Weirdness: February 2015

RIP Leonard Nimoy

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/arts/television/leonard-nimoy-spock-of-star-trek-dies-at-83.html?_r=0
Another celebrity death that truly saddens me. Gene Roddenberry and Leonard Nimoy were able to create one of the major characters in American pop culture, (and most likely beyond that). I mean, think about it: there's Scrooge, Sherlock Holmes, and maybe a few others; but how many characters have that much staying power, presence, and influence?

Mordor Fire Pit!

http://makezine.com/2015/02/23/feel-the-fires-of-mordor-with-a-lord-of-the-rings-fire-pit/

This is so cool!

(Thanks for the link, Mathew!)

Happy Birthday Majel Barrett!

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Majel_Barrett-Roddenberry

Happy Birthday W.E.B. DuBois!

http://www.webdubois.org/

Happy National Chili Day!

http://www.hardtimes.com/

Happy Printed Book Day! (aka Guttenberg Day)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_the_Flag_on_Iwo_Jima
http://www.bookplate.biz/

http://www.overthemoonbookstore.com/

Today is Iwo Jima Day

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

Off for a week

Will be busy with work for about a week, so postings will be very light over the next few days....

Happy Birthdya Sheldon Leonard!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0502766/

Happy Birthday Dwight Frye!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0296859/

Happy Birthday Edward Gorey!

http://www.edwardgoreyhouse.org/

Happy Birthday Edna St. Vincent Millay!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edna_St._Vincent_Millay

Happy Birthday George Washington!

http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/georgewashington

http://www.mountvernon.org/

A hometown boy who made good.

Only 250 Days Until Halloween!

You Shall Not Pass!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIQXUgHm4c8

Happy Birthday Mary Chapin Carpenter!

http://www.marychapincarpenter.com/
One of my faves.

Natural Selection...

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/parents-trying-to-reverse-kids-autism-by-flushing-out-vaccines-with-bogus-miracle-bleach-enemas/

Headline of the Day

http://kfor.com/2012/06/29/tambourine-player-tased-during-church-service/

Of course, the Lemon Pipers were way ahead of the curve:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5Vz-z4PEkk

Happy National Cherry Pie Day!

Yum!

The most bizarre Kickstarter campaign

http://www.kfiam640.com/onair/gary-hoffmann-11314/the-creepiest-kickstarter-campaign-weve-ever-13271780/

I'm not sure that I see the market....

(Thanks for the link, Mike!)

The MST3000 episode of Manos is now online!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbzkn4Wce-A

Classic. Essential.

Night of the Frozen Dead

http://cheezburger.com/8448399360/epic-win-pics-snowman-graveyard-zombie?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+failblog+%28The+FAIL+Blog+-+Fail+Pictures+%26+Videos+at+Failblog.ORG%29

(Thanks for the link, Mathew!)

A lost Sherlock Holmes story is found!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11425042/Read-the-lost-Sherlock-Holmes-story-found-in-an-attic.html

Kim Jong's New Haircut!

http://www.vox.com/2015/2/19/8069897/kim-jong-un-has-an-amazing-new-haircut-we-have-many-many-questions

Murderous Dweeb...

(Thanks for the link, Ed!)

Happy Birthday Joel Hodgson!

http://joelhodgson.com/

Happ;y Hoodie-Hoo Day!

http://www.holidayinsights.com/other/hoo.htm

Happy Birthday Anthony Stewart Head!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0372117/

Happy Birthday Richard Matheson!

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

Happy Birthday Sidney Poitier!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001627/

Happy Birthday Frederick Douglass!

http://www.biography.com/people/frederick-douglass-9278324

Happy Birthday William Prescott!

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

A Patriot.

Happy World Day of Social Justice!

http://www.un.org/en/events/socialjusticeday/

Happy Pully Lug Day!

https://books.google.com/books?id=zthnTSrSBuwC&pg=PT148&lpg=PT148&dq=Pully+Lug+Day&source=bl&ots=GyGMMAPSKf&sig=xEc_Utqi1CWvsv7zzYG_YfDtf9k&hl=en&sa=X&ei=dczQVLdvyYI2ppWAwAY&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Pully%20Lug%20Day&f=false

I wonder if more than three people will read this

http://www.psmag.com/books-and-culture/killing-pigs-weed-maps-mostly-unread-world-academic-papers-76733

Medieval Apps

http://medievalbooks.nl/2015/01/16/medieval-apps/

Very cool.

Response from an Inventory Manager

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-inventory-manager-of-a-wholesale-sex-toy-manufacturer-responds-to-a-shipping-request

13th Floor Elevators Reunion!!!

http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/music/2015-02-12/13th-floor-elevators-to-reunite-at-levitation-festival/

The source of Joy Division's album cover for Unknown Pleasures

http://gizmodo.com/the-origin-of-joy-divisions-most-famous-album-cover-fi-1686589791

Neat-O!

(Thanks for the link, Mathew!)

Dogfish VS the suits at Budweiser

http://www.mensjournal.com/food-drink/drinks/dogfish-head-s-sam-calagione-squares-off-against-budweiser-20150218

Bravo! I absolutely despise Bud...

Let's get our delusions straight, shall we?

http://cheezburger.com/8446329856/funny-news-fail-conspiracy-barack-obama-correction?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+failblog+%28The+FAIL+Blog+-+Fail+Pictures+%26+Videos+at+Failblog.ORG%29

(Thanks for the link, Mathew!)

Happy Anniversary to The Bowman Body!

his weekly show began on this date in 1971.

http://www.bowmanbody.com/

Happy Birthday to the Phonograph!

Patented by Thomas Edison on this date in 1878.

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

Happy Birthday Smokey Robinson!

http://www.smokeyrobinson.com/

Happy Birthday Copernicus!

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

Beginning of month of Ventose in French revolutionary calendar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vent%C3%B4se

If Thine Eye Offends Thee..

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/michigan-republican-official-fatally-shoots-self-in-eye-while-adjusting-gun-in-her-bra-holster/

(Thanks for the link and title, Mathew!)

nazi chic in Asia

http://www.vice.com/read/nazis-chic-is-asias-offensive-fashion-craze-456

I continue to be bewildered by people having fun with an ideology that considered them subhuman. It is the ultimate idiocy. The article and interviewees' focus on the Holocaust just shows how shallow their understanding of nazi ideology is. The Thais, Javanese, Indians, etc. - none of them were considered for anything other than victimhood or slavery. The same goes for the many Slavs who've taken up nazism. Hitler wanted them enslaved and exterminated - it's all documented! The suicidal ignorance of these idiots is astounding.

The Unknowns

http://www.theunknownsmovie.com/

A documentary about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. Am looking forward to seeing this when it's completed. Arlington is one of the three top places that I always recommend to visitors to DC.

Happy Birthday Bobby Hart!

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

National Tickbird Day!

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

Happy Birthday Sonia Rutstein!

http://www.soniadisappearfear.com/

Happy Birthday Jack Palance!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001588/

Happy Drink Wine Day!

Yum!

http://www.lindenvineyards.com/

The cutting edge of coming out of the closet

https://medium.com/covilian-military-intelligence-group/the-soldier-who-hid-from-the-germans-in-a-womans-wardrobe-for-four-years-5263b1912689

A Unified Field Theory for The Simpsons?

http://observationdeck.io9.com/new-simpsons-fan-theory-is-intriguing-really-depressin-1686153252?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_facebook&utm_source=io9_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Seasalt & Co. - and the KKK school of advertising

http://wonkette.com/576367/deeply-stupid-small-business-seasalt-co-will-sue-you-for-bitching-bout-its-sweet-lynching-ad

Morons...

Happy Birthday John Sullivan!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sullivan_%28general%29

A Patriot.

RIP Lesley Gore

http://www.tmz.com/2015/02/16/lesley-gore-dead-its-my-party-dies-cancer/
I am seriously bummed. One of my faves.

I have a new fan crush

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHUajqrhF30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0aqPF7eR1Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWwYrqZWmW0

A film/TV show about Elric?

http://www.multiverse.org/fora/showthread.php?t=29430

A wonderful sword and sorcery series and character - faves of mine.

Ghost Dating Service

http://ghostsingles.com/

Because Love means never having to say you're Spooky.

Happy Nickana Night!

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

Happy Birthday Hairspray! (the original film)

Premiered on this date in 1988.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095270/

Happy Birthday Jerry Moore!

A local DC ghost host.

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

Happy Birthday Sonny Bono!

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

Happy Daisy Gatson Bates Day!

http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/daisy-gatson-bates-day

Happy Birthday Christopher Gadsden!

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

A Patriot.

Happy Presidents Day!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington%27s_Birthday

Wuss America

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/raising-children-on-fear/2015/02/13/9d9db67e-b2e7-11e4-827f-93f454140e2b_story.html?wpisrc=nl_wemost&wpmm=1
A nation of cops, nannies, snoops, bureaucrats, worrywarts, busybodies, and commissar wannabes. I am convinced that I and most of my contemporaries would never have made it past 3rd grade in today's wussified state. I would have been expelled from school, submitted to electro shock, massive drug injections, a lobotomy, and a regimen of behavior modification and manipulation that would boggle what would have been left of my mind. Both myself and my parents would be incarcerated for life, and a horde of state parasites would then crow how we and Western Civilization in general had been saved by their intervention.
I've always considered my childhood to have been rather privileged and protected. But compared to the way children are to be dealt with now, I was Conan the Barbarian. Sheesh!

Nice article about Joel Hodgson (of MST3000)

http://www.thewhitonline.com/mystery-science-theater-creator-joel-hodgson-teaches-students-the-art-of-movie-riffing/

Happy Birthday Harvey Korman!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0466327/

Happy Birthday Matt Groening!

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

Happy Birthday Susan B. Anthony!

http://susanbanthonyhouse.org/her-story/biography.php

RIP Sam Andrews

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6472909/sam-andrews-founding-guitarist-big-brother-and-the-holding-company-dead-73

Happy Birthday Ray Teller!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teller_%28magician%29

Happy Birthday Jack Benny!

http://www.jackbenny.org/
Genius. Essential. An American Treasure.

Happy Birthday Robert Shea!

http://bobshea.net/

Happy Birthday Emperor Norton!

http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/norton.html

Happy Valentine's Day!

RIP Gary Owens

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/gary-owens-announcer-of-laugh-in-fame-dies-at-80-1201433731/

Firesign Theatre - Eat Or Be Eaten

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxmPVKM_U9s

Lewis Black Live - Answering Questions Posed on The Internet

http://therantisdue.com/84039

Fun stuff!

A Map Of History

http://waitbutwhy.com/2015/02/delicious-visual-map-history.html

Very cool!

Happy Birthday to Black Sabbath! (the album)

Released on this date in 1970.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sabbath_%28album%29

Happy Birthday Susan Oliver!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0647010/

Happy Birthday Peter Gabriel!

http://petergabriel.com/latest/

Happy World Radio Day!

http://www.diamundialradio.org/?q=en

Lou Reed and Theosophy

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_occult_book_that_inspired_the_velvet_underground

The world just got a little stranger.

Retro Cthulhu Figure!

http://toybox.io9.com/an-exclusive-look-at-warpos-gloriously-retro-12-cthulh-1685233557

(Thanks for the link, Mathew!)

Great moments in medical history

http://entertainthis.usatoday.com/2015/02/11/family-feud-contestant-says-gerbil-is-something-a-doctor-pulls-out-of-a-person/

"Martians"

http://www.dailydot.com/geek/mars-one-volunteers-interview/

Sigh, since this was announced, I have believed that it is nothing more than a scam to get people to watch yet another so-called 'reality show'. Has anyone else besides me noticed that shows labelled as such never come close to resembling reality?

Saying Hi To Mom

http://wtop.com/maryland/2015/02/maryland-rep-andy-harris-steals-show-late-night-debate/slide/1/

Kind of cute!

Goth Baby Carriage

https://www.etsy.com/listing/213182681/custom-coffin-doll-carriage-or-tv-stand?ref=shop_home_active_1

So cool!

Happy Birthday to Dracula! (the film)

Premiered on this date in 1931.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021814/

Happy Birthday Ray Manzarek!

http://raymanzarek.com/

Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln!

http://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/abrahamlincoln

Happy Darwin Day!

http://darwinday.org/

Sponge Bob: Satanist Illuminati

http://cheezburger.com/8444134912
Some people are so fucking stupid....

(Thanks for the link, Mathew!)

An Honest Pint!

http://news.yahoo.com/deceptive-bars-beware-lawmaker-targets-cheater-pints-181631087.html

A pretty neat analysis of Aleister Crowley

http://disinfo.com/2015/02/aleister-crowley-total-hack-magickian-just-opinion/

DC Craft Beer Festival is coming in March!

http://www.handcraftedtasting.com/dccraftbeerfest#dccraftbeerfest-overview

McDracula!

http://www.romania-insider.com/scottish-designer-creates-tartan-inspired-by-romanian-flag/141850/

(Thanks for the link, Ed!)

The cutest little wombats that you're going to see all day

http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2015/02/we-had-no-idea-how-much-we-loved-baby-wombats-until-very-moment

Happy Cheney Day!

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

Anniversary of the Massachusetts Circular Letter of 1768

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Circular_Letter
Another factor leading to The Revolution.

Happy Birthday Leslie Nielsen!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000558/

Happy Birthday Sheryl Crow!

http://www.sherylcrow.com/

Happy Birthday Gene Vincent!

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

Happy Birthday Bobby "Boris" Pickett!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Pickett
The official Court Minstrel of Halloween!

Happy Birthday Benjamin Tallmadge!

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

A Patriot.

What if Disney's characters were in the real world?

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mallorymcinnis/disney-characters-in-the-real-world#.ek7OnAZQL

http://www.buzzfeed.com/lorynbrantz/humans-of-new-york-reimagined-with-disney-characters#.nrJz60X5m

(Thanks for the links, Mathew!)

Female Spies

http://io9.com/10-real-life-female-spies-who-deserve-their-own-movie-f-1684986990

I've always been very suspicious about the public story about Norwood. The British are not usually so tolerant, and are not above killing someone if a trial might prove inappropriate. There's something else to her story that we don't know.....