary. Am still puzzled myself about double anal. But please don’t write in to explain.”

[comics] “Nothing ends that isn’t something else starting. So which side are you on? Do you know yet?” I’ve just read the last issue of the Invisibles… [Personal Shite]

If you want to find out more about the Invisibles check out: The Bomb and the Nexus.

[comics] The final issue of the Invisibles is out. I still have not got a copy — deliveries in the UK were delayed by the bank holiday on Monday!