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Volume 33, Issue 1:
The HEURISTIC! Squelch

Apartment Vaguely Smells Like Gas

Berkeley resident and UC student Gil Hendricks returned last week from winter break to his apartment which, for unknown reasons, sort of smells vaguely like gas.

“I don’t know. Do you smell that?” Hendricks asked companions as he wandered through the apartment for the first time in weeks. “Is that gas? I can’t really tell.”

While Hendricks admits the implications of a possible gas leak are worrisome, he remains unsure if such a problem actually exists. “Does it always smell like this? I don’t really remember,” Hendricks said, still sniffing around the apartment suspiciously. “This place always smells weird after I’ve been gone for awhile.” Friends, while also unable to conclusively determine whether the faint, untraceable gas-like smell was indeed gas, raised their own concerns about the apartment’s obsolete gas heater. The heater, of a design now illegal to sell in California, has no discernible indoor-to-outdoor venting system, no record of any filter changes, and an unreliable pilot light.

“Nah, that can’t be it,” said Hendricks, successfully stifling his inner seeds of paranoia. Sniffing the air once more, he added, “I can’t really smell it any more. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Guy In <i>Lord of the Rings</i> Also Guy From <i>The Matrix</i>

An audible murmur passed through the audience at a recent screening of The Lord of the Rings when all four hundred moviegoers simultaneously realized that Hugo Weaving, playing Elrond in the fantasy screen adaptation, is the guy who played Agent Smith in the 1999 sci-fi hit The Matrix. Ushers reported several people whispering “Oh yeah, that’s that one guy,” followed by a nearly in-unison hiss of Missss-ter Anderson.

An aftershock murmur hit near the end of the film when about a third of the audience suddenly realized that the actor playing Sam Gamgee is that guy who was in Rudy and Encino Man.

Diary of a Penis Artist

Day 1: Wednesday

My teeth were clamped down in the midst of a large bowel movement when the idea came to me. No longer will people stare into the bleak polished door of the dormitory stall without a source of positive reassurement. My epiphany is more than just a non-homophobic feeling for the penis; it is a realization of my next project. Most toilet-door depictions are quite juvenile, being both anatomically incorrect as well as disproportional to the normal sized penis. Utilizing my artictic talents, I will create a provocative piece dancing the fine line between utter distaste and immaculate beauty. Unsuspecting bowel movers of the future will gaze helplessly into its hypnotic one-eyed stare. I will carve the perfect giant penis, the David of all toliet-door penises.

Day 2: Thursday

Before I could begin any real work I needed to study the penis, really get to know the penis. My first thought was to go out and rent lots of porn, but then I remembered that the internet is just teeming with porn so I logged on and away I went. Thank you Cal! Where would I be without my free high-speed connection to vast oceans of raunch? After five minutes, I realized I didn’t really want to look at penises so I finished the rest of the day downloading girl on girl movies. That was something … The day wasn’t a complete loss.

Day 3: Friday

Same as before.

Day 4: Saturday

Research is very tiring.

Day 5: Sunday

I finally decided to stop researching and start art-making. The dorm’s bathroom was remarkably convenient and hospitable. Barricaded in the stall, I could hear the bathroom door fly open then see legs woozily run towards the open stall and then empty the contents of a delightful frat party from the night before –the routine went on until about 2 o’clock. After the interruptions, I started really getting into my penis. I took every precaution to make sure that my penis was treated perfectly. Even though you’re cutting a penis into a door, you have to be gentle –firm but gentle. You have to work the tools in back and forth, using up and down movements. You wouldn’t want to tweak something the wrong way. I found that a good amount of pressure at the base made it go much quicker. It also made it much more enjoyable for me to keep it moist; working only with the dry surface tends to chip away too much. As an artist, the pain of losing my piece would be too great. Most of the afternoon was spent working on the penis, making sure I paid attention to all the different parts: the glans, right. The frenulum, perfect. Making sure to give the veins the right amount of coverage to show their thickness–I had to make sure it looked just right. I had to stop every now and again because it was so exhausting, but I went at it all day. I don’t think I’ve ever worked up such a sweat as I did then, working on my penis.

Day 6: Monday

I didn’t stop working Sunday night because I felt I could get it done. I hated the idea of rushing, but being in a public place, I wanted to finish off the penis quick and then surprise everyone later. I finished just around 3:00 a.m. and decided I’d add whatever finishing touches were necessary while taking a shit. So I left my creation, my gift to the world, my penis there for everyone to see. I woke about midday, eager to see what kind of reaction my penis had received. Yet to my horror, I found that someone had drawn cum all over my penis and had also drawn a large ass to add to my wonderful penis’s destruction–death by sodomy. Doesn’t anyone appreciate fine art anymore?

Cosplayer Loosely Resembles Anime Character

Leslie Carpenter, or Carpento-chan, as she is known among friends and online acquaintances, appreared at Santa Clara’s Fanime-Con “Der Cosplay” Masquerade event bearing a striking near-resemblance to the character Ayanami Rei from the popular Japanese anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. And for Carpenter, a five-year veteran of “cosplay,” in which fans dress up in homemade character costumes, her choice to dress as Rei was a carefully calculated one.

“Everybody usually always dresses as schoolgirl Rei,” Carpenter explained. “How hard is that? That’s just re-using your schoolgirl Asuka costume and adding a wig.”

“When I think Rei, I think plug-suit Rei,” Carpenter declared proudly, referring to the form-fitting armored jumpsuit worn by the character while piloting her Evangelion, a giant robot.

As she posed for pictures with other convention attendees in a poorly-lit hotel convention hallway, Carpenter modeled her handiwork: a crooked, too-bright blue wig and a wrinkled, loose-fitting jumpsuit of satin and spandex marred only by an distracting Fanime-Con guest tag.

Though Carpenter is not noticably overweight when dressed in ordinary clothing, her costume, perhaps inevitably, invited unfavorable comparisons to the impossibly skinny, yet shapely fourteen-year-old animated character upon whom it is based. Confronted with this fact, Carpenter remained unfazed.

Words from the Top

Ba-Boon to Humanity

The methods used to judge the worthiness of a potential mate has grown into a convoluted tortured science that is incomprehensible to suitors themselves. Single men and women gather in remote bars, homes, and vacated warehouses to practice obscure ritualistic behaviors to select the best possible mate. No matter the sexuality, the criteria used in mate selection are inconsistent and self-defeating. The ultimate goal in all social interactions is finding a stable monogamous fornication buddy. So, it’d be best to bypass the time-consuming practices of drinking, eating, conversing, and/or romancing for more efficient mechanisms.

This leads me to the Hamadryas Baboon. The Hamadryas Baboon scours the fields of eastern Africa searching the terrain for wild roots, leaves, insects, fruits, and small mammals. When not foraging, the baboon is fucking. How is it that the male baboons are such successful fuckers? Well, evolution has gifted the female baboons with large fleshy genitalia. When swollen red during the baboon’s monthly cycle, the female’s glowing vagina is an eyesore to the casual zoo patron, but an inviting home to any male baboon’s phallus.

Of all the animal kingdom’s advancements, none is more efficient than the swollen, blood-engulfed posterior of the female Hamadryas Baboon. Now I’m not suggesting using the same mechanisms, but perhaps a similar one that permits the concurrent wearing of pants.

We simply need to alter our behavior for the sake of efficiency. The only way to achieve this will be through a united effort. Once a system is in place it will not be bizarre if every one is accepting. So, here’s the system. For example, you walk into a room. You are greeting friends and catching up on recent events when from across the room you spot your potential fornication buddy. Now instead of proceeding with the usual troublesome courting practices of introducing yourself and chatting it up, you instead approach her and lick her forehead. You anxiously wait for the pending response to your move. Will she lick back, or will she reject your move by baring her gritted teeth and making a hissing sound? Now if she licks back, she’s interested in pursuing a relationship that will inevitably end with fornication. However, if you’re seeing teeth but no tongue, it’ll best for you to invest your efforts elsewhere. The time consumed during this interaction was no more than a few seconds, and without the embarrassing and insultingly transparent ordeal of pretending to be interested in personality.

Similarly, females will be able to send clear signals of rejection without the hassle of phony conversational escapes or the aid of friends cutting in on unwanted dance partners. All these benefits come for the simple price of a damp forehead.

Top Ten Ways to Scare the Red Cross From Ever Asking You to Donate Blood Again.

  1. In little kid voice: “Once … this time … once upon this time … I…once ….this time…I fucked my dog.”
  2. “Puck, Why you steeeck your fingers in my pee-a-nut butter?”
  3. “Can I have the needle when you’re finished with it?”
  4. Punch the nurse in her belly
  5. “So, saran wrap and a rubber band can be considered ‘protection,’ right?”
  6. [Foam at the mouth]
  7. Just before she sticks you with the needle, grab her shoulder, look at her with your eyes as wide as possible and say “FOR STALIN AND MOTHER RUSSIA!!!”
  8. “I don’t have anal sex…I have BLOODY ROUGH ANAL SEX.”
  9. “Just watch out for the track marks, okay?”
  10. “I wanted to save you guys some time so I put it in this bucket.”

Top Ten Ways to Tell Your Teen is Troubled

  1. Standing on block of ice with a moose around his neck
  2. Standing on block of ice with a noose around his neck
  3. Father’s Day gift includes coupons for chores and coupons for crack
  4. In lieu of posters, nails old blocks of cheese to wall
  5. Uses the word “autumn”
  6. He’s grown too big for his jar
  7. While your other teen isn’t troubled, she’s fucking the one you’re worried about. You’re worried about both now.
  8. Equipped with Pop-O-Matic bubble
  9. Doesn’t notice replacement of Gap clothing with Old Navy knockoffs
  10. Still breast fed, and you’re not lactating anymore

Top Ten Ways to Spice Up Your Marriage

  1. Put it in her butt.       Dude.
  2. Greet your spouse at the door wearing nothing but a brand-new attractive body
  3. With luv
  4. Push twin beds back together
  5. Have a hot steamy date eating hot steamy lobster in a hot steamy vat of boiling water
  6. Buy matching denim pantsuits
  7. Slam it to the left (if you’re having a good time), shake it to the right (lemme know that you feel fine), shake it to the front (ha! ha!), hi-see-ya, hold tight
  8. Have more children to remind you of the youth to which you can never return
  9. Tandem bicycle
  10. Remarry your loved one and have resex

Top Ten Non-Pornographic Porno Movies

  1. All Aural ActionGA$A3 Hearing Solutions Presents: Ear Pirates II
  2. Playboy Presents: Playboy Corporation’s Fiscal Report 2001
  3. Jungle Fever: Malaria
  4. Lesbian Prisoners in Solitary
  5. Housewives That Set a Decent Example VII
  6. Inhibition
  7. Girls Gone to Sleep
  8. Boys Avoiding Boys
  9. Deep Thought
  10. Debbie Doesn’t Do Dallas