HOT CHICKS WITH DOUCHEBAGS

Hot Chicks with Douchebags shoots itself in the foot. We understand that the name of the site involves the word douchebag, and a light peppering would be understandable, but there's no need to bukkake us with it: douche accoutrement, douchewank, can of theological douche-worms, douchestrological rank, douche echo, douche-lips, uberdouchosity... Whoa guy, we get it. What is it with jocks and killing jokes?

BUMMED-OUT SPAM BOTS

What happened to comment spam? The usual adverts for Viagra and Vicodin are being blocked by anti-spam software and so robots that send out spam are trying another tactic. They're now leaving gloomy, grumbling statements that have nothing to do with the product they're spamming about. They range from specific gripes about the state of the world to more random melancholia...

VBS ON CNN

CNN has picked up on the VBS documentary Colombian Devil's Breath, where Ryan Duffy goes to Bogota in search of the terrifying zombie drug Scopolamine. Go here to watch Ryan get interviewed on a split-screen video-phone thingy by a presenter who cannot hide his hard-on for VBS.TV's ventures into "the Wild West of journalism."

MP3s - MUSIC ROUND-UP

Here's a round-up of the music that made us neigh in the Horse's Ass issue. We've got new shit from Les Savy Fav, Jack Penate, Comanechi, Dan Deacon and Health to name a few. Read on for the full tracklisting...

TODAY ON VBS

Today in Lebanon we continue our chat with our buddy Ahmed. It’s kind of a bummer that someone so cool has to be caught up in such an ugly scene, but also sort of relieving to know that there are decent and caring minds behind the creepy PLO and Hezbollah masks (or some of them at least). In Israel we get another eyeful of suicide bomber recruitment videos from the archives of Palestinian Media Watch. If you’re in search of something a bit lighter, we’ve got our third installment of Hi Shredability, with guest Dan Malloy, and another episode of Soft Focus with Cat Power as we gear up for season two in October.

ZOOLANDER MEETS THREE KINGS

Vogue has published a fashion shoot based on "war on terror chic." Cue leggy girls with perfect tits and muscular male models simulating torture and rape. Slap on a corny title like "Make Love, Not War" and, in the mindless world of fashion, it becomes "a message." Shot by photographer provocateur Stephen Meisel, it follows the recent "fun take on rehab chic" spread, which featured 50 pages of pouting hotties posing as drug addicts...

MARAS MOVIE

There's a new documentary coming out about the Maras, the heavily tattooed gang/army we featured in our recent Photo Issue. Children of the War explores the social and political factors that led a bunch of hoodlums to grow into a massive network of violence that stretches across the Americas.

MY HEAD’S FULL OF WHISKEY AND MY HEART’S FULL OF YOU – JIM KREWSON ON TOUR!

Frequent Vice illustrator and all-around good-vibes guy Jim Krewson is hitting the road for a mini-tour! Jim used to play in the sweet bluegrass band Jim and Jennie & the Pine Tops, but now he’s got a new solo album out called Feelings Hog (the cover photo depicts Jim with one of his "Food Dudes" that we used for a fashion shoot in the Food Issue) and his songs have gotten a lot more personal and a lot more weird. Look for brand new golden nuggets of song-joy such as “Gee, but You’re a Stinker,” a jazzy number about how much Jim hates born-again Christians, “The Minivan Song,” the classic tale of a two-ton hippie and a bow-legged stripper on the run from the law, and “Oh Dinah,” a depressing song about the mentally ill. If you’re lucky he might also bust out with some old faves like “Don’t Shit On My Heart,” which actually made one of us cry once. Click below for the tour dates and don’t miss a chance to see Jim in the nude!! Whoops, I mean: In the flesh!

HMiB - HELP SAVE OUR HEAVY METAL FRIENDS FROM AN UNCERTAIN FATE IN BAGHDAD

On October 10th, 2007, the visas of the members of Iraqi metal band Acrassicauda will start to expire. The Syrian government  has made it clear that they will not renew them, meaning the band will be forced to return to Iraq. We don't need to stress just how dangerous this will be for them. It could very likely be a death sentence, and the time in which we can help them is quickly running out.

We are asking for donations to assist Acrassicauda in leaving Syria for a safer haven. The band has no bank accounts, and Paypal doesn't function in Syria, so we've setup a Paypal account on their behalf. No donation is too small. By giving as little as ten dollars, you can be a part of keeping the heavy metal dreams of four young Iraqi men alive.

TODAY ON VBS

Welcome to week two of our trip to southern Lebanon a year after last summer’s war with Israel. In today’s segment of VBS News from Lebanon, our old pal Ahmed from the PLO Boy Scouts piece we did a year ago leads us through his neighb, the half-century old refugee camp/town of Bourj al-Barajueh. On the Israeli side, we sit down with the founder of Palestinian Media Watch to find out more about television's role in recruiting for the conflict. We're also back with another installment of Soft Focus, this time with Cat Power. We'll be revisiting the entire first season in preparation for season two, premiering in mid-October. And be sure to check the music video from pre-teen rippers Care Bears on Fire.