Weirdness: January 2016

Fireball over DC!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2016/01/30/fireball-sizzles-and-then-fizzles-over-the-d-c-area-saturday-evening/

The return of a squash

http://www.cfweradio.ca/on-air/blogs/dustin-mcgladrey-351668/entry/471/

Pretty neat!

(Thanks for the link, Margrete!)

A little something for the Ladies...

http://mashable.com/2016/01/13/taiwan-shoe-church/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial#RrW8s8Xm28qL

The marketing of ideologies is always interesting to me.

(Thanks for the link, Mathew!)

I'm rarely impressed by the claims made in AI circles, (I consider the braying about wins in Chess and Jeopardy to immature and silly). But this impresses me.

My Next Lair...

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/wicker-man-island-inspired-cult-1872290

A new TV series? H.G. Wells Time After Time

http://www.blastr.com/2016-1-29/abc-orders-pilot-hg-wells-time-travel-series-time-after-time

A nice interview with Joel Hodgson about the resurrection of MST3000

http://www.blastr.com/2016-1-29/back-satellite-love-joel-hodgson-talks-behind-scenes-journey-back-mystery-science-theater

RIP Jean Stapleton

http://www.people.com/people/mobile/article/0,,20705565,00.html

Happy Birthday Dick Martin!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0552189/

The Manitou Springs Fruitcake Toss occurs today!

http://www.visitcos.com/fruitcake-toss

Anniversry of the Beatles rooftop performance in 1969

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles%27_rooftop_concert

Happy Birthday Tapestry!

Released on this date in 1971.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapestry_(album)

Happy Birthday Steve Marriott!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Marriott

Happy Birthday Marty Balin!

http://martybalinmusic.com/

Happy Birthday Saul Alinsky!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Alinsky

Happy Calves Head Day!

http://www.thebookofdays.com/months/jan/30.htm

Happy National Croissant Day!

http://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-croissant-day-january-30/

Happy National Seed Swap Day!

http://seedswapday.blogspot.com/

Dare you play with...THE DEVIL'S TOY?!?

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_devils_toy_the_evils_of_skateboarding_exposed

This has just got to be a mockumentary....

RIP TJ Tindall

http://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?ID=6757

RIP Paul Kantner

http://www.sfgate.com/music/article/Jefferson-Airplane-s-Paul-Kantner-dies-at-74-6791483.php

Very saddening, another of my faves is gone.

Happy Birthday to The Raven!

First published on this date in 1845.

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/178713

Happy Birthday to The Muppet Show! (the TV show)

Premiered on this day in 1976. One of my faves.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Muppet_Show

Happy Birthday Andrew Loog Oldham!

https://rockhall.com/inductees/andrew-loog-oldham/bio/

Happy Birthday W.C. Fields!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001211/

Happy Birthday Light Horse Harry Lee!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Lee_III

Happy Birthday Harriet Tubman!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Tubman

Happy Birthday Thomas Paine!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine

One of the Essential Men of the Revolution.

Happy National Corn Chip Day!

http://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/2015/01/28/january-29-2015-national-corn-chip-day-national-puzzle-day/

Yum!

Happy Freethinkers Day!

https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/freethinkers-day/

Name the new planet Yuggoth!

https://www.change.org/p/gazetteer-of-planetary-nomenclature-name-the-newly-discovered-planet-9-yuggoth-after-the-planet-in-h-p-lovecraft-s-mythos

The latest tale about black eyed children

http://weekinweird.com/2016/01/28/witness-report-i-let-the-black-eyed-children-into-my-home-and-now-im-slowly-dying/

This is one of the more recent, and frightening, phenomena within Forteana and urban legends.

Happy Birthday Sarah McLachlan!

http://www.sarahmclachlan.com/home/

Happy Birthday Elijah Wood!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000704/

Happy National Kazoo Dy!

http://www.kazoos.com/

The return of the cassette?!?!?

http://consequenceofsound.net/2014/05/r-i-p-ipod-sony-unveils-cassette-tape-that-can-hold-64750000-songs/

Oh....my....gods.....

Ork Records

A fascinating article about one of the foundations of American punk rock.

http://www.npr.org/2016/01/27/464561029/new-release-by-numero-revisits-ork-records-complete-catalog?sc=17&f=13&utm_source=iosnewsapp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=app

(Thanks for the link, Erik!)

Remember kids: Porn Kills!

http://dailycaller.com/2016/01/26/pantsless-driver-dies-after-crashing-car-while-watching-porn/

(Thanks for the link, Dennis!)

Happy Birthday Thomas Crapper!

http://www.thomas-crapper.com/The-History-of-Thomas-Crapper.html

Happy Birthday Lewis Carroll!

http://www.lewiscarroll.org/

Today is the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

http://www.un.org/en/holocaustremembrance/

http://www.ushmm.org/

The Roadrunner - The Final Episode

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riY5ubYpFiQ

(Thanks for the link, Audrey!)

RIP Abe Vigoda

http://wtop.com/tv/2016/01/abe-vigoda-sunken-eyed-character-actor-dead-at-94/

The Voynich Manucript is available online!

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/download_pdfs_of_the_mysterious_voynich_manuscript_and_the_codex_seraphinia

An interesting article about the problems of manufacturing vinyl records

http://www.factmag.com/2015/05/07/pressed-to-the-edge-vinyl/

I remain very cynical about this so-called resurgence.

Happy Birthday Babylon 5!

Premiered on this date in 1994.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105946/

Happy Birthday Paul Newman!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000056/

Happy National Pistachio Day!

Yum!

http://www.americanpistachios.org/nutrition-and-health

Education is failing us

http://973thedawg.com/thieves-attempt-to-siphon-gas-from-a-bus-but-accidentally-suck-out-sewage/?trackback=fbshare_mobile_top

We've just got to get a better class of criminals.

Cthulhu Wallpaper!

http://io9.gizmodo.com/cover-your-rooms-in-cthulhu-damask-wallpaper-and-invite-1508610517

Why I Love Cheese

http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/foodanddrink/cheese-triggers-the-same-part-of-the-brain-as-hard-drugs-say-scientists-a3141936.html

I have a Stilton on my back!

Anniversary of the Battle of Mengo in 1892

One of my favorite battles, the first use of machine guns between white men, as Protestant and Catholic missionaires clashed over who'd get to baptize enslave Ugandans.

http://www.monitor.co.ug/SpecialReports/ugandaat50/-/1370466/1371198/-/ujn7gfz/-/index.html

Happy Birthday to The Blair Witch!

Premiered on this date in 1999.

http://www.blairwitch.com/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185937/

Happy Birthday to MASH! (the film)

Premiered on this date in 1970.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066026/

Happy Birthday Dick Tuck!

http://hoaxes.org/tuck.html

Happy Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day!

https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/bubble-wrap-appreciation-day/

Happy National Irish Coffee Day!

Yum!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_coffee

Happy Birthday Klaus Nomi!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Nomi

Happy Birthday Warren Zevon!

http://www.warrenzevon.com/

Happy Birthday John Belushi!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000004/

Happy Birthday Neil Diamond!

http://www.neildiamond.com/

Happy Birthday Benjamin Lincoln!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Lincoln

A Patriot.

Happy Eskimo Pie Patent Day!

http://www.cooksinfo.com/eskimo-pie-day

Happy National Beer Can Appreciation Day!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-canned-beer-goes-on-sale

https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/beer-can-appreciation-day/

Happy Paul Pitcher Day!

http://thewidowsweeds.blogspot.com/2012/01/24-january-pauls-pitcher-day.html

Question: Is it legal to give a blowjob to a corpse in Louisiana?

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/politics/louisiana-upholds-ban-oral-sex-while-necrophilia-remains-legal

Star Trek postage stamps are on the way

http://www.space.com/31521-star-trek-postal-stamps-50th-anniversary.html

Full Wolf Moon Tonight

http://www.almanac.com/content/wolf-moon-january-full-moon-phases

The ultimate model train set

Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany holds the record as the largest model railroad in the world, and with an astounding 13 kilometers of track and over 200,000 miniature people, that’s not too surprising. Now Google has shrunk their Street View technology to give us a first-person train ride through the massive model.

http://youtu.be/mnqh8xhDh7Q

(Thanks for the link, Mathew!)

Happy Birthday Danny Federici!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Federici

Happy Birthday Joseph Hewes!

A Patriot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Hewes

Happy National Handwriting Day!

http://www.wima.org/nationalhandwritingday/tabid/79/default.aspx

Happy National Pie Day!

http://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-pie-day-january-23/

Yum!

Alienated from the Law?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZhSTQG9A_o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7STw22f0Big

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YJvuPZbeFM

(Thanks for the links, Carol!)

DC before a snowstorm

http://www.washingtonian.com/2016/01/22/photos-of-washington-dc-supermarkets-before-the-snowstorm/

I have written on this topic several times before. DC goes friggin' nuts when there's ANY snow anticipated.

Teach The Controversy T-Shirts!

http://controversy.amorphia-apparel.com/?gclid=COeN0aeP7bMCFcaiPAodMzQAyw

Fun stuff!

(Thanks for the link, Mike!)

Stalin's Night Witches

http://www.neatorama.com/2016/01/11/The-Witches-of-Stalingrad/

An interesting little footnote to the War.

120 year old beer

http://artdaily.com/news/84316/Bottle-of-Canadian-beer-still-drinkable-after-120-years--Researcher-from-Dalhousie-University-in-Halifax#.VqJqfSorLWK

Happy Birthday Linda Blair!

http://www.reallindablair.com/

Happy Birthday Robert E. Howard!

http://howardworks.com/howard.htm

http://www.rehfoundation.org/

Happy Birthday Sam Cooke!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Cooke

Woody Guthrie VS Trump (the elder)

http://theconversation.com/woody-guthrie-old-man-trump-and-a-real-estate-empires-racist-foundations-53026

Artisanal Fire Wood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBb9O-aW4zI

Great satire!

(Thanks for the link, John!)

A New Night Vale Series!

http://www.dailydot.com/geek/alice-isnt-dead-new-podcast-series-from-night-vale/?fb=gk

Neat-O!

Happy Birthday Alferd "Hamburger Helper" Packer!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alferd_Packer

The Colorado Cannibal.

Happy Birthday Wolfman Jack!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfman_Jack

Happy Birthday Edwin Starr!

http://www.edwinstarr.info/

Happy Birthday Richie Havens!

http://www.richiehavens.com/official_site/home.html

Happy Birthday Roger Nash Baldwin!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Nash_Baldwin

Happy Birthday Ethan Allen!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethan_Allen

Happy National New England Clam Chowder Day!

Yum!

http://www.gilbertschowderhouse.com/menu1.html

Some neat surreal photography by Stephen McMennamy

http://www.amlu.com/2016/01/16/artist-stephen-mcmennamy-juxtaposes-different-elements-in-surreal-combos/

(Thanks for the link, Audrey!)

An Occult Coloring Book

http://ultraculture.org/blog/2016/01/17/occult-coloring-book/?utm_source=iflm&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=coloringbook

(Thanks for the link, Hannah!)

Happy Birthday Arte Johnson!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0424527/

Beginning of month of Pluviose in French revolutionary calendar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluvi%C3%B4se

Happy Birthday to the album, Meet The Beatles!

Released on this date in 1964.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meet_the_Beatles!

Happy Birthday to One Step Beyond!

Premiered on this date in 1959.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052442/

Anniversary of the publishing of The Crisis in 1775

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-229X.2009.00465.x/abstract

Happy Birthday DeForest Kelley!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001420/

Happy Birthday Robert Morris!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Morris_(financier)

A Patriot.

Happy Birthday George Burns!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0122675/

Happy Birthday Lead Belly!

http://www.leadbelly.org/

Happy National Cheese Lovers Day!

http://cheesetique.com/

Yum!

RIP Mic Gillette

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mic-gillette-dies/?trackback=fbshare_top_flat_3

RIP Dallas Taylor

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/25/arts/music/dallas-taylor-drummer-for-crosby-stills-nash-young-dies-at-66.html?_r=0

RIP Gary Loizzo

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/gary-loizzo-dies/

Happy Birthday Lysander Spooner!

http://www.lysanderspooner.org/

Anniversary of the Battle of Golden Hill in 1770

A precursor to the Revolution.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Golden_Hill

Happy Birthday Richard Lester!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0504513/

Happy Birthday Dewey Bunnell!

http://www.venturahighway.com/

Happy Birthday Janis Joplin!

http://www.janisjoplin.com/

Happy Birthday Phil Everly!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Everly_Brothers

Happy Birthday Edgar Allan Poe!

http://www.poemuseum.org/

http://www.eapoe.org/

Happy National Popcorn Day!

http://whirleypopshop.com/

Yum!

RIP Glenn Frey

http://www.tmz.com/2016/01/18/glenn-frey-the-eagles-dead/

(Thanks for the link, Edmund!)

Atoms in two places at once!

http://futurism.com/links/superposition-how-one-thing-can-be-two-places-at-once/

Fascinating.

The letter to NASA

http://www.knowable.com/a/man-writes-letter-to-nasa-about-his-breakthrough-discovery-an-their-reply-tst?utm_content=inf_10_3136_2&tse_id=INF_ded86b6366784a258f29afe3baa2be97

Spy Letters of the Ameriacn Revolution

http://clements.umich.edu/exhibits/online/spies/

RIP Dale Griffin

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-35342699

The cutting edge of cutting pizza

http://www.techly.com.au/2016/01/11/mathematicians-devise-perfect-way-to-cut-up-pizza-show-that-maths-is-not-always-practical/

John Dee's magic mirror

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3340529&partId=1&object=21701&page=1

Fascinating that it still exists. One of the most famous and important artifacts in Western occultism.

The Japanese super tank of WWII

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/01/11/japanese-behemoth-tanks-of-wwii/?src=fba&type=int&page=tvn

The all-time absolute cutting edge of Valentine's gifts

http://elitedaily.com/news/world/edible-anus-chocolate-butthole-mold/932939/

A little something for that extra special person in your life....

(Thanks for the link, Audrey!)

Happy Birthday Robert Anton Wilson!

http://www.rawilson.com/

http://deoxy.org/raw.htm

Happy National Peking Duck Day!

Yum!

http://www.pekinggourmet.com/

Happy Birthday David Ruffin!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ruffin

Happy Birthday Cary Grant!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000026/

Happy Thesaurus Day!

https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/thesaurus-day/

Happy Pooh Day!

http://www.national-awareness-days.com/winnie-the-pooh-day.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._A._Milne

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html

Happy Blue Monday!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Monday_(date)

An interesting, and altered, painting of the Magus John Dee

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jan/17/john-dee-painting-circle-of-human-skulls-exhibition?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Happy National Hot Buttered Rum Day!

Yum!

http://cocktails.about.com/od/atozcocktailrecipes/r/ht_btrd_rum_ckt.htm

Happy Birthday Jim Carrey!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000120/

Happy Birthday Benjamin Franklin!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin

Happy Kid Inventors Day!

https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/kid-inventors-day/

My new favorite fungi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPJ10eXc9bY

Happy Birthday John Carpenter!

http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/

Happy Book Publishers Day!

http://www.publishersweekly.com/

Happy National Fig Newton Day!

Yum!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newtons_(cookie)

Happy International Hot & Spicy Food Day!

Yum!

https://thewrath.com/

Happy National Nothing Day!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Nothing_Day

Tim Curry Returns To Rocky Horror!

http://www.vulture.com/2016/01/tim-curry-returns-to-foxs-rocky-horror.html?mid=facebook_vulture

A new Poe Toaster and Edgar Allan Poe Appreciation Day

http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/baltimore-insider-blog/bal-edgar-allan-poe-appreciation-day-20160114-story.html

The new Poe Toaster doesn't sound like they'll have any of the mystery that the old one possessed.

Iceland goes Atheist

http://icelandmag.visir.is/article/00-icelanders-25-years-or-younger-believe-god-created-world-new-poll-reveals

Happy Birthday Vanishing Point!

One of my favorite movies. Premiered on this date in 1971.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067927/

Happy Birthday Chuck Berry!

http://chuckberry.com/

Happy Birthday Martin Luther King, Jr.!

http://www.thekingcenter.org/about-dr-king

Happy Strawberry Ice Cream Day!

Yum!
http://www.hopkinsfarmcreamery.com/index.cfm?ref=13100

RIP Alan Rickman

http://secondnexus.com/arts-and-culture/alan-rickman-passed-away/?utm_content=inf_10_1164_2&tse_id=INF_5412b058c1a946338e23204dc12178c1

Happy Birthday Murray Bookchin!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray_Bookchin

Happy Birthday William Whipple!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Whipple

A Patriot.

Happy Mallard Day!

Mallard Day at All Souls College in Oxford celebrates the discovery of a large mallard found in a drain while digging the foundations of the college in 1437.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls_College,_Oxford