Fifty years of Mutually Assured Destruction. This BBC News Magazine article asks the right question: "How did this frightening concept from the Cold War fade from people's psyches?"

The story:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17026538

One day later, the world is still in shock and mourning over Wednesday's introduction of Wenlock and Mandeville, the official mascots of the London 2012 Olympics.

AP

2012 Olympics mascots Wenlock and Mandeville

--> Graphic designers continue to weep openly in the streets. Schools have brought in crisis counselors to comfort frightened youngsters. ...

I should warn my clients that I may have to take the week off sick.

I just got my first glimpse of the new Olympic mascots.

What is it about city-level Olympic Committees that prompts them to commission the most horribly-designed, awkward, ugly, bulbous-and-or-spindly, ridiculous, meaningless, frightening and/or nauseating mascot characters they possibly can? It's as if each new Olympic city is in a competition with all the previous to see how much bad publicity they can generate, because they know quickly horrendous designs will go viral with a V – as in "venom". As long as they spell your name right? Is that the theory?

Take, for example – or just take them away, please – Wenlock and Mandeville, the official mascots of the London 2012 Olympics.

To begin to describe how terrible these mindlessly-concocted soulless, disturbing, one-eyed alien cartoon creatures would be to tackle a week-long writing project. And thank goodness, I don't have the time.

Just one look at the photo is worth ten thousand words from a poison pen.

I'm looking forward to a time when character designers and ad agencies will link arms and sit down in the face of the pepper spray of Olympic Committee insanity, and just refuse to create mascots at all. Better none than Deadlock and Bennyhill.

The only bright spots in this kind of crime against good design and the eyeballs, minds and stomachs it seeks to inform and protect, are the act's unifying nature – like the world reacting to a terrorist attack – and some really funny opinion articles like the one by Simon Dumenco at Ad Age. What's sad is that with all his seeming hyperbole, his description of the reaction to this attack on branding sense isn't all that exaggerated.

And the tweets are almost as funny.

The twitter reaction slideshow:
http://adage.com/article/the-media-guy/twitter-reacts-horror-2012-olympic-mas...

Ad Age's original story on yesterday's announcement:
http://adage.com/article/adages/olympics-set-ridiculous-mascots/143973/#

Political leaders should be encouraging young adults to participate in civic life, but many Republican state lawmakers are doing everything they can instead to prevent students from voting in the 2012 presidential election. Some have openly acknowledged doing so because students tend to be liberal.

. . .

William O’Brien, the speaker of the New Hampshire State House, told a Tea Party group earlier this year that students are “foolish” and tend to “vote their feelings” because they lack life experience. “Voting as a liberal,” he said, “that’s what kids do.”

The epidemic of voting restriction laws created by the Right Wing has spread across the country. Republican state legislators want to stop Democrats, minorities, the poor and the young from ejecting them from their corporate-sponsored power pulpits.

One demographic they're targeting is college students. Even though they are of voting age, Republicans want to make sure students – and all of their other targets – can't vote, because, well, they're often liberal.

In other words, this is their idea of democracy: you can vote, but only if you agree with us.

Sound familiar?

It should. This is the way dictatorships have run their so-called "elections" since time immemorial. There are periodic elections, but, somehow, the ruling party or the dictator and his cronies or the junta magically get "re-elected" for every new term. No matter that the opposition has been jailed or disappeared, or that opposing voters are intimidated by force, or beaten outright, keeping them from the polls.

Here in the United States, there's no presidential guard wielding machetes, and there are no black-masked death squads kicking down midnight doors. But this action by the Right Wing is, at its core, no different.

Some of these laws have already been struck down, but the Wingers know that if they can subvert the electoral process for long enough, they can permeate much the government with their extreme policies, and, more importantly, guarantee themselves additional cushy terms in a well-heeled power structure that all but guarantees their own comfort and profit – along with that of their cronies and corporate sponsors – both now and after they leave office.

It's incredible that in a country whose voters have historically been loudly vocal about gerrymandering, there seems to be so little objection to this blatant attempt to destroy democracy.

Wake up. Stand up. Take action. Before it's all gone.

Ever wonder how many social media apps you've given access to your personal info? Facebook and other services allow you to change your settings, and delete apps... But figuring out how to do that can be bewildering, taking 4 or more clicks to finally get to the settings page.

Here's a great little service that provides a shortcut to the permissions settings page for your account on popular services— Facebook, twitter, Google, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Dropbox, Instagr.am, and Flickr.

Just make sure you're logged into the service first, then click on one of the icons on this page to be beamed straight into controlsville.

Start your new year off clean!

Site: http://mypermissions.org/

And now for my epic Thought Nozzle holiday greeting card for 2011-2012... The 12 Days of Christmas, in Record Time. Without all that repetitive singing. And with a cast of thousands. Well, okay, a cast of 76, plus a couple of rosy-cheeked cherubs. And as an homage (and with apologies) to Terry Gilliam.

Here's hoping your holidays are festive, and your new year is happy and prosperous (with or without leaping lords).

Stop by www.thoughtnozzle.com when you get a chance. We might even have some cookies left.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'd better get started on next year's card...

The HD version -- viewed full-screen -- is highly recommended for all the ridiculously intricate details. And crank up those goose-honkin' speakers!

HD Version: http://youtu.be/Oy6mEiGwouI?hd=1
Econo Version: http://youtu.be/Oy6mEiGwouI

The Washington Post reports that the wealth of those in Congress has more than doubled in recent years, while the wealth of the average American has declined.

The gap between the richest and the poorest, and between those in power and those whose backs upon which that wealth and power were built, continues to widen.

Downward we continue to trundle, into the ranks of the banana republics.

Wow... Modern dance choreographed by Pina Bausch, filmed by Wim Wenders, in 3D.

Now THIS is a great use of the technology.

Wim Wenders' PINA - New LA release date: opens on Jan 13th at the Arclight Hollywood and The Landmark in 3D.

Great news in the fight against right-wing efforts to deny Americans their right to vote. the Justice Department says South Carolina's law requiring ID is discriminatory.

Here's hoping this sets a precedent that will reverse these bogus laws across the country.

The story at the Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/justice-dept-rejects-south-carolina-vo...

Weird.

Just... weird.

Seriously, don't those parents know the cat is just prepping the baby so he can suck the breath out of him?