Feldsparia

One Line Description of Jobs the Monster

2012-02-02T18:21:00.003-05:00

...Jobs could be charming to people he hated as easily as could be insulting to people he liked.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Bad Pun from Romneey

2012-02-01T18:21:00.002-05:00

“I saw the young man over there with eggs Benedict, with hollandaise sauce,” he said. “And I was going to suggest to you that you serve your eggs with hollandaise sauce in hubcaps. Because there’s no plates like chrome for the hollandaise.”

from Dana Milbank article in
The Washington Post,
A day of awkwardness with Mitt Romney.

God Bless the Internet

2012-01-31T23:21:00.003-05:00

It giveth and taketh away.

Ray Sullivan, West Wing S07E010

Subtle dig at Woody Allen

2012-01-31T00:07:00.003-05:00

Are you a big Rob Zombie fan?

Matt Santos

I prefer his earlier, funnier, movies.

Josh Lyman

The West Wing S07E05

Dog's Eye View of Dogs at a Dog Park , Not shot at Isle of Dogs

2012-01-30T20:08:00.010-05:00

Video was shot by a Kelsey Wynn. At his site he states the slow motion effect was done by, "[shooting] at 60fps and [slowing] down to 23.976". Original link from The Washington Post.

"What Is the Internet, Anyway?"

2012-01-30T16:48:00.004-05:00

This was linked from the comment thread on Boingboing about some painfully out of touch comments from some flack from Hollywood, MPAA's number two admits industry "not comfortable" with the Internet. This mashup was produced by a a site called Urlesque. in the cooments at Urlesque blackbelt_jones mentions:

The thing that struck me as hilarious was "the internet yellow pages" Right in
the beginning, I paid about 20 dollars for that book. It seems like a joke now:
a search engine in book form!

Christmas Blues from Piano Playing Cat

2011-12-25T15:56:00.002-05:00

Vince Masuka, Romantic

2011-11-30T01:19:00.002-05:00

In matters of the heart, always follow your dick.

Vince Masuka, Dexter S06E09

Super Villain Putin

2011-11-29T20:53:00.008-05:00

Here is a man who deserves his own Theme Music. He is listed on TV Tropes as a real life Memetic Badass, where there is also a discussion that he is James Bond. This image was posted on AH.com by Alternatehistorybuff5341, with this comment, "I swear no matter how I look at it, Vladimer Putin looks like a criminal mastermind or a 007 Villain." others also commented.

He isn't one?

Iserlohn

If you ask me, he looks more like a modern-day Russian Emperor.

SavoryTruffle

...you're implying he isn't?

Nietzsche

Building churches to spread his word. He is starting a whole new branch of Christianity.

Opunium

Well, he is the reincarnation of St. Paul.

Polish Eagle

Well, he already IS a saint.

Marc Pasquin

I know who that is, it's the infamous Dr. Nyet!

Letterman

Fake Ad for Somali Pirate Safari/Cruise

2011-11-28T18:55:00.008-05:00

After a couple of links and a couple of links more I ended up on a blog page, Somali Coast Cruise Package, that purported to be about a tropical cruise. It turns to be a vessel set up to lure and ambush Somali pirates. I have no problem with that, pirates need to be killed.

New Car Kills Driver of Old Car

2011-11-25T16:12:00.003-05:00

This is the first time have seen a car crash test with a antique car. When tests are done are done with production models or prototypes nothing much is lost. But this test has flushed a little piece of the past down the memory hole.

The Counter Strike Player

2011-11-18T21:30:00.001-05:00

Gamer Tonight uses the Talk Show conventions to examine different games and gamers who play them. Check out the interview with the Counter Strike player. This player is solely dedicated to the game to point of being only vaguely aware of any other game, "source?". Check out some of the other bits to see how your psychosis is depicted.

A Short Film on Urinal Etiquette

2011-11-15T17:20:00.009-05:00

My bad public bathroom habit is to sing a version of this song as:

A place to stand
And a place go
A place we call
AAAA Urinial

According to this instructional film, Male Restroom Etiquette, this violation of social norms could lead to the destruction of civilization. I know better now

The Social Media Decison Tree

2011-11-15T02:44:00.005-05:00

(the Smoke-Filled World)

Why I Hate Facebook

2011-11-13T11:27:00.003-05:00

I am not on Facebook. I will never be on Facebook.

Cat Videos and the Studio the Produces them

2011-11-13T11:21:00.002-05:00

A Groovy Warning of Nuclear War

2011-11-09T11:07:00.002-05:00

Link from Orville Third on AH.com's Things that look like alternate history, but aren't.

Johnny Drama's Philosophy of Life

2011-11-03T22:43:00.005-04:00

You see, life is a big jerk. It punches you in the face over and over again. You have fight back or it will knock you out.

Johnny Drama, How to be a Gentleman S01E01

For those unfamiliar with the character of Johnny Drama here is collection of Johnny Drama's best moments from some suspiciously no-name news site (World News).

Not All Canadians are Canadiens Fans

2011-11-03T22:14:00.005-04:00

I went to Firefox today to needless mess around with my extensions. Then I found the above suggestion. I stopped looking for amusing time wasters like Play Your Piano and went looking for useful extensions like Aviary which is how I screen captured the above image.

I was appalled (mildly) that Firefox assumed that I would support a Montreal team. Looking a little more deeply through the choices only a 7 NHL teams are listed as having "official" themes, including zombie franchise Phoenix.

Still I'm not a fan of the Habs despite how of their "ethnically cleansed" fans I meet in Toronto.

How to Win Reunions

2011-11-01T00:06:00.004-04:00

You've had a personal tragedy.
Unlike everybody else you look better than you did 20 years ago.
And you have a cool job.
Put all those things together and it makes you...

Ghost dad Harry Morgan

Popular

Dexter, Dexter S06E01

Education (institutions) and its Discontents

2011-10-31T23:58:00.004-04:00

High school, a small world unto itself combining all the warmest elements of a federal work camp with those of a third world poultry farm.

Dexter, Dexter S06E01

Why No Halloween Leads to Very Bad Things

2011-10-31T00:53:00.000-04:00

Children must know fear. Without it they won't know how to behave, they'll try frenching grizzle bears, or consider living in Florida.

Sue Sylvester, Glee S02E05

Definition of "Executive"

2011-10-27T00:47:00.003-04:00

It's a meaningless title but it helps insecure people feel better about themselves.

Hermes Conrad

I feel better about myself.

Philip J Fry

Futurama S06E17

Alignment Inspection

2011-10-26T20:33:00.003-04:00

Inspection at an assembly line in in Hell in Ugly Americans S01E11 to determine the D&D alignment of new demons.

The Black Market Burgers of Connecticut 1963

2011-10-24T21:38:00.006-04:00

The above is a screen capture from the new TV Show Pan Am, S01E02. For 1963 the price for a onion-less, chili-less, cheese-less burger costs somewhere between $10 to $40 in today's currency, according to Measuring Worth. It seems a little high.

Drinking, Smoking, Pregnacy

2011-10-13T02:42:00.004-04:00

Boardwalk Empire S02E03

Business Opportunity 1920

2011-10-13T01:23:00.002-04:00

We're thinking of getting into heroin.

Lucky Luciano

When you run the numbers it starts looking very attractive.

Meyer Lansky

The point of historical fiction is too insinuate a fictional character in to real events. Or in this case fictionalized conservation about getting into the drug business by two people who were involved in narcotics after the end of prohibition.

Dexter Inspired Music Video

2011-10-13T00:01:00.000-04:00

Here is a music video inspired by the TV series Dexter. What I find interesting is that it depicts all of Dexter's "ritual". In this context "ritual" is a criminology term to describe way a common pattern that a murderer may show, (here for more details on ritual murder). I was looking for the teaser for the upcoming season and happened upon this and a lot less well crafted pieces of fan art. I like Dexter but some of the other fans have produced "art" that only functions as mental health diagnoses.

Bad taste can be a serious matter.

How the Military Values of Stuff Compared to People

2011-10-10T02:58:00.004-04:00

Beans on toast for the human using thousands of dollars of tech in a squat.

Torchwood S04E01

A Short Formula of India

2011-09-30T06:46:00.001-04:00

India = Silicon Valley + Africa

Anonymous

I don't remember where I got this.

Triumph of the Darth Vader's Will

2011-09-27T22:10:00.007-04:00

Fear and Loathing of the Media

2011-05-22T21:52:00.001-04:00

The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media from WW Norton on Vimeo.

Pinky und der Brain in German

2011-04-28T18:24:00.005-04:00

Pinky and the Brain was is the greatest thing that Steven Spielberg ever made. It was a story about 2 genetically altered one simply who wanted to take over the world and the other just simple. The German version of the Pinky and the Brain theme song is below.

Here is a mashup of the above song with Rammstein.

Here is acoustic cover, the guitar tabs are here.

Mad Men Comparing Cars versus Trains

2011-04-23T02:56:00.007-04:00

Mad Men On Trains from Rich Sommer

There is a theory that the only things that need to be actively and energetically sold are things that are bad deals. Another thought is that only things are profitable enough to support salesmen are going to sold by salesmen. I once knew a guy who made a good living selling cell phones back in the early '90's. Now cell phones are a commodity business and are not sold by salesmen. Mutual funds and whole life insurance

There is something else going on in this piece because companies may have different and mixed motives to be promote their brand, themselves or products. At such times companies may engage in advertising and marketing even when when they don't nurture a diverse ecosystem of commissioned sales.

Here is an interview with Vincent Kartheiser, Q&A: Mad Men's Vincent Kartheiser on High-Speed Rail, where he discussed the above piece. There is a great scene in Yes, Minister, where where he meets three different civil servants, who in case of regulatory capture all champion different modes of transport (road, rail and air).

Dwarf = Bastard

2011-04-21T01:24:00.002-04:00

All dwarves are bastards in their father's eyes.

Tyrion Lannister, Game of Thrones S01E01

Rules For Pet Ownership from Game Of Thrones

2011-04-21T00:03:00.007-04:00

You'll train them yourselves.
You'll feed them yourselves.
And if they die, you'll bury them yourselves.

Lord Stark, Game of Thrones S01e01, laying down the pet laws

Great Review of the Dear Leader's Film Criticism

2011-04-13T02:39:00.001-04:00

My mind was simply blown away!!! The dear leader is an author par-excellence. Given that it was written in 6 hours flat, this book is nothing short of a masterpiece. It is sad that the biased western media has not recognised the great man's writing abilities. Nor have the reindeer eating ignoramuses in Sweden considered the master for the Nobel Prize for literature. Not that the great man needs one.

In this book, his greatness discusses, in depth, the fine intricacies of various aspects of film making from kidnapping directors and their wives, to ordering people in to movie theatres.

As the person who solely invented 3D cinema, digital projection and bullet time photography, his Kimness can teach a thing or two to posers like Speilberg. But his shortness's abilities are not limited to film production techniques. He directed what is the undoubtedly the greatest movie of all time, Dairy of a Girl Student and also lesser known movies like Star wars, Saving Private Ryan and God Father 1&2. Godfather 3 was not directed by Lil Kim and hence sucked big time.

The Kim man also reveals in the book, his dabblings in alternative cinema, directing and starring in masterpieces like Kim goes South, Interracial Kimming and Kimm until she's Ill, which although is widely considered to be the greatest adult movie ever made, is not available outside due to privacy concerns. Fears of leaking these masterpieces to the western devils is rumoured to be the reason why North Koreans don't have access to the internet. But the movies can apparently be bought on BetaMax in North Korea for an average monthly salary of a North Korean or 1 piece of bread.

To summarise read this book or face the firing squad when the revolution comes.

Mark Twang's review of this book, On the Art of the Cinema: April 11,197 3, has been able to capture the stilted rhetoric of a Red Guard. Admittedly we have fewer examples of North Korean communist rhetoric but this seemed as similar to Maoist writing for one person to consider this review "racist". Proving to me at least to me that those who charge "racism" are the true morons of our age.

I found this in a Foreign Policy article about the lousy literature that dictators inflict on the world, Bad Politics, Worse Prose. The article examines the conditions that prevents dictators from producing good work, namely a subservient, adoring public and a complete lack of professional editing. This is also a good explanation for how the Star Wars prequels were just so lousy. The generalissimo Lucas may have been a great director in his day.

A Tankful of Gas in 1932 - Mildred Pierce

2011-04-07T23:50:00.004-04:00

	$20.70	using the Consumer Price Index
	$17.90	using the GDP deflator
	$51.60	using the value of consumer bundle
	$63.80	using the unskilled wage
	$77.40	using the Production Worker Compensation
	$129.00	using the nominal GDP per capita
	$317.00	using the relative share of GDP

That's not too bad.

Cool Looking Fire Fighter Tool

2011-04-04T03:50:00.006-04:00

This is the SP16 SPAX, a fire fighter tool. It is an ingenious combination of a machete and various wrenches to open/close various valves. It is made by the Ontario Knife Company, from Ontario county in Northern New York.

I came across this company because of odd turn of phrase by stalkere in an AH.com post.

I still think it's going to be a desperate fight. But 5.56 only? That's going to be sporty. Mighty sporty. In my opinion, more than a few of the Marines are going to go "All the way to Ontario" - a saying we had - the M-16 bayonet was made by Ontario Cutlery Company.

How Nerdy is Alternative History?

2011-04-04T02:32:00.002-04:00

The fact that we're arguing 5.56 wound ballistics on Orcs and Orc armor brands us as incurable geeks-a-zoids, you do realize that?

stalkere commenting on AH.com thread,
US Marine Battalion ISOTed to Helms Deep.

Students, Dumb

2011-03-16T21:14:00.004-04:00

Well, well, if it isn't Tweedledum and Tweedle fake boobs.

and that's how Sue "C"s it, Glee S02E16

Dog, A Graphic Short Story

2011-03-16T08:06:00.003-04:00

Found linked on AH.com, you will cry. There is no source discernible for this comic strip, one long scroll to the bottom.

Wilhelm II, The Cosplay Soldier

2011-03-15T20:38:00.003-04:00

...The irony was having avoided - courtesy of his mother - the years of strict military training that a normal Hohenzollern might expect, Wilhelm had none of the disciplined mental habits of a Prussian officer. Or rather , he looked and played the part - perfectly turned out, moderate if not ascetic in his eating and drinking - but he had no habit of application. Just as he had been a dilettante student, so he was a dilettante soldier. His adjutant, Adolf von Bülow, the experienced soldier seconded to see him through the army, admitted that after five years in the 1st Foot, Wilhelm had completely failed to learned the true values of soldiery.

Miranda Carter in,
George, Nicholas and Wilhelm:
Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I,
describing the "martial" qualities of WIlhelm II.

Batman Playing Video Games...Badly

2011-03-09T14:43:00.002-05:00

Who's The Biggest DICtator, Jerks with Power Face Off

2011-03-07T11:40:00.003-05:00

People often argue, I for one, about who is the worse tyrant. I have argued in the past That Stalin was a worse murder than Hitler. My argument is that Stalin killed longer, he killed more people, he killed people, he killed his friends, he died in bed. Stalin had a wide range of people who worshiped him. Paul Robeson had some of his friends killed by Stalin and his minions, some of his friends were Stalin's minions. Despite these killings Robeson remained a committed communist and an admirer of Stalin.

Since it all a matter of a degrees of dark gray the Dictators Contest was created. The Dictators Contest and Secound Dictator's Contest are in a playoff system. So that the ultimate outcome depends on the bracketing of the various contestants/perps/criminals.

There is no credit as to the creator of these contest, the home page of the for the site is disabled. The link came from Jokerang on the AH.com thread Dictator Come Back.

Broadcast Engineers Get Higher

2011-03-06T04:38:00.009-05:00

One time in my youth my friends and I climbed a tower, that is to say they climbed a ladder contained within the tower and I didn't. I am not ashamed to write that this video made me scared, and physically sick. At the thread at AH.com where I got this video, This guy gets so high it has me scared, the link to the video merely said, "This link may not be suitable for all viewers". I was expecting something about Charlie Sheen, like the very funny Charlie Sheen Quotes As New Yorker Cartoons.

Looking at this I know how right I was to have some fear of heights. Acrophobia is not an irrational fear when you see the climbing conditions that these engineers have to deal with.A couple of years I blogged about a guy walking the Caminito del Rey, Extreme Hiking. That was pretty scary but this is worse. The other video was about an amazing trail this many people walk once as an adventure from their regular lives. This video is about guy doing something as part of his "regular life".

Video from Russel Brown of/at TheOnLineEngineer.Org.

The Magic Key From Doctor Who to The Secret Diary of a Callgirl

2011-03-05T01:33:00.005-05:00

Every London's girl dream, my own front door.

Rose has the same bright, light emitting key
as in Dr Who ,
Secret Diary of a Call Girl S04E01

The Latest Star Trek Movie is not REAL Star Trek

2011-03-02T01:13:00.003-05:00

According to Memory Alpha, wiki site for Star Trek, see wiki article for Memory Alpha, the latest Star Trek movie is not real Star Trek it is instead an alternate time line. As proof see the Memory Alpha page for James Kirk as he appeared in the latest movie, as listed in Memory Alpha as James T. Kirk (alternate reality).

Ikea Kit for Stonehenge

2011-03-01T00:05:00.002-05:00

From How To Be a Retronaut via Adfreaks.

Machine Gun in Logging

2011-02-21T19:50:00.002-05:00

American Dialect Maps

2011-02-21T14:21:00.004-05:00

The fictional character Henry Higgins is an expect of of different British dialects and combination thereof. Here is series of American dialect maps derived a survey of internet users in 2002 put together by some linguists then at Harvard. Although it is a billed as a survey of "North American English" only the locations of American participants are mapped. The survey has asks participants questions of pronouncement and usage. The map above is one map for the question "What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?".

Personally, I heard/read of liquid sun(shine) as a metaphor for nuclear fire.

National Stereotypes Displayed on Maps

2011-02-20T03:39:00.005-05:00

We all have to deplore national stereotypes these days or be branded as bestial racists. However there are some truth behind such crude caricatures. The above image is from a map Asia Accord to the USA. The designer at Mapping Stereotypes has also made enough maps to fill a calendar highlighting the prejudices of the Swiss, Russia and Poland among others.

I got this link from a thread in AH.com, Maps Of Stereotypes. Naturally some more biased maps were created my favorite of which is Beedok's Canadian view of Europe which lists the Ukraine as Old Saskatchewan and Russia as Hockey Enemies.

The Professional Trolls Who are Congressional Critters

2011-02-20T00:49:00.006-05:00

Does anyone else just feel worn out by all political BS in the U.S these days? I mean, it seems like Congress is nothing more than a group of professional trolls at this point. They never, ever seem capable of doing anything useful, or beneficial for the citizens of this country anymore. It's exhausting. Every single time a story pops up (on Slashdot or anywhere else) that involves politics or a political decision, you can basically just assume that it's going to screw over everyone in the country that isn't already a politician.

Being a U.S. citizen today feels just like playing the role of Sisiphus [wikipedia.org], consistently pushing a boulder uphill (trying to improve the world by being a responsible citizen, voting, jury duty, etc.) only to realize that you have to push it up again when you reach the top (Congress critters keep passing bills that fuck things up even more). It's exhausting, to keep reading about how those folks we elect to power just stumble around and fuck things up so badly....It's so consistent that it very nearly serves as a dataset to debunk that old meme of, "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence."

Our leaders are just fucking terrible. It's exhausting.

Bradley C Jackson posting as
BJ Covert Actionin
slashdot thread
House Passes Amendment
To Block Funds For Net Neutrality.

Traveller (De)motivational Posters

2011-02-12T20:18:00.005-05:00

As I am getting back into the game Traveller a Traveller fellow traveller Timbo sent me a link to this and other motivation posters based on the Traveller role playing system. The above refers to technique of space travel, low berth, that is about the equivalent to riding under a railway car. The odds of survival is a little less then 3 out of 4, with medical assistance 5 out of 6 passengers survive this sci fi steerage. The scary thing is that from reading accounts of the Atlantic slave trade that this, 3/4 and 5/6, was about survival rate most of the time.

The drawing are from a set from clement777's account, Traveller Motivational Posters.

Here is another one of clement777's Traveller drawing that gets appeal of the game.

In Traveller Earth/Terra is "Earth Like"

2011-02-12T19:19:00.003-05:00

Following some of the links at Traveller Map I came across a database of Treveller sectors, subsectors and planets, an Interactive Atlas of the Imperium. When I looked at the entry for Earth/Terra I got the above result as well as a completely different solar system. Admittedly this game is set several millennia in the future.

Home Appliances Fed On Rotting Flesh.

2011-02-09T18:08:00.006-05:00

Carnivorous Domestic Entertainment Robots from Auger-Loizeau on Vimeo.

Years ago there was a bug zapper ad featuring Vincent Price. As the bugs were consumed he would chortle an evil laugh. Unfortunately I can't find it on Youtube. These innovative designs are part of an experiment in "predatory cyborg furniture". The only design that seems really gross is the coffee table that eats mice.

This is also got a mention on NPR, Meat-Eating Furniture, and slashdot, Designers Create Meat Eating Furniture.

War is Hell part MDMXVII

2011-02-03T01:47:00.010-05:00

They say you find what something is worth when you pay for it. Well, la Difensa was ours now. Not much of a mountain, really. But I never knew a mountain could be so tall or plain rock cost so much.

William Holden as Robert Frederick in The Devil's Brigade

Many people often complain that triumphalist nature of war films of the 50's and 60's encouraged a pro war mentality. People who say his have never seen these films. These are film that were made generation that was scarred by their experience in the WWII, or failing that that Korean War.

How TV Ruined Your Life

2011-02-02T08:11:00.004-05:00

I have been on a Charlie Brooker kick lately. He is a TV critic late of the The Guardian who has made some penetrating and insightful TV programs on TV itself. His latest documentary series is How TV Ruined Your Life. Here is the first episode on Youtube. Watch it before it is pulled by the lawyers.

Musicians and Debt

2011-02-02T06:58:00.009-05:00

It looked like the kind of music emporium which doubles as a pawnshop, since every musician has at some time in his life has to hand over his instrument if he wants to eat and sleep indoors.

Soul Music, Terry Pratchett

See also Ray's Music Exchange in the Blues Brothers

On the Rarity of Highwaymen

2011-02-02T06:39:00.005-05:00

"... This is civilization. They don't rob you on the road in civilization." He glanced down at the satchel again. " They wait until you've got into cities. That's why they call it civilization."

Dwarf Horn Player Glob in Soul Music, Terry Pratchett

NASA Needs Cash

2011-02-01T23:39:00.003-05:00

"NASA has released plans for a manned mission to Washington D.C. by 2017, in order to beg for funding for manned missions to less toxic locations."

Polish Eagle on
Things that look like alternate history, but aren't
at AH.com

Rome in Histrorical Fiction and Sci Fi

2011-02-01T11:30:00.001-05:00

Rome has show up in many different kinds down through the ages. This is not meant to be a complete list but merely my favorites and highlights.

Historical Fiction

I Claudius/Claudius the God: These are written in the form of the autobiography by the emperor Claudius. The first book is life up to be acclaimed as emperor by soldiers. The second book is his life as emperor as well as the telling of the life of friend Herod Agrippa. Well worth reading.

Sci Fi and Alternative History

Lest Darkness Falls: An American in Rome stumbles through a hole in"the space time continuum" as they would say and ends up in a post imperial Rome of the 6th century.

How to Survive in Bad Parts of Baltimore

2011-01-30T01:09:00.005-05:00

You got to be very polite. Social skills is mandatory. Social skills is MANDATORY.

Inhabitant of a bad part of Baltimore.
In the documentary by Charlie Brooker
Tapping The Wire promoting the worth
of the TV show The Wire.

Upstairs, Downstairs Economics: Junior Maid

2011-01-27T22:31:00.005-05:00

What do they pay you?

dissolute artist

Mind your business.

Sarah

₤10 a year and a bed in the basement.

dissolute artist

No, its twice that much and and a room in the attic.

Sarah

Upstairs,Downstairs S01E02

The cost of employing a junior maid in 1904 for a year plus room and board in today's values:

£8,550.00
using the average earnings

£10,100.00
using the per capita GDP

£14,800.00
using the share of GDP

Life is Hard, Get Used to it - Sue Sylvester

2011-01-19T02:07:00.003-05:00

Lady, I can't suspend a student because he scares you. High school is a dry run for the rest of your life. Its rough. People can be mean.

and that's how Sue "C"s it, GleeS02E08

Claymate Yourself

2011-01-16T17:37:00.003-05:00

Hotels.com is featuring claymation characters in their latest advertising campaign. Now they have created a site to help you clay yourself at a site called http://clayyourself.com/. Found at Ads of the World.

The Reason Why This Blog Exists

2011-01-14T03:44:00.004-05:00

This is small detail of a flow chart created by Rosscrott, so you found interesting on the internet. The chart stresses the important of crediting the creators of whatever cool thing you found online. This little detail illustrates the primary reason why I ever blog anything.

Logorama - Animation Through Logos

2011-01-14T02:54:00.006-05:00

Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.

Logorama is a short film made up entirely of logos. The landscape, the flora, the fauna, the people the world are all made up of different logos. In the opening sequence there there is a pan over the city where every building is logo shaped. Most of the story has many pulp fiction elements from both the movie or the genre.

This was posted on Adfreak last February. I only noticed it today.

A Warning from Beyond the Grave

2011-01-08T03:56:00.002-05:00

From a link at AH.com.

A famous actor appears in a PSA urging viewers to help donate to research the disease that killed him...while making jokes at his own gravesite*!

Nevadans as Hobos

2010-12-31T20:56:00.002-05:00

In the comments of a Paul Krugman blogpost, Ireland = Nevada, a Joseph OShaughnessy offers this interesting comparison between Ireland and Nevada.

Ireland

The Irish are a homogeneous, well educated society. They have lived where they live, give or take 100 miles, likely for at least 500 [more like at least 1000-5000 years].

Nevada

The Nevadans are, by and large, uneducated vagabonds. Their medical system is almost non-existent and where it exists, it should be banned. The oldest and most established citizens are themselves transients.

Russia, Where the Living is Hard

2010-12-25T10:34:00.004-05:00

This image of a dead Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was taken 2006 when he was 34. He was on the front page of a NY Times article about a Russian commission that investigates prison conditions and prison deaths, Documents Raise Questions About Russian Case. I showed his picture about half a dozen people and asked them to estimate his age. Most thought he was in his late 50's. The lowest estimate was 40. When this picture was taken he was 32. I wonder just how hard was life to look like this.

Xmas in Heaven

2010-12-25T10:30:00.000-05:00

Fuck Xmas - Eric Idle

2010-12-24T23:49:00.001-05:00

Bicentennial Acid Trip

2010-12-14T19:19:00.001-05:00

Undercover Cops - The Best Liars Ever?

2010-12-10T16:10:00.008-05:00

He continued smoking while we continued questioning him carefully and as diplomatically as possible about the aspects of his testimony the previous evening, trying our best not to rile him, but I think it was too late for that. He answered the questions without pause and didn't appear to be lying, but of course you wouldn't be able to tell with a man like him anyway. His whole job was one lie after another, so there weren't going to be many

DI Gallan questioning Stegs
in The Crime Trade by Simon Kernick

Obama - Always Give In To Threats

2010-12-10T11:49:00.004-05:00

I think it's tempting not to negotiate with hostage-takers, unless the hostage gets harmed. Then people will question the wisdom of that strategy.

B. Hussein Obama, Noted Kenyan-American

Obama gave the above statement that after making a deal with congressional Republicans on maintaining tax cuts for billionaires. The problem is hostage taking as a crime has died in most countries is that people nad police have learned that dealing with hostage takers encourage them. It also an easy crime to prove since the criminals have to communicate to get the money.

Real Steam Punk or Steam Powered Punk

2010-12-06T13:52:00.002-05:00

From a link from Elidor on AH.com's Things that look like Alternate History but Aren't thread.

The American South and Minimum Wages

2010-12-04T15:53:00.003-05:00

The above is from a map American minimum wage laws at the US dept of Labor. The colors are for the relative level of each states minimum wage law compared to the US federal rate. Green is for states the have higher rates, blue is for the states that use the federal rate, yellow is for those states that have a minimum wage lower than the federal and red is for those states without a minimum wage law. I found this page because I was watching a video post at Boingboing about the struggles that Disney employees have, Walt Disney World castmembers speak about their search for a living wage.

What is striking is how many off US states that formed the Old Confederacy are still not, even 150 years after they fought a war over it, that keen on paying people who work for them.

Oh, Great, Qatar Gets the 2018 World Cup

2010-12-03T21:24:00.003-05:00

Qatar, pronounced catarrh, has won the right to host the 2018 World Cup, Retreat and revenge: England's options after their 2018 World Cup snub. A commenter on Jihadwatcher Droptheveil
has this reaction to sleazy dusty hell of Qatar.

I just can't imagine why ANYONE would want to go to Qatar let alone watch football matches in 50 degrees of heat. No matter how much air conditioning there will be in the stadiums, they will overheat very quickly with all those bodies and the sun throwing out so much heat, most air conditioning units there just cannot cope. English football fans like a pint of beer on such occasions and the only places to buy a drink is in the odd small bar on a top floor in hotels at huge prices, or around the pool of expensive hotels. No guest houses as we are used to in the UK. Drinking is not allowed in public apart from these very few bars. The traffic and driving must be some of the most dangerous in the world and I forecast now that there will be serious road accidents because the locals are idiots behind the wheel and have no road sense, it's them first in the queue and to hell with the rest of us. Car hire is very basic and from experience cars are not serviced to any of our western standards, so good luck. One cannot usually hire a car unless you are a resident and prove such. If a foreigner is involved in such an accident he is automatically the guilty party and the locals can do no wrong, I kid you not. You have been warned. They will need very large numbers of taxis and drivers because currently one cannot get a taxi for love or money unless you get one from a hotel at enormous costs. The place is a dust bucket and with all the building that will be necessary, built on slave labour by the way, it will be so much worse than it is now being a climate where dust hangs in the air. My advice, don't go, it's a dump, nothing to do in the evenings, and a spare day to 'sight-see' is too hot to go out although there are 'glamourous' shopping malls where you will be ripped off further. Sharia law already exists there and the place is half a step up from Saudi Arabia - just. I've lived there for several years so I speak from experience, one I could have done without!! The locals are surly and full of their own piss and importance. How was this country half the size of Wales been awarded the 2022 world football tournament? It beggars belief. Nuf said.

Weird Photo of Emperor Hirohito and British Troops

2010-12-02T00:45:00.007-05:00

This image was captured of crown prince Hirohito reviewing troops in May 21, 1921, link . About 20 years, 5 months and 20 days later things were entirely different.

War: Good, Necessary, Just

2010-12-01T23:27:00.004-05:00

I don't think that there is such a thing as a "good war". There are sometimes "necessary wars". And I think Some might say "just wars". And that it never, I never questioned the necessary of that war [WWII] and still do not question that it was something that had to be done.

Sam Hynes in Ken Burns' The War

A Swiss Supervillian Datacenter

2010-12-01T19:46:00.001-05:00

An anonymous commenter on my blogpost last year, "A Super Villain's Datacenter", sent me a link to another super villain server farm, Mount10. This one is is located in the Alps. In one of the Chung Kuo novels a super villain went to ground at a secret base high in the Alps.

The "Reliable" Criminal

2010-12-01T02:57:00.007-05:00

"...They're reliable."

Which was a refrain I'd heard plenty of times before about criminals. They're reliable. The problem was, for most part, they weren't. They tended to be paranoid, highly strung, violent, and often drugged up, which was a pretty lethal combination. In the course of my career I've had two guns pulled on me, four knives, an axe, a tyre iron, even a fake medieval ball and chain. I've been held down by a gang of crazed thugs, flying on a diet of vodka and crack, who doused me in petrol and threatened to burn me alive unless I gave them the drugs I was supposedly carrying (I didn't, and they didn't), and many's the time I've woken up wondering when my luck's going to run out.

Undercover cop Sean Egan
in Simon Kernick's
The Last 10 Seconds.

Life, Death and Dogs

2010-11-29T22:03:00.004-05:00

The Commodore Louis Kaestner, from his sickbed, talks on about the sickness and death about his late dog.

Its a fucking dog!

Jimmy Darmody

You're a stony little bastard.

The Commodore Louis Kaestner

I'm what time and circumstance has made me.

Jimmy Darmody

Problems with Paras

2010-11-29T05:52:00.003-05:00

You also have the problem that dropping airborne on mountains results in a fair number of them being injured on landing with busted ankles, toes, legs, etc.

I remember my buddy who's actually does a lot of jump training with foreign crews who are qualifying for certain missions saying that it's gotten to the point where the USAF, USMC, and US Army actually have mathematical calculations they can run before each drop in order to figure out a rough estimate of how many people will be injured.

Apparently mountains are...rough on the math.

mmmeee0 on a thread on AH.com
about giant walkers,
Supposing walkers are a feasible craft...

Report From the Ancient Internet

2010-11-28T07:55:00.004-05:00

Science Friday on NPR had a rebroadcast of first program that they also simlubroadcast on the "internet", A Trip Back To The Future of The Interne t. People called in during the program using their, for the time, bleeding edge internet telephony on $8K UNIX machines. In the middle of program after suffering through internet telephony problems like packet loss and the walkie talkie/half-duplex nature of such early systems, the host Ira Flatow gives this understatement.

It seems to me the Internet is in a very crude stage.

Scary Words from a Vet

2010-11-22T20:37:00.004-05:00

It's frightening
really
but you don't feel it
at the time
you want to live

And you want them to die

Sgt Joe Dawson 39th Militia Battalion (Australia)
recounting his experiences on Kokoda Trail
Kokoda: Invasion

You Are Richer Than You Think

2010-11-16T23:37:00.007-05:00

The Global Rich List is a calculator designed to show you how rich you are compared with the whole Terran population as opposed to the Jones. Then it hits up for a contribution. In a way it is the reverse of the Total Perspective Vortex because it shows that compared the rest of humanity you are probably doing OK, if you viewing this blog on your own computer. The difference between prosperity and wealth to me is that prosperity depends on living standards whereas wealth is a measure of relative living standards.

Link given by the_lyniezian on AH.com thread Frivolous ASB Ideas Thread.

Latin Wikipedia

2010-11-16T20:34:00.003-05:00

From a reference in AH.com thread Things that Look Like Alternate History.

Boardwalk Empire Economy 1920: New Dress

2010-11-16T00:16:00.007-05:00

I do so love this.

Candidate Harding's girlfriend

Mademoiselle's taste is excellent.

Madame Jeunet

How much is it?

Candidate Harding's girlfriend

$480

Madame Jeunet

Boardwalk Empire S01E09

in 2009 the relative worth of $480.00 from 1920 is:

	$5,140.00	using the Consumer Price Index
	$4,100.00	using the GDP deflator
	$12,000.00	using the value of consumer bundle
	$17,600.00	using the unskilled wage
	$23,300.00	using the Production Worker Compensation
	$26,800.00	using the nominal GDP per capita
	$77,400.00	using the relative share of GDP

(Measuring Worth)

New Posts on the Relative Values in Boardwalk Empire and hopefully other shows as well

2010-11-16T00:07:00.006-05:00

A lot of numbers come up in the new TV series Boardwalk Empire. From now I will post interesting prices that show up in this series. I will also go back and watch earlier episodes. When I have time I will do the same for Madmen the other great period program on TV now.

For relative values I will quote the number in show and give the relative values as provided/calculated from the Measuring Worth.

Politics is Sometimes More Important Than Dying

2010-11-15T23:52:00.004-05:00

You son of a bitch, I'm dying. It's no time to be sentimental.

Commodore Louis Kaestne
to Treasure Nucky Thompson
putting politics above mortality or family
in Boardwalk Empire S01E0 9

Churchill Pwns Hitler

2010-11-15T09:30:00.002-05:00

Found in the shallower waters
of the time wasting swamp that is
The Cheezburger Netwowor k

This could also be
Amateur artist beats failed art student
Battalion commander beats corporal

Dark Tormented Cops

2010-11-14T18:57:00.004-05:00

There is a great examination of the genre of hard edged British crime drama in a recent LA Times, British TV cops are a tormented lo t.

Reporting from London — Channel-surf almost any night of the week in Britain and chances are you'll come across a gruesome crime drama featuring a dark and tortured soul whose brutal, morally repellent deeds make you recoil in horror.

And that's just the detective.

To this I would also add Judge Dredd, a combination cop, judge, jury and executioner tracking down perps for such crimes as littering, jay walking, theft and murder. Dystopic policing for a distopic world.

Television Archeology

2010-11-14T15:51:00.002-05:00

Here are the ruins of set of an ancient TV show, MASH, last used about 2 decades ago. Above is a remaining vehicle left to rot, rust, molder away. Here is map coordinates for the set. Here is a story from the LA Times about the set and the efforts to save the MASH set, Hike to old 'MASH' set launches fundraiser for California parks.

There have been other instances of sets being abandoned in the middle of nowhere. This allows for the possibility for confusing future archeologists. Bits and pieces of movies sets would confuse chronologies and culture references. The more piecemeal future knowledge is the more seriously these sets would be trusted.

Transdimensional Portals and Aussie Beer

2010-11-13T23:41:00.005-05:00

Tooheys is a Aussie beer company that previously made an ad about a tongue that goes on a beer run. In this ad a party goer searches too deeply in an ice filled sink and enters a world filled with transdimensional portals to other iced filled sinks/tubs from parties of the now and ever.

This is a beer equivalent of Being John Malkovich

Our Valued Customers: The worst thing about any business

2010-11-12T10:18:00.006-05:00

Our Valued Customers is a blog drawn by a guy who runs a comic store about the people who wander into the his store and occasionally buy things. I unfortunately recognized myself in several of the cartoons.

Cute Imperial March

2010-11-11T03:52:00.001-05:00

The Matrix Effect

2010-11-10T22:10:00.004-05:00

Ah, the early'90's: I was so innocent I barely knew which demographic I was.

Scott Brow in
Wired 2009/09/11 article "Geeky Friday

There is also an old saying that you should examine too closely = how sausages or laws are made. At the end of The Matrix, Neo can only see perceive the programming but not the constructed our reality Media training is good but it also robs you of the pleasure of pure consumerism / fandom.

The Financial Industry Lives Off the Stupid

2010-11-10T20:26:00.003-05:00

There is an old joke where a prospective brokerage client is shown the impressive yachts owned by the partners. This leads the prospective brokerage client to ask where are clients' yachts. In the context of this strip Hardcastle is a stodgy and generally unsuccessful metal bashing company oop north.