Frank Miller's Peanuts

Traced back to Cinematical

Site Devoted to Abandoned Places

Artificial Owl is a site "dedicated to provide on a daily basis a selection of the most fascinating abandoned man-made creations". They also provide exact locations of these sites. The above is a US antiballistic missile site that was built but never used.

Newgrounds and School Violence

The big story yesterday in the Globe and Mail about how a Montreal student foiled an arson plot in the UK, Overseas arson plot foiled by Canadian who logged on - and 'did the right thing'. The Montreal student was on a forum at Newgrounds when a disgruntled 16 year-old expressed an interest in firebombing his school. The irony is that the mascot of Newgrounds is Pico. Pico is in an early flashgame called Pico's School where he, Pico, has to fight his way through a school after a shooting.

The Live Stereo System

Star Trek and The Holy Grail

WWAZD - What Would A Zombie Do

This chart at graphjam, Things a Zombie Would Do, suggests that zombies would be very likely to dance with Michael Jackson. Zombies maybe soulless killing machines with a hunger for human brains however recent surveys indicate that zombies no longer want to hang out with Michael Jackson. There are also the issue of appropriation since Jackson took a traditional zombie folkdance and made it his own.

Working for The Rat

In a thread at Failblog.org NeenerNeenerNeener has some wonderful unsubstantiated stories about working for Disney.

I did some work for Disney, in the offices at the fabled Disneyland (behind the scenes, so to speak). I think the company motto is “The beatings shall continue until moral improves.” Ah, Disneyland. 1 security guy for every 5 tourists.

And DisneyWorld! My sister goes there a lot. They have 4 kids and one time she was there a security type told her to keep a close eye on her kids because at any one time there would be 3 child abduction rings working the park. If your kid comes up missing they usher you into a room with like 50 security monitors so you can try to spot your kid being whisked away.

I went to the Disney store in W. L.A. one time, and asked the girl behind the counter, “What’s it like working for the rat?” She looked around furtively and asked, “Which one?” True.

What If No Newspapers

This editorial cartoon by Gary Varvel supposes that the lack of newspapers in history would leave the guilty go unpunished. However the guilty have also used newspapers for their own ends. Lenin, Mao and Hitler all had newspapers to promote their twisted ideologies. One of the worst US president, Harding, rose to fame while running a small town newspaper. Press lords like Hearst, Black, Beaverbrooke and Murdoch have all been aggressive little shits intent on their own power. The rise of mass literacy and national newspapers in the late nineteenth century made the outbreak of The Great War an outbreak of mass patriotism and mass hysteria.

Yes, I read newspapers in the original finger blackening form. However technological systems, like the daily newspaper, are value neutral and can be a force for good or evil or profit. Good newspapers uncover lies but bad newspapers spread them.

Project Grizzly Guy Now Designing Military Armor

Great Canadian Troy Hurtubise has now designed a military version of his famous anti-bear suit. Where can I buy this suit?

A Defense of Short Sellers

Just because you robbed the grave doesn't mean you killed the guy.

Samatha Bee, of The Daily Show
Talking to a short seller,
March 20, 2008

Personally, I have no particular problem with short sellers.

The True Anarchists - Shipowners

In a story about Somali pirates, William Langewiesche, points out that ship owners and the Somali pirates are similar in that both live beyond the nation state.

Moderate Scumbags

Canada's Science Minister is an Idiot (Creationist)

Canada current Science Minister, Minister clarifies stand on evolution, for the current and temporary Deformed government is revealed be a creationist, . In the last 8 years Canada was able to recruit brilliant researchers fleeing America and their, at the time, creepy anti-science attitude. Now Canada is saddled with a chiropractor who thinks science is a religious issue.

Abandoned Buildings - The Ohio Edition

Illicit Ohio is a site devoted to photo explorations of abandoned buildings in Ohio. I came to my attention after Boingboing linked to images of a derelict mansion supposing owned by noted criminal Mike Tyson. However the site has images have some other logo than the original phototographer pasted over Illicit Ohio watermark. A very sleazy practice.

Number Magic from Abbot and Costello

Here is a prospective banker demonstrating his mathematical prowess.

From a post by Guzzo the Contrarian attempting to show that Wall Street can always find incompetents willing to work for $100K rather than $1M.

Jon Stewart Makes Jim Crammer Drown in His Own Flop Sweat

Here (pt 1, pt 2 and pt 3) is the slap down of Jim Cramer and by extension the vacuity of TV business journalism. I don't have a problem with business journalism. Much of its content can be best parts of the newspaper with long and detailed articles by knowledgeable beat reporters. But that is written journalism. Much of live TV "news" shows are merely a display of stream of conciousness. When not giving updates the hours are filled with rambling mumblings of touts, cheats and hacks.

As way of explanation to the problem of filling time in the exchange on thursday night between Cramer and Stewart.
Jim Cramer: ...we[meaning CNBC] have 17 hours of live TV a day to do.
Jon Stewart: maybe you could cut down on it

All Hail Our New Animal Overlords.

Our President, by Tyson Hesse.

How To Kill the T-62

If you have wondered how to destroy a T-62 and its crew of 4 "commie pinko swine" here is the coloring book for you. This booklet is a pleasant relic of the cold war.

(Link from Timbo)

Vending Machine as an Alternative Reality Portal

Something called The SCP Foundation is dedicated to chart objects that don't belong on our universe. Above is the listed as SCP-261. For further reports check out this discussion, The Crosstime Vending Machine.

The Alien as a Counter-Strike:Source Skin

From FPSBanana in a skin for Counter-Strike:Source of the Alien.

The Watchmen as a Saturday Morning Cartoon

Saturday Morning Watchmen by Happy Harry on Newgrounds.

Mercenaries as Additional Horseman of the Apocalypse

...private armies, the hired defenders of property, the sure precursors of anarchy.

W S Churchill on problems
in England after the Black Death in
The History of English Speaking People

Mashup of The Watchmen and 1984

General Mung Beans on AH.com has a new thread that is a mashup of The Watchmen and 1984. If you are a fan of both or either classics check it out.

Update
For more reworkings of The Watchmen, Slate has a slide show of The Watchmen by different directors.

US as Zimbabwe

At worst if the States really had problems they would descend to level of Brazil, a country that should be rich. But to be compared to the basket case Zimbabwe, or as I like to call Rhodesia stupidified, is a terrible fate.

Peace in Our Time - Photo Mashup of Obama and Chamberlan

Russian Business Associates

In yesterday's Globe there was a story on the slaying of Glen Davis, Loans that 'went south' shed light on Davis killing. Apparently his nephew who is implicated in the murder has "Russian business associates". I would trust someone with "Russian business associates" about as much as someone with a "Colombian import/export business". In many countries when businesses and indivioduals have disputes they get what is called a "hired gun", a slang term for a lawyer. However when "Russian business associates" have business disputes they engage "hired guns" who really are hired guns.

So You Wanna Whack Hitler - Exciting Offer Enclosed

Here is short story, Missives from Possible Futures #1: Alternate History Search Results by John Scalzi, in the form of an advertising circular from an time travel company. Since Hitler is such a popular target the company offers a number of prearranged assassination methods.

Speaking on the unpopularity of Nazism coupled with odd popularity of communism (see past post Cheney Less Popular than a Pedophile, Murderer or Tyrant). Neo Nazis in this day and age are vanishingly rare, thank god, but people who can argue with a straight face that you can't blame the buckets of blood that Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot shed on communism because theoretically none of these psychos practiced communism. Their definition is that "communism" is a state of bliss that has been worked towards but never achieved. Today I talked to guy carrying his cat home from vet who argued with a straight face about the need for revolution. Commies, especially those you gloss over the 20th century, should be treated with the same contempt and derision as Neo Nazis, merely the fanboys of murderers.

TV and Other Fiction Tropes

TV Tropes.com are compendium of a different wats and techniques of telling stories. In the words of TVTropes.com:

Tropes are devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members' minds and expectations. On the whole, tropes are not clichés. The word clichéd means "stereotyped and trite". In other words, dull and uninteresting. We are not looking for dull and uninteresting entries. We are here to recognize tropes and play with them, not to make fun of them.

Wander around in this site and recognize all the parts of your favorite stories you have loved and enjoyed.

How To Be On Jeopardy

Josh Fruhlinger, the curator of Comics Curmudgeon blog recently was on Jeopardy. Read his thrilling account of the nerve wracking spectacle that is Jeopardy.