Weirdness

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Happy Birthday Dad

You are missed.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

a review of the new Capitol Visitor Center

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher/2008/11/dcunderground_jewel_dcs_best_n.html

I guess I'll have to check it out...

rock'n'roll parents

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/look/look-70s-rock-musicians-and-their-parents-homes-070419

grow a girlfriend

http://blameitonthevoices.blogspot.com/2008/11/grow-girfriend.html

One could make a fortune selling these at a wargames convention... (just kidding guys!)

Thanksbacon!

http://bacontoday.com/turbaconducken-turducken-wrapped-in-bacon/

parking in Vail

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/nov/24/parking-spot-vail-garage-sale-500000/

You can ask any price for anything - but will some idiot meet it?

What will it be like in the Year 2000?

http://bitsandpieces.us/2008/11/24/the-year-2000-as-seen-from-1957-czechoslovakia/

All I want to know is where the hell's my flying car?

Wreaths Across America at Arlington in two weeks

http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/

I must admit that it is both moving and impressive to see the wreaths at Arlington around Christmas time.

safe sex in Wisconsin!

http://www.inquisitr.com/9315/necrophilia-wisconsin/

the butt bandit

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/ODD_CRUDE_DUDE?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-11-22-00-15-56

the cutting edge of fan belts

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24696489-13762,00.html

The Cthulhu Cult Lives!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IexB_2JFaJg

Good grief... They're serious! I never thought of wearing a ham hock as a hat...

child care

http://blogs.tampabay.com/breakingnews/2008/11/family-therapis.html

PC PC's

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/11/26/master.term.reut/index.html

street address

http://eatliver.com/i.php?n=3702

Poverty

http://www.eatliver.com/i.php?n=3711

Darwin Award Nominee...

http://www.yeah-oops.com/2008/11/23/hoop-catapult-failure/

Batman! No!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCZeGAZFFi4&eurl=http://www.google.com/reader/view/

a neat set of photos

http://weirdnews.about.com/od/suggestedreading/ig/Weird-News-Photo-Extravaganza/

the cutting edge of pole dancing

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11232008/news/regionalnews/go__go__go_dancer_140297.htm

onion-powered iPod

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?Onion-powered_iPod_will_play_the_tracks_of_your_tears&in_article_id=414703&in_page_id=34&in_a_source=

Toast From The Dark Side

http://shop.starwars.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=1307702;category_id=336;pcid1=;pcid2=

so silly that it's cool...

spy on your pets!

http://www.entertainmentearth.com/prodinfo.asp?prod=1&ts=2008112901&number=UM1538

Anniversary of I Want To Hold Your Hand

Released (in the UK) on this date in 1963.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfsvE4j4ExA

Happy Birthday Peter Bergman!

Genius. Essential.

http://www.firesigntheatre.com/albums/bergman.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Bergman_(comedian)

Happy Birthday Felix Cavaliere!

http://www.felixcavaliere.com/
One of the greats.

Happy Birthday Stan Rogers!

One of the greatest folk singers, ever.

http://fogartyscovemusic.skyrocketlabs.com/

Happy Birthday Rocky & Bullwinkle!

Rocky & His Friends premiered on this date in 1959. One of the coolest cartoons ever.

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

Friday, November 28, 2008

The Budweiser Ad

http://community.livejournal.com/vintage_ads/1084294.html

I can't stand their alleged beer. And whoever had an hallucination from it like this?!?

Zombie Portraits

http://www.zombieportraits.com/

my next wine glass

http://www.vat19.com/dvds/bottle-of-wine-glass.cfm

the gummy bear...

http://www.vat19.com/dvds/giant-gummy-bear-on-a-stick.cfm?ADID=HOTDOGnov08

Anniversary of the Alice's Restaurant Massacree

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_7C0QGkiVo
Occured on this date in 1965. Listening to this is a Thanksgiving tradition here at the Manor.

Happy Birthday Berry Gordy!

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

Genius. An American Treasure.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Miniature Nightmares

http://grimreviews.blogspot.com/2008/11/miniature-nightmares-of-kris-kuksi.html

Very cool!

Happy birthday Jimi Hendrix!

http://www.jimi-hendrix.com/

Happy Thanksgiving!

A holiday infused with great emotion and memories. I hope yours is a pleasant one.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

my next hobby...

http://en.rian.ru/world/20081124/118510809.html

the simplest (and coolest) steam engine

http://www.neatorama.com/2008/11/21/worlds-simplest-steam-engine/

Crap Wine

http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2008/11/crap-wine-a-winner-in-southern.html

another trailer for baby Trek

http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEfVLmfnsKYyji

Lovecraft Audiobooks Online!

http://digitalmeltd0wn.blogspot.com/2008/10/hp-lovecraft-audio-books-radio-plays.html

A wonderful, essential, collection!

Happy Anarchy!

On this date in '76 the Sex Pistols released Anarchy In The UK. Beautiful tune...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TZ_9-rbslo

Happy Birthday Tina!

http://www.tina-turner.nl/
One of the Immortals. The most famous legs in Rock'N'Roll.

Happy Birthday Charles Schulz!

Genius.

http://www.schulzmuseum.org/

We'll Always Have Paris...

Casablanca premiered on this date in 1942. My all-time favorite film. A part of my DNA.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034583/

http://www.vincasa.com/

http://www.serve.com/Lucius/Casablanca.index.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_RpjlJzF2I&feature=related

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Israeli nazis...

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1861641,00.html

I'm not sure how stupid one can get. One hesitates to nominate anyone or anything because you just know that someone will come along and somehow do something even more terminally dumb-ass. But these worthless fuckers may well be in first place...

the piano

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/11/23/massachusetts.piano/index.html

Shatner's reaction to not being in the new Star Trek film

http://blog.spout.com/2008/11/24/captain-kirk-hates-the-new-star-trek-trailer-clip-of-the-day/


Classic....

Happy Birthday Percy Sledge!

http://www.psledge.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Sledge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u_OnVhh82E

Monday, November 24, 2008

Happy Birthday Forrest Ackerman!

http://www.seeing-stars.com/Museums/ForrestAckerman.shtml

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=67699686

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

Sunday, November 23, 2008

AC/DC video for Highway To Hell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erJc4dzZ3IA

Great song and band.

The Smithereens perform Behind The Wall Of Sleep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hERot7SrVYo

So cool....

Phil Ochs performs the Highwayman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB5vnpzm86g&feature=related

One of my faves. Phil is needed now more than ever....

Ow!

http://www.theage.com.au/national/born-to-be-um-mild--and-possibly-damp-20081122-6ejg.html

Vampire Holiday

According to the old Hammer horror movies, today is the Sabbath of the Undead....

Happy Birthday Boris!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000472/

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

One of the greats. And what a voice!

Happy Birthday Harpo!

Genius. Essential.

http://www.harpomarx.net/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0555617/

Happy National Cashew Day!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Ray Davies on the Mike Douglas Show

http://classicshowbiz.blogspot.com/2008/11/mike-douglas-show-with-guests-ray.html

get good grades or give blowjobs for cheap wine

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081118/NEWS/811180378

I had no idea that the career choices were so stark in Iowa.

sounds like typical home decor to me...

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24674251-29277,00.html

grand theft

http://www.wptv.com/content/tcoast/story.aspx?content_id=d46f7daa-090d-47a6-95d7-b778bbab64ee

the iphone glitch...

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?Man_blames_penis_iPhone_gaffe_on_glitch&in_article_id=409313&in_page_id=2

Happy Birthday MST 3000!

One of my all-time fave TV shows. Essential. Premiered on this date in 1988.

http://www.mst3kinfo.com/

mysteries of the map

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/16/AR2008111601753.html

Cthulhu speaks....

http://gralienreport.com/cryptozoology/furthest-from-land-and-down-a-deep-sea-monstrosity/

Darwin Award nominee

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=59f7ffff-1761-42e8-b8a0-47ca1b773241

make up your own caption....

http://www.watoday.com.au/national/man-caught-with-penis-in-pasta-jar--near-nobbys-beach-20081120-6crq.html

Polly Want a Prozac?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3487321/Parrot-given-Prozac-after-owner-dies.html

death by deodorant

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1087772/Boy-12-collapsed-died-using-Lynx-deodorant.html

Copernicus' Grave Discovered?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081120/ap_on_re_eu/eu_poland_copernicus

Collected Poetry of REH

http://www.rehfoundation.org/?page_id=185

new Elric reissue

http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345498649

Great sword & sorcery!

Arkham Tales - a new horror zine

http://www.arkhamtales.com/

Happy Birthday to The White Album!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_(album)

Wonderful....

Happy Birthday Little Steven!

One fo the coolest people on the planet. Mainstay of the E Street Band, leader of the Disciples of Soul, producer of my fave Internet radio station - The Underground Garage. Absolutely essential.

http://www.littlestevensundergroundgarage.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=372nQ1nWcXM

Happy Birthday Terry Gilliam!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000416/
http://www.terrygilliam.com/

Twisted genius. Essential.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Double The Purrs

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?Two-headed_kitten_has_twice_the_cuteness_of_regular_kittens&in_article_id=413701&in_page_id=2

Another sign of the End Times....



(Thanks for the link, Mathew!)

The Monty Python Channel!!!

http://www.youtube.com/user/MontyPython

Woo Hoo!

Alert Zamfir!

http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/2008/11/20/the-rats-are-back-in-hamelin.htm?nl=1

Happy Birthday Alferd Packer!

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/history/alfred_packer/index.html

Originator of The Manwich...

Happy Anniversary to Frankenstein!

That great film permiered on this date in 1931.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021884/

Thursday, November 20, 2008

the wine cult

http://www.sfweekly.com/2008-11-19/news/voodoo-on-the-vine

Wine always tastes better when the grapes are grown from a cow skull....

Japan just gets stranger and stranger...

http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/20/tuttuki-bako-poking-box-lets-you-torment-low-res-creatures/


(thanks for the link, Mathew!)

The Chess Records story on film?

This looks pretty cool!

http://www.cadillacrecordsmovie.com/


(Thanks for the link, Peter!)

Happy Birthday Dick Smothers!

http://www.smothersbrothers.com/

One of my faves...

Happy Absurdity Day!

Actually, I think every day fits this....

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

glen Campbell performs Where's The Playground, Susie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s17Be3PZA8c
A great Jimmy Webb song. Poor Glen, first he got saddled with the cornpone image, and then with a soap opera life. He really was quite good.

Humble Pie perform I Don't Need No Doctor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZMmV6xXYFw

wonderful....

Brenton Wood performs Gimme A Little Sign

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9vrb27Bdeo

One of those tunes that's perfect for listening to on an AM radio. When I was a kid I thought this was the coolest song. I still do...

Rod the Mod and the Faces perform Maggie May

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xikQ0c5KdZE

One of the greatest singers with one of the greatest bands performing one of the greatest songs off of one of the greatest albums. Thirty seven years ago, this was a hit. Unfuckingbelievable.

The Temps perform Ain't Too Proud To Beg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfyFI-4ZsaE

The Emperors of Soul....

Tull perform Teacher

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGHKkZaqPxQ

So cool....

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The Forbidden Library

http://title.forbiddenlibrary.com/

Cool Sauna!

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?Skull_sauna_heats_up_Vienna&in_article_id=407329&in_page_id=2

the ultimate Christmas experience

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320318312873

I gotta admit, this is pretty cool. Be sure to read the details.

why won't the printer work?

http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/PerthPurplePenguin/vids/?action=view&current=cvUMHvLZ.flv


(Thanks for the link, Peter!)

The first fire of the Season!

There are few things I find more comforting than a nice blaze in the fireplace. Possessing one was a major selling point while looking for a new Manor eight years ago. I just got ours lit, the first of the season, and am thoroughly enjoying myself. And am now able to enjoy it while typing away on my wireless laptop! I feel so hi-tech! A big thanks to my friend, John, for setting up this contraption for me; and to my niece Katie, for convincing me of the wisdom to do so in the first place.

The Black Hole...

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=P5_Msrdg3Hk

(Thanks for the link, Linda!)

Fat Art!

http://longstreet.typepad.com/thesciencebookstore/2008/05/art-made-of-fat.html

This is soooo cool!



(Thanks for the link, Mathew!)

Happy Birthday Graham Parker!

http://www.grahamparker.net/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C2SkcC3TXc



There's no justice. Graham should be one of the biggest performers going. Genius.

Monday, November 17, 2008

The Supremes perform Stoned Love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pk0d9y6X1Y&feature=related

Believe me, as good as she was, there is life after Diana Ross. One of the greatest Motown songs. A perfect tune to drive to, if you've got a clear road.

Elton performs Tiny Dancer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3ppoX4bVTQ

One of his best. Beautiful song. This one's for you, Margrete.

Bruce performs Blinded By The Light

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzGt4T5lJBQ&feature=related

It was the early 70's. There was you, and there were your friends. And you thought that's all there was in the world. And then a street punk poet from the ruins of Jersey let you know it wasn't just you.

The go go's perform We Got The Beat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiCwIPGkTy4

The Go Go's were so much fun...

The Urban Verbs video for The Next Question

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tebluTKKTAQ

A D.C. fave. The Verbs were incredible. Very intense shows back in '79. You had to be there....

"new" Beatles song?

http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE4AG4C720081117?feedType=RSS&feedName=lifestyleMolt&rpc=22&sp=true

new album by Bruce in January

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hHW8pzpVCSqZp7LMkUPwnSPbzT6wD94GUQL00

message in a bottle...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1085649/Dead-man-celebrity-Holland-ashes-wash-island.html

Special Delivery

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7730018.stm

DNA fiber optics!

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16029-dna-strands-become-fibre-optic-cables.html?DCMP=ts

The Dead parrot Sketch - 1600 years old!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3454319/Dead-Parrot-sketch-is-1600-years-old.html

cool!

super-creepy handsoap!

http://www.geekologie.com/2007/07/handsoap.php


(Thanks for the link, Mathew!)

Happy Anniversary to Duck Soup;!

My fave movie by my fave comedy team. Another essential.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023969/

Happy Birthday Peter Cook!

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

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177228/



Genius. Essential.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

cyber scandal!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/11/14/second.life.divorce/index.html

Losers, one and all....

the cutting edge of Christmas giving...

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/bizarre&id=6506520&rss=rss-kabc-article-6506520

the end of the Madaeans...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-iraq-sect_slynov16,0,2015980.story?track=rss

a nice evening

Went out last night to see Livingston Taylor at the Barns. A very nice show. A little saddening, perhaps. The last time I saw him perform was the Fall of '74, (opening for John Sebastian). At this show, I was actually at the younger end of the crowd. The age spread was about 55 - 70. I looked around at all of us, much heavier, grayer, balder (the men), etc., and wanted to cry out - "Hey gang! Remember when we were cool?!?" On the good side, no one was screaming out requests in my ear, spilling beer down my back or puking in the aisles. (Of course, this was a Liv Taylor show, hardly the type of venue for that, even back in my salad days...).
At any rate, it was a good show, he encored with my fave song by him, and the Barns is always a nice place to go to.

my kind of astronaut interview!

http://www.27bslash6.com/flightcommander.html

embalming fluid for babies?

http://www.ectomo.com/index.php/2008/10/29/frigid-jr-and-embalming-the-babies/

Awwww...baby pygmy hippo...

http://holy-cuteness.blogspot.com/2008/11/monifa-baby-pygmy-hippo.html

very cool micro photographs

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/11/peering_into_the_micro_world.html

my next lair...

http://royal.pingdom.com/2008/11/14/the-worlds-most-super-designed-data-center-fit-for-a-james-bond-villain/

the trailer for Baby Trek

http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2008/11/star-trek-trail.html

Saturday, November 15, 2008

the cutting edge of parenting ...

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?Dad_leaves_kids_alone_with_knife,_hatchet_and_bat_for_protection&in_article_id=401018&in_page_id=2

The Cthulhu Guitar

http://grimreviews.blogspot.com/2008/11/cthulhu-guitar.html

Happy Birthday Pet!

I've always had a crush on Petula Clark...

http://www.petulaclark.net/

http://www.petulaclark.net/

Happy Anniversary to A Night At The Opera

Wodnerful film! Premiered on this date in '35. Essential.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026778/

http://www.nightattheopera.net/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZvugebaT6Q

Friday, November 14, 2008

Boz Scaggs perform Lido Shuffle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIu0jQ5TaRQ

Great tune. One last shot....

ZZ Top performs La Grange

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YACK-n02AqI

So cool. Reminds me of "This Is It" on 14th Street in '74.

Buddhism with a sting...

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=2&a=370640

tequila diamonds

http://www.phenomenica.com/2008/11/scientists-discover-tequila-diamonds.html

Sounds like an Eagles' song....

The Soviet Theme Park

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/europes-strangest-theme-park/2948

Happy Birthday Veronica Lake!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000043/
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Palace/5218/lake/index.html

Beautiful....

Thursday, November 13, 2008

The Beermacht

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,590016,00.html


(Thanks for the link, John!)

The Times video for I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzUCCl9YaBQ

I snatched this single up as soon as it came out, (Missy - it's fabulously rare). I just love this song and video. Very cute. They even 'borrow" the old Traffic song of Keep On Running. These guys were sharp.

Mary Chapin Carpenter perform He Thinks He"ll Keep Her

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-Nvo-2NbyA&feature=related

DC's finest, and one of America's best songwriters. A great, great song.

Brook Benton performs A Rainy Night In Georgia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr5djzzeA3M

It's been a cold and rainy day here. Perfect time for perhaps the best song by the chronically under-rated Brook Benton.

RIP Mitch Mitchell

http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Mitch_Mitchell.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiMu_ZSbKn4

Happy Birthday Robert Louis Stevenson!

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

Revenge?

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/11/12/dead-mans-coffin-kil.html


(Thanks for the link, Chris!)

Zombie Pet Shop!

http://www.mcphee.com/items/11904.html

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Baby Trek News

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/2303441

Happy Birthday Molly Pitcher (Margaret Corbin)!

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

A patriot.

Happy Birthday Neil Young!

Genius. Essential.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7M1Se-p7uk

http://www.neilyoung.com/

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

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Paul Roland performs Alice's House

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAejuX9TaM8&feature=related

I'm a Paul Roland fanatic. He's one of the best singer/songwriters you've never heard of. A wonderful mix of Victorian Gothic Baroque Rock. Take Al Stewart and Robyn Hitchcock and throw in Charles Fort and you're getting close. A treasure.

The Primitves perform Crash

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viX2iCxdTco&feature=related

The Primitives should have been much bigger. Great sound...

Zager & Evans perform 2525

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izQB2-Kmiic

I thought this was pretty cool when I was a kid. Perhaps the first Top 40 dystopian hit!

The Spinners perform a medley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfak36F7v58&feature=related

One of my faves. Barry Gordy and Motown gave us the Four Tops and Temptations in the 60's and from there you move to an explosion of great groupps in the early 70's: the Stylistics, the Main Ingredient, the Commodores, the O Jays, the Chi Lites, Earth Wind & Fire, and Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, to name some of the most successful. And they're all wonderful. But to me, the Spinners were the best. It was a smooth sound containing a passionate soul vibe. And there was just something so professional about their vocals. Like the Temps, they could take even a mediocre song, and find and wring out of it any smidgen of quality and good that it contained, (the Everly's were good at that, too). A class act.

Klaus Nomi covers Lightning Strikes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gma5IUNMTn0

You gotta hand it to Klaus, he was one of a kind.

The Dream Syndicate performs The Days of Wine & Roses

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUksKenf1F8

So cool....

Jim Croce performs I Got A Name

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcqauC49Xmc

Great song.

guinea pig painting

http://www.joecartoon.com/videos/874-poor_gerbil

I've never wanted to own a Barbie Doll...

Until Now....

http://www.bettysattic.com/website/store/product_detail.asp?UID=2008111109465835&item%5Fno=55003&keyword=EX%2D55003&cat%5Fkeyword=&search%5Fpage%5Fno=1

yawn...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/11/10/nosplit/bvtvlaurence-rees-1011.xml

I suppose it's because we insist on not learning/teaching social studies, but I continue to be amazed at all the blather about "previously unknown" information "that can only be told now". There is absolutely nothing of substance in this article that wasn't known at least 30 years ago; and the basics were well known, to anyone who chose to look, at least 10-15 years earlier. Stalin was a really bad dude. But he was fighting the Germans, just as we were, and we desperately needed each other in order to win. Those were the priorities. Period. Simple. And yet, since the USSR transformed itself from a Stalinist to a fascist state, there have been hundreds of books and articles all breathlessly announcing that previously secret archives have yawned open revealing these totally unsuspected facts. It's all a con, foisted on an uneducated populace.

(That isn't to say that there aren't some mysteries left to the War, but the Soviet archives, and their marketeers, have yet to shed any light on them...)

the "hands off" approach to shoplifting

http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=74709

Happy Birthday Marshall Crenshaw!

http://www.marshallcrenshaw.com/

ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQWrzO0Qkms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JnPA4Ad-3s&feature=related

One of the great Power Popsters, and a personal fave. I love these tunes.

Happy Birthday Jonathan Winters!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005565/

http://www.jonathanwinters.com/

Happy Veterans Day!

http://www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday/

Monday, November 10, 2008

Al Stewart performs Times Passages

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOy1QJT1Zfk



The leaves continue to fall and pile up around the Manor. And one is constantly drawn back to past Novembers. The lyrics for this tune are perfect for me. From the less than truthful declaration of not living in the past, to the rather forlorn expectation that there's something to learn and the jarring explanation of the mind games we play with ourselves. I'm told Al really doesn't like this song, which is a pity, as I think it's one of his best. Perhaps it hits too close to home. It's pretty forlorn, when you get right down to it. Definitely a great song.

(p.s., I honestly think I know the lady this song was written about/for, making it all the more interesting and adding even more nuance to it).

Dr Syn Rides Again!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDYId2Ab1o8

Disney is FINALLY getting around to releasing a DVD of the Scarecrow Of Romney Marsh this week! a wonderful adventure, starring my fave, Patrick McGoohan. As a kid, the Scarecrow was one of my heroes. I'm one of the few young people to have missed the original broadcast of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. That's because I was watching this...

Date Bait perform Strange Movies & He's Waitin'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbGgX82Q04E

Local DC legends. I always regret not catching their shows...

The Ramones perform Sheena Is A Punk Rocker

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDFWZpZLEW4&feature=related

so cool....

spray-on solar cells

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27578230/

amazing...

death by fermentation

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1083623/Two-French-wine-makers-suffocated-carbon-dioxide-fumes-grapes-treading.html
Clearly, grapes are the enemy. I plan on exacting revenge against a bottle of shiraz tonight!

election news!

http://www.wlwt.com/politics/17897209/detail.html

possible Darwin Awards nominee

http://www.times-herald.com/local/Cleaning-cobwebs-with-blow-torch-blamed-for-house-fire-in-Sargent--583223

Happy Birthday Ennio Morricone!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ennio_Morricone
http://www.enniomorricone.com/

Another essential genius.

Happy Birthday Lord Sutch!

An original.

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

http://www.ugly-things.com/sutch.html

Happy Birthday Carl Stalling!

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

http://www.awn.com/mag/issue2.1/articles/goldmark2.1.html

Genius. Essential.

Happy Birthday Claude Rains!

One of my faves...

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001647/

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Park/6771/

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Little House On The Prairie - Rated X

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE4A572J20081107?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews&rpc=76

Louie Louie Anniversary!

One of the greatest songs of all time. The definitive version, by the Kingsmen, was released on this date in 1963. A top contender in my choices for the National Anthem. This version is SO COOL!

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

http://www.louielouie.net/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0V4NRBQ7as

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsVXbV7w2hU&feature=related

Paul Is Dead...

McCartney died on this date in 1966...

http://homepages.tesco.net/harbfamily/opd/index.html

Get A Life!

Today, in the year 2346, will occur The Khitomer Massacre — the Romulans slaughter over 4,000 Klingons on an agricultural colony; Worf & Kahlest are the only two survivors...

Happy Chaos Never Dies Day!

http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/November/chaosneverdiesday.htm

Happy Birthday Hedy Lamar!

One fo the sexiest and most beautiful women to ever grace the silver screen, and a patriot.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001443/

http://www.inventions.org/culture/female/lamarr.html

http://www.hedylamarr.at/indexe.html

Saturday, November 08, 2008

McGuinn performs Chestnut Mare

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VogPU8I__-o&feature=related

Another beautiful song.

The Dead perform Box of Rain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiCejum8GW8&feature=related

Great song...

fan video for the Sandpipers' Come Saturday Morning

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3SIQvaXWBs&feature=related

Another neat song for a day like today, (and the theme of one of my all-time fave movies - The Sterile Cuckoo).

Jr. Walker & The Allstars video for What Does It Take

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0xzcavGrj4

It's a beautiful Fall day out here at the Manor, and this seems like a nice tune to go with it.

sad news about Forrest Ackerman

I've jsut read that Forry is dying. The man is a legend in the annals of science fiction, horror and fantasy and has been a huge influence on all of us connected to those interests. We are losing a national treasure.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=67699686

Happy Birthday Rickie Lee Jones!

http://www.rickieleejones.com/
http://www.myspace.com/dutchessofcoolsville

Happy Birthday Bram Stoker!

http://www.online-literature.com/stoker/

Friday, November 07, 2008

the astronaut bubble?

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/11/04/mars-radiation-shield.html

Cool!

my next research project...

http://www.holytaco.com/best-bourbons-you%E2%80%99ve-never-heard


(Thanks for the link, John!)

amazing bass voices

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WpD2Cspn6g

I believe Laibach would hire these guys....

Otto seeks attention

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3328480/Otto-the-octopus-wrecks-havoc.html

mysterious broccoli faces...

http://bread-and-honey.blogspot.com/2008/10/wtf-broccoli-part-deuce.html

the runway...

http://www.cheap-flights-finder.com/tricky-runway.htm

the water skiing squirrel...

http://holy-cuteness.blogspot.com/2008/11/twiggy-water-skiing-squirrel.html

decay....

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?Worlds_top_chef_wants_a_McDonaldss&in_article_id=388320&in_page_id=34

Lego MST 3000

http://www.mocpages.com/folder.php/27582

(Including Torgo!)

Happy Birthday Johnny Rivers!

http://www.johnnyrivers.com/

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

Happy Birthday Joni Mitchell!

http://jonimitchell.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcrEqIpi6sg

Magical...

Thursday, November 06, 2008

the cutting edge of jogging accessories

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D948V99O3&show_article=1

Happy Sadie Hawkins Day!

http://www.lil-abner.com/sadiehawk.html

An approximate date, it's celebrated all through November...

Happy Birthday Jonathan Harris!

It's My Life Anniversary

Released by Eric Burdon & The Animals on this date in 1965. One of my all-time favorite songs. A part of my DNA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNzmrEgz_GI

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

RIP Jimmy Carl Black

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20081105/D948QSK80.html


(Thanks for the link, Peter!)

Happy Birthday Peter Noone!

http://www.peternoone.com/

http://www.hermanshermits.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB_9fDuJmag

Happy Birthday Art Garfunkel!

http://www.artgarfunkel.com/

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbFEnoITiWE

Happy Devil's Stone Day!

http://www.shebbearvillage.co.uk/DevilsStone.pdf

Happy Birthday, Manos!

Premiered on this date in 1966! One of my fave bad movies.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060666/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%22Manos%22_The_Hands_of_Fate

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1068572,00.html

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

http://www.bonfirenight.net/

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

wuss Britain

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7701033.stm

the fear of being buried alive....

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122540935432186161.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

Happy Election Day!

Go Ask Alice...

Alice went through the Looking Glass on this date in 1871...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through_the_Looking-Glass

Happy Birthday Chris Difford!

http://www.chrisdifford.com/
http://www.myspace.com/cdifford

Great songwriter. One of the best of the new wave.

Happy Waiting For The Barbarians Day!

Happy Birthday Will Rogers!

http://www.willrogers.org/

http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Will_Rogers

Monday, November 03, 2008

ecumenicism....

http://www.mcphee.com/items/11880.html

just another day in DC

http://whyihatedc.blogspot.com/2008/11/me-fail-english-unimpossible.html

the "air car"

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/106040/Air-Cars:-A-New-Wind-for-America's-Roads

Kinda cute! But 35mph is impossible to deal with, I parallel park at that speed....

Happy Birthday Lulu!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lulu_(singer)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAbbXbZKph0

http://www.luluofficial.com/news.php

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Little Richard performs Good Golly Miss Molly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl73rGXh3zA

There were gods in those days; twisted crazed lustful gods, but gods nonetheless....

The Isleys perform That Lady

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng8n76liv4Y

Great, great song and group. Essential.

The Blues Magoos perform We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ9CaxbptDE

Ultra-cool. Had (I believe) the first album to feature the word "Psychedelic" in the title, and wore suits with electric lights implanted in 'em.

Berlin performs No More Words

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnSVuAVm5kc

Always liked this song.

The English Beat's video for Save It For Later

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bM0wVjU2-k

Cool song.

Beware The Vampire Moths!

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/081027-vampire-moth-evolution-halloween-missions.html

I am armed with mothballs blessed by the Pope and a butterfly net made of purest silver...

Neat Show

Linda and I went out to see Christine Lavin at the Barns last night. This is the third or fourth time we've seen her and it was a great show. One of the most charming performers and songwriters I know of. She's now doing a song about my boy, H.L. Mencken! Very cool!

http://www.christinelavin.com/index.php?page=home

Happy National Deviled Eggs Day!

Saturday, November 01, 2008

nice collection of WWI posters

http://community.livejournal.com/vintage_ads/1063703.html

and yet more on our nation of worthless weenies

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Some_High_Schools_Ban_Halloween_Costumes_at_Football_Games.html

Fucking pathetic....

soup kitchen for dogs...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27476576/

I can't believe they left out tropical fish. I am hereby starting a new charity - Tetra Min For Tots!

Wuss America

http://savannahnow.com/node/605769

I never would've gotten past grade school...

The Blood Month

And so we enter November. Halloween was a little slow here at the Manor - only had about 35 trick-or-treaters. I notice quite a few of the children are ferried around in cars by their parents. seems kind of lame to me, but I suppose the spacing of houses in our neighborhood is more than the usual. At least everyone came dressed in costumes and there were only a couple of young teenagers out, (I dislike 17 year olds just going door to door begging for candy - how wimpy...). Some day I want to get a bunch of folks together, dress in eldritch costumes and go Cthulhu caroling. If only we could avoid arrest...
And now comes the herculean task of packing all of our Halloween decorations away. I always consider November the beginning of Winter around here. And although we're supposed to have some nice days coming up, I know that the leaves are falling fast, soon the trees will be bare, and a gray overcast sky will be around more often than not. You begin to look back, and inward. It's a time for listening to the Moody Blues, Simon & Garfunkel, Jethro Tull, Buckingham & Nicks, Al Stewart and Jim Croce. And also a season of pumpkin ale, Port, and cabernet, (bourbon never goes out of season...).
If you're a kid, I guess you go into full Christmas mode now, dreaming and begging for that Red Ryder BB gun. For the rest of us, I guess it's getting ready for Thanksgiving, grabbing the last fresh veggies from the farmers market, and hoping for a mild Winter. And one last thing - it's a time for connecting with your friends and your family. The harvest is done, time to settle down for awhile and enjoy each other's company. It's important...

Kinky in town on November 6th!

http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/node/753