The Ugly Meter...

I do not own an iPhone, but now that I know that I can pay USD 0.99 and buy an application called the "Ugly Meter", I might just have to splash out and get one. The concept is an interesting one; face scanning technology that maps your face and then gives it a rating of somewhere from 1 to 10. I am no techno wizard, but I always thought that this would have to be a 3-D thingy in order to get some accuracy to the scanning and mapping. Perhaps I have been watching too much CSI and NCIS and Law & Order.

Anyways, the ugly meter seemingly scans and calls most people ugly. So, it appears to be an equal opportunity ugly meter and makes everyone ugly. It is hard to work out how best to use the ugly meter. I can see that if you can resist the urge to scan yourself and just scan all those around you, then there is a chance that this application will be good for yourself esteem and body image, well at least your face image. Then again, if you cannot resist that urge and you scan yourself and score a woeful ugly number then your hard-earned self-esteem could be shot in no time at all.

Yet, if trial runs are anything to go by this application could be a real winner. Brad Pitt, often cited as one of the beautiful people and one-time sexiest man alive, has found out that age does in fact weary him. Mr. Pitt scores a pretty ugly 8 on the ugly meter. When Brad Pitt scores an 8 it is almost worth buying the application just to see if you can score a 7. If I scored a 7 then you can rest assured that everyone I know will know that I am just that little bit "hotter" than Brad Pitt! But Mr. Pitt's better half scored a lot better. It just goes to prove that old adage; opposites attract.

Then again, knowing the reaction of my mirror when I stand in front of it, a ten is not outside the realm of possibility! Or better still, the application just laughs and says "Mate, you're so ugly that it is not even worth a score...but, 27!"

Apparently, the developers of this here "ugly meter" are doing beautiful business. They managed to sell some USD 10,000 worth over the past weekend. I really need to whack on the thinking cap and come up with an iPhone application that people will find amusing.

Brad Pitt, Religion, and Gay Marriage...

I like Brad Pitt. I think that he is a good actor and the man speaks his mind. Besides he is married to Angelina Jolie and raising a whole bunch of kids. So, what's not to like? Well, perhaps if you are not so into a liberal agenda that questions religion and those who practice a religion trampling on the rights of others, someone who is an open supporter of gay marriage, and who is pro-marijuana, then Brad Pitt is probably not your cup of tea.

Pitt did a spot on Bill Maher's show the other day (video at the bottom), and prior to that gave a lengthy interview to Parade magazine where he also laid out some of his ideas on a range of subjects.

It seems that the main beef is that those with an active and practicing religion are often at the forefront of arguing that some people should not be afforded certain rights because of their beliefs. The Pitt philosophy is that the same freedoms that those practicing religion enjoy must be enjoyed by those with different beliefs.

This is a valid point. I have always argued that if you want to believe in a religion and you think it makes you a better person then go for it. However, if your beliefs impact on my rights not to believe in the same religion then there is likely to be a problem; a respect problem. I respect you and expect in return that you respect me. Simple really.

Whether you agree or disagree with gay marriage, there are a couple of realities to be confronted. The first would be that if you truly believe in God and you believe that God disapproves of gay marriage then God will at the appropriate time make those disapprovals known to the parties concerned. Second, don't people have a right to happiness? And, who then has a right to take that happiness away?

It was interesting to see that Pitt calls himself a joint-rolling artist, but has given up the wacky weed since becoming a father because he needs to be alert. I understand the alert part with kids running around, but every one might need to relax now and then, even Mr. Pitt.

Who's The Sexiest Man Alive? (A Must Read!)

Shrek, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were all having lunch together.

Shrek said, 'I have always thought that I'm the strongest man in the world, but how can I be sure?'

Angelina Jolie agreed. 'I'm told I'm the most gorgeous of them all, but sometimes I wonder.'

Brad Pitt said, 'I'm pretty sure I'm the sexiest man alive but I've never had it confirmed.'

They all decided that the best way to find out if their beliefs were true was to ask the famed talking 'mirror, mirror on the wall' to confirm for them whether Shrek was the strongest, Angelina Jolie was the most gorgeous, and Brad Pitt was the sexiest.

They agreed to meet again the next day for lunch to discuss their findings.

The next day Shrek walked up with a smile. "Well, it's true. The mirror told me that I am the strongest man in the world."

Angelina Jolie lifted her gorgeous face with a smile, "I know I am the most gorgeous."

But, Brad Pitt lifted up his sad and dejected face and said, "who the hell is Rob Baiton?!?!?!"

Geotagging and Tattoos

The idea of tattooing yourself with a geotag is probably not something new but it has certainly become a lot more noticeable now that some one has caught a glimpse of the latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates tattooed on the arm of Angelina Jolie (whose significant other is none other than Brad Pitt).

It is also a different twist than just getting the names of your kids tattooed on you. The Jolie-Pitt brood is set to expand to six with a set of twins to become the siblings of Maddox, Pax, Zahara, and Shiloh. If it keeps getting bigger then she might have to start using her other arm as well!

I had been figuring that I would do something similar when my first is born! It is a good way of remembering a factoid that is going to be of little importance to anyone but me and mine! I really do not care whether people say that "you're only copying Angelina Jolie". Those of us that have tattoos get them for our own personal reasons and there are only so many ways you can write coordinates in terms of latitude and longitude. So, if I am copying, then so be it! I can live with that :D

The photo highlights the tattoo and if you look carefully enough you can read the coordinates. So, log on to Google earth or something similar and you can track down the coordinates for yourself. You can find a story about the tattoos and the coordinates here.