Weirdness: July 2010

The Horrorfind Weekend Con in just 5 weeks!

http://www.horrorfindweekend.com/

a little Soul for a hot Summer day...

the cutting edge of DWI

http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-news-mansfield-ohio-man-arrested-drunken-stroller-pushing,0,4308578.story

My favorite album title

http://www.answers.com/topic/when-dinah-shore-ruled-the-earth-1994-album-by-dinah-shore

Prostitutes On Parade

http://www.chinahush.com/2010/07/29/prostitutes-paraded-through-streets-causes-debate-responsible-police-suspended/

The reason I post this rather tepid article is because it reminded me of a wonderful incident about 20 years ago in the District. The famous cattle drive of hookers that DC's Finest abandoned their donuts for:

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1989-07-26/news/8907264884_1_northern-virginia-virginia-sign-photographer

Yee Haw! Git along little dogies....

Can it be attached to sharks?

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/61673/title/Behold,_the_antilaser

Do I Need An Umbrella?

http://www.doineedanumbrella.com/

This seems about as reasonable and accurate as most the weather forcasts we get around DC...

http://www.occoquan.com/

Had a very nice time visiting the town, probably haven't been down that way in about two or three years, now. There are always a couple nice shops to visit. But have noticed quite a few empty storefronts this time. The recession has not been kind....

new statue of Dagon for sale

http://www.sotatoysonline.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=71&products_id=291&gclid=CO6onomzlqMCFQhGnQod5VFYnA

Lovecraftian film news

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2010/07/guillermo-del-toro-and-james-cameron-take-on-hp-lo.html

Happy Birthday Lobo!

http://www.fansoflobo.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmZv5ND2YuI

A guilty pleasure, but I've always liked this guy.

Happy Birthday Gary Lewis!

http://www.garylewisandtheplayboys.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtAi58nzAxM

Happy Birthday Ted Cassidy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYkQ2qlANhc

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0144252/

Darth's Mother

http://2headedsnake.tumblr.com/post/851264850/vata18-via-21-media-tumblr-com

We're gonna need a bigger boat....

http://www.necn.com/07/28/10/Swimmers-beware-Another-shark-sighting-o/landing_newengland.html?blockID=278738&feedID=4206

Do The Hustle!

http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/robber-dances-during-crime-11287895

And for those of you too young to remember:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFz2WkVAk38

Spillionaires!

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/spillionaires-cleaning-bp-oil-spill/story?id=11280500

Yes, Whitey is something else....

Parking in DC

http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/mornings/confusing-parking-signs-leave-dc-drivers-wondering-073010

Pretty typical. The amusing thing is, given the DC school system, most natives couldn't read those signs, regardless....

worst auto-tune song, ever?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59YdPucCkZU

It's got my vote!

No sex, this is a resort

http://easyhotelbreaks.com/leisuredaily/?p=1576

I think the real point is that some place masquerading as a resort should at least invest in some real walls between the rooms...

New UAV info

http://miragemen.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/uavs-the-formerly-secret-history/

It is interesting to speculate on the possibility of UAV's accounting for some UFO reports.

"The Pond"

http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0729/secret-spy-agency-serial-killer-nazis-sources/

It'll be interesting to see what all these papers have to say. One problem is that I think documentation from other, (competing) outfits like OSS and the FBI would be necessary to give a fuller picture of any successes The Pond might have had, and the costs. I do know that Intelligence agencies tend to exagerate their importance and success, (and hide their failures and cost/benefits analysis). I also know that a great deal is made about the use of (so-called) ex-nazis in Intelligence after the war, but have never seen or heard of any good results from such collaborations, (just the usual unsubstantiated hints, etc.).

Chuchill Archives going online!

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/winston-churchill-goes-digital/

More great news for historians, researchers and students! Very cool!

Cthulhu Bath Mit & Soap!

http://www.geeksoap.net/product/baththulhu-cthulhu-bath-mitt

http://www.geeksoap.net/product/cthulhu-geeksoap

Needless to say, I must own these....

(Thanks for the links, Susan!)

The Connoisseur

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/24422897/detail.html

The Yardbirds perform For Your Love

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

So cool...

the swimming pool...

http://www.myinterestingfiles.com/2008/08/the-deepest-swimming-pool-in-the-world.html

The 1,000mph car

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/07/bloodhound-ssc-unveiled/

I guess I should be impressed by the technical achievements, but I confess it all seems kind of pointless to me.

Hell's Half Acre, WY

http://atlasobscura.com/place/hell-s-half-acre-wyoming

Very cool, but I always considered the half acre to be at 14th and U Streets....

I've always wanted to play kazoo with the Rolling Stones

http://wfmuichiban.blogspot.com/2010/07/play-that-funky-kazoo-white-boy.html

The Mindset List For The Class of 2013

http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2013.php

Sigh...

Elvira's Movie macabre is online!

http://www.hulu.com/elviras-movie-macabre

Very cool!

Wild Thing!

Hit Number One on the charts on this week in '66.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9DVJE_bhVU

Anniversary fo the release of The Modern Lovers LP in '76

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPCHU-cBWwk

One of the great rock albums.

Happy Birthday Alton Brown!

http://www.altonbrown.com/

Johnny Rivers performs Summer Rain

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

Just had one of our usual cloud bursts here at the Manor, and this song seemed appropriate...

Online copy of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's Monster Catalog!!!

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/07/28/ed-big-daddy-roth-19.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+boingboing%2FiBag+%28Boing+Boing%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

I absolutely loved this guy's stuff when I was a kid, (and still do....).

some wonderful jack-o-lanterns!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/pumpkinhollow

Icelandic Soccer Celebration

http://www.blameitonthevoices.com/2010/07/kick-ass-goal-celebration-of-day.html

Cute!

Kids' Star Trek

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tvd9B2iMmfc&feature=pla

This is pretty cute, actually...

The absolute without-a-doubt cutting edge of chicken shoplifting

http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/woman_liberates_chicken_from_supermarket_by_hiding_it_in_her_vagina_ad/

I'm certainly glad it wasn't frozen chicken...

(By the way, this particular link should probably be considered nsfw, as opposed to my usual high-end intellectual postings....)

neat skateboarding video

http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/jawdropping_videoskateboarders_on_fire_burn_up_the_streets_and_rooftop/

Elvis memorabilia - the "cutting" edge

http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/elvis-presley-autopsy-tools-removed-from-auction-returned-to-memphis-funeral-home/19570860

McDonald's now sells gasoline additives!

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/07/29/1587349/cheeseburger-stuffed-in-cars-gas.html

The cutting edge of life extension

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/oldest-man-dead-for-3-decades-media-20100729-10xuf.html

The Ironic Cemetery

http://friendsofirony.com/2010/07/29/ironic-photos-life-saving-death-ray/

Jane Austen's Fight Club!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2PM0om2El8&feature=player_embedded

This is wonderful!

Drunk Tests

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/27/realistic-sobriety-tests_n_660779.html

Billy Joel, it gets 'em every time...

Private documents of FDR becoming available!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/28/AR2010072805917.html?hpid=artslot

This is great news for anyone interested in that time period. Am really excited about any historical tidbits these papers might contain regarding the conduct of the War, and Roosevelt's handling of the politics of the time.

A REAL Shotgun Wedding....

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/189591/Photographer-shot-dead-as-bride-and-groom-pose-with-a-guns

Tarantulas Invade Britain!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/7913369/Tarantulas-on-the-loose-in-Britain.html

Of course, this is not the first time a Brit has had to deal with these beasties:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqo8NbueNVw

I prefer my spiders shaken, not stirred....

Cancel my appointments

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100727082656.htm

the cutting edge of computer file protection

http://www.eatliver.com/i.php?n=6032

Buffy - the 8th Season

http://dvd.ign.com/articles/110/1108504p1.html

Happy Birthday Maria Ouspenskaya!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0653642/

http://www.monsterzine.com/200107/granddames.php3

Happy Birthday Thelma Todd!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0865298/

Happy Birthday William Powell!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001635/

http://themave.com/Powell/

One of my faves.

Happy Birthday Patti Scialfa!

http://www.pattiscialfa.net/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqUoSit3qaU

Carl Reiner VS Cthulhu

http://www.hulu.com/watch/58787/night-gallery-the-diarya-matter-of-semanticsthe-big-surpriseprofessor-peabodys-last-lecture

I absolutely loved Serling's work, as did Carl Reiner, (who cited Serling as an inspiration for perhaps the most famous episode of Reiner's magnum opus - The Dick Van Dyke Show, (the Walnut episode)). He was able to express the compliment in one of my fave episodes of Serling's series - Night Gallery, which is now online. All the scenarios presented in this episode are good, but the final one, "Professor Peabody's Last Lecture" is a real hoot! Full of in-jokes. Highly recommended!

photos of DC during the War

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2010/07/27/GA2010072704832.html

Truly a different place and time.

Happy Birthday Phil Proctor!

Genius. Essential.

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

We're #2! We're #2!

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=2012018

Come on DC - let's collect those mouse turds! We're second to no one! #1! #1!

The recession has hit everywhere...

http://www.theonion.com/articles/budget-cuts-force-british-government-to-shut-down,17763/

Paul Is Still Dead

http://mvdb2b.com/b2b/s/PaulMcCartneyReallyIsDeadTheLastTestamentOfGeorgeHarrison/MVD5030D

the cutting edge of interstellar tourist promotion

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/27/2965059.htm

Plastic Incarnation by Treiops Treyfid

http://vimeo.com/13114516

My old pal Treiops' latest artistic endeavor is out online. His description:

"Plastic Incarnation is an avant-garde, conceptually-based performance art and video piece. It's aim is to portray the realities of the current "oil age" in which we are immersed, in deconstructed form. It includes several performers, abstract improvised music, elaborate costumes made from recycled elements, Butoh-inspired dance, and pattern-based choreography."

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Gary Gygax!

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

Anniversary of Radio Free Europe

REM released this great single on this date in 1981.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iol99mCsXzg&feature=fvst

Happy Birthday Bugs!

Premiered in "Wild Hare" on this date in 1940.

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

Happy National Scotch Day!

Yum!

the continuing wussification of America

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/07/25/terrified-guardians.html

A nation of cry babies....

Invasion America - 1935

http://io9.com/5596036/a-1935-map-of-the-never+was-invasion-of-america/gallery/

Mildly interesting/amusing. As one commenter on the site points out, there are/were all sorts of contingency plans out there. I remember hearing of one the Germans had in the late Victorian era against the U.S. The basic idea was to take the German fleet and load it up with troops, sail to New York City, conquer it and the nearby environs, and then sit back and wait for us to surrender. I suppose there are some lands that might surrender if 5% of their population and 1% of their land mass is occupied, but I'd hope we were made of sterner stuff.....

Thelma & Louise

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/7906907/Two-nuns-go-on-run-over-threat-to-send-them-to-retirement-home.html

Happy Birthday Mick!

http://www.mickjagger.com/

http://www.rollingstones.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g69labQKuuU

Happy Brithday Gracie Allen!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0020555/

http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=allengracie

Genius. Essential.

Happy Birthday Darlene Love!

http://www.darleneloveworld.com/

http://www.history-of-rock.com/darlene_love.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nwtyX4iuRQ

Great, great singer.

Happy Birthday Peter Cushing!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001088/

http://www.petercushing.com/

A collection of soul - blue eyed, soft and otherwise...

Flaming Ember
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQFtSvI5rU4

The Undisputed Truth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV69WBvFGBA&feature=related

Timmy Thomas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz1yjKMIfD0

The Main Ingredient
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIw4Kip_CfM&feature=related

The Brotherhood of Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB3RBxnn98g

Eddie Kendricks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H600s129T3k

Ann Peebles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSnHTRZ6PSg&feature=related

R.B. Greaves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Y0x1jLkLg

The Marvelettes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nuEY6fQgzk&feature=related

Sylvia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlhCYC_TEFw

Polly Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu8fz-YUKtc

The Spinners
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8x2d57RQVg

The Dramatics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG-hD81o6Rs&feature=related

Enjoy! See ya tomorrow.

Bruce performs Racing In The Streets

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

Ah, it was many decades ago, and I was only on the periphery. The hot rodders and their fans would meet at the parking lot of some low-rent shopping center near Oxon Hill. There'd be the usual drinking, cruising and bets. And then, at an unholy hour, the serious ones, (which I was not), would go down to Interstate 295, temporarily block it off (I am not kidding) and race for a mile or two; and then converge back at the parking lot to settle up. It was '78 and a period of romance, sorrow, danger and loss - a strange time. And Bruce released this tune and captured it all.

Bearjacking

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/07/24/bearjacking-sandwich.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+boingboing%2FiBag+%28Boing+Boing%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Some words from J.J. Abrams & Josh Whedon

http://io9.com/5595584/the-five-best-moments-from-jj-abrams-and-joss-whedons-visionaries-panel

The return of Quartermass!

http://io9.com/5595597/hammer-films-will-be-revamping-quatermass

The only limit is yourself - at Zombo.com

http://zombo.com/

Warning - trememdous waste of time.

Headline of the day

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/twisted_sister_act_by_lying_nun_2pBEDN8HMJLjaJZoJduDPO

Sore Losers

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/07/alabama_bingo_losers_want_thei.html

Twitter Communion

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/7908263/Church-minister-to-tweet-Holy-Communion-to-the-faithful.html

Ah yes, partaking of the electrons and binary code of the Lord....

Mel Gibson is an amazing gay boyfriend!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/bestweekever/mel-gibson-is-an-amazing-gay-boyfriend-8se

infant suffocation as a marketing tool

http://community.livejournal.com/vintage_ads/2099895.html

105 degrees yesterday...

Whew! I suppose it is a testament to the air conditioning at the Manor and our horrible Winter that I can't say I particularly mind this wave. The roads and parking lots aren't impassable, I don't have to break my back shoveling the sidewalks and driveway; and as miserable as it would be, if the power were to go out, misery is all I'd have to deal with - and not frozen and broken water pipes. I think between the conditions and my age, I crossed the Rubicon this year - I really dislike Winter. Even 105 seems trifling.

new book out on Bletchley Park during WWII

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/7904262/The-Secret-Life-of-Bletchley-Park-by-Sinclair-McKay-review.html

Quite a story...

Happy Parents Day!

http://www.parentsday.com/

Lovecraft film festival expanding to L.A.

http://grimreviews.blogspot.com/2010/07/hp-lovecraft-film-festival-expands-its.html

I wish it'd come to DC....

Mr. Zimmerman discovers electricity!

Dylan went electric at Newport on this date in '65.

http://campus.queens.edu/depts/english/dylan_goes_electric_the_newport_.htm

Happy Birthday Walter Brennan!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000974/

Happy Birthday Henry Knox!

http://americanrevwar.homestead.com/files/knox.htm

http://www.generalknoxmuseum.org/knoxbio.html

One of my favorite patriots. Now, almost forgotten.

Happy National Day of the Cowboy!

http://www.nationaldayofthecowboy.com/

a flow chart for early role playing games

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ePCy2AQpPvu10XSJSR9EO7vYDKK1tSDLkQHUQgaaynsDyuCPbbiwp9w3Se2mnJyIw-C5esVQOTIxYsQE1hpJrk28wvv2V4-HKjsh_j1vlHeDSF3PfmMK61akYy2Bj89jHfHSpw/s1600-h/DnD0Eto2E.JPG

Pretty good. But everyone forgets an early 70's PBM game in Britain called Midgard* that, while not very playable, was almost certainly an influence on the first version of D&D. There were also a few fantasy variants in the game Diplomacy that may well have been influential in those early days. The fact is that the early 70's saw a variety of folks, Including yours truly, attempt to design games around a fantasy context. Gygax and Arneson had the best, and were brave/resourceful enough to get it published, and the rest is history. But they weren't alone...

*There was also a Midgard II PBM in Utah, (which I briefly played in), sometime around 73-74.

some very cool dice

http://www.historicgames.com/RPdice.html

The English Beat perform Save It For Later

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcZB_RIEbZ0

Love this song.

Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul perform Out Of The Darkness

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

Fun song off of a wonderful album.

Jimi performs The Wind Cries Mary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf-Mtd2A1DI

Beautiful...

fanvid for Reunion performing Life Is A Rock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16kh-AP4OCU&feature=related

I know that it's silly, but I really do like this tune.

Whew!

Have been watering the garden all morning here at the Manor. No doubt about it, it's damn hot outside, at least a hundred....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE2fnYpwrng

DIY Fokker

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1297228/Meet-Fokker-WW1-replica-hand-built-powered-mower-engine.html

Pretty neat. You'll note that the ignoramous who wrote the article thinks that the nazis were in WWI. Sigh....

the cutting edge of blending into the crowd

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2010/0723102alf1.html?link=rssfeed

Nope, no distinguishing features, officer....

photos of the day

http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/07/23/4739027-pilot-ejects-an-instant-before-fighterjet-crashes

Wow!

Foiling A Vacation

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/23/2911180/professor-returns-from-vacation.html

Anniversary of the release of Pleasant Dreams

A great album by the Ramones.

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5PQnngPX00

Happy Birthday Lord Dunsany!

http://www.dunsany.net/

http://greatsfandf.com/AUTHORS/LordDunsany.php

One of the best writers of Fantasy, or anything else. I love this guy's work.

Happy Cousins Day!

http://www.answers.com/topic/cousins-day

Concrete Blonde's video for God Is A Bullet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B4xUf05uhk&feature=related

Another cool band that never quite made it.

Johnny Thuders & The Heartbreakers perfrom Chinese Rock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_-HR3R72hc

So cool. And so influential, but almost forgotten now....

Tru Fax & The Insaniacs perfrom Pictures of You

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmSuJ0elEwU

A DC band that I absolutely LOVED. I still vividly remember the first time I saw them. It was a cold wet Winter back in '79, and my ol' friend Cliff and I wandered over to a VFW Hall by his apartment for a punk rock show featuring a couple of bands. Local legends, The Nurses, were the headliners, but Tru Fax blew me away with their charm, songwriting and cool vibe. Their album, (which is fabulously rare), is well worth hunting for. I am reasonably sure that they were the ones to coin the term "Washingtron"* in their song of the same name.

*If you're not a native, this will be meaningless to you, my apologies. But it fits here perfectly.

Paul Roland performs Gabrielle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuSzxzZ9a7w

Paul's one of my faves. Great songwriter. Completely unknown in the States, unfortunately.

fanvid for Glass Prism performing El Dorado

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdkcGgQS4LE

A pretty obscure* band who did an entire album of Poe's poems to music. Probably my fave poem by Edgar.

*Missy, it's fabulously rare....

fanvid for Inkubus Sukkubus performing Vampyre Erotica

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNfJF4ecEZs

Always liked this band...

A Frazetta painting of Conan goes for 1.5 million!

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/ap-conan-painting-sold.html

Wow!

The Dick

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/07/copyright-trolling-for-dollars/

I can't believe anyone reads that rag anyway.

The super double secret missile code

http://harpers.org/index/2004/9/39

It'd be interesting to know if anyone figured it out....

Pooping Robots

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38365451/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Yes, I know it sounds silly,but this is actually a pretty interesting deal. Sooner or later, it seems like there will be machines capable of sustaining themselves in a natural environment. And sooner or later, it seems that there will also be machines that can reproduce themselves, (granted, these may be nano-type machines, etc.). Combine those two features and you're getting around to having to rethink your definitions of "life".

news from jesustan

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/07/anaheim-pastor-sentenced-in-sex-molestation-case.html

top 5 nazi zombie movies

http://www.zombiecommand.com/humour/top-5-nazi-zombies-movies/

Believe it or not, the old "nazi zombies in a lake" plot is based on a litle bit of WWII occult folklore regarding one of the Alpine lakes where nazi gold was supposedly left at the end of the war....

Escape from Aushwitz

http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/former-inmate-recalls-daring-romantic-escape-from-auschwitz-1.303055?localLinksEnabled=false

This is an extraordinary story, if true. I don't mean to disparage, but I am curious as to how it's possible for an inmate to get a hold of a full ss uniform and ID papers...

Gimme That Old Time Religion!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/peru/7905792/Evidence-of-human-sacrifices-found-on-Perus-northern-coast.html

I'm gonna need a bigger truck....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7906091/Shitterton-and-a-sign-of-the-times.html

Superheroes on the couch...

http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/super-shrinks-psychoanalyze-superheroes-like-batman-superman-and-spider-man/19559596

Archaeology In The News!

http://www.livescience.com/history/stone-age-carving-ancient-dildo-100720.html

The Dark Side of the Force...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1297087/The-Empire-Strikes-Bank-Armed-robber-dressed-Darth-Vader-demands-cash-daring-raid.html

A site devoted to American culture - Crap At My Parent's House

http://crapatmyparentshouse.com/

(Thanks for the link, Nancy!)

Happy Birthday to Castle Keep!

The weirdest war movie ever made. Premiered on this date in '69.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064137/

Happy Birthday Raymond Chandler!

http://home.comcast.net/~mossrobert/

What a great writer! Hard to overestimate his influence.

Happy National Vanilla Ice Cream Day!

Yum!

Pink Floyd video for See Emily Play

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F94vHO7okZQ

Great song.

The Barrow Wights perform Flowers & Lies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSjqazTPF3A&feature=player_embedded

From the Miskatonic Acid Test, the greatest movie we'll never see....

Black Hole Strangeness

http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/uniini/release.cfm?ArticleID=2202

(Thanks for the link, Dennis!)

The Friendly Skys

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Travel/american-airlines-sued-million-refusing-25-baggage-fee/story?id=11215965

At this point, (and after having suffered my own experiences), I'd say that most of the security measures in airports are to keep us, the customers - not terrorists, from blowing up the fucking plane. There has to be something between the obscenely expensive waste of flying first class and the slave ship mentality with which the rest of us are treated....

When Burma Shave went to Mars

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/07/21/how-burma-shave-sent.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+boingboing%2FiBag+%28Boing+Boing%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

As a little kid, I used to love seeing those signs...

The cutting edge of saunas

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/835821-church-rules-confessionals-cant-be-turned-into-saunas

Wuss America

http://www.ajc.com/news/parents-want-to-see-574735.html

Banning t-ball? For a 14 year old?!? You mean, 14 year old's are such wussies that they're still playing t-ball!?!? AND GETTING HURT?!?!?!? Jesus.....

My favorite extortion racket

"Would you believe an alleged extortion plot involving Mexican hit men hired by Wal-Mart, the Samoan mafia, an exotic dancer from Guam, her love child and a fearful farm family from Granite Falls, Minn.?"

http://www.startribune.com/local/98981464.html?elr=KArksD:aDyaEP:kD:aU1ccmiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aU7DYaGEP7vDEh7P:DiUs

nice listing of regional Goth resources

http://darklinksblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/best-of-dark-side-13-fantastic-regional.html

10 possibilities for your ashes

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/61518

Australia VS Gay Zombie Porn

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/gay-zombie-porn-gets-festival-flick-20100720-10jls.html

Thank goodness I live in a country where gay zombies can watch porn in peace and with dignity....

Don't ask, Don't te..te...tel....BRAAAAAIIIINNNNSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Google VS Mozilla

http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20100721/google-boosts-bug-bounty/

Fun stuff!

Roadkill Beer

http://eater.com/archives/2010/07/22/beer-in-a-squirrel-brewdog-unveils-strongest-most-expensive-beer-ever.php

Um, because nothing says "quality beer" like a dead squirrel?

Shoefiti

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/22/2960865.htm?section=justin

DIY

http://cbs13.com/local/penryn.bar.arrest.2.1817120.html

Ex Libris Art

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2009/11/extraordinary-world-of-ex-libris-art.html

Some of these examples are just beautiful!

a collection of unusual drinks....

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2010/07/worlds-strongest-drinks-strange-liquor.html

Happy Birthday to My Aim Is True!

One of my fave albums. Released on this date in '77.

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJKt-DhII_4

Happy Birthday to The Daily Show!

Premiered on this date in 1996.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/

Happy Birthday George Clinton!

http://parliamentfunkadelic.georgeclinton.com/

http://www.myspace.com/gclinton

Happy Spooners Day!

http://www.fun-with-words.com/spoon_explain.html

Only 100 Days Until Halloween!

Don Mclean performs American Pie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr-BYVeCv6U

American epic. Great song. I'm reasonably certain I've got every reference but one of the last - who are the Father, Son & Holy Ghost catching the last train to the coast? I loved the idea of it being the Guthrie's and Seeger, but Woody didn't go West. And I've always assumed that it was the West coast because Don was an Eastern folkie and there was a general migration to the West in the late 60's and early 70's. Don won't talk, it's maddening, and yes, I'm obsessed...

The Temps perform Get Ready

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mReSXE2HCA

Those guys were just so good!

Kevin Ayers performs May I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUS31_0ARqY

one of the prettiest and coolest songs of the early 70's I've lost track of Ayers, I wonder what happened to him?

The Tuff Darts perform Your Love Is Like Nuclear Waste

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVaNuvZRu8

Not the best recording, but a great song. I think 'HFS may have been the only raadio station in the country to play this, so its popularity seems limited to DC. Sad.

The Moodys perform The Story In Your Eyes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skCj7HzbH8A

Ah, if I remember correctly this was a hit around this time of year in '71. A wonderfully complicated Summer.

Evie Sands performs I Can't Let Go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_THiXwFp9X8

A great song and singer - both under-rated, I fear. Evie was so cool.

Cthulhu's ukelele

http://yfrog.com/nccthulkhelelefrontj

a film on Graham Parker...(maybe)

http://musicruinedmylife.blogspot.com/2010/07/dont-ask-me-questions-film-about-graham.html

Steampunk plague masks, etc.

http://pumpkinrot.blogspot.com/2010/07/plague-masks-steampunk.html

I desperately want that hat...

He did it! He missed the OCEAN!

http://www.blameitonthevoices.com/2010/07/guy-dives-into-ocean-misses-it.html

The end of dinosaur roadside attractions?

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/blog/when-dino-is-finito/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+roadsideamerica+%28RoadsideAmerica.com%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

I am happy to announce that Virginia's own Dinosaurland is alive and well! It and its lovely gift shop are highly recommended to all lovers of kitsch!

Headline of the day

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/835665-man-accused-of-sex-with-a-dog-called-christie-brinkley

Trying to kill your grandfather just got a whole lot more interesting...

http://io9.com/5591796/physicists-reveal-how-the-universe-guarantees-paradox+free-time-travel

Has anyone seen Annette Funicello?

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=732&sid=2008069

The Maryland Renfest is coming in a month...

http://www.rennfest.com/

Kiddie Records Weekly

http://www.kiddierecords.com/

A veritable goldmine for Boomers - a collection of children's records from our youth. Amazing stuff here.

(Thanks for the link, Mathew!)

Agribusiness

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100721/ts_nm/us_marijuana_california

Happy Birthday Kim Fowley!

http://www.kimfowley.net/

Happy Birthday Robin Williams!

http://www.robinwilliams.com/

http://www.robin-williams.net/index.php

Genius. Essential.

Happy National Hot Dog Day!

Yum!

http://nathansfamous.com/PageFetch/

The Beach Boys perform Do You Wanna Dance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anF1LrEsYDU

Classic!

Rachel Sweet's video for Hairspray

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-oMeAkVAn4

Rachel was a great singer, another in a long line of folks who should've been bigger stars.

Human League performs Seconds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3upbm-Q0qAI&feature=related

Great song.

The Blackbyrds perform Rock Creek Park

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrF4-DdqVqs

Another local classic.

vanvid for the Sonics performing Psycho A Go-Go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw6Fjo6VXTg

Fun video, (Go Go girls in cages are super cool....). The Sonics were one of the toughest sounding bands - ever. Light years ahead of their time.

The Slickee Boys' video for When I Go To The Beach

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tguZGd41fLA

DC faves.

fanvid for Lothar & The Hand People performing Machines

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

They came out of Denver, and were one of the very first groups to use a synth. Am I the only one who remembers them?

Avatar & Aliens - a comparison

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/aliens_avatar

(Thanks for the link, Audrey!)

The Japanese Tea Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKTtp-s3BHE&feature=player_embedded

Kinda strange, guys....

A Halloween Webcam

http://seasonofshadows.com/blog/halloween-webcam-running-tonight/

Neat! It's starting.... Have already received several mail order catalogs featuring Halloween decoartions and such. Very cool...

posting of a nice article on Vampira

http://drunkenseveredhead.blogspot.com/2010/07/vampira-article-resurrected.html

Conan The Barbarian - The Musical

http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/conan_the_barbarian_the_musical/

Ummm, okay....

Himmler and alchemy?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1296020/Nazis-tried-turn-sand-gold-Foolish-SS-chief-Himmler-set-secret-alchemy-unit-Dachau.html

I'd ahve to read the book and compare it to other reputable sources, but it is possible, or at least the basic story line is. Himmler believed in all sorts of mummery and was an easy mark if you knew how to phrase your cause to coincide with his notions of greatness.
I would caution, however, that there's now a whole cottage industry of writing books about "nazi occultism". A lot of it is pure rubbish. I am second to none in enjoying the Indiana Jones movies - but they aren't sources of serious information. Yet many books in this genre seem to have been authored by the script writers....

the cutting edge of skydiving

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10695037

evening things up

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/19/national/main6691662.shtml?tag=strip

Chinese quality in the news!

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gXtLbD8ZFnCp6svynT3UsX4GWdtwD9H2LFM00

The Wide World of Sports

http://www.themorningstarr.co.uk/2010/07/19/world-snail-racing-championships-2010/

collection of early Jim Hensen commercials for Wilkins coffee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ky7g1lgTwc&feature=player_embedded

Headline of the day

http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/rooster-games-chinese-cock-soccer-has-peta-crying-fowl/19556368

The mailman smiles....

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3060907/Black-parents-give-birth-to-white-baby.html

the death ray?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10682693

Anniversary of the release of Do Anything You Wanna Do

By Eddie & The Hot Rods. One of my all-time favorite songs by one of my favorite groups, (totally unknown in the States, of course). Helped get me through 1977...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weQ4oNk7Pqc

http://www.eddieandthehotrods.com/

http://www.myspace.com/eddieandthehotrods

Happy Birthday John Lodge!

http://www.johnlodge.com/

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lodge_(musician)

Happy Birthday Carlos Santana!

http://www.santana.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JryQXilMj4

Happy Moon Day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMINSD7MmT4

http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/places/nw01/index.shtml

Amazing. Simply amazing. One of those events that you remember where you were when it occured.

Happy Birthday Diana Rigg!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001671/

http://www.dianarigg.net/

http://www.dianarigg.org/

Happy National Fortune Cookie Day!

Yum!

cool-looking pumpkin lights

http://pumpkinrot.blogspot.com/2010/06/pumpkin-lighting.html

DEAFULA! In Transylvania, No One Can hear You Scream, Really

http://www.agonybooth.com/recaps/Deafula.aspx

http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/deafula/

I've gotta see this!

a little computer/zombie humor

http://www.blameitonthevoices.com/2010/06/mac-vs-pc-vs-zombie.html

The Great Wall of Chia

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/automotive/sns-ap-us-odd-green-sound-wall,0,2295410.story

(I stole the title from FARK...)

Nothings say "Funny" like an Amish DWI

http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=79645&catid=37#comments

A documentary on D&D....

http://blogcritics.org/video/article/dvd-review-the-dungeon-masters/

Sigh, this isn't going to go well.....

the cutting edge of tax collecting techniques

http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/pakistan-hires-transgender-workers-to-shame-tax-delinquents/?src=twt&twt=nytimesatwar

Dolls that will creep you out....

http://www.buzzfeed.com/melismashable/dolls-that-will-keep-you-up-at-night

the ultimate champagne?

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/divers-find-200-year-old-champagne-in-shipwreck/19558308

Conan The Bacterium

http://www.discoveryon.info/2010/07/conan-bacterium-could-have-been-origin.html

I find this pretty interesting as there was some speculation decades ago like this, which was pretty much discounted at the time. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe the idea was called panspermia.

new analysis of "junk" dna

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100716125835.htm

The DC Eathquake - a photo of the devastation!

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Photo-Devastation-from-this-mornings-DC-earthquake-98616809.html

Not for the faint of heart....

the mug shot...

http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/cops-man-with-horns-tries-to-run-over-landlord-in-minivan/19556458

the cutting edge of divine stock trading

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/hindu-gods-cant-trade-in-shares-court/story-e6frf7ko-1225893318557

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!

http://danwei.tv/2010/07/a-blue-collar-beer-goes-upmarket/

300 yuan is about $44 - for a PBR!!!!!

(Of course, in all fairness, I suspect the opposite is true and that we pay outrageous prices for some "exotic" foods that the natives would find outrageous. And let us not forget the Great Coors Myth of the early 70's (when it was unavailable East of the Mississippi) - where thristy Easterners would go to outrageous lengths to acquire what, in the final analysis, is little more than near-beer....).

(Thanks for the link, Ed!)

a listing of dark/goth games

http://darklinksblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/best-of-dark-side-13-gruesome-goth.html

I'd add the old rpg, Witch Hunt, (now out of print)

Happy National Ice Cream Day!

Yum!

Shane performs A Pair Of Brown Eyes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjzLz0kmhLM&feature=related

Ah, what a song, one of the best ever written. Drenched in sadness and truth. See yat tomorrow...

The Velvet Monkeys perform Everything Is Right

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdQz3ESsvMk

Wonderful band, and another of those performers that I think you had to work in a record store to have ever heard of.

The Stones video for Undercover Of The Night

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO5d13S1hcw

Wonderful video!

video for the Fun Boy 3 performing Our Lips Are Sealed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqQT3oKA3v8

Classic British new wave...

fanvid for Bullett performing White Lies, Blue Eyes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y91lN7wkEmg

Always enjoyed this song. Reminds of that Winter of 71-72. Playing Diplomacy, drinking cheap wine in excess, pondering the I Ching and reading B. H. Liddell Hart's treatises on strategy. It was that kind of time...

Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes perform Talk To Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAEwxkdm6QM

Fun stuff, great band.

My new favorite product from Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000796XXM?ie=UTF8&tag=ubersite&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000796XXM

The customer comments/ratings are worth the price of admission...

(Thanks for the link, Mathew!)

Crack Down On Mooning...

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/834791-california-train-mooning-event-is-great-crack-for-participants

Justifiable Patricide

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/833843-star-wars-obsessed-teacher-names-daughters-princess-leia-and-skywalker

Mercy, and the cucumber

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/833747-penis-cucumber-saved-from-the-chop

At least three very obscene jokes/thoughts are going through my brain right now...

A rose by any other name...

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/832069-man-changes-his-name-to-bagheera-anthony-dairy-lea-dunkable

ARRRRR Matey!

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/831979-pirates-aim-to-break-mass-pirate-world-record

A REAL Teabagger....

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/831924-ive-plotted-my-life-with-32-000-teabags-says-patti-gaal-holmes

Abby Normal

http://www.unexplainable.net/Info-Theories/Shipping-Crate-Contained-Over-40-Human-Heads.shtml

Gollum on The Planet of the Apes!

http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/06/29/andy-serkis-rise-of-the-apes/

Romance

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpps/news/weird/woman,-108,-reunites-with-38-year-old-husband-dpgonc-km-20100717_8709532

I've always liked Gurkhas

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1295617/Gurkha-ordered-UK-beheading-dead-Taliban-fighter.html

I like 'em even more, now....

Sharktopus!

http://www.blameitonthevoices.com/2010/07/sharktopus.html

Tee hee!

For Purple Mountain Majesties!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/17/AR2010071702351.html

Yea, you can keep you Alps, your Himalayas, your Rockies. Small stuff. Bo-Ring! Hold on tight to your pitons, boys, cause NoVa's got you all beat. Behold, the wonder and the grace of Mt. Trashmore! Rearing itself defiantly against the sky in a scene of grandeur none this side of heaven have beheld.
I, for one, am tired of the braggarts from places like Aspen and Jackson braying about their geological carbuncles. Hey, rich kids - do your mountains emit flaming methane? Huh? Well, do they? Now THAT'S A MOUNTAIN! Come and smell our pride!
As for me, I'm getting the ol' skis waxed in anticipation for Winter. I'm hoping to construct a chalet there soon, as well as my newest venture: The Claudine Longet Memorial Pistol Range. See ya on the slopes!

Beats working....

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/learning/harvard-profs-giving-up-final.html?hpid=sec-education

I'd be curious how many other groups of employees can vote to do less work and give themselves more vacation time...

a nice article on Jim Croce

http://refriedvinyl.blogspot.com/2010/07/you-dont-mess-around-with-jim-by-jim.html

Happy National Caviar Day!

Yum!

Happy Birthday Hunter Thompson!

http://www.gonzo.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_S._Thompson

One of my faves.

Happy Birthday Dion DiMucci!

http://www.diondimucci.com/

Happy Birthday Martha Reeves!

http://www.missmarthareeves.com/

One of Motown's Greats.

Happy National Sundae Sunday!

Yum!

Happy Wrong Way Corrigan Day!

http://www.historynet.com/the-adventures-of-wrong-way-corrigan.htm

Almost forgotten now...

Happy Birthday Vince Guaraldi!

http://www.vinceguaraldi.com/

Brilliant! One of my faves.

Happy Birthday James Cagney!

One of my faves.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000010/

http://themave.com/Cagney/

Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul perform Out Of The Darkness

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

Great band and song.

Chubby Checker performs Limbo Rock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKu0ZFZ7rp0

One of the first 45's I ever owned. Limbo was a minor craze amongst us kids. Does anybody still do this?

Rory Gallagher performs Bullfrog Blues

I've written before how this song reminds me of driving around NoVa with my friend, (and future brother in law), Rick. This 8-track would inevitably get played. Great song, and good times - if I could only remember them....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V-C3JT01Ck

Chicory Tip covers Son Of My Father

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXbrS3Msgww&feature=related

Kinda obsucre in the States. The original was by famed techno-disco wizard, Giorgio Moroder.

The Stories perform Brother Louie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH2uVsmBUd8&feature=related

Ah yes, a very hot September of '73. If I remember correctly, the Stories evolved out of the Left Banke (!).

Mr. Loaf performs Paradise By The Dashboard Light

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN_YjM4V4fc

A great song, (written by Jim Steinman), and perhaps the best rock'n'roll video of all time. That's the super lovely Karla Devito in the video, (while it was the super lovely Ellen Foley who sang the album version). I just love this thing.

the Rubinoos perform Rock & Roll Is Dead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8KIwY0PnZM

Power pop gods. I loved these guys.

Blues Image performs Ride Captain Ride

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVjN3t8cj74

Fun song. You get ten points if you know what it's about....

Butch takes Etta for a ride

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2OdPDEG6aQ&feature=related

One of the most charming scenes in film history.

interesting article on cryonics

http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb03/ivk/mjr/pdfs/2010/articles/krueger_2010.pdf

Of course, the town of Nederland Colorado is way ahead of the pack:
http://www.frozendeadguy.com/

I despise wimpy vampires

http://www.takebackthetwilight.com/howto.html

new Lovecraftian collection - Black Wings

http://www.innsmouthhouse.com/product_info.php?products_id=170

acoustic fabric

http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20100613002055data_trunc_sys.shtml

Pretty neat!

Pointless Sites

http://www.pointlesssites.com/

The RIAA business plan

http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/2010/07/ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-riaa-paid-its-lawyers.html

Tee hee!

nice article on Chaney's Phantom of the Opera

http://greenbriarpictureshows.blogspot.com/2010/06/still-most-phan-tastic-of-phantoms-how.html

nice article on Van Morrison and Them

http://www.garagehangover.com/?q=Them

Neat Crop Circle!

http://forteanzoology.blogspot.com/2010/07/matt-williams-sent-this-with-caption.html

Junior Walker & The All Stars perform What Does It Take

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

One of my fave songs for a hot Summer day....

The pups at the post, history, and stalin

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/15/AR2010071504174.html

I am always amused when the poorly educated waifs at the post start writing about anything older than Madonna's career. So, here we go kids:
Yes, Stalin was a very evil violent and demented man. Yes, leninism sucks, big time. Both are drenched in unforgivable atrocities.
But here's something else, WWII was big and messy. We like to believe all the John Wayne movies and make it in the purest strokes of black and white, and the gods know hitler and the nazis tried their best to play the bad guys. But even there, even then, serious students must view the many nuances and compromises that any war and any geopolitical situation dictates. I will try to be brief, as what I am touching on could easily create a doctoral dissertation, (and probably already has): wars are fought for reasons, they are self centered. We may agree with some or all of those reasons, we may even consider them noble, but one should never lose touch with the fact that they are self centered. And one bit of calculation that goes into warfare is how to win - that's the Big One, and that becomes the end-all reason. Well, we wouldn't have won without the Soviets. Period. Depending upon the time period, the Western Allies never faced more than 25% of the German war machine. The rest were on the Eastern Front, and I've read estimates that at some times that percentage rose close to 90%. Imagine D-Day facing a few extra squadrons of air fighters and dozens of extra divisions of combat, (not static) troops. Imagine the success chances of the Salerno and Anzio landings and defense perimeters under similar circumstances*. Disasters would have loomed. (*Actually, the circumstances wouldn't have even arisen, the extra air and ground units would have led to a successful German invasion of Malta, the massacre of British forces in Egypt and the conquest of the entire Middle East). More darkness.
I could go on with a lot more in this vein. A lot.
On a parallel note, I'd like to address the old Western propaganda about stalin allying with hitler. This is considered gospel these days, and it is a fact, but the story behind it is quite interesting. If you look at the records, you'll see that Britain feared the Russians more than anyone else up to and even somewhat after 1939. they simply couldn't bring themselves to hate fascism as much, especially since they saw it as a bulwark against the communists they so feared. I don't necessarily disagree or debate the wisdom of this, it's just the way things were. The Communists knew the dangers of fascism, (One can ascribe that to cynical motives. I don't mind. Once again, I am simply stating facts). They sought to oppose Hitler at every chance, proposing again and again alliances and cooperation with France and Britain over the Spanish Civil War, the Anschluss, and the several Czech crisis. Each time, the British rebuffed those attempts, (An interesting footnote - even Italy was against the Anschluss and was prepared to go to war over it, but Britain diffused the situation, fearing a stronger Italy over a stronger Germany! (I've still not figured out how Britain thought that an independent Austria somehow made Italy a threat to British interests...)). Britain was also an unofficial ally of the fascists in Spain, helping provide intelligence information to allow the Germans to bomb Russian convoys to the Republican side, (now that's a little factoid the allies always seem to ignore).
Stalin did the one thing any conscientious national leader would do when facing a Europe heading towards confrontation: he cut the best deal he could get. And after being rejected by Britain and France at least four times, (that I know of), he then went for what he could get from hitler. So, who is to blame? Well, there are no halos. And that's the point when it comes to geopolitics, there rarely are. We had to ally with the Soviets, and it's a damn good thing we did. And Stalin felt he had to ally with the Germans, because it was the best deal he could get at the time. Hell, look at the French - they allied with everybody! It's messy and makes for messy choices. But the Russians were in the war, they were on our side, they were an integral part of the victory, and they were led by stalin. Ignoring or pouting about that is as bad as ignoring the crimes and atrocities he and the Soviets committed, (and let's not forget the atrocities the other Allies were quite capable of committing, especially in their colonies). The pups at the post do ignore that, one of the many reasons I tend to ignore them.

The Masked Viper...

http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=146038&catid=186

This appears to be some sort of trend....

I cry myself to sleep each night....

http://consumerist.com/2010/07/bp-staff-deeply-affected-by-coffee-spill-parody-video.html

My favorite interview with an ibex

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TugslL45aXk&feature=player_embedded#!

heat ray gun being deployed?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/10646540

No vampires allowed

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/norfolk/teacher-anoints-students-with-holy-oil

Not my job....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7892067/Workmen-leave-gap-in-road-markings-after-finding-dead-badger.html

Dummies in the Smithsonian

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/crash-test-dummies-vince-and-larry-land-in-smithsonian-national-museum-of-american-history/19555937

The Return of the Airship

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/10611420

(Thanks for the link, Dennis!)

Liquid Armor

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10572072

Neat! I'd be curious about weight issues and manufacturing costs...

(Thanks for the link, Dennis!)

"Smart Metal" to the rescue?

http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/vibrant/release.cfm?articleID=2198

(Thanks for the link, Dennis!)

EARTHQUAKE!!!!!

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=2004187

It woke me up, briefly. Very loud and low rumble, I just assumed it was some construction going on nearby on the Beltway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20Feq_Nt3nM

Happy Birthday DC!

Established on this date in 1790.

http://www.dc.gov/

problems for the Reinhard Heydrich Daycare Center

http://www.nbcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_kansas/daycare-operator-admits-hitting-child-with-horse-riding-crop

Perhaps 30 days in ze cooler vill make you behave.....

the friendly skies...

http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/spirit-airlines-ceo-defends-luggage-fees-tells-congress/story?id=11162586

Zardoz - an analysis

http://i-mockery.com/minimocks/zardoz/

Fun stuff! A truly wacky movie.

Fuji Minx performs The Music Made Me Do It

http://vimeo.com/12772208

Wonderful! My ol' penpal, Infidel753 introduced me to this song/video on his (highly recommended) blog, and I absolutely adore it.

If you like squirrels...

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

an elephant and her lizard

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/7889675/Elephant-takes-lizard-for-ride.html

Strange....

The cutting edge of traffic control

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/pyramid-power-used-to-stop-road-accidents/story-e6frf7jx-1225891303955

Map of Springsteen's New Jersey

http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/awesome_of_the_day/2010/07/bruce-springsteen-inspired-map-of-new-jersey.html

Cute...

Happy Birthday Ian Curtis!

http://joydivision.homestead.com/

http://www.joydiv.org/iancurtis.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzTw4PYfROU

Genius. Essential. One of my faves.

Happy Birthday Roky Erickson!

http://www.rokyerickson.net/

http://www.rokyerickson.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfcHgk10rbg

Genius. Essential.

Visualizing mel gibson's rants

http://gawker.com/5585971/mel-gibsons-rants-visualized

Delicious!

(Thanks for the link, Mathew!)

The Dukes of Stratosphear's video for What In The World

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEbkGEbU4l0

Love it...

The Pretenders' video for Back On The Chain Gang

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK3uf5V0pDA

What a great band and sound. I love the line, "like a pigeon from hell" - Chrissie got that from a short horror story by Robert E. Howard, (creator of Conan the Barbarian...).

Buddy Holly performs Peggy Sue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku5UeUT7yIQ

Wonderful!

Today's Metro atrocity

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=2002648

Faith & Begorrah! Leprechauns in Boulder!

http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978343095

First, it was a vampire in Fruita. And now this. Colorado is getting interesting....

Baby Cthulhu!

http://community.livejournal.com/geekcrafts/26891.html

Happy Birthday Woody!

http://www.woodyguthrie.org/

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wwghtml/wwghome.html

Happy National Grand Marnier Day!

Yum!

http://www.grand-marnier.com/dispatch.php

fanvid for the Doors/Creed performing Riders On The Storm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BvbwK84I40

Interesting cover/mix of the song. It's been an uncomfortably hot day here in NoVa, and now it's thundering and raining like a mutha. The lights are flickering almost in time to the music. A hellish night. A night for danger. Anger. And death. Oh, and bourbon.
See ya tomorrow....

fanvid for Liz Phair performing Hot White Cum

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpx_VXRG_qc&feature=PlayList&p=DE65380142CBBC73&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=46

Liz, and this song, are sooo cool!

The Righteous Brothers perform You've Lost That Loving Feeling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhs3Rj71gpo

Classic, Immortal...

BTO performs You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7miRCLeFSJo

Silly but fun, like a lot of '74....

Crue performs Don't Go Away Mad (just Go Away)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CC9UxLyCDM

Another fun tune....

Steppenwolf performs Born To Be Wild

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UWRypqz5-o

Ah, '68 was so cool. How many cycles did this tune sell? Harley owes Kaye a small fortune....

Bruce performs Candy's Room

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oTFJhhWW8g

'78 was a weird year. A time of great happiness and sadness. Failure and excitement. Despair and hope. As usual, Bruce captured it pretty well....

Paul and Wings performs Junior's Farm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEil2e_bUvg

Fun stuff! I believe this is the only Top 40 song to call for killing Nixon...

Happy Birthday Roger McGuinn!

http://www.ibiblio.org/jimmy/mcguinn/

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAejkh4rTjs

The cutting edge of beer bottle opening

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/sergeant-meant-no-offence-by-pierced-penis-party-trick-20100713-109iz.html

Remind me to never accept a drink from this man....

today's Metro atrocity

http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/broken-metro-escalators-cause-riders-to-climb-steps-071210

I haven't posted one in a while. Oh, not because there aren't any - there are plenty, about one a day. I just got tired of the corruption, incompetence, malfeasance, and criminality that is par for the course with Metro.

Lovecraft VS Jello!

http://community.livejournal.com/vintage_ads/2084064.html

Bwahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you a boy or a girl - a writing experiment.

http://bookblog.net/gender/genie.php

Hmmm, strange. I wrote a flowery little domestic passage and it came out by being diagnosed as pretty much feminine. Fair enough. That's what I was trying for. I then wrote a short over-the-top blood and scream-choked battle scene full of gore and hatred - and it was analyzed as being even more fem! I have a sneaky feeling that my writing's sex is being judged less than the inventors' take on women...

Homemade nuclear reactor?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/us_and_canada/10385853.stm

reprint of an article featuring Ed "Big Daddy" Roth!

http://magiccarpetburn.blogspot.com/2010/06/show-time-67-annual-ed-big-daddy-roth.html

Neat-O!

Japanese sci-fi illustrations

http://pinktentacle.com/2010/06/sci-fi-illustrations-by-shigeru-komatsuzaki/

Some of these are advertising Gerry Anderson shows.

neat train pictures

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2010/07/trains-and-railways-extravaganza-part-2.html

RIP Tuli Kupferberg

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-tuli-kupferberg-20100713,0,2767548.story

Happy Birthday Cheech Marin!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001507/

http://www.cheechmarinonline.com/

Happy Birthday Patrick Stewart!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001772/

http://www.patrickstewart.org/

Happy National Beans & Franks Day!

Yum!

Happy National French Fries Day!

Double Yum!

I think my watch stopped...

http://www.drbrucegoldberg.com/TimeTravelers2.htm

Of course, this article is all wrong. Irwin Allen discovered Time Travel around '65...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP2TEdOAldQ

The Wide World of Sports

http://www.themorningstarr.co.uk/2010/07/10/wisconsin-cricket-spitting-contest/

Ah, the thrill of competition!

Isn't this how Planet of the Apes got started?

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=177769

I am feverishly preparing for this onslaught and am honing my feces throwing skills. Roddy McDowall will never take me alive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKdSXfPl8vY

nazi Mickey?

http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100710-28421.html

I find this of interest because of the (rather strong) rumors that Uncle Walt was pro-nazi....

Out of the frying pan and into the fire...

http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/Third-degree-burns-stitches-for-South-Bend-brothers-in-law-fighting-over-frying-pan-98166144.html

RIP Harvey Pekar

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/12/harvey-pekar-who-chronicled-ordinary-lives-in-american-splendor-comics-dies/?src=me

(Thanks for the link, Erik!)

Frenchmen flying for the Soviets in WWII

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/air-force-obituaries/7882182/Marquis-de-Saint-Phalle.html

Interesting story. I was not aware of an organized French unit in the Russian air forces. I am still curious as to how/why the good Marquis de Saint Phalle got from Britian to the USSR; particularly since Britain needed as many pilots as it could get.

C.H.A.R.M.

http://www.charm.kcl.ac.uk/index.html

This looks like a wonderful source for recording history, (particularly British, and particularly classical).

(Thanks for the link, Erik!)

Happy Birthday Christine McVie!

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tcVGGpX9_0

Happy Birthday Bucky Fuller!

http://www.bfi.org/

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

Happy Birthday Bill Cosby!

http://www.billcosby.com/

Death of a charming rogue

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/10/AR2010071002851.html

(Thanks for the link, Edmund!)

Count gore's 12th Anniversary on the Web!

http://countgore.com/gore/index.html

Very cool! Congrats!

Happy Birthday Bonnie Pointer!

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcTVe1CIQCA

Happy Birthday Robert Bruce!

http://www.britannia.com/bios/robertbruce.html

The vuvuzela fatwa

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100709/NATIONAL/707089834/1001

Headline of the day

http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_15478153

I love parties like that!

Taking out the trash....

http://www.kvia.com/news/24197119/detail.html

The cutting edge of gay bath house sword & sorcery marketing

http://community.livejournal.com/vintage_ads/2078424.html

For fans of all things Zombie...

http://www.zombiephiles.com/

Happy Birthday Arlo!

http://www.arlo.net/

http://www.myspace.com/arloguthriefamily

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsnUu71Viyo&feature=related

Happy Birthday Nikola Tesla!

http://www.teslasociety.com/biography.htm

Superheroes....

http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/ordinary-people-let-inner-superheroes-shine-with-superpowers-of-their-choice/19544385

We live in strange times. Strange, and incredibly nerdy....

Neat kitchen appliances

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2010/07/kitchen-appliances-that-bite.html

Dogfish 120 IPA on the way!

http://www.dogfish.com/community/blogfish/members/sam/120-minute-ipa-update-for-ya.htm

Yum!

Great moments in paleontological naming

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38156772/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Beer is the solution to so many scientific quandries....

(Thanks for the link, Mathew!)

Rock Around The Clock reaches #1!

On this date in 1955...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5fsqYctXgM

Happy Birthday Lee Hazelwood!

http://www.somevelvetmorning.net/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb-SVPJM4L4

Strange genius. A very interesting combination of rock, country and lounge - with something more. I need to study Lee more.

Happy Birthday Richard Roundtree!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0745780/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-8w4GR4UiY

So cool...

Alert John Cameron Swayze!

http://rt.com/Top_News/2008-12-16/Anachronous_discovery:_Swiss_watch_in_ancient_tomb.html

The deep and loving relationship between a boy and his mother...

http://www.denverpost.com/watercooler/ci_15459588

Another Summer in DC....

This week has been something, no doubt about it. As one of my friends put it: Going outside is like walking into a dog's mouth. There is a smoggy haze aound here that makes it look like some sort of nuclear Winter is setting in.
Still, the birds seem to like it and we have quite a few goldfinches and hummingbirds flocking around the Manor. But it's shaping up to be another muggy, ugly Summer.

Finally, a robot for the rest of us

http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/10/07/07/2230255/Willow-Garage-Robot-Fetches-Beer-Engineers-Rejoice?art_pos=1

Pretty neat, but it seems a little slow. After all, we are talking about an emergency situation, here....

Nuclear blasts - a graphic representation

http://www.ctbto.org/specials/1945-1998-by-isao-hashimoto/

This is a pretty interesting presentation.

Solar plane record flight

http://www.life.com/image/102700639/in-gallery/45901/solar-impulse-the-endless-flight

Cool!

Frisco's war against hamsters....

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/08/MN9L1EAT90.DTL

The wussification of America continues at full throttle....

a nice article on the arrogance, cluelessness and collapse of newspapers

http://www.coloradopols.com/diary/12885/colorado-pols-responds-to-newspaper-legal-threats

One can see this occuring with the Post as well. It's amusing to see how irrelevant they've become, and how they thrash about arrogantly trying to bully and bluster their way back to profitability and prestige. Like a dinosaur lumbering and bellowing about on the last pathetic days before extinction....

Lion-Bone "Wine"?!?

http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2010/07/lion-bone-wine-threatens-big-cats.html

Somehow, I don't think Bordeaux should feel threatened...

Damnation Inc.

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202463198055

Louisiana competes with Virginia for smallest penis status

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/07/bobby-jindal-signs-guns-i_n_638047.html

It gets scary. Previously, I've only had to worry about bursting into flames or being struck by lightning upon entering a church, now I can be shot, too....

A company that will never open a branch in Israel...

http://www.gassers.com/

(Thanks to Infidel753 for the link!)

Happy Birthday Marty Feldman!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001204/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlUdrJ6RPeA

Tots & Crafts

http://totsandcrafts.cheezburger.com/

Very cute!

(Thanks for the link, Audrey!)

Headline of the day

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1292740/Saved-inflatable-dolphin-Trainer-lucky-escape-slipping-playing-Bengal-white-tiger.html

I can't improve on this...

The cutting edge of "Twilight" marketing

http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet/2010/07/02/the_real_twilight_dildo_inventor/index.html

Just a reward for a job well done!

http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/07/06/Canadian-firefighters-drink-rescued-beer/UPI-23671278442889/

A little something for the Ladies...

http://community.livejournal.com/vintage_ads/2074401.html

An entirely appropriate way to honor Barnum

http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/on-pt-barnums-200th-birthday-the-spirit-of-the-ringling-bros-circus-showman-speaks/19542684

Tee Hee!

I keep telling you guys - DC is a Tough Town....

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6663KP20100707?feedType=nl&feedName=usoddlyenough

Great Moments In Corporate Naming

http://hookercockram.com/

http://www.eatliver.com/i.php?n=5945

Happy Birthday to Alton Brown's Good Eats!

Premiered on this date in 1999.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/good-eats/index.html

Happy Birthday Ringo!

http://www.ringostarr.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUbntU2N7xY

Happy National Strawberry Sundae Day!

Yum!

Pop Tart Science!

http://www.pmichaud.com/toast/

Apple Record Reissues

http://www.applerecords.com/

The Badfinge albums are essential for any power pop library.

Happy Birthday A Hard Day's Night!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058182/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Hard_Day's_Night_(film)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0eJEX5c1sM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuMEp8SDbf8&feature=related

Premiered on this date in '64. I love everything about this film. Absolutely, Radiantly Essential.

Happy Birthday Jefferson Airplane!

Formed on this date in '65.

http://www.jeffersonairplane.com/

http://www.myspace.com/jeffersonairplane

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1cfTMdjkYM

Happy Birthday Bill Haley!

http://www.billhaley.co.uk/

http://rockhall.com/inductees/bill-haley/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN8yHdyLd9I

Happy National Fried Chicken Day!

Yum!

B-52's!

Their first album, The B-52's, was released on this date in '79. Fun stuff!

http://theb52s.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_B-52%27s_(album)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EPP3gkh_00

Happy Birthday Jennifer Saunders!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0766837/

http://www.jsaunders.alexicon.org/

Happy Birthday Pat Paulsen!

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

Happy Birthday Daniel Morgan!

http://americanrevwar.homestead.com/files/morgan.htm

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

Probably my favorite purely military leader of the American Revolution. One of the finest soldiers we've ever produced. Kicked the shit out of that atrocity committing coward, Tarleton.

Happy Birthday Captain John Paul Jones!

http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/jones_jp.htm

A great patriot.

Lennon reissues and box sets on the way!

http://thebeatles.com/#/news/John_Lennon_Gimme_Some_Truth

Happy Birthday Earth VS The Flying Saucers!

Actually, the date is something of a guess. I know it premiered in July of 1956, but can't find an exact date. Regardless, I love this movie, great special effects by Roy Harryhausen. DC gets trashed.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049169/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_vs._the_Flying_Saucers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o4fdX8gUMY

Happy Birthday Bill Waterson!

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

Genius.

Off to a cookout...

See ya tomorrow....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZVT5ACenJI&feature=related

The Beach Boys perform California Girls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZDlnU5zwwE

You know you've gotta have a Beach Boys song on the 4th of July. This tune probably has one of the prettiest and most memorable introductions in the history of pop music.

The Standells perform Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C3WVzPy4cw

Classic mid-60's garage rock.

Aretha performs Respect

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

Perfection. Sigh....

ZZ Top performs Gimme All Your Lovin'

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

Great song...

Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper's video for Elvis Is Everywhere

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_hkIN38qnY&feature=PlayList&p=AB38501F76A4AA62&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1

An American Original.

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts perform Bad Reputation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8V5rxQyAXY

Dylan's video for Subterranean Homesick Blues

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6392396693800156397#

Classic....

fanvid for Santana performing Everything Is Coming Our Way

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVLr0bLYiIs

Not a big hit, but probably my fave song by them.

John Fogerty performs Up Around The Bend

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zI3M9S_rdU&feature=related

The Toys perform Lover's Concerto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGDZc9bdUZM&feature=related

The MC5 perform Kick Out The Jams

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM6nasmkg7A

Motherfuckers!!!!!

Pure Prairie League performs Two LaneHighway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yUV9jBmy9A

One of my faves.

Grand Funk performs American Band

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMsIrKjSM6Y

Sly & the Family Stone perform Dance To The Music & Music Lover

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkP5roFukKY

Absolute bedrock to American pop culture. Pure Genius.

Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon performs Palisades Park

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYDSFKLu-TA

Ladies & Gentlemen, Please Rise For The National Anthem

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vae_AkLb4Q&feature=related

Well, it should be....

Martha & The Vandellas perform Dancing In The Street

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGpgkCE41x8

Classic Motown.

We Five perform You Were On My Mind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29uNvGHsRlc

Great performance.

Brian Setzer's video for The Knife Feels Like Justice

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

Always loved this song and the album it's off of.

The Ramones perform Do You Wanna Dance

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

So cool...

1912 - Women's Suffrage

http://community.livejournal.com/vintage_ads/2065931.html

"War In Florida Waters"

http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/war-in-florida-waters-exhibit-a-tribute-to-784323.html

An interesting footnote to WWII.

fanvid for X performing 4th Of July

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcHBaOiQ3J8

What a great band. And one of the most interesting ones. And this is probably my fave song by 'em. Great sound.

Happy Build A Scarecrow Day!

http://www.swycaffer.com/divpeg/July/scrow.html

Happy Birthday Rube Goldberg!

http://www.rubegoldberg.com/

Genius. Essential. An American Treasure, and still an influence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w

Happy Independence Day!

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=9330074

One of my fave holidays.

Meet the smallest penises in Virginia

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/02/AR2010070202929.html?hpid=newswell

The article doesn't mention if they left their pit bulls in their Hummers parked out front. But of course, I can fully understand the reason these John Wayne Juniors would feel afraid to visit the deadly free-fire zone that is Reston. You never know when some latte-crazed web developer is going to pull a Palm Pilot stylus on you. Yup, Reston a rough town. Why, I hear that sometimes the quiche tartlets served are so tough you need a knife to help cut them. Clearly, this is no land for wimps. Only real men with the glint of danger in their eyes and the comforting weight of an extra penis, er, I mean a pistol, on their hips can be prepared to face it. I bet they even smoke unfiltered Camels - be still my heart!

Real Men. Braving the dangers of Reston. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Unified Field Theory of Fantastic Fiction

http://www.blackcoatpress.com/crossovers.htm

Haven't read this yet. I see it as either being very amusing, or kind of irritating and forced.

Rockwell at the American Art Museum

http://www.americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/archive/2010/rockwell/

I know, he's not cool at all. Still sneered at by critics and intellectuals, (there's an attack in today's Post). But I've always loved his work.

39 years ago...

Jim Morrison passed away on this date back in '71. Still remember exactly where I was when the news came over the radio, riding around with my cousin Marshall and driving past the Star Drive-In of Montrose, Colorado. Hard to believe it's been that long ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbiPDSxFgd8

Beginning of the Dog Days...

http://wilstar.com/dogdays.htm

Happy Eat Beans Day!

Yum!

http://www.anasazibeans.com/

Mid-70's

Saturday. You'd start off in very early evening, kinda slow. Driving up 14th Street past the strip joints and the first shift of hookers to the Iguana Club for tea, folk music and Paul Simon imitations. Parking the car was an adventure because you never knew if it'd be there by the time you got out. After that, you'd move Southwest, mood, whim and instinct would direct you - maybe Foggy Bottom and the Red Lion or Tammany Hall (with all of the barflys from GWU, angling for free drinks for a smile); or Downtown to the Exchange, or the Aeroplane. And then, hours later, there'd be Gtown. Oh, there'd be the usual parking space roulette, (at which my friend Edmund was the Master at winning), but eventually you'd find a spot, and then it might be a stroll along the canal before a direct assault on Clyde's, or Mr. Henry's, Pall Mall's, or a half dozen drinking holes now forgotten. But my fave was Guncher's - zombies for $2 and antique arcade games that only a drunk could win.
Like the beginning, the end of the evening was preordained, at around 2AM it was to the much beloved and missed Cafe de Paris. Last Call and the finest food in town. French fries, (really potato wedges), marinated in Worcester sauce and wine; french onion soup so thick you could pave a roadbed with it, pastries whose memories alone can cause my heart to seize up, and a steak tartar* that I still have fevered dreams over. Amazing. There has never been a finer way to salute a full night of debauchery and excess.
At last, we'd head home. Poorer - but Richer. A few hours sleep and then back on the hunt - to Old Town to Maison de Crepes. Escargot crepes with triple sec on shaved ice, (NOT cubed), would give one the physical and spiritual strength to face another day.
With the exception of Clyde's, I'm pretty sure all of these places are gone. I've not even been in most of those neighborhoods for years, (Old Town excepted). Steak tartar is practically illegal. And the closest I've come to a zombie in decades was in watching some old horror movies, and triple sec, with or without shave ice, is a distant memory. Parking in Gtown is no longer chance - it's impossible. 14th Street is cleaned up. The streets roamed are only in my memory. A small slice of life buzzing between some greying synapses. Me and Peter Lorre....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM7LR46zrQU

*True story - I was down at William & Mary on my ill-fated academic career, and was telling some of the folks there about the fries and steak tartar. I got so inspired in the telling that I left, bagging the rest of that week's classes and drove the 150miles home to partake.
Well, I did way it was ill-fated...

fanvid for Reunion performing Life Is A Rock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16kh-AP4OCU

A cute video for a song I love.

THE Ultimate Fireworks Show!!!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128170775&ft=1&f=1001

I love this line: "this is the first occasion I've ever discovered where someone discovered something and immediately decided to blow it up."
All I can say is, they never hung around my neighborhood when I was a kid...

(Thanks for the link, Bill!)

Open house at the American Wartime Museum

http://thewartimemuseum.org/registration/2010openhouse.php

My understanding is that there'll be about 50 armored vehicles on display, some going back to WWI.

(Thanks for the link, Dennis!)

The "Barbeque" Debate

http://www.slate.com/id/2259419/?wpisrc=eDialog

Actually, we're generally talking about grilling - not barbeque. I am a total fan of Wicked Good lump charcoal, (not briquettes). I have to drive to Hollin Hall to buy 'em (a good 10-12 mile hike), and it's well worth it.

50 Childhood Fads

http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2010/07/02/the-50-bestworst-childhood-fads/

A pretty good list, although I'm too old to have caught most of 'em. I might add Ugle Stickers, trading cards (particularly Mars Attacks, The Beatles & The Outer Limits), Twister, MAD Magazine, firecrackers and cherry bombs, water pistols, Creepy Crawlers, walkie talkies, and GI Joe.

Fireworks Safety

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_nSQRSyPbA&feature=player_embedded

Pretty standard, actually....

Creepy child molesting as a marketing campaign

http://community.livejournal.com/vintage_ads/2054060.html

Let's see...

Seven year old tarted up to look like a 1972 hooker: Check

Packaging looks like a dildo: Check

Mention "sexier" just in case anyone misses the point: Check

We've got a winner!

The cutting edge of clothes washing

http://community.livejournal.com/vintage_ads/2054411.html

From now on I'm just going to drape my dirty clothes over the stereo speakers while I play the Ramones at top volume....

Your own personal 4th of July fireworks display

http://www.crayola.com/gamesFun/games/console.cfm?game=fireworks&Yes=true

It's tough being a super hero...

http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/la-superheroes-feel-powerless-in-battle-with-cops/19536136

The ghost of Jim Morrison....

http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/ghost-of-jim-morrison-of-the-doors-said-to-haunt-mexican-restaurant-in-los-angeles/19536348

Of course, this is going to come as something of a surprise to this dude:
http://www.thedoorsjimmorrison.com/

Robofish accepted by others, (and even leads!)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8772000/8772020.stm

There's a sci-fi movie in this....

Washington's Whiskey

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1994074

I confess to being a little confused by the recipe, as I thought that rye was primarily a grain for Nothern climes. I associate it much more with Canada and North Dakota than I do with NoVa. I'd of thought that local spirits would have been primarily or wholly corn-based.

The Message From Dieppe

http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/front/article/1117761

It was a horrendous failure, by all accounts. But, as the article states, a lot was learned that helped prepare the way for D-Day. And, if I may allowed to speculate a bit, I think it put the brakes on an invasion of France in '43, which many of the American and Russian high commands wanted and which I believe would have been a very dicey proposition, with the possibility of the defeat of the invasion force.

Happy Birthday Shaft!

Fun movie, one of my faves - with a superb soundtrack. Premiered on this date in 1971.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067741/

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1760887577/

Happy Birthday Professor Roy Bittan!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Professor-Roy-Bittan/54928399682

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

Happy Birthday Hermann Hesse!

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

http://www.hermann-hesse.de/eng/

Happy Birthday Paul Williams!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Williams_(The_Temptations)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoM6QTotf6k

Happy Birthday Plan 9 From Outer Space!

Premiered on this date in 1959. Move over Citizen Kane....

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052077/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHRq80QNnJM

Happy Birthday Airplane!

One of the funniest movies ever made. Premiered on this date in 1980.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080339/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaXvFT_UyI8

Abba performs SOS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9wWs-Khavo&feature=fvsr

I suppose it's expected that I rate this as a guilty pleasure, but the fact is that a lot of rock cognoscenti recognize Abba as a great band. Sort of bubblegum meets Phil Spector meets Eurock. At any rate, I like 'em.

Wanda Jackson performs Let's Have A Party

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGuPqPte52s

Ultra-Cool. Wanda is a national treasure. If not for Little Richard, SHE would be the Queen of Rock'N'Roll....

Steppenwolf performs Rock Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa6xquyj5X0&feature=related

Always liked this song, although it never was much of a hit.

Joe Walsh performs In The City

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNWUB0Ji8vA

My fave song by Joe.

Cthulhu Cult Infiltrates Phone Market

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9178763/Early_version_of_MeeGo_for_phones_released_to_developers?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2010-07-01

Oh sure, they deliberately try to throw you off the scent by misspelling it, but the Mi-Go are well know to all of us true-blue Cthulhoids. And now, I gotta go buy me a phone....

(Thanks for the link, Bill!)

Sigh...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/01/garden/01peter.html?_r=3&src=twr&pagewanted=all

And so it has come to this, you can sell rich Americans axes. People who will never use it. People who wouldn't know how to use it. Sigh...

I'll Drink to That

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-06-30-dry-counties_N.htm

more on the Iron Sky movie

http://tcgamesandmore.net/fan-funded-nazi-ufo-movie-has-raised-765-million/

Looks like it's going to get made. I confess I'm looking forward to this, having had to put up with all the conspiracy theories about nazi technology, this looks like a fun manipulation of that. I'll be curious how much historical (or pseudohistorical) detail they'll put in.

French collaborators to be outed!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/7861604/List-of-French-who-collaborated-with-Nazis-to-be-published-online.html

On the one hand, this has the potential to be a treasure trove for scholars studying the occupation and particularly the effectiveness of the gestapo, (I also hope it will provide further information about Interpol and drag it further down as little more than a pro-nazi instrument).
But, it's also going to be quite a bombshell for French history and society. I suspect virtually every family whose politics was right of center will be implicated, (much of the Resistance in France was socialist or communist, not plucky pro-Britishers as portrayed in our old war movies). This is going to be bloody...

Chuck Berry performs No Particular Place to Go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIY4OEAd6Yk&feature=related

I still think that Chuck is the real King of Rock'N'Roll.

The Temps perform Get Ready

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mReSXE2HCA

The Emperors of Soul...So Cool....

The Friends of Distinction perform Grazing In The Grass

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhUlP4wiAQo

Perfect pop/soul. If my memory serves me correctly, this was written by South African jazz lord, Hugh Masekela

Mungo Jerry performs In The Summertime

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl_zHOXvkeA&feature=fvst

A silly little tune, probably the only example of skiffle to really make it on the charts in the States. But it's a beautiful Summer day here at the Manor, and this reminds me of similiar times back in '70 - canoeing on the canal, picking up the latest issue of the Quicksilver Times in Gtown, picking up records at Giant Music...

Freda Payne performs Deeper & Deeper

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

Always liked Freda; she should've been bigger. I think the collapse of the whole HDH record company probably blew her chances. Sad.

Tracy Chapman's video for Fast Car

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl6yilkU1LI

I know that it got too much airplay at the time, but it really is a beautiful song.

Beck covers Yanni

http://pitchfork.com/news/39335-beck-thurston-tortoise-cover-yanni/

Very strange...

(Thanks for the link, Mathew!)

Lobster Dogs!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/anteater/lobster-dogs

Awww....

Interesting article on the "crisis" amongst Scottish stage magicians

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/features/Why-are-Scotland39s-magicians-in.6386508.jp

I tend to only really enjoy two types of stage magic - and from totally different perspectives. I love card tricks, and I never try to figure them out. I just want to sit back and be amazed. The simplicity of it I just find beautiful and pure.
But the other performance I really like is mentalism. And here I do pay laser-like attention to what is being done, and how. This is entertainment for those of us who play Poker or Diplomacy.

My Hometown - Corruption Central

http://www.einnews.com/pr-news/93464-hundreds-of-northern-virginia-residents-demand-a-gao-investigation-

Everything in the article is true, in fact it's a pretty conservative view of this monstrosity of a building that's being erected. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that people in the Government were bribed as to the placement, as it satisfies NONE of the usual and obvious questions when creating a brand new office area housing 10,000 people. I consider myself an expert on the road system in that area and it is already past capacity. The roads and traffic lights were designed decades ago for light suburban traffic and the resulting snarl creates a jam around the entire west end of Alexandria. The building itself is isolated from the Metro by miles, and it was PLANNED to only be able to handle 60% of the parking needs. There is literally no way many of the people who are to work there will be able to get to it, and the jam up will easily affect roads for a mile or more around, bringing them to a complete standstill. Someone got paid buckets of money to ignore all of that. The irony is that the guys who were bribed keep bleating about the fear of al queda bombing them. Osama is the least of their problems; it's the native Northern Virginians who want to destroy this boondoggle. This thing isn't just a waste of many millions of dollars, it's going to be a constant drag on the budgets of all the local jurisdictions. Pure corruption.

Weirdness

Saturday, July 31, 2010

a little Soul for a hot Summer day...

Friday, July 30, 2010

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Happy National Scotch Day!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Sunday, July 25, 2010

A collection of soul - blue eyed, soft and otherwise...

105 degrees yesterday...

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Friday, July 23, 2010

Happy National Vanilla Ice Cream Day!

Thursday, July 22, 2010