Saturday, June 07, 2008
Friday, June 06, 2008
Dementia 13
From Wikipedia:
Dementia 13 is a 1963 horror thriller released by American International Pictures, starring William Campbell, Patrick Magee, and Luana Anders. The film was written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by Roger Corman. Although Coppola had been involved in at least two nudie films previously, Dementia 13 served as his first mainstream, "legitimate" directorial effort. The plot follows a scheming young woman who, after having inadvertently caused the heart attack death of her husband, attempts to have herself written into her rich mother-in-law's will. She pays a surprise visit to her late husband's family castle in Ireland, but her plans become permanently interrupted by an axe-wielding lunatic who begins to stalk and murderously hack away at members of the family.
Corman offered Coppola the chance to direct a low-budget horror movie in Ireland with funds left over from Corman's recently completed The Young Racers, on which Coppola had worked as a sound technician. The producer wanted a cheap Psycho-copy, complete with gothic atmosphere and brutal killings, and Coppola quickly wrote a screenplay in accordance with Corman's requirements. Although he was given total directorial freedom during production, Coppola found himself fighting with Corman after the film was completed. The producer declared the movie unreleasable and demanded several changes be made. Corman eventually brought in another director, Jack Hill, to film additional sequences.
The Ultimate Sacrifice for Music
Forget Van Gogh; he only lost an ear. It was the great castrato Farinelli who made the ultimate sacrifice for art. He wasn't the only one, but he was the most famous.Carlo Broschi was a man who really suffered for his music. Known to the world as the great opera singer Farinelli (1705-1782), he was castrated as a young boy to prevent his exquisite singing voice from ever breaking. But before you start feeling too sorry for the songsmith, it’s worth bearing in mind that Farinelli was showered with wealth and adulation throughout his career. And even with a couple of pieces missing from his repertoire, he still managed to make beautiful music with the ladies.
How fair is it to castrate a young boy? Even if he thinks he understands what that's all about, he doesn't know because he is not yet a man. I'm glad they don't do this anymore.
read more | digg story
Good Reads
Photos of an “uncontacted” tribe in the Amazon make us wonder whether and how to protect their privacy. The Martians are probably having the same debate about us.31 Places to Go This Summer. Creativity and a willingness to stay closer to home can make it happen this year.
Scenes from a group marriage.
Rare Surgeries: six success stories of the amazing things doctors can do with the human body. I had no idea they can transplant nerves!
The descendants of a single E. coli microbe have been multiplying for twenty years. The ongoing experiment is giving us new insights into the mechanics of evolution.
With the space station toilet fixed for now, an astronaut looks back on how they used to manage. No one said space travel would be easy.
Footprints left in volcanic ash that fell in central Mexico about 40,000 years ago are evidence that humans have inhabited the Americas far longer than previously confirmed. About twice as long.
The History of Guerrilla Marketing. Part one in a series on how businesses use unconventional tactics to advertise on a small budget.
Is your kitchen wasting energy? Here’s a 33-point checkup.
A Cold War defense project somehow leads to MySpace and YouTube. The 50-year history of the internet, told by the people who made it happen. (via Boing Boing)
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Fun and Funny Links
Where do they get those wonderful toys?: 18 obscenely wealthy comic-book and cartoon characters.Show Me Your Genitals. A song for the ladies.
The 6 Most Innovative Brothels From Around the World.
Virtual LiteBrite. (via YesButNoButYes)
150 Funniest Resume Mistakes, Bloopers and Blunders Ever! The best argument for proofreading I’ve seen anywhere, although obviously some of these people really don’t want a job.
How Do They Do That? Nine Mind Blowing Flash Animations. You may have seen some of them before, but they are all worth clicking the photo for a visit.
The story of a girl and a very creepy pencil. Watch early in the day so it won’t give you nightmares.
The truth about internet dating. You might laugh, but you’re cringing on the inside because you know it’s true.
Security cameras catch an extreme case of cubicle rage. This guy needs to lay off the caffeine.
Hi! It’s me, every girl ever!
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
The Phantom Cowboy
1935. From iMDB:
Bill Collins meets up with his look-alike the Phantom and is soon involved in his fight with Buck Houston. Houston has a big robbery planned but the Phantom beats him to it. Bill fights off Houston's men only to find the Phantom shot and dying and unaware that Houston is about to finish him off also.
Informative Reads
A new study says Stonehenge was a cemetery hundred of years before the stones were erected. 5,000 years later, it’s still the fanciest graveyard ever.2012: The Year The Internet Ends.
How to dice an onion. If you have a big sharp knife and a nice cutting board.
50 Mostly Immature and Hurtful Ways to Leave Your Lover.
It’s Not So Easy Being Less Rich. Those who have more risk losing more, therefore those of us with nothing can feel better about the possibility of losing it all.
In the '50s, disabled children often disappeared into state institutions. One family tracked their son down almost fifty years later.
What Does It Mean to Be Human? A panel of scientists give their answers, and commenters have lots more.
While U.S. cities are hot spots for global warming, people living in them turn out to be greener than their country cousins. Here are the top and bottom ten cities.
Why Are Senior Female Scientists So Heavily Outnumbered by Men?
A teacher answered her students questions about sex and was suspended from her job. Parents want blood. The world is crazy.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Fun with Pie Charts
A pie chart is a round graph divided into sectors that illustrates percentages of a whole. It is named after the way we normally divide a pie into slices. Whether it is effective depends on the type of data you want to present. What really matters is whether you can make it funny!
read more | digg story
The Original American Cannibal
Alferd G. Packer holds a unique spot in American jurisprudence. He is the only U.S. citizen ever charged, tried, and convicted for the crime of murder and cannibalism.
read more | digg story
Fun Links
World's strangest looking animals. Some of these look like they are patched together from parts of other animals.Porno Italiano. Probably NSFW.
English Russia has a video report of a hot sauna built from ice! If that isn’t weird enough, you’ll see a builder chinking the cracks with slush using his bare hands. And after a nice hot sauna, the participants take a dip in the water outside! (via Unique Daily)
5 Weirdest Fruits and Vegetables. (via Geek Like Me)
15 of the Weirdest Home Remedies and Folk Treatments Ever.
Story of the stupid secretary. These things really happen.
Yes, I have dreams. But I forget them as soon as I wake up.
Bond gadgets: Never say they will never work. Science and technology are starting to catch up with 007.
Viva Calaca! A charming animation project by artist Ritxi Ostariz based on the Mexican Day of the Dead.
Big Daddy Driver. The perfect Fathers Day gift. Ha!
Monday, June 02, 2008
Shaolin Chamber of Death
From Wikipedia:
Shaolin Chamber of Death (traditional Chinese: 少林木人巷) (Shao Lin mu ren xiang) is a 1976 Hong Kong action film, directed by Chen Chi-Hwa. It was made at Lo Wei's studio at Golden Harvest, during the post-Bruce Lee era. During this time Hong Kong film producers, including Lo, tried in vain to find "the next Bruce Lee".
11 Strange and Wonderful Vending Machines
You name it, and somewhere there’s a place where you can buy it right out of a machine! Let’s take a look at some of the weirder vending machines you can stick your money into.
read more | digg story
Information Links
In the comics, Wolverine pops his claws out right through his skin, and when they retract, his skin heals up. There’s a group of frogs in Africa that do the exact same thing!100 Ways to Scale Down Your Life. Because “livin’ large” is a real hassle.
Could someone else be using your social security number? The US government collects $500 billion in uncredited Social Security wages, so it’s not in their best interest to do anything about it.
Eight Things We Are Running Out Of And Why. Most of them can be attributed to what we know as “modern living”.
Working from home is not easy, but it’s easier when you have an office you can use just for work. If you have a shed or room to build one, it can become a home office away from the distractions of the house. Here are twenty such shed offices that have been customized to the max.
Underwater Wonders of the World. (via Dark Roasted Blend)
The Connections Between Music and Mathematics.
A fossil fish, estimated at 380 million years old, has been discovered in the act of giving birth. The fish and her offspring died while still connected by an umbilical cord. The discovery is also the earliest evidence so far of internal fertilization, or sex with penetration.
Seven Famous Sets of Conjoined Twins. Such twins would find it difficult to not be famous.
Ten Clever Furniture Designs from Recycled Materials.
Historia de un Letrero (The Story of a Sign)
Alonso Alvarez Barreda won the NFB Online Competition Cannes 2008 with the short film Historia de un Letrero (The Story of a Sign).
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Bizarro
Dan Piraro’s comic Bizarro is not exclusively a webcomic, since it appears in newspapers all over. But you'll see more of it on the 'net. I love his sense of humor! I laughed out loud at one that was recently featured at Neatorama, The Salvation Army Special Forces. To keep up with the latest, check out Dan's website and blog.
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