a nice tribute to Monster Mags

http://www.gdarkness.com/monstermags/

How I miss Warren Publications...

cool looking Christmas beer

http://cbs4boston.com/topstories/local_story_301180145.html

(Thanks for the link, Mike!)

Happy Birthday Kinkster!!!

http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/

Happy Halloween!!!

The Obsessive Compulsive Action Figure!

http://www.entertainmentearth.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AU11561

Mars Attacks!!!

'Twas on this date in 1938 that the Martians invaded the earth. Orson Wells documented it. The greatest radio broadcast of all time. I've listened to it over a score of times and still get a slight chill listening to the military radio operator calling out "2X2L calling CQ....Isn't there anyone on the air?" Brilliant.

http://www.war-of-the-worlds.org/

http://senior.billings.k12.mt.us/otrannex/grovers/index.htm

http://members.aol.com/jeff1070/script.html

Happy Devil's/Cabbage/Mischief/Tick-Tack/Goosy/Corn Night!!!

Happy Birthday Grace Slick!

http://www.geocities.com/gslicktrip/

New Lovecraftian Book

H. P. Lovecraft's Favorite Weird Tales : The Roots of Modern Horror - Available November 1st!In 1929-30, H.P. Lovecraft made several lists of both literary and popular stories "having the greatest amount of truly cosmic horror and macabre convincingness." These lists of his favorite weird tales, augmented with comments from Lovecraft's own extensive correspondence, makes for a truly landmark Lovecraftian anthology. We present Lovecraft's own favorites horror stories, including some well-known classics, alongside of a number of excellent rare tales by forgotten authors. Many of these stories are classics, inspiring several generations since of the world's best horror authors. Contributors include Edgar Allen Poe, Ambrose Bierce, Clark Ashton Smith, Arthur Machen, Henry S. Whitehead, Algernon Blackwood, H.F. Arnold, and other leading masters of the horror genre. Includes newspaper interviews where he discusses his favorite tales, and Lovecraft's essay going into more detail about his favorite authors.Paperback: 360 pages Publisher: Cold Spring Press SRP: $14.00

nice article about the Revolutionary War around Boston

http://www.townonline.com/dover/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=353160

Happy Birthday Bill Mauldin!

THE military cartoonist. His collection, Up Front, is essential reading for anyone interested in World War II or military matters in general. Probably the only man (of lower rank) to face down Patton.

http://darbysrangers.tripod.com/id36.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/ARTmauldin.htm

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/mauldin/

the cutting edge of Halloween decorations

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/10/27/D8DGIS500.html

Neologisms from the Simpsons

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_neologisms_on_The_Simpsons

Wikipedia is amazing...

I Knew The Bride When She Used To Rock'N'Roll...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026138/

Happy Birthday Elsa Lanchester!!!

THE Wave Pool

http://www.danerd.com/Show.php?vid=1205

DNA as a storage medium!

http://www.forbes.com/2005/10/21/genetics-dna-computing-comm05-cx_mh_1024herper.html

It's....

John Cleese's Birthday!

http://www.thejohncleese.com/

http://www.pythonline.com/plugs/cleese/index.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cleese

The Silo Pumpkin 

some neat tricks with a quarter!

http://www.zeronews-fr.com/flash/quarter.php

Zombie Knitting

http://www.flickr.com/photos/electricbiscuit/tags/dawnofthedead/

Communicating With Aliens

http://www.forbes.com/2005/10/21/space-seti-aliens-comm05-cx_de_1024ewalt.html

Aluminum Windows For The Military

http://www.livescience.com/technology/051018_new_glass.html

Imagine What They'd Do With A Col. Sanders!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/england/merseyside/4372230.stm

weird usage of wasps by the military

http://www.physorg.com/news7422.html

Steve Wynn/Dream Syndicate news

http://www.stevewynn.net/

He has a site with free downloads!

Happy Birthday Weird Al!!!

http://www.weirdal.com/home.htm

Happy Birthdya Ellie Greenwich!

http://www.elliegreenwich.com/

Another of my faves. Phil Spector's fave too, I'd say. You can't get through the Sixties without an Ellie Greenwich soundtrack playing in the background. She has influenced everybody from the East Coast & beyond: Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Money, Lou Reed, the Go Go's, Southside Johnny, Neil Diamond, Meatloaf, Sonny & Cher, Little Steven, the Motown Sound, etc etc. ad infinitum.

neat site devoted to sci fi & horror movies

http://www.classicmovies.org/links/horrorscifi.htm

Happy Birthday Timothy Leary!

A fascinating dude, though I didn't keep up with his later writings. His SMI2LE theory I always found quite interesting, as well as his theories on LSD and personality development and manipulation. Unfortunately, I never considered him the best messenger for his own beliefs, I always thought Robert Anton Wilson did a better job of articulating them. (Info-Psychology is probably the most accessable work by Leary).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Leary

Happy Birthday Bobby Fuller!

Another great rocker who died (was murdered) much too young. The musical heir to Buddy Holly.

http://www.rockabillyhall.com/BobbyFuller.html

http://r.duffy.home.att.net/fuller/

http://www.kellyhogan.com/bands/rock/fuller.html

Beware of Poultrygeist!

http://www.poultrygeistmovie.com/

the latest toy: the Aquaskipper

http://www.inventist.com/products/aquaskipper.html

SF Cover Explorer

http://www.krazydad.com/visco/

A good site devoted to reviewing B-Movies (mostly horror)

http://exclamationmark.typepad.com/

Remember Folks - Use Those Windshield Wipers!

http://www.wftv.com/news/5142510/detail.html?treets=orlc&tid=2654358485813&tml=orlc_strange&tmi=orlc_strange_1_10000210212005&ts=H

The "Making Fiends" Halloween Game

http://www.makingfiends.com/fiendh.htm

Halloween Happenings around D.C.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?node=entertainment/search&type=otherevent&query=halloween&sort=date&start=1&referrer=email

Sand Animation

http://www.lookatentertainment.com/nneu231nd1zd823/vids/v-229.wmv

Very cool!


(Thanks for the link, Mathew!)

A perfect weekend for camping...

'Twas on this date in 1994 that Heather and the boys went out searching for the Blair Witch...

http://tbwp.freeservers.com/webring.html

Happy Birthday Bela!

http://users.auracom.com/tournier/webworld.htm

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/6240/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bela_Lugosi

My favorite Dracula! Under appreciated, ill-used, sometimes mocked - but he influenced modern horror and gothic culture for all time.

Happy Birthday Margaret Dumont!

http://www.movieactors.com/characters/dumont.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Dumont

There have been hundreds of them in entertainment - the straight man, the foil, the stooge. None were greater than Dumont. Essential to the Marx Brothers Legend.

Happy Birthday Tom Petty!

http://www.tompetty.com/

Happy Birthday Art Buchwald

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Buchwald

Political humor may be the hardest to do. Many have been successful at it, but only for short amounts of time. Political humorists are almost always associated with a given period or President -and after that their humor falls short, styles and tastes change, etc. Buchwald's best times were in the 60's, particularly with Johnson and the early Nixon years. His column has slowly migrated to the back pages of the Post; but to their credit, they still keep him on - he's a DC institution and probably the only thing remaining from the pre-Watergate days of the paper. I still touch base with his column and will always have a serious soft spot in my heart for him and his writings - someday I'll go into why. But for now I'll only recommend that you check out his annual column on Thanksgiving - the Post publishes it every year and it is a minor staple in the life of old timers about the Washington area. Happy Birthday Art.

for fans of Marvin the Robot

http://alphacentauri.8k.com/404error.html

The ultimate 404 Error...

Interesting new power source, via the CIA

http://www.spacewar.com/news/energy-tech-05zzzzzzzg.html

Real Estate - The Next Stage

http://www.physorg.com/news7403.html

CLASSIC Films At the AFI Theatre

http://www.afi.com/silver/new/nowplaying/2005/v2i5/halloween.aspx

The Golem, The Wicker Man, and Nosferatu! Go if you can!

(Thanks for the link, Erik!)

Pittsburgh Unprepared For Zombie Attack

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/41676

a future Darwin Award nominee

http://www.alldumb.com/item/17327/

Iowa is safe from Underground Aliens

http://www.kcci.com/news/5116630/detail.html

Beware the Zombie Snot Worms of Sweden!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/4354286.stm

I've Been Living A Lie...

As you will remember, several of the 9/11 hijackers had acquired Virginia driver's licenses to aid in their plot, embarrassing the state in the process. The result is that now it is easier to gain access to the missle controls of a Trident submarine than it is to renew one's license here.
The Department of Motor Vehicles now checks its data against that used by Social Security; if there is a discrepancy, you must correct it before a new license will be issued. As usual with me, there was just such a problem, (sigh).
So I go to the local Social Security office, whose attractiveness and decor is straight out of Kafka, and get my problem fixed up (hopefully). It turns out that they had me born in Virginia (I was spawned in D.C.), that my birthdate was in December of '65, (nine years after the fact), and that I was a woman!!! The psychic scars will never heal, (and I feel a strange compulsion to watch Ed Wood films....).

Happy Birthday Tor Johnson!!!!

A great character actor! One of my faves. Co-star of the Beast From Yucca Flats, Bride of the Monster and that all-time Classic, Plan 9 From Outer Space.

http://www.lethargiclad.com/tor/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_Johnson

http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/torjohnson.html

Happy Birthday Chuck Berry!

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

The REAL King of Rock'N'Roll!

Liar Liar Brain's On Fire...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200510/s1484365.htm

I can only imagine the readings these guys would've gotten if they'd attended one of our old Diplomacy game sessions...

BRUUUUUUCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000BJS4OY/ref%3Ded%5Fmus%5Fbtr/103-9271949-2028664



Amazon is shwoing a video clip of Bruce performing Born To Run from the upcoming DVD/CD reissue of the album. Essential.

a local urban legend - The Bunnyman!!!

Yes, it was around this time of year in 1970 that the Bunnyman began his reign of terror in Northern Virginia. There's been an unbelievable amount of bullshit made up about him over the years. But there is a nice site that goes over what is known and how it branched out into legend status. And it should be noted that he was never caught, and is still out there... It should also come as no surprise that the center of his activities, Guinea Road, is a VERY short distance from Blau Manor. You might say it's just a hop, skip and a jump away...

http://www.co.fairfax.va.us/library/branches/vr/bunny/bunny.htm

Another site of interest:
http://www.horrorchannel.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=121&page=1

Create Your Own Mythos Tome

http://www.geocities.com/PSTproductions/cltome.html

interesting (to me) article about the quest for accurate measurement

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/16/weekinreview/16chang.html?ex=1287115200&en=794386852b142b0e&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

a nice little Halloween site

http://www.twilightharbor.com/moonmistress/index.html

They have some good postings of stories by Poe and others (including The Monkey's Paw!).

"Punkin' Chunkin'" In Virginia

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/14/AR2005101402126.html

THE Anthem For Halloween

http://themonstermash.com/

I've practically grown up with the Monster Mash. If I remember correctly, it's charted three times over the years (!) I can't imagine the season without it. This is the home site for Bobby "Boris" Pickett - the official minstrel of the season.

Call of Cthulhu film review

I just finished watching the DVD of the Call of Cthulhu - very cool. It's put out by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, a group that's been out and around for many years performing live action Cthulhu gaming adventures. Given a low budget and the difficulty of Lovecraft's story, they opted for a black and white silent movie, and I think it works. There are a few slow places, but overall I really enjoyed it and thought it probably captured Lovecrat's ideas better than a major Hollywood production would have.
I'm not sure it has an audience outside of Mythos fandom, but for those of you who are already half maddened with the knowledge of cosmic blasphemy and unfathonable gulfs of time and space, I give it Two Tentacles Up!

http://www.cthulhulives.org/cocmovie/index.html

Computer Gamer

http://www.wimp.com/gamer/

As many of you know, I almost never play computer games, and have some small concern for those who do nothing but that. I think this video puts it all in perspective...

neat site devoted to DOD posters about security and secrecy

http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001862.html

The Commies still make the best ones..

MIT protects us from Trireme Attack!

http://web.mit.edu/2.009/www/lectures/10_ArchimedesResult.html

Long Live The King!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051011/wl_uk_afp/australiabritainroyals

(He sounds smarter than Chuckles...)

Modern Parenting Supplies

http://www.babycage.net/index.php

Neat catalog

http://www.lilmoco.com/

I just got the Christmas catalog from the Lilliput company. And though I've never purchased anything from them, I do enjoy leafing through it. It has all sorts of cool models, toys, games and knick knacks. Many of them are quite pricey (by my terms) and a lot of the stuff reminds me of the upper scale models one used to see and hear about from Britain and Germany in the 50's and 60's. Check 'em out.

neat article about time machines

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/83c4e288d12c6010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

Igor Lives!

Hmm, his name was Abbie something... Abbie Normal!

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,16843292-13762,00.html

Wine Weirdness

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1819067,00.html

Happy Birthday Ed Wood!!!

The Master...

http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~lflynn/edwood.html

http://www.edwood.org/

http://hem.passagen.se/mwrang/edwood.htm

Commie Caluclators

http://rk86.com/frolov/calcolle.htm

I just love the Internet! (Thanks for the link, Vanessa!)

neat article on the latest in computer guided vehicles

http://www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge/

Amish PDA

http://www.cafepress.com/ddparodies.11725458

Halloween, Past & Present

((I had sent this missive out last year to some of you, the situation remains unchanged and I thought to reprint it here))


Comrades,
October starts tomorrow, and with it comes the buildup to
Halloween. I've been checking out web sites for the season and
googling various themes and am appalled to report that we continue to
be a nation of cowering cabbages. I notice that already there are
newspapers and various uber-nanny organizations pumping out tons of
blather about the "dangers" of Halloween and offering "helpful" advice
to parents on how to avoid the coming apocalyptic horrors that it
encompasses. Of course the only truly terrifying thing that I can see
is what a steaming pile of wussiness we've become. Reading all the
warnings and advice offers little more than a microcosm of mental
illness and paranoia. Just wading through a few articles has already
revealed a trend towards weirdness that I can only marvel at. For
example:

The only costume that is encouraged this year is to be
swathed, mummy-like, head to toe in reflective tape so that cars may
see you from up to 3 miles off. Apparently parents no longer teach
their children not to dive in front of moving vehicles. In fact,
judging by the articles I've read, the next generation is nothing but
a herd of automotive lemmings, just waiting for a chance to hurl
themselves in front of a Land Rover. I guess, like deer, they are
easily mesmerized by the headlights and can't help themselves. Oh,
there'll be a gruesome supply of venison this year.

In addition, the children will be unable to carry a bag
with them. Their little hands will be needed to carry a dazzling
array of flashlights, blinkers, strobes and other lighting that will
be enough to illuminate several blocks around them. Between the
reflective tape and the lighting, they'll resemble nothing more than a
horde of monstrous psychedelic Christmas trees schlepping through
suburbia. Airline safety will be jeopardized as these moving beacons will compete with airport
lights for landing attention. By November 1st, the emergency rooms and
ophthalmologist offices will be overwhelmed by cases of burned out
retinas. You will be able to trace the paths that trick-or-treaters
have taken from the resulting scorch marks on the pavement. Pathetic.

Of course, the little urchins won't need their candy bags
anyway. First of all, they won't be allowed to go to anyone's house
who isn't personally known to their parents, and possesses a Homeland
Security Clearance. I believe their doorway must also be blessed by
the local clergy before the children are allowed to approach. And the
parents will be right there, hovering in some sort of ninja strike
stance like so many Secret Service agents. As for the actual treats -
they are to be thrown away. The silly urban legends of treat
tampering are still the only thing to really haunt Halloween. Whole
armies of folklorists have disproved these lurid tales time and again
- to no avail. We simply refuse to believe that there isn't an entire
subculture of people who spend all year turning apples into
pincushions and baby ruths into strychnine bars of death. I've
actually seen some moronic twit write that you should take the candy
away and substitute fruit! Yea, right! I'm going to go out hoofing
all over the god damned neighborhood dressed like Lord Death of the
Underworld just so Mom can toss me a peach when I get back home. GIVE
ME A FUCKING BREAK!

In the Old Days, things were different. We were pros -
greedy and fearless. Costumes consisted of two themes - cool and
horror. No ninny costumes. We would roam for miles in search of
candy. Parents dared not accompany us, the terror was too great, and
our speed like lightning. We would carefully map out the quickest way
to get the most candy through our neighborhoods with all the precision
planning of the D-Day Invasion. And there would be no delays, no
slacking, no prisoners. Attila had nothing on us when it came to
pillaging. By morning, Alexandria had been stripped bare of anything
edible. Families lived in fear that the candy would give out before
the end of Halloween. Then would come money. Some would even run out
of that and plead for their lives - to no avail. Several kept loaded
guns at hand - not for us, we were too many, but to prevent their
families from being taken alive and subjected to unimaginable horrors.
Imagine costumed locusts, devouring everything in sight - That was the
31st. Oh, I suppose some unfortunate kid would forget to look and get
creamed by a car, but that just meant more candy for the rest of us.
Big kids would pick on smaller ones. Large groups would muscle out
individuals. Darwin ruled on Halloween. By dawn there would be fewer
children, but tougher ones..

But those days are gone, apparently. By next year we'll
get to the point where kids will be like "The Boy In The Bubble",
simply rolling along imagining what it would be like to
Trick-Or-Treat. But I wish to affirm to everyone that Blau Manor will
stand like a Rock against the waves of Halloween wussiness.
Decorations of mystery and horror will abound; candy will be tossed
out without a care. Tricks AND Treats will be provided. Dangers,
both real and imagined will reach out.

Happy October!


Cheers,
Lord Death of the Underworld

a big weekend for Lennon...

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the release of my fave Lennon album, Imagine. Sunday will be his birthday as well as the anniversary of his first meeting Yoko...

http://www.johnlennon.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lennon

http://www.bagism.com/

http://www.johnlennon.it/

http://www.merseyworld.com/imagine/

more sadness for Badfinger fans

Was there ever an unluckier band?

MICHAEL GIBBINS, BADFINGER DRUMMER, DEAD AT 56 Badfinger drummer Michael Gibbins has died at his Florida home at age 56. An annoucement on his Web site said Gibbins died in his sleep Tuesday, but did not give the cause of death. Badfinger was the first act signed to the Beatles' Apple label in the 1960s and had a monster hit with Paul McCartney's "Come and Get It" in 1970. Despite a handful of hits, Badfinger never lived up to expectations and frontman Pete Ham committed suicide April 23, 1975, Billboard.com said. Bassist Tom Evans and guitarist Joey Molland formed a new Badfinger lineup in 1978, but after years of infighting, Evans, too, committed suicide Nov. 19, 1983. Mullond told Billboard.com he talked to Gibbins the day before his death and he seemed "in good spirits." The two had plans to meet up Oct. 17 at a Los Angeles party celebrating the release of George Harrison's 1972 "Concert for Bangladesh" on CD and DVD.

Happy Birthday John Mellencamp!

http://www.mellencamp.com/

new technology to thwart torpedos

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/mech-tech/mg18825205.800

The Cutting Edge of Science!

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8108

Tori Spelling in Cthulhu film (!?)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/ae/story/5228124p-4749312c.html

Happy Anniversary Monty Python!!!

http://www.pythonline.com/

getting old...

The Beatles first recording, (under their own name) was released on this date, in Britain, in 1962. it was Love Me Do.

neat article about mystery spots

http://www.physorg.com/news6971.html

Next song - Bohemian Rhapsody!

http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1473208.htm

another "new" city

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/05/technology/techspecial/05oconnell.html?ex=1129176000&en=80358e3d0e0d4939&ei=5070&emc=eta1

Interesting, but at least in the West, these things always fail in the long run...

I met a girl who sang the blues, and I asked her for some happy news,

But she just smiled and turned away.....


(Janis Joplin died 35 years ago today)

Scotty Beams Up

http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/13920.html

A cool memorial.

Anti-Sniper Robot

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2005/10/04/robotic_vacuum_maker_bu_team_up_on_antisniper_device/

(Thanks for the link, Chris!)

Happy Birthday Ming The Merciless!!!

THE archetypal villain. One of the biggest film influences of all time.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0585481/

http://www.surfnetinc.com/chuck/villan10.htm

Happy Birthday Eddie Cochran!

Another of my faves. In my opinion he's right there in the second tier of first generation Rock'n'Roll Greats, behind Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Little Richard, nestled comfortably with Elvis, Fats, Jerry Lee, Bo, and the Everlys. Performer, songwriter, musician, and right out front attitude. You can see the influence throughout late 50's rock as well as with Springsteen, the Who, Brian Setzer, Dave Edmunds, Robert Gordon, the Sex Pistols, and (I think) Paul McCartney. The guy was hot. Unfortunately, he's probably better appreciated in Europe than in his own country. Not the first time that's happened...

http://www.eddiecochran.info/

http://www.simona.com/eddie/

http://www.rhis.co.uk/cochran/

just in time for Halloween...

http://www.evtv1.com/index.asp?itemnum=780

Blue Oyster Cult performing Don't Fear The Reaper, with LOTS of Cowbell...

the cutting edge of beer mats

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8069

Happy Birthday, Groucho!

Probably my fave comedian, with Duck Soup probably being my favorite comedy film. Peter and I traded emails the other day regarding Baby Boomer youth oriented films and it got me to thinking about movies that both represented and influenced my generation. I quickly came up with ten that were produced in the 60's and 50's, (which I'll probably wirte about someday), but then had to add two more - Casablanca and Duck Soup (and perhaps a couple more Marx Brothers' films as well...). Here were three vaudvillian brothers who created something that would echo for decades afterwards and keep them as contemporary as the latest album by Dylan or the latest routine by Carlin, or the latest film by Altman. An amazing accomplishment.
Master of the quip, merciless needler of the pompous. RIP, Captain Spaulding...

http://www.groucho-marx.com/

http://members.aye.net/~mainman/groucho/

http://www.therightside.demon.co.uk/quotes/groucho/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groucho_Marx

Happy Anniversary to The Twilight Zone!

Created by that quiet genius, Rod Serling. Essential viewing...

http://tzone.the-croc.com/

http://www.twilightzone.org/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052520/

The official sites for Boris karloff & Lon Chaney Jr. & Sr.

http://www.karloff.com/

http://www.lonchaney.com/

The Stars Are Right...

http://www.cthulhulives.org/toc.html

The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society have released their theatrical version of The Call Of Cthulhu!