tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24741291715579985982019-02-22T21:41:43.419-08:00Things I've Learned from WikipediaI learn something random from Wikipedia, I post it here. Really, you should have figured that out from the title.Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.comBlogger127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-90469573685770872632009-12-10T16:40:00.001-08:002009-12-10T17:37:46.066-08:00Entry: Georgia GuidestonesThis article was sent to me by friend of the blog SeeASea.<br /><br />If you ever find yourself in Georgia and feel like taking a road trip, how about checking out the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Guidestones">Georgia Guidestones</a>? Some guy had them erected (hee!) in 1980; sometimes referred to as the American Stonehenge, the guidestones consist of six granite slabs with ten guidelines for a better world, written in eight different languages.<br /><br />Humanity does a pretty good job of following rules written on stone slabs, right? Let's see how we've been doing with this bunch:<br /><br /><i>Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.<br />Guide reproduction wisely - improving fitness and diversity.<br />Unite humanity with a living new language.<br />Rule passion - faith - tradition - and all things with tempered reason.<br />Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.<br />Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.<br />Avoid petty laws and useless officials.<br />Balance personal rights with social duties.<br />Prize truth - beauty - love - seeking harmony with the infinite.<br />Be not a cancer on the earth - Leave room for nature - Leave room for nature.</i><br /><br />Well... there's the United Nations... and Esperanto... so... we're screwed. Although if we kill off 11 out of 12 people, we might be okay. (Consider my finger on my nose for this one.)<br /><br />Not to mention that some people are apparently <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Guidestones#Reactions">really super grumpy</a> that there's a fancy new set of ten rules chiseled into stone strutting around, competing with the older set of ten rules. Seems like the same people who always get their panties in a twist regarding environmental messages, too. Did their moms not yell at them to keep their rooms clean or something?Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-65981448584400503172009-11-30T10:57:00.000-08:002009-11-30T12:41:53.865-08:00Entry: Ghost-ridingPerhaps this blog relies overly much on the cracks that Wikipedia breaks in my white, middle-class perspective on the world. It happens all the freaking time, though! And like the Minister of Cliches once said, "Write what you know." And what I know is that I'm very prone to doubletakes, followed by exclaiming "People <i>do that</i>?!" in a shrill voice.<br /><br />Take <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_riding">ghost riding the whip</a>, for example: <br /><br /><i>...when a person puts a car with an automatic transmission in drive or allows it to idle and then the driver (and passengers) of a vehicle exit while it is still rolling and dance beside it or on the hood or roof.<br /><br />Ghost riding is an activity that has been practiced in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years during what are called sydeshows. The popularization of ghost riding the whip is a byproduct of the popularity of Bay Area music and hyphy culture in general.</i><br /><br />Now, I'm not personally familiar with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyphy">hyphy</a> culture, but it would seem to me that the majority of ghost-riders do not (a) ghost-ride golf carts, (b) ghost-ride at what appear to be summer camps, (c) wear yarmulkes. And yet, the Wiki article gives us this photo as illustration:<br /><br /><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Ghost-riding-the-golf-cart.jpg/800px-Ghost-riding-the-golf-cart.jpg"><br /><br />Don't make this more confusing for me than it already is, Wikipedia.Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-84757878214591586102009-11-23T07:44:00.000-08:002009-11-23T08:23:14.821-08:00Entry: Andre the Giant Has a PosseThis kinda blew my mind. It was one of those instances where you see something, and you don't know what it is, and it turns out to be a random configuration of stuff that you already knew about. Although, if you know what molecules are, then pretty much everything falls into that category, but you're a smart group, I'm a lazy writer, you know what I mean.<br /><br />So I had seen these stickers around in the public sphere, slapped to various large objects:<br /><br /><img src="http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg299/_Sinitalela_/MYSPACE/obey_giant.jpg" /><br /><br />And I never paid them much mind. Until I stumbled upon <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_the_Giant_Has_a_Posse">the sticker's Wiki article</a>! (Well, I didn't literally <a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com">StumbleUpon</a> the article, my friend and I were having a discussion about culture jamming and you don't care at all.)<br /><br />Those stickers are a portrait of <a rhef="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_the_Giant">Andre the Giant</a> (aka Fezzig from <i>The Princess Bride</i>), as created by Shepard Fairey (aka the guy who did the Obama "Hope" poster). And the "OBEY" is a reference to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Live"><i>They Live</i></a> (aka the movie with the guy with the crazy sunglasses). It's a crazy pop culture golem! My favorite kind of golem.Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-60404237838083113442009-11-18T06:40:00.000-08:002009-11-18T07:50:42.111-08:00Entry: Lady GagaHi there, cats and kittens, long time no see! I won't get into why this post is so late; it seems much more fun to leave you to your assumptions. (Hint: if you assumed "drunk in a gutter," you're on the right track!)<br /><br />Speaking of assumptions: when you hear about how one pop star began her career (e.g. backup dancer, Mousketeer, relative of someone important), you start to assume that everyone in that profession had a similar start. And by "similar start," I mean "they're okay to look at and generally got very lucky." Which is why I was surprised to read this about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_gaga">Lady Gaga</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>Playing piano by ear from the age of 4, she went on to write her first piano ballad at 13 and began performing at open mike nights by age 14.<sup id="cite_ref-Bio_6-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_gaga#cite_note-Bio-6"><span></span><span></span></a></sup> At age 17, she gained early admission to the New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. There, she studied music and improved her songwriting skills by composing essays and analytical papers focusing on topics such as art, religion and socio-political order.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_gaga#cite_note-Bio-6"><span></span></a></blockquote>which is pretty much the last thing I ever expected to read in her Wiki article. It is comforting to know that at least one pop tart got famous through hard work and study. Or, studying until dropping out of school to pursue her career, but she's two years younger than me and has a number one album, so who made the right decision?<br /><br />And honestly, being part of the New York art scene probably goes a long way to explain this:<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ACm9yECwSso&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ACm9yECwSso&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-59968284689485099762009-11-06T18:48:00.000-08:002009-11-06T19:26:06.489-08:00Entry: List of Music Genome Project attributesPrepared to lose an entire afternoon to this one, space cadets.<br /><br />Like all cool kids, I utilize <a href="http://pandora.com">Pandora</a> now and then to expand my musical horizons. Oftentimes, however, I go to look up the attributes of my stations and have no idea what the hell any of them mean. For instance, I'm apparently really super into "extensive vamping." And, until I turned to the Wik', I had no idea what that was. Basically, it means I'm a simpleminded twit who likes to hear the same thing repeated many, many times in the span of four minutes or so. Also recurring: "major key tonality" AND "minor key tonality." I'm such a fencesitter.<br /><br />But perhaps your taste in music is overly specific, and you've wondered to yourself: what other musical attributes that I don't care for are floating around in the aether? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Music_Genome_Project_attributes">Thanks Wiki. </a> You've really outdone yourself this time.<br /><br />Here are some highlights:<br /><br />"Backbeat Hand Claps." Specifically hand claps. No drums, no footstomping.<br />"Blazin' Rappin'"/"Tight Lyrics". Perhaps my dorkiness is preventing me from understanding exactly what this term means, but doesn't that seem a little subjective for something calling itself a "Genome Project"?<br />"Lyrics with Heavy Erotic Content". Is there a subgenre of this that I don't know about? Don't get me wrong, I'm hip, I listen to Serge Gainsbourg... but I can't imagine not wanting to laugh my ass off at lyrics with heavy erotic content.<br />"Mystical Qualities". One of the backup singers is a unicorn, say.<br />"Sexist Lyrics". Okay, as a member of the group that usually gets the short end of the stick when it comes to sexism, I'm biased. But why the hell would someone actively seek this out as a quality of music?<br />"Use of Dirty-Sounding Organs". What, like a rectum?<br />"Vinyl Ambience". Just throwing it out there as a name for a drag queen act. Think about it, girls.<br /><br /><br />If anyone has any information as to which bands or songs embody the aforementioned, please let us know.Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-65490484667556498392009-10-29T16:57:00.000-07:002009-10-29T17:08:03.006-07:00Entry: the WatusiIn true <a href="http://thankswiki.blogspot.com/2009/03/entry-baader-meinhof-phenomenon.html">Bader-Meinhoff</a> fashion, I got in a discussion about this with my friends at dinner last night, and then again with my coworker this afternoon. Anywho.<br /><br />I wish to attend a function where there will be dancing, but find myself lacking proper instruction for an obsolete and spastic-looking move! O Wikipedia, can you help me?<br /><br /><i>In the classic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Watusi">Watusi</a>, the dancer is almost stationary with knees slightly bent, although may advance forward and back by one or two small rhythmic paces. The arms, with palms flat in line, are held almost straight, alternately flail up and down in the vertical. The head is kept in line with the upper torso but may bob slightly to accentuate the arm flailing.</i><br /><br />That's a good start, but my flailing feels a bit stiff and rehearsed. Perhaps, Wikipedia, perhaps you could help me to better embody the spirit of the Watusi...<br /><br /><i>The dance, which became popular in the American surf/beach sub-culture of 1960s, may be enhanced if one imagines that ones feet are on sand.</i><br /><br />Thank you.Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-74266090975948792792009-10-26T10:45:00.000-07:002009-10-26T11:07:53.713-07:00Entry: Posthumous executionThis link was sent to me by Erin... via <i>iPhone</i>. That's right, you can send me links even when you aren't sitting in front of your computer like a dork. Learn from Erin's example.<br /><br />History has presented us with numerous cases, from different parts of the world, where <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posthumous_execution">a corpse has been ritually "killed" a second time</a>. Because... people are dumb? <br /><br />Some of these cases are understandable, like Vlad the Imapler, "who was beheaded following his assassination." You don't want to make a mistake and have that guy coming after you because you didn't kill him properly. Or Gerard Butler, who was beheaded and crucified after he died at the end of that movie. They were pretty grumpy with him, boy howdy, and desecrating a corpse can be a good method of working out those issues. <br /><br />Some of them, however, are just ridiculous. "John Wycliffe (1328–1384), was burned as a heretic 45 years after he died." Why? This was the 14th century, nobody lived past 18! Nobody! Why would you get mad enough at some guy who was talking smack about Jesus to your grandfather to <i>dig up and burn his corpse</i>? There weren't any other live heretics running around to burn? Or at least more recently deceased heretics? I am so glad that I have Twitter to distract me from doing stupid crap like this.<br /><br />There's also the dramatic example of Oliver Cromwell, whose corpse was exhumed, then hanged, drawn and quartered, and tossed into a pit sans head. His head was later given a burial in 1960. Lesson learned: don't try to kill your monarch. This also leads us to one of the best out-of-context sentences on the Wik: "See also <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Cromwell%27s_head">Oliver Cromwell's head</a>." He's so historically relevant, his dismembered body part has its own Wikipedia article!Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-32725981689778676752009-10-19T11:39:00.001-07:002009-10-19T11:45:20.070-07:00Entry: Tsutomu YamaguchiSo, how's your Monday been going? Get stuck in traffic? Forget your lunch at home?<br /><br />"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsutomu_Yamaguchi">Yamaguchi</a>, an engineer in Hiroshima on a business trip for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on August 6, 1945 was just stepping off a tram when the atomic bomb Little Boy was dropped over the city just 3 kilometers away. The resulting explosion destroyed his eardrums, blinded him temporarily, and left him with serious burns over the left side of the top half of his body. He was wrapped in bandages for his skin wounds, and he went completely bald. Like many of the survivors of the atomic explosions, Yamaguchi suffered from effects caused by the explosions for much of his life. His wife was also poisoned by the nuclear fallout. Yamaguchi spent a fitful night in an air raid shelter before returning to his hometown of Nagasaki the following day. Yamaguchi was once again 3 kilometers away explaining to his supervisor how close he came to death just a few days before when the second bomb, Fat Man, was dropped."<br /><br />Not only did he survive two nuclear explosions-- in fact, Yamaguchi is still alive-- but he wrote a book about his experience and is an activist for nuclear disarmament. Instead of, you know, in a padded room somewhere still trying to deal with the psychological implications of being in two nuclear explosions in three days. That's the truly amazing part, to me.Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-20530396246674878892009-10-16T19:33:00.000-07:002009-10-16T19:45:31.601-07:00Entry: High FiveThis entry is a guest entry, which comes to me from Kirk, aka # μ from <a href="http://www.disorganization-xiii.com/">DO-xiii</a>. Do you enjoy video games? How about laughter? ...wait, neither? What the hell is wrong with you? Check out Disorganization XIII anyway... freaking weirdo.<br /><br /><blockquote><br />I found out about the entry for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_five">high-five</a> via <a href="http://www.reddit.com/">reddit</a>, since I too an a lover of narwhals and bacon and recycled shit from /b/.<br /><br />The high-five article is one of those articles that you think you know everything about, but goes on to surprise you. Part of what makes it awesome is entries for historically significant high-fives, such as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_five#Jackson_five">Jackson Five</a>. But most of it is due to the awesome illustrative pictures explaining the "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_five#.22Too_slow.22">Too Slow</a>" prank.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HFE_Too_Slow_1.JPG"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/36/HFE_Too_Slow_1.JPG/120px-HFE_Too_Slow_1.JPG" /></a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HFE_Too_Slow_2.JPG"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/36/HFE_Too_Slow_2.JPG/120px-HFE_Too_Slow_2.JPG" /></a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HFE_Too_Slow_3.JPG"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/36/HFE_Too_Slow_3.JPG/120px-HFE_Too_Slow_3.JPG" /></a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HFE_Too_Slow_4.JPG"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/36/HFE_Too_Slow_4.JPG/120px-HFE_Too_Slow_4.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Not only is this series of pictures hilariously entertaining, they're an inspiration to us all to make Wikipedia a brighter place. Think of how many of the average digicam pictures merely contain a couch full of inebriated people, or a high-angle shot in someone's bathroom. If you're one of the cool kids, you'll devote at least a few of these pictures to contributing to an open-source internet encyclopedia. Actually, scratch that last sentence.</blockquote>Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-85859939447426666352009-10-11T09:06:00.000-07:002009-10-11T09:49:24.553-07:00Entry: TwitterpatedFor today's entry, we make a rare safari into the jungles of Wiktionary. Exciting, I know!<br /><br />I've been familiar with the word "<a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/twitterpated">twitterpated</a>" to mean lovestruck, but I was not aware that the first usage of the term was the movie <i>Bambi</i>. Let's all thank our lucky stars that we have monolithic entertainment corporations to embiggen our collective vocabulary.<br /><br /><i>Bambi</i> was released in 1942 and the book it was based on, the dynamically titled <i>Bambi, a Life in the Woods</i> was published in 1923; so I suppose this would make "twitterpated" a neologism. But then again, what's the expiration date on a term being a neologism? Twitterpated has been around for at least 67 years; there are certainly many people still alive who were around before the advent of the word-- and oh what a dark and wretched time it was, only being able to describe someone as "besotted" or "smitten"-- but it's still a word that gained popular use through a movie, which, relative to the history of language is pretty cutting edge. So does that mean it's a paleoneologism? Destined in a few decades to become a simple word before retiring to Boca Raton with <i>(obsolete)</i> tacked onto the beginning of its definition?Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-81911209107054073652009-10-08T20:58:00.000-07:002009-10-08T21:09:50.176-07:00Entry: Palm Dog AwardThis is adorable.<br /><br />Since 2001, the critics at the Cannes Film Festival have awarded the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Dog">Palm Dog</a> to outstanding performances by a canine or group of canines, real or animated, in one of the films shown at the festival.<br /><br />Of course, out of the winners and nominees listed, I've only seen two of the films: <i>Dogville</i> and <i>Triplets of Belleville</i>. And let me say, I am <i>pissed</i> that the dog in the former won over the dog in the latter. Bruno is a charming, funny dog, who is pretty realistic for an animation. Moses is, for 99.99% of the role, a sound effect. Lame.Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-20030943562424104642009-10-02T19:18:00.000-07:002009-10-02T19:58:45.463-07:00Entry: Staffordshire HoardAlert reader John sent me a link to this article. Thanks again, John!<br /><br />This past July, amateur treasure hunter Terry Herbert uncovered <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staffordshire_hoard">the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold found to date</a>, estimated to be worth over 1 million GBP! Which is over $1.5 million in real money!<br /><br />Says John:<br /><br />"The article itself is cool, but one line really grabbed me:<br /><br />'The hoard was reported to the local officer of the Portable Antiquities Scheme, and on 24 September 2009 was declared treasure by the South Staffordshire coroner.'<br /><br />The coroner?! What the what?!? Why not the undertaker? Or the baker? Seriously. Those kooky Brits."<br /><br />It does give one pause. Maybe they figured that he rifles through the dead's possessions enough that he was one most likely to be able to discern the crap from the good stuff? <br /><br />Another thing to ponder: They found over 1500 pieces of armor and weaponry in about 20 square meters, with "no traces of any graves, buildings, or other structures have been found." How did they all end up there? A big giant battle, followed by a big giant pile of dead bodies that nobody bothered to clean up? A big giant barracks where everyone decided to become pacifist hippies one day and left all their swag behind? A big giant something else?Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-3369159522182057802009-09-27T16:33:00.000-07:002009-09-27T16:49:16.771-07:00Entry: Tiger kidnappingWhen I clicked on the link to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_kidnapping">tiger kidnapping</a>, I was expecting something awesome, like stories of people chloroforming tigers and throwing them into the trunks of Buicks and driving off to abandoned warehouses with them. Instead, tiger kidnapping is just "is a crime in which an abduction forms part of a robbery." BORING. I'm disappointed in you, Wiki. You too, reality.Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-48442349746109775632009-09-20T14:25:00.000-07:002009-09-20T14:53:37.454-07:00Entry: The SucklingTake a few deep breaths.<br /><br />Okay, good. Now, before I start this entry, be forewarned that it will discuss a specific <b>controversial issue</b> that usually starts a debate because everyone has a strong opinion about it, your humble blogger included. A debate that repeats other, similar debates before it, and a debate that never gets very far. In fact, I will recreate that debate here in the post for your convenience:<br /><br />Commenter 1: I believe X!<br />Commenter 2: I believe ~X!<br />C1: ~X is wrong! Here is some rhetoric that supports my opinion!<br />C2: X is wrong! Here is some rhetoric that supports my opinion!<br />C1: There are logical fallacies in your reasoning.<br />C2: No, there are logical fallacies in YOUR reasoning.<br /><i>Loop until the argument crumbles into personal attacks, and/or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law">Godwin's Law</a> comes into effect. Exuent COMMENTER 1 and COMMENTER 2, neither having changed their mind and both feeling that they have won.</i><br /><br />There, the argument has been taken care of. No need for inflammatory comments. Moving on.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Suckling">The Suckling</a> is a 1989 horror film about a couple who seek an illegal abortion at a brothel (I guess it's a full-service establishment?). The fetus is exposed to toxic waste, and mutates into a murderous beast "complete with prehensile umbilical cord and hooked talons for hands", who "envelops the house in an enormous placenta and slaughters the inhabitants one by one."<br /><br />Now, I know what you're thinking-- probably something along the lines of "Oh sweet Jesus, what kind of deranged mind would think such a film would be entertaining?"-- but I have to concede to the Wiki article itself for commentary:<br /><br /><i>As stated in the copy of one release of this film, "THE SUCKLING has been compared to Alien for its claustrophobic intensity and Die Hard for its non-stop action." Given the film's low budget and technical flaws, discerning filmgoers may disagree.</i><br /><br />I have never read a more tactful criticism on a website.<br /><br />What was bugging me, besides the subject matter, was the title. A suckling is, according to Wiktionary, "a young mammal which isn't weaned yet." So I guess it's technically correct, seeing as something that hasn't been born hasn't been weaned yet, but that can't be the correct usage of the term. And yes, I realize that I'm splitting hairs considering it's a movie in which a <i>whorehouse is covered by a giant placenta</i>, but they should have stuck with the alternate title: <i>Sewer Baby</i>.Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-15667260420260901392009-09-16T19:25:00.000-07:002009-09-16T20:02:50.317-07:00Entry: Lynda BarryI like to think that TILfW is generally a merry little blog, hewn from the sturdy wood of open-source encyclopedia articles and varnished with my weak attempts at humor. Its very concept is propelled by the sense of nerdish glee felt upon learning something interesting, and the resulting questions that crop up from wondering about said interesting fact.<br /><br />Sometimes, however; sometimes learning can be a painful experience.<br /><br />I had recently been rereading <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynda_Barry">Lynda Barry</a>'s autobiographical graphic novel <i>One! Hundred! Demons!</i>, which I highly recommend if you're into that sort of thing, and went on the Wik' to find out more about her. <br /><br />Apparently she and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ira_Glass">Ira Glass</a> were a couple at one time. Initially kinda interesting, but then I found this in one of the footnotes, a quote from an article from some journal that doesn't change what it says according to the whims of random yahoos with a wifi signal (ie. a "reliable" source):<br /><br /><i>Barry does not remember the relationship fondly. The louse in her excellent </i>One! Hundred! Demons!<i> story "Head Lice and My Worst Boyfriend" has been identified as Ira Glass. She is quoted in a 1998 Chicago Reader article as saying of Glass, "I went out with him. It was the worst thing I ever did. When we broke up he gave me a watch and said I was boring and shallow, and I wasn't enough in the moment for him, and it was over." Glass confirms, "Anything bad she says about me I can confirm."</i><br /><br />My reality was shattered. Okay, not <i>shattered</i>, but the world seemed a little sadder and duller upon this discovery. <br /><br />See, I'm sort of in love with him. Googling "crush on Ira Glass" yields 2,170 hits, which makes me feel less alone. He does appeal to the nerdy girl's sensibilities: smart, articulate, quirky, good listener, works for a nonprofit, wears funny glasses. I listen to the This American Life podcast every week, of course. I imagine Ira and I drinking chai lattes and browsing through flea markets, while he regales me with interesting stories unified around a theme; sometimes our friends David Sedaris and Sarah Vowell would be there too, and coincidentally have their own anecdotes to contribute. But this is apparently never going to happen (besides the fact that he's significantly older than me and lives halfway across the country and is married and probably not into girls who live with their parents) because he is a <i>jerk</i>. Or at least he was a jerk in the Eighties.<br /><br />I'm too heartbroken to pick on the article author for his or her awkward use of "confirm."Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-11723396472788505672009-09-09T18:50:00.000-07:002009-09-09T19:10:18.724-07:00Entry: No Name KeyThere is a small island that is part of the Florida Keys known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Name_Key">No Name Key</a>, and its existence is driving me up a wall. The island is named for the fact that it doesn't have a name! What kind of postmodern geography bullshit is that? The kind that angries up the blood, I'll tell you that much.<br /><br />To No Name Key's credit, however, it does provide a home to an adorable subspecies of white-tailed deer, known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_Deer">Key Deer</a>. <i>Not</I> No Name Deer, and thank the gods for that, because I would have thrown my laptop across the room in a fit of semiotic rage.Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-34392924490780599802009-09-06T08:57:00.000-07:002009-09-06T11:05:52.803-07:00Entry: Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116It seems I'm not as good as getting this blog back to its former prolific state as I had hoped; not through lack of material. I'm getting really interesting links from people, which is awesome! Thanks, link senders!<br /><br />Case in point: the awesome <a href="http://www.seeasea.wordpress.com">See ASea</a> sent me today's article, about young <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116">Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116</a>, a lad who has turned into a bit of an urban legend. I've heard this story brought up as an anecdote before-- "Did you know there was some lady who named her kid a string of random numbers and letters that's pronounced 'Steve'?"-- but this is the real deal.<br /><br />It happened in Sweden in 1991. Elisabeth Hallin and Lasse Diding initially intended to not name their son anything, in protest of a law that disallowed names that would be considered offensive, unsuitable, or "can be supposed to cause discomfort for the one using it." However, since they had not given their son a name by his fifth birthday and faced a fine from the court, they attempted to name him Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 (pronounced "Albin"), "claiming that it was 'a pregnant, expressionistic development that we see as an artistic creation.' The parents suggested the name be understood in the spirit of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E2%80%99Pataphysics">'pataphysics</a>. The court rejected the name and upheld the fine." I have to say, though, that rejecting that name on the last term given in the law is pretty reasonable; asking a first grader to write Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 on the top of his worksheet is pretty cruel. Hell, I can't even be bothered to type it out, I've been copypasting this whole time.<br /><br />They then attempted to name their child A, also pronounced "Albin," but apparently in Sweden there is a law against one-letter names. That's kinda lame. So they gave up and named their kid Albin. <br /><br />To be honest, I find naming your kid Brfxx... to be more palatable than some of the ridiculous spellings that American parents come up with for common names in a halfhearted stab at originality. But then again I'm not a parent, so What Do I Know. And besides, using a kid's name to make a statement about a law that sucks in theory but relative to other laws probably doesn't matter that much? Swedes, you are awesome. You only trail <a href="http://thankswiki.blogspot.com/2009/01/entry-2009-icelandic-financial-crisis.html">Iceland</a> in terms of awesomeness.Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-30502163975287596582009-08-27T18:26:00.000-07:002009-08-27T18:52:12.060-07:00Entry: GG AllinThis guy... oh man.<br /><br />I'm sure a lot of my more hardcore readers already know who <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GG_Allin">GG Allin</a> is, and are probably making fun of me right now for being such a square. My good friend Jess is the one who first made mention of him to me, and she is punk as f-word. In fact, the last time I saw her, she broke a Jack Daniels bottle over my head. I accept your unique way of showing affection, Jess, but did you have to use a full one? That's just wasteful.<br /><br />So where was I? Uh... oh yes. GG Allin. I'm just going to quote from the article, because I don't even know how to embellish on this.<br /><br />- "GG was born as Jesus Christ Allin at Weeks Memorial Hospital in Lancaster, New Hampshire. He was given this messianic name because his father, Merle Colby Allin, Sr., told his young wife, Arleta Gunther, that Jesus Christ himself had visited him and told him that his newborn son would be a great and all powerful man in the vein of the Messiah."<br /><br />- "During the early to mid 1980s, Allin fronted many acts. These included early albums varying from The Cedar Street Sluts to The Scumfucs in 1982, and The Texas Nazis in 1985."<br /><br />- "...Allin also began eating laxatives before performances - as defecation was becoming a regular stage act."<br /><br />- "He wrote and visited John Wayne Gacy in prison a number of times and Gacy painted a portrait of Allin, which became the album cover to the soundtrack of the film, <i>Hated: GG Allin And The Murder Junkies</i>."<br /><br />- "By this point, Allin's performances, which often resulted in considerable damage to venues and sound equipment, were regularly stopped after only a few songs by police or venue owners. Allin was charged with assault and battery or indecent exposure a number of times. His constant touring was only stopped by jail time or by long hospital stays for broken bones, blood poisoning, and other physical trauma."<br /><br />- "At his funeral, Allin's bloated, discolored corpse was dressed in his black leather jacket and trademark jock strap. He had a bottle of Jim Beam beside him in his casket, per his wishes (openly stated in his self-penned acoustic country ballad, "When I Die"). As part of his brother's request, the mortician was instructed not to wash the corpse (which smelled strongly of feces), or apply any makeup. The funeral became a wild party. Friends posed with the corpse, placing drugs and whiskey into its mouth. As the funeral ended, his brother put a pair of headphones on Allin. The headphones were plugged into a portable cassette player, in which was loaded a copy of The Suicide Sessions. The video of his funeral is widely available for purchase, and is an extra feature on the Hated DVD and some bootleg VHS tapes. His grave is regularly vandalized with feces and alcohol by fans."<br /><br />That... he... damn. If you'll excuse me, I have some bits to torrent.Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-67929940183783942772009-08-23T17:56:00.000-07:002009-08-23T18:22:16.896-07:00Entry: Association of the DeadYes folks, I'm back. Thanks for the kind birthday wishes! Maybe it's grim death for a young upstart blogger such as myself to take a hiatus, but... damn, I needed one. But I'm back, and as adequate as ever! Yeah!<br /><br />To celebrate TILfW's resurrection, I thought I'd talk about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_the_Dead">the Association of the Dead</a>. In a region of northern India called Uttar Pradesh, corrupt officials can be bribed to falsely declare someone dead. Sounds like a capital joke to play on one's chum, to be sure, but unfortunately it's used to do things like, oh, gain ownership of someone's land when they don't want to sell it. Luckily for the walking dead, this association is willing to go to bat for them, because according to the article, "the process to undo this is long, arduous, as well as often hopelessly inefficient and corrupt — not to mention that those least able to fight back make excellent victims." And considering the founder of the organization was "dead" for almost 20 years, this does seem like the kind of thing you'd need some backup for. And you thought the DMV was bad! Wakka wakka.Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-6229343789348325332009-08-01T10:51:00.000-07:002009-08-01T10:52:48.228-07:00Entry: *thhbbbpppt*It's my birthday, so y'all should <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random">amuse your damn selves</a>. I've got some very important drinking to do.Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-57876123799826355452009-07-28T21:03:00.001-07:002009-07-28T21:54:08.306-07:00Entry: C.B. FryThis article was sent to me forever ago by Neil. Thanks Neil, and I apologize for sucking at doing things in a timely fashion.<br /><br />So, I know nothing about sports, and I know even less about sports that are not popular in my country. But this cricket player, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_B_Fry">C.B. Fry</a>, was one cool cat.<br /><br />First, allow me to take a moment and marvel at the sentences in this article that are written in my native tongue, but convey little or no information to me:<br /><br />"A highly effective right-handed batsman, Fry captained both Sussex and England, and scored over 30,000 first-class runs at an average of over 50 (a particularly high figure for an era when scores were generally lower than today)."<br /><br />CRAZINESS!<br /><br />"In his early career Fry was an enthusiastic and successful fast bowler. This was unusual amongst gentleman amateurs and he regularly opened the bowling for University sides and the Gentlemen. The late 1890's saw a re emergence of the throwing controversy. Several professional bowlers including Arthur Mold and Ernie Jones were no balled and forced to retire. Fry's bowling action was criticised by opponents and team mates alike and it was only a matter of time before he too was no balled (by Jim Phillips), despite his status as a gentleman."<br /><br />HE SURE DID! That throwing controversy will get you every damn time.<br /><br />On top of cricket, he played football, rugby, tied for the world long jump record, and "was able, from a stationary position on the floor, to leap backwards onto a mantelpiece." Whichever servant got stuck cleaning footprints off the mantel must have loved that particular party trick.<br /><br />Outside of sport, Fry was an Oxford alum, wrote several books (a good number of which are, unsurprisingly, about cricket), was an adviser to the Indian delegation at the League of Nations (for those of you even more history illiterate than I, the League of Nations was the even more useless precursor to the UN), started two magazines, ran for some kind of crazy British political office, had a career in radio, and was a teacher at a prep school.<br /><br />And, <b>not only</b> was he a well-rounded intellectual and accomplished athlete, but he was also... um... colorful. Fry was given to telling wild stories, like being offered the throne of Albania, went for naked runs on Brighton Beach, and tried to develop an interest for cricket in Nazi Germany. Presumably he changed his mind on the last bit after the Germans started bombing the hell out of his homeland.<br /><br />Enthusiasm for the sporting culture of fascist regimes aside, a rather interesting fellow.Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-44921916631402515452009-07-25T12:04:00.001-07:002009-07-25T13:15:51.856-07:00Entry: ThagomizerI thought I'd stick with the vague etymology theme I've had going on and talk about a link that friend of the blog <a href="http://cheaphorsestuff.blogspot.com/">Galadriel</a> linked me to a while back. Thank you, Galadriel! Or, should I say, <i>hantanyel</i>.<br /><br />If, like me, you went through a serious dinosaur phase as a kid, you probably remember that the stegosaurus is the one with the big plates sticking up off his back and a spiked tail. And if, like me, you went through a serious <i>Far Side</i> phase several years later, you probably remember that Gary Larson drew strips about cavemen, like, all the damn time.<br /><br />Well, apparently paleontologists really took a shine to this particular comic<br /><br /><img src="http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo78/thankswiki/Thagomizer.png"><br /><br />because the term <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thagomizer">thagomizer</a> has become an accepted (if informal) synonym for stegosaurus' tail spikes. Seriously, is there anything better than a scientist with a great sense of humor? Okay, there's plenty of things, but... they're still pretty cool.<br /><br />I love that the article is careful to point out that "The fate of Thag Simmons notwithstanding, stegosaurs and humans did not exist in the same era." Suck it, creationists. (Assuming that Leviticus will let you.)Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-70622192166648559412009-07-22T20:01:00.000-07:002009-07-22T20:19:37.493-07:00Entry: AvocadoAnother dirty-minded friend, another adult-themed entry.<br /><br />Emma told me to check out the article for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avocado">Avocado</a>, the most delicious of non-sweet fruits, specifically the "Etymology" part. So, innocent lamb that I am, I click on the link she tweeted me.<br /><br />Well, my friends, innocent lamb no more! Avocados were named after balls. <i>Balls.</i><br /><br />Okay, specifically the Nahuatl word for testicle, "ahuacatl." On top of that, avocados have quite a sordid reputation: "Historically avocados had a long-standing stigma as a sexual stimulant and were not purchased or consumed by any person wishing to preserve a chaste image. Avocados were known by the Aztecs as 'the fertility fruit'."<br /><br />This is shocking! Especially for me. I <i>love</i> avocados-- or at least, I used to. I live in a small town, I don't want gossip to spread about who I pick up at bars due to what I pick up in the produce aisle. (See what I did there? I am a clever one.)<br /><br />And my longstanding and famous love of guacamole (for once, I am not lying for the sake of humor-- I am a guacamole <i>fiend</i>); what have people been assuming? That I like to mash up balls and mix them with lime juice, salt, garlic, and cilantro?<br /><br />...although, if I ever become a high-powered corporate shark of some kind, that might not be a bad image to have. Or a dominatrix.Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-16811798805311480942009-07-19T12:44:00.000-07:002009-07-19T13:32:38.249-07:00Entry: Mantis ShrimpAnother urgent text message regarding a Wiki article, this time from Ziggy! Ah, the benefits of surrounding oneself with irredeemable nerds.<br /><br />The first thing that struck me about the article was, of course, the colorful photo:<br /><br /><img src="http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo78/thankswiki/260px-Mantis_shrimp_from_front.jpg"><br /><br />"Oooh!" I said to myself, "How pretty! The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis_shrimp">mantis shrimp</a> must be the geisha of the sea."<br /><br />But then I actually set about reading and gaining information! <br /><br />The mantis shrimp is cold-blooded, and I mean that both literally <b>and</b> figuratively. The hundreds of species of mantis shrimp are separated into groups by what kind of claws they have: spearers have appendages with barbed tips, while smashers have "possess a much more developed club and a more rudimentary spear". Shrimps got spears. <br /><br />On top of that, they are <i>very good at using their claws for carnage</i>: "In smashers, these two weapons are employed with blinding quickness...about the acceleration of a .22 caliber bullet. Because they strike so rapidly, they generate cavitation bubbles between the appendage and the striking surface. The collapse of these cavitation bubbles produces measurable forces on their prey in addition to the instantaneous forces of 1,500 newton that are caused by the impact of the appendage against the striking surface, which means that the prey is hit twice by a single strike; first by the claw and then by the collapsing cavitation bubbles that immediately follow. Even if the initial strike misses the prey, the resulting shock wave can be enough to kill or stun the prey." Shrimps will cut you. With <i>physics</i>.<br /><br />Additionally, their eyes can move independently of each other and can see both ultraviolet and infrared. And they exhibit high intelligence and complex social behavior.<br /><br />So, in conclusion, my original hypothesis was wrong. Mantis shrimp are the <i>samurai</i> of the sea.<br /><br />There's a lot of detailed information in the Wiki article, but it leaves a lot of questions. Why haven't mantis shrimp conquered humans yet? Is there an ongoing government project to transplant crazy shrimp eyes into human subjects, making a hybrid supersoldier? What is my obsession with analogies comparing marine life with Japanese stereotypes? The world may never know.Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2474129171557998598.post-56867760628424962702009-07-14T17:37:00.000-07:002009-07-14T19:43:50.178-07:00Entry: Wood (musician)I was reading the article for the band <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Sea_Power">British Sea Power</a>, and was going to pick on the band members for having one-word stage names, but the stub for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_(musician)">Wood</a>, the drummer, was just too cute to pass up. Kind of like your mom.<br /><br />Anyway, the stub reads:<br /><br />"Matthew Wood (stage name Wood) is British Sea Power's drummer. He also helps design most of the artwork for the sleeves.<br /><br />He is often seen as the quietest member of the band (rarely taking part in interviews), and when seen playing bass on 'No Red Indian' it is also evident he is the tallest member of the band. He has blond hair."<br /><br />That's it! It's like a blurb you'd find in an indie rock version of Tiger Beat, right in the corner of the softly lit, airbrushed photo of the band. A tall, blond drummer. Dreamy.Reginahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06679938378527859497noreply@blogger.com0
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