a very strange fireplace

http://www.heatnglo.com/products/fireplaces/aqueon/aqueonhome.asp

(Thanks for the link, Sandy!)

See You In September!

Well, we're off to vacation in Colorado & New Mexico. I've got the steroe blasting out Poco and the Black Canyon Gang to prepare myself. Back in two weeks, Comrades. Take care!

another site devoted to Halloween haunted effects

http://www.hauntx.com/challenge.htm

new magazine devoted to cool (insane) inventions

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/15/AR2005081501502.html?referrer=emailarticle

Ultimate Lego

http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,68525,00.html?tw=wn_story_mailer

Born To Run box set still scheduled

There's no official announcement yet, but Forbes magazine, (of all places) is confirming the release of a 30th anniversary Born To Run package. Presumably, 8/25 will be the release date, (although Tuesdays are the usual release day). Needless to say, whatever and whenever it is, it will be Essential. Another soft infested summer...

Happy Anniversary Woodstock!

http://www.woodstock69.com/

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/3869/woodstock.htm


I've always had mixed feeling about Woodstock. My ancestors struggled for centuries so that I might enjoy indoor plumbing, and I'll be damned if I'd of given it up to sit in a mud puddle for three days. I also think that it's a shame that by '69 there'd been an irrevocable schism between what is now called rock and pop music (unlike my favorite festival, Monterey Pop). Nevertheless, for a few all too brief hours, half a million people tried to get along and a bunch of the top performers of that time tried to create the ultimate soundtrack to what was hoped would be a renaissance of the human spirit. I've supported and been a part of too many failures of my own to condemn others' efforts here. One of my faves, John Sebastian, seemed to know what the score was. I'll leave you with the lyrics to a song he sang there:

I HAD A DREAM John Sebastian

I had a dream last night
What a lovely dream it was
I dreamed we all were alright
Happy in a land of Oz
Why did everybody laugh
when I told them my dream
I guess they all were so far
from that kind of scene
Feeling mean
I heard a song last night
What a lovely song it was
I thought I´d hum it all night
Unforgettable because
All of the players were playing together
And all of the heavies were light as a feather
All I remember is a feeling tomorrow
And as I recall the rest will just follow
I had a dream last night
What a lovely dream it was
I dreamed we all were alright
Happy in a land of Oz
Happy in a land of Oz

Happy Birthday Sach!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0355653/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0355653/

I always like the Bowery Boys. When I was a kid, every weekend the local stations could be counted on to play at least one of their flicks. years before Fonzie - these were the original JD's with hearts of gold.

Happy VJ Day!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/15/newsid_3581000/3581971.stm
I will always be in awe of the folks that fought for us in WWII. An amazing group living in frightening times. I'd suggest reading any of the online resources devoted to the battle of Okinawa to see what our forces would ahve faced had the Japanese not surrendered. It would have been nightmarish.

new articles on robots and AI

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7842

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7838

The Nuns Were Right!

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7845&feedId=online-news_rss20

the cutting edge of Civil War collecting

http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusgen/ap08-14-091622.asp?t=apnew&vts=81420051030

Happy Liberty Tree Day!

http://www.soulawakenings.com/underground/tikiwiki/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=12

an amusing little e-letter

http://www.thisistrue.com/index.html

Little Steven's Underground Garage on TV!

http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001013528

My fave radio show. Essential.

Calling Klingons

http://www.syfyportal.com/article.php?id=1977

Scarecrow Capital

http://www.mdcc.ca/scarecrowinvasion/

http://www.meaford.com/town/scarecrow.html

http://www.mestern.net/festivals/meaford/index.php

The Time Travel Fund

http://www.timetravelfund.com/

The Diana Dors Code

http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/D/diana_dors/index.html

The Bear Who Fought Hitler

When the Soviet Union was attacked by Germany, in June 1941, Polish POWs were released from prison camps and set up an army headed by General Anders. Many civilians were taken under the protection of this army which was allowed to make its way to Persia (modern-day Iran) and then on to Egypt. This army, the Polish Second Corps, fought with distinction in Italy, their most notable victory being that at Monte Cassino, in May 1944, and which opened up the road to Rome for the Allies as a whole. One of the "heroes" of the Polish Second Corps was Wojtek, a brown bear adopted in Iran as their mascot; at Monte Cassino Wojtek actually helped in the fighting by carrying ammunition for the guns. He died, famous and well-loved, in Edinburgh Zoo in 1964, aged 22

From: http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-vetscor/973873/posts

the cutting edge of walking sticks

http://farmmeats.co.nz/walkingsticks/

1-800-Autopsy

http://www.1800autopsy.com/home.html?Id=216

site & organization devoted to magic lanterns

http://www.magiclantern.org.uk/index.htm

German Secret And Prototype Aircraft of WWII

http://www.luft46.com/

An amazing resource for all military history buffs. There's a lot of "what if" stuff listed here.

Kolchak DVDs on the way!

Universal has officially announced the DVD release of Kolchak: The Night Stalker for 10/4 (SRP $39.98). The 3-disc set will include all 20 episodes from the series' 1974-75 season on ABC. Video will be the original full frame, with Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio. The studio promises that the episodes have been "digitally restored for maximum clarity." Kolchak, which starred Darren McGavin, was one of the inspirations for Chris Carter's The X-Files, so this is very cool news indeed.

The 50 Best Beers

http://money.cnn.com/popups/2005/goodlife/beers/frameset.exclude.html

Stone is #3! ((Thanks for the link, Ryan!))

nice story about one of my favorite photos

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050811/us_nm/life_kiss_dc

neat article about Jasper Maskelyne

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/R/real_lives/jasper.html

The magician of war...

the next step in hearing aids

http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,68419,00.html?tw=wn_story_mailer

I continue to be on the cutting edge of fashion...

Ragnarok To Start Next Tuesday

http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s3i8813

National Lampoon online!

http://www.nationallampoon.com/

(I'd thought they'd gone under...)

nice site on gargoyles

http://northstargallery.com/gargoyles/aboutgargoyles.htm

Psychedelic!

http://www.giantlavalamp.com/

the cutting edge of political legitimacy

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/20/newsid_3033000/3033341.stm

the cutting edge of New Year's Eve celebrations

http://www.north-country.co.uk/tar-barrels.htm

I can only paraphrase an old line from the Shoe comic strip - "Bartender, I'd like a double of whatever that guy carrying the 30 pounds of DEATH DEALING FLAMING PITCH just had. I admire their sense of what makes a good party...

double Ewwww!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/2702123.stm

Ewwww!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8174943/

I'll never go in the ocean again...

The Steam Gun of 1824

http://www.lateralscience.co.uk/perkgun/

a neat footnote in weapons' history

A VERY Strange Game/Puzzle

http://www.maydaymystery.org/mayday/

I'm open to suggestions on what the hell this might represent..

the cutting edge of ignition systems

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/12/03/woman_jump_starts_car/

He's Convinced Me!

http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/fe-scidi.htm

neat site on Natural Radio

http://www.altair.org/natradio.html

the cutting edge of theme parks

http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/other_news/&articleid=247565

Viva Yugoslavia!

http://friends.s5.net/mazzini/ovitki/

interesting article on new low energy houses

http://g.msn.com/0MN2ET7/2?http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8852127/site/newsweek&&CM=EmailThis&CE=1

neat article on a new way to make ice cream

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/10/dining/10nitr.html?ex=1124337600&en=a4105e4bf4c84584&ei=5070&emc=eta1

True Gamesman

http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=9321063&src=rss/oddlyEnoughNews

Happy Birthday Ronnie!

http://www.ronniespector.com/

http://www.killrockstars.com/bands/ronniespector/

Whe I was a kid there were two tough-as-nails girl groups amongst the flood. The Shangri-Las and the Ronettes. Both very cool. Ronnie married the original mad genius of rock & roll, Phil Spector, and that sidelined what promised to be a great career. She can still sing with the best of 'em. During an ill-fated comeback in the late 70's, her backup band was Bruce and the E Streeters. NOBODY else can claim that distinction, (the cover of Billy Joel's Goodbye To Hollywood is a classic - produced by that other mad genius, Little Steven!). Her latest release of Marshall Crenshaw covers is a fun romp too. I'm gonna put it on the stereo right now.

Halloween Fashions Online

http://www.financevisor.com/market/news_detail.aspx?rid=2348

R'Lyeh Surf Shop T-Shrit!

http://catalog.chaosium.com/product_info.php?products_id=727

Hang Ten (or Twenty...)!

I've never been a big fan of graffiti...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrender_Dorothy_(graffiti)

But this is my favorite - and we made Wikipedia!!!

Guilty Pleasures - a Lobo fansite

http://www.fansoflobo.com/

I'm sorry, I always liked his first album...

Firefly/Serenity News!

The first chapter of the book tie-in is online (just a rehash of the first episode):
http://www.simonsays.com/subs/excerpt.cfm?areaid=288&isbn=1416507558

And some interviews and more news:
http://fireflydvd.com/wp/

http://www.blackfilm.com/20050729/features/ginatorres1.shtml

http://www.infocusmag.com/05augustseptember/whedonuncut.htm

And Libertarian analysis (!):
http://www.affbrainwash.com/archives/020132.php

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2005/08/is_firefly_libe.html

Lovecraft Name Generator

http://www.seventhsanctum.com/generate.php?Genname=lcnamer

There are quite a few more weird name generators at this site - pretty neat! (Thanks for the link, John!)

Concert for Bangladesh DVD & CD on 10/25!!!

Apple just announced it!

Mystery man

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200508/s1432951.htm

There's been quite a bit written about this dude on the Internet. I find it difficult to believe no one knows him and is missing him. I honestly wonder if this is some weird bit of over-the-top performance art taking place. At the one year anniversary this dude is gonna yell out "Surprise!" and that'll be it.

neat article on possible horticulture on Mars

http://www.noslang.com/index.php

Internet Slang Dictionary

http://www.noslang.com/index.php

It's probably just me getting old and curmudgeonly, (as opposed to my curmudgeonly youth); but a lot of this just strikes me as a codification of illiteracy.

Tired of noisy neighbors?

http://wishingfish.com/revengecd.html

Fight Back!

a nice tribute to Doohan from Takei

http://www.georgetakei.com/doohan-tribute.asp

an excellent resource for all of us living in Byzantium..

http://whyihatedc.blogspot.com/

UFO!

Linda and I purchased and have been watching DVDs of the old Gerry Anderson series, UFO. The direction is a little leaden and the plots sometimes less than perfect, but overall I find it to be as entertaining as it was when I first viewed it in high school. You should check it out.
For those not in the know, Anderson was the brilliant creator of marionette TV shows in the 60's out of Britain that involved fantastic models with sci fi themes. They still have a significant cult following today. UFO was his first foray into a series with live actors (Space 1999 was another). It works. There's a certain low-key paranoia to the whole thing, as organ and body harvesting aliens raid earth and are combatted by a secret UN military unit called SHADO. It's got everything you could want for coolness - scientists wearing nehru jackets, beautiful astro-maidens wearing bubble wrap uniforms, alcohol drenched parties with Bealtes music on the stereo, (I believe this was only the second time the Fabs allowed one of their tunes to be used on commercial TV - the first time was on the Prisoner!), and did I mention bubble wrapped space babes? Like I said, check it out.
http://www.fanderson.org.uk/fanderson.html

Happy Birthday Benjamin...

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000163/

(whatever you do, don't buy him a plastic brithday gift...)

I think this explains my experiences in QA...

http://www.canada.com/technology/story.html?id=f6ebf013-4d44-4f13-90a2-a938292f4739

HELL...

http://stjohns.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=nf-accordion-record-050806

Sing Along With Farrakhan!

http://www.fadetoblack.com/farrakhan/index.html

Be sure to check out "The Charmer's" big hit - "Is She Is - Or Is She Ain't" a fabulous calypso tune devoted to a transexual. Everybody rhumba!

a nice site devoted to RAW

http://www.rawilsonfans.com/index.html

DVD releases of Ray Charles & John Lennon on the Dick Cavett Show!

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=3456

The Evil Overlord List

http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html

(Thanks for the link, Tom!)

CAS - THE Collection!

http://www.nightshadebooks.com/book.aspx?bookid=129

Kong news!

From the Coming Attractions website:

KING KONG on DVD - Coming November 22nd!According to the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, KING KONG Director Peter Jackson is helping produce bonus materials for the DVD debut of the 1933 original. Jackson is working on a new documentary, "RKO Production 601: The Making of Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World," a two-hour, seven-part feature included in the two-disc "King Kong" set, which Warner Home Video will release on November 22.One part of the documentary focuses on the mysterious "spider pit" sequence deleted from the film before its theatrical premiere in New York and Los Angeles. "For years, there has always been speculation, does this footage exist, so we have a piece that actually explains what it was and we do a recreation of it," Feltenstein said. "For fans of the film, that's a big, important thing."KING KONG, which has never before been available on DVD, will arrive in stores in two configurations: a two-disc special edition and a two-disc collector's edition packaged in a collectable tin and including a 20-page reproduction of the original souvenir program, postcard reproductions of the original one sheets, and a mail-in offer for a reproduction of a vintage 27-by-41-inch movie poster.Warner also will release a four-disc collector's set featuring the two-disc "King Kong" special edition along with "The Son of Kong" and "Mighty Joe Young."In addition to the seven-part documentary, the "King Kong" DVD set includes such extras as a documentary on "Kong" director (and creator) Merian C. Cooper, a trailer gallery of Cooper's other films, and a commentary from stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen, actress Terry Moore ("Mighty Joe Young") and special effects master Ken Ralston ("Star Wars").

A lesson: D&D and Crystal Meth Don't Mix

http://www.local6.com/news/4813638/detail.html

This sounds like an episode of Reno 911...

why your morning paper is late

http://www.alldumb.com/item/12936/

This was pretty cool. There's nothing better than a touch of surrealism at 5 AM.

The Springsteen Symposium

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--studyingspringste0804aug04,0,7560997.story?coll=ny-region-apnewjersey

100 Pop Creations that changed the World

http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=9289199&src=eDialog/GetContent

The Prisoner made #10!

a ritual for our times

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050804/od_afp/franceelephantoffbeat_050804113525

I simply have to find out what religion uses elephant shit as the Eucharist!

Old Man River...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/europe/4746787.stm

Bruce Pennington sites!

Just found some site devoted to Bruce Pennington, a fantasy artist who helped illustrate many of Clark Ashton SMith's books in Britain. Neat stuff!
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/pennington_bruce.html

http://www.unicorngarden.com/pennington/

Save historic Greendale Wisconsin!

http://www.local6.com/news/4804094/detail.html

I, for one, am happy to see the residents of Greendale rising up against the evil tyranny of a man allowing his children to help decorate his home. How many of us have lived in terrified thrall to the evil machinations of youngsters with their Satanic arts and crafts. I can only applaud the citizens of the Historic Preservation Board in their efforts to save the sacred history of Greendale. And, may I say, what a glorious history they have. As a student of social studies, I can assure you that whatever you may have heard about the Golden Age of Athens and Rome, the glories of London and Paris, or anywhere else - they pale when compared to the majestic sweep of the legend that is Greendale. Home of Emperors, Kings and Presidents; seat of government and scholarship, center of research and scientific discovery, sacred site of battlefields and memorials. Even a cursory view of human history is naked unless clothed in the story of Greendale. Why, just glancing at Wikipedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greendale,_Wisconsin), one can see that Greendale goes all the way back to 1936, practically antediluvian. One could spend a lifetime studying its contributions to mankind. I strongly urge you to check out the chamber of commerce site - it positively wreaks of history, from Isabella's deli to the community theatre. I get goose bumps just writing about it!
I know each of you will join me tonight in saluting the brave men and women preserving our heritage and spiritual foundation in Greendale from the evils of Big Bird. Thank God some things are worth fighting for!

Led Zeppelin weirdness

http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/08.03.05/zeppelin-0531.html

D.C. is NOT Hooterville

http://www.andrewsullivan.com/index.php?dish_inc=archives/2005_07_31_dish_archive.html#112315188688844608

(Sigh), I suppose it started with the film, "Remember The Titans". I'm told that Alexandria was portrayed as a sparse community of sharecroppers' shacks hidden in the hill country of Georgia. That was just one of several major myths the movie pushed, (along with racial harmony, Coach Boone being good, and any of us giving two shits in Hell about the football team). Then about three months ago we had those two drunkards flying down from Pennsylvania, making a beeline for the Capitol Dome, claiming they didn't recognize that they were traversing restricted D.C. airspace, as if a thousand miles of urban development couldn't tip them off. And now, we have this blurb on Andrew Sullivan's blog, written by some clown named Frank. I don't know who the hell this sand head is, he claims to be a long time Washingtonian. All I know is that either he's a congenital liar or he's so geographically incompetent that he's mistaken living in the town of Washington, Virginia, for living in D.C. At any rate, I don't care. I am just sick and tired of this mini-trend to somehow make this area into some sort of Bugtussle. Only the most coked out and jaded Manhattanite would consider this a rural area. We have between 3 and 6 million people, depending how you want to count 'em. The urban and suburban development spreads out solidly in tens of miles from the Capitol, and covers well over 2000 sqaure miles, (probably double that). We have all of the problems and all of the amenities of any large city, and we are the effective capital of the world. And this guy Frank's mewlings about some sort of rural underground are just plain silly. Yes, I have no doubt that were we to canvass the region, there's be some people with chickens. Hell, we had two chickens in the 70's, (as some of you old timers will remember). They're pets, or a hobby. Ma and Pa Kettle aren't living off chickens in Oxon Hill or Merrifield. And then there's the vegetable gardens! Frank seems to view the vegetable garden as some sort of survival mechanism. Without them, Anacostia would starve. Now, I love my fresh veggies, so do a lot of folks. And many of them raise their own - again, it's a hobby. It's not some sort of subsistence dirt farm economy. Linda's old boss lived in what is now a million dollar home on about an acre of land and guess what - he had a vegetable garden. It was something he enjoyed doing. He didn't have to do so. I suspect Frank looks at all the hunters in the area and figures we actually live in some sort of Grizzly Adams nightmare wilderness and have to hunt to get meat for our bellies and skins for our clothing. The fact that I like to write an occasional story must mean to him that I don't have access to books, living out here in Green Acres. The man is insane.
As for "Bama" - I haven't heard that term in over 30 years. If I remember correctly, it was considered at least semi-racist. But then, what would you expect from those of us living in the isolated wilderness, our time spent plowing and whittling. More silliness. You'll excuse me now, time to brand the cattle...

Have A Blast!

https://www.osti.gov/opennet/forms.jsp?formurl=films/histfilms.html

You can now get tapes of various atomic tests that we conducted in the 1950's. The site also supposedly offers free sample viewings, though I couldn't find any working links at this time. As a personal footnote, my father attended several of the tests listed here. It's up to you to decide the possible deleterious effects it had on his genes...

Martha Reeves is running for Detroit City Council!

http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/martha%20reeves%20running%20for%20detroit%20council

Capital Rock

http://www.capitolrock.com/

A nice site from Mark Opsasnick, who is an expert on the history of rock in the D.C. area. ((Interestingly, he's also an expert on Bigfoot sightings in Maryland as well as probably the foremost authority on the REAL story behind the events supposedly portrayed in the Exorcist movie)). His next tome will be on Jim Morrison's life around here, (who spent at least part of his youth on Circle Terrace, about 6 blocks from Castle Blau).

Mersey Beat Lives!

http://www.mersey-beat.net/

If you're under 50, you won't understand; if you're over 50, no explanation is needed...

The Bad Fads Museum

http://www.badfads.com/home.html

But will it be run on Windows?

http://www.aeiveos.com/~bradbury/MatrioshkaBrains/index.html

Peter & Gordon website!

http://www.peterandgordon.com/

Hey, Mr. Tangerine Man...

Priceless...

http://www.kissthisguy.com/

interesting article about Yellowstone

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/travel/3285335

a VERY weird story of survival during the Korean War

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3288557

another nice resource for fans of Halloween

http://www.halloween-l.com/

Happy Birthday Nora!

Another fave. Myrna Loy had it all - charm, looks, wit, and did I mention looks? With William Powell, she formed the Ur-marriage of America by which all of the rest of us can try to measure ourselves.

http://members.aol.com/alisaahunt/myrna/myrna.htm

http://freespace.virgin.net/donna.moore/myrna.htm

Happy Colorado Day!

Foreign Tongue Recordings!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4777378

The original artist (Johnny Cash, Beatles, etc) re-recording a song in another language for sale in foreign markets. Fun stuff! (Thanks for the link, Rick!)

I'm Ready For My Closeup, Mr. DeMille!

http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/hollywood%20hunts%20demon%20child%20for%20omen%20remake

a site devoted to old obscure TV shows

http://www.tvobscurities.com/index.php

kinda neat...