Radley Balko found a video of the Oak Ridge Boys performing a cover of 7 Nation Army.
Yearly Archives: 2011
I’m sure this will end well
The Bronx Zoo has lost track of a cobra. Don’t worry; they’re pretty sure it’s in the reptile house. Somewhere.
Dept. of TV Gems
During the 1970s, sometimes Steve Martin would guest-host for Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show.
Burt Reynolds, at nearly the height of his fame, stopped by for a memorable chat about wildness, craziness, and mustaches. Go watch.
Protoheathen!
In the unlikely event you’re confused about these things
This interactive solar system model is freakin’ beautiful.
It should surprise no one to learn that the TSA has been lying to us
Turns out, those nudie scanners emit a whole lot more radiation than they said.
The best thing on TV
Anya was right
Getting Angry, Baby?
Liz Taylor shuffled off this mortal coil today. Here’s a little reminder of her at the height of her power, with her long-term collaborator Mr Burton:
In a bit of odd synchronicity, Mrs Heathen’s birthday delight to me this year is two tickets to see Steppenwolf’s production of this play at the Albee festival in DC.
Dept. of Crap We Could Not Make Up
Maine’s reactionary doofus of a GOP governor has removed a labor mural from the state’s Department of Labor, and removed the labor-leader names from several conference roomes because “the mural and the conference room names are not in keeping with the department’s pro-business goals.”
Dept. of Cool Realtime Data
At Glow.Mozilla.Org, you can see the Firefox 4 downloads in real time on a world map.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that nobody appears to be downloading it in Madagascar.
Gimmee the ring.
And now: Unnecessary Goth Covers.
- One, counterintuitive and oddly charming; and
- Two, of such a character that somewhere, Eldritch is having a migraine.
No such list is complete without the source material, from an era when there actually WERE music videos. I don’t care what you people say about her actual musical contributions to the Sisters; Patricia Morrison is absolutely the best thing about this video.
In the event you think that vid’s overproduced, well, I can only offer this one, from the same band and the same era.
(Amusing note: Morrison is now somebody’s parent, with Damned founder Dave Vanian.)
“We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert…”
Fear and Loathing turned 40 yesterday, assuming we start counting from the day Hunter and Oscar took a big red convertible to Vegas to “cover” a motorcycle race.
The story ran in November, 1971, and was a book the next year. Fifteen years later, it became one of the holy text of Miscellaneous Heathenism, and in 2011 here we are.
Why the New York Times is screwing up with its paywall plan
Basically, if I ask “how much does it cost?” and you can’t tell me in less than a few words, I’m thinking you’re probably trying to fuck me.
Look: The Sky Is Not Falling
Fear of Japan’s nuclear crisis far exceeds actual risks. Seriously.
Nuclear energy is safe. By way of a metric, let’s try a thought experiment: How many deaths can we attribute to the mining, processing, and use of coal for energy, per megawatt-hour? Now, let’s try the same guess for nuclear power.
Here’s something else to review: Randall Munroe of XKCD fame created this comparison chart to help people understand the various dangers of varying levels of radiation exposure. Please, take a moment and review, if you’re at all freaking out about Japan.
Teddy Roosevelt Riding A Moose
So Awesome
“Look at the dot. Look back at me.”
And now, a funny.
Here.
Dept. of Things About Which You Must Be Shitting Me
All hail the Uterus Police:
Under a GOP-backed bill expected to sail through the House of Representatives, the Internal Revenue Service would be forced to police how Americans have paid for their abortions. To ensure that taxpayers complied with the law, IRS agents would have to investigate whether certain terminated pregnancies were the result of rape or incest. And one tax expert says that the measure could even lead to questions on tax forms: Have you had an abortion? Did you keep your receipt?
Remember that “Class War” post?
Yeah, the GOP gets more repugnant: Minnesota Republicans to Outlaw Poor People Having Money:
Minnesota’s Republican lawmakers are, as expected, very angry about poor people. Why give those poor people money when we know they’ll just spend it on the hip-hop and fancy sneakers and for crack smokin’. So, the Republicans had an idea: Until any kind of welfare or assistance to the needy is completely outlawed, which will be soon enough, Minnesota should make it illegal for people getting “emergency cash assistance” to have any of the cash assistance in cash.
So, the poorest families and the poorest disabled adults would be unable to take any of this money as cash, even though poor people by design are kept from having bank accounts or a checkbook, which is why they usually pay bills and rent in cash:
St. Paul, MN – Minnesota Republicans are pushing legislation that would make it a crime for people on public assistance to have more $20 in cash in their pockets any given month. This represents a change from their initial proposal, which banned them from having any money at all
Your car can get viruses now
Look, I’m all for on-boards that do cool shit, but nobody wants to sysadmin their automobile to keep this kind of thing from happening. #DoNotWant.
Paging Eric
I brought you a really fucking huge Kit Kat.
Brilliant. Stay with it through the end.
“Conde Nast Launches ‘The New Yorker for Black People’.”
The Onion, of course.
In case you were wondering what “class war” looks like
Take a look at this chart.
The Houston Nostalgia List
I’ve been sitting on this list for months, but it deserves to be posted. I’ve only been a Houstonian for 16 years, but I definitely miss #96, the excellent burgers and green chili stew at Cosmos Cafe (#91), #84 (where I saw Sling Blade), the divey awesomeness of #69, and Charlie Watkins’ wine list at Sierra (#64).
Being at least tangentially connected to Rice, I know that #60 is just “tending at a higher bar.” It will always be Transco to me (#94). I hate we lost the Proletariat (#39), and still have no rail on Richmond. I definitely miss the Book Stop (#35). And my feelings about pre-United Continental (#9) are well documented here.
The loss of #8 (the Ale House) is partly soothed by the Stag’s Head, but it lacks the same rambling charm of the old house-turned-pub. Where’s Allen Hill going to leap from a balcony in the new place, I ask you?
The new Cactus is just fine by me, with a nicer staff and a more sustainable business model, so I’m not sure I miss the old store any more.
I don’t miss #100 at all, and the Daily Grind (#59) has no place on the list. What I miss in the “Heights breakfast and coffee” category is Kaldi, dammit.
Seriously, dudes, you gotta FIGHT BACK
Media Matters calls out NPR for basically rolling over on the latest O’Keefe provocation.
For political reasons, all these cars will rot where they sit.
For a while, the Sultan of Brunei had mad cash, so he bought an assload of really fancy cars. He fell on harder times, and as a consequence so has his massive car collection.
Dept. of Slightly Disconcerting Possibilities
It turns out that sperm whales may have names.
You are not cool enough to ride with them.
John Cusack, Johnny Depp, and Hunter Thompson in a convertible. Via the excellent ThisIsNotPorn.
Admit it. You always expected this was the case.
Dept. of Oooo, Pretty
Steve McQueen’s 1970 911S is up for auction. The bid could easily top $150K, or about 500% of the car’s inherent value.
Things we probably won’t do, but should
In which public sax is committed
Presented without comment, via some longstanding Heathens who came by the other night:
Watch this video
This is a video of the tsunami coming in. It’s a little long, but stay with it.
Dept. of Automotive Genetic Testing Gone Wonderfully Awry
Singer Vehicle Design makes 911s.
The Singer Concept 911 attempts to channel the spirit of the delicate 1960s original, the race-bred chic of the ’70s longhoods, the ’80s bombproof solidity and the power and sophistication of the 964/993 series [in a] single jewel-like form that represents the golden era of the world’s most important sports car.
The body is a lovely bespoke carbon fiber throwback, the chassis from the 964-era, but significantly strengthened, and the powerplant is a souped-up version of the air-cooled (duh) 3.6L from the Heathenmobile-era 993s. I’m not sure exactly what they’ve done to take it from 275 ponies to 410, but then again I’m not the target market.
They’re hand-built, so it’s no surprise that buying a new 997 instead would represent the “cheap” option by comparison: entry level here is $175K, according to a Robb Report article in their press kit. Even so: Gorgeous, enough so that I’m forgiving them for the utter bullshit of their Flash-heavy, music-playing web site.
Weird fact: ex-Catherine Wheel singer Rob Dickinson appears to be a Singer principal, at least according to this Excellence article.
Thank God Government Stayed “In The Way”
Strict building codes saved countless lives in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami.
In all these pictures, I can’t believe there’s not a single one of Gollum
Researchers explore the rim of a lava lake in Africa that could make a pretty solid stand-in for Mount Doom.
Obv: “One can simply research in Mordor.”
Dept. of Interesting Wedding Writeups
Today’s Times includes this writeup of a little wedding in Austin:
“WE said 4:44, and we meant 4:44,” Michael Nesmith, the wedding officiant, said with mock insistence before about 125 guests on March 4 in Butler Park, which looks out at the Austin, Tex., skyline.
There was no processional. The couple about to be joined, Carolyn Wonderland, a blues singer and guitarist, and A. Whitney Brown, a writer and comedian, were already standing on their marks. There was nothing else to wait for except the string of fours that had been specified in the wedding invitation.
Yes, that Mike Nesmith, with whom I share a church, apparently.
Yes, that A. Whitney Brown.
And yes, obviously, that Carolyn Wonderland.
“We’ve found Fleetwood”
This is the sort of thing you can’t really make up: a Brooklyn bar owner was recently contacted by his birth father, who turns out to be Ted Nugent.
The Monkey, at Night
Dominic is small, but he wonders what his special soft friend Bity the Monkey does at night. Dominic’s father obliges, in a lovely and hilarious video.
Dominic loves his monkey toy. So i made a short film to show him what he does at night while he’s sleeping.This is what Bity the Monkey does from 2am to 6am.
You’re either gonna love this, or not care
If the description “army of women playing vintage synths” appeals to you, well, I’ve just made your day.
Why does NPR keep giving up?
So the jackasses on the right have another pelt on their wall this week, thanks to NPR showing their belly like giant pussies. Jon Stewart nailed this last time, ink the dustup about Juan Williams: they keep bringing tote bags to knife fights.
Where are my two-fisted liberals, dammit? Is Rahm the only one made in LBJ’s image?
Mmm, mmm, weird
So very, very wrong.
Today I Learned: Ken Jennings is funny as hell
The Jeopardy champ did an “AMA” (which stands for “ask me anything”) over on Reddit. Take a gander. The guy’s got a great sense of humor, as is evidence by his username at Reddit: WatsonsBitch.
With a picture like this, do you really even need the story?
Oh, okay. Fine.
The Dude Abides With A Camera
Jeff Bridges, about whom we’ve written before, shot a bunch of fine pictures on the set of True Grit. Enjoy.
Worst Restaurant EVER.
This review of an apparently-famous Paris restaurant is as brutal as it is hilarious. from Vanity Fair.
Dept. of Disappointing Corrections
It turns out that whole thing about space germs in meteorites?
Yeah, crap. P.Z. Myers explains:
[The Journal of Cosmology] isn’t a real science journal at all, but is the ginned-up website of a small group of crank academics obsessed with the idea of Hoyle and Wickramasinghe that life originated in outer space and simply rained down on Earth. It doesn’t exist in print, consists entirely of a crude and ugly website that looks like it was sucked through a wormhole from the 1990s, and publishes lots of empty noise with no substantial editorial restraint. For a while, it seemed to be entirely the domain of a crackpot named Rhawn Joseph who called himself the emeritus professor of something mysteriously called the Brain Research Laboratory, based in the general neighborhood of Northern California (seriously, that was the address: “Northern California”), and self-published all of his pseudo-scientific “publications” on this web site.
Of the paper itself, Myers notes:
It’s a dump of miscellaneous facts about carbonaceous chondrites, not well-honed arguments edited to promote concision or cogency. The figures are annoying; when you skim through them, several will jump out at you as very provocative and looking an awful lot like real bacteria, but then without exception they all turn out to be photos of terrestrial organisms thrown in for reference. The extraterrestrial ‘bacteria’ all look like random mineral squiggles and bumps on a field full of random squiggles and bumps, and apparently, the authors thought some particular squiggle looked sort of like some photo of a bug.