It's a foregone conclusion that all drinks in the future will be served by robots. The question is, will this be done for the good of humanity, or will these androids have their own sinister agenda? Luckily, BarBot 2010, which Asylum attended Feb. 18 at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco, hinted that it just might be the former. For the evening, as a way to promote the upcoming city-wide ...

One of our favorite new ways to kill time is watching fitness instructor Paul Eugene's unintentionally kitschy series of Christian aerobics videos. Taken from the energetic host's Pittsburgh community-access TV show, the videos have turned him into an Internet phenomenon through the power of YouTube. Even if you're not into aerobics or dancing, there's a lot to love about this guy. Not only ...

Did you know that pigs have a corkscrew penis and routinely ejaculate more than a pint of semen? I do. Those are just two of the interesting facts I learned at "Woo at the Zoo," a brunch-time lecture held this past Valentine's Day at the San Francisco Zoo. While most men were using the day to cozy up to their significant others, I spent mine surrounded by total strangers looking at slides of ...

Attending Macworld 2010 is like stepping into Futureland at Disney World. Held at the Moscone Center in cyber-hub San Francisco this Thursday through Saturday, Macworld is a celebration of all things Apple, featuring product demos that would make a caveman's brain explode from its cranium. Mix that with cool seminars and experts giving you the full tech skinny on cutting-edge products, and ...

Yesterday, the Westboro Baptist Church and their subtly named picket group, God Hates Fags, brought their dog-and-pony show to San Francisco. That's right -- the freaky people came to freak out the freaky people. The religious group, based in Topeka, Kan., usually pickets soldiers' funerals, reasoning that they died defending a gay-loving country. Thursday, they set their sights on a larger ...

Learning about strange afflictions like barophobia (fear of gravity -- damn you, Sir Isaac Newton!) and arachibutyrophobia (the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth -- damn you, Jiffy-delicious peanut butter) got us thinking about irrational fears. Fear of snakes or the IRS may be our most primal phobias, but surely there are some things we fear that only make sense in this ...

At the poker tables, a tuxedo-clad James Bond is the epitome of suave -- shaken martini at his side. But that's merely a secret-agent movie franchise. With my wrangled press credentials to cover PokerStars.com's European Poker Tour held in Monte Carlo, I want to find out how real-life high-stakes poker compares to movie fantasy. Soon I'll be rubbing elbows with poker pros and celebs, sipping on ...

Asylum offers dispatches from the farthest reaches of Planet Earth. Simply by Googling "Wild Boar Hunting Florida" I came across these trip details: "Wild boar hunting with dogs that chase, battle and bay up a wild hog is the most exciting hunting adventure a hunter will ever experience in his lifetime. The mere fact of being in close contact with a fierce animal that is charging and attacking the ...

America loves the familiar face of a celebrity. But what if you aren't famous? Then what? Well, the next best thing would be to look like a beloved, familiar face of a star. It's pure genetics with more than half the talent! Unfortunately, some of these characters are either sorely misguided or improperly assigned to their jobs. So it's time to look into some of the worst celebrity impersonators ...

Not every con man has access to high-end clientele like Bernie Madoff did. The small-time, unscrupulous scam artist is compelled to find a mark by whatever means available, and the economy has fostered a new breed of scammer, promising people everything from get-rich-quick schemes to seemingly legit jobs. Even if you're not someone considering torching your own car in order to collect insurance ...