Tag: weird

  1. Stalking the wild Toynbee tile.

    18 September 2010

    Last Saturday was 9/11, a day of infamy that went down in United States history as the day in 2001 when everything started going off the rails. In a strange sort of way, the year 2001 also figures into the history of science fiction thanks to the novel of the same name by Arthur C. Clarke, and the history of culture jamming and art hacking by way of license plate-sized wodges of linoleum and adhesive called Toynbee tiles. I've been fascinated by them for years, those cryptic messages which read TOYNBEE IDEA IN MOVIE 2001 RESURRECT DEAD ON PLANET …

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  2. Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs does conspiracy theory.

    02 May 2010

    After dinner tonight, Mika and I somehow got off on the topic of libraries and books and our shared love of same.. around that time, Mika wondered out loud if I Hate Perfume, her perfumery of choice, manufactured anything which smelled like books or libraries. While she checked I bounced over to my favorite supplier of decorative scents, Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs to see if they had anything along those lines. On a lark because I haven't been to their site in a couple of months I hit the link for their limited edition catalogue and was shocked and amazed …

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  3. Blind, but still with eyes to see.

    15 February 2010

    The first time I read through this article it threw me for a loop: a patient at a hospital in Geneva, Switzerland referred to by the initials 'TN' suffered two strokes a couple of weeks apart. Each CVA damaged one half of his visual cortex, thus rendering him completely blind for all intents and purposes. While he was recovering, physicians discovered that TN still had the ability to read the facial expressions of people around him and correctly interpret their emotional states. Some tests showed that his amygdala was still operational, which lead neurologists to wonder what else he was …

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  4. Fare thee well, o my Emperor.

    08 January 2010

    On this date in the year 1880 c.e. Emperor Joshua Norton the First, Emperor of United States of America and Protector of Mexico collapsed in death at the corner of California Street and (now) Grant Avenue.

    Emperor Norton was possibly one of the most eccentric people ever to have lived in the United States. Born in England in the early 19th century, he came to the United States by way of South Africa in the mid 1800's and became something of an entrepreneur, working the real estate market and using the profit to try to corner the market on …

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  5. The King of Pop has passed.

    25 June 2009

    It's official - Michael Jackson is dead at the age of 50.  Jackson was rushed into an undisclosed hospital in Los Angeles, California in full cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at 1446 PST8PDT.  The cause of death isn't known, and won't be determined for a couple of weeks at least.  The rumors from earlier today have been officially dispelled, and Netcraft confirms it.  Jackson was easily one of the most prolific musicians in history, topping out in the neighborhood of 750 million records sold during his career.  Oddly enough, he just closed a series of 50 concerts in London, England …

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  6. This was potentially the geekieest bachelor's party in recorded history.

    20 October 2008

    I roused myself from bed far earlier than I'm accustomed to on Saturday morning, around 0800 EST5EDT or so, for what is traditionally the most memorable event prior to one's wedding.. the bachelor's party. While most of the groomsmen weren't able to attend on Saturday due to their lack of proximity (most of them live at least one state, and usually more than that away from the DC area), the festivities were well attended by close friends from nearby. Shortly before 0900 local time most everyone had assembled on the doorstep: Jason and Jarin arrived first, followed by Grant and …

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  7. How about some surreality to cap off a wonderfully weird night?

    29 November 2007

    In the words of my namesake, I'll explain later.

    First up, one of my fellow retrocomputing afficionados named Toni Westbrook has undertaken an amazing project: Shredz64. Chances are, you've heard of the game Guitar Hero, in which you use a controller shaped very much like an electric guitar to 'play' rock music as a character in a video game. I've never played it, but it looks like it might be neat. Anyway, Westbrook is designing an interface for the Commodore-64 called the PSX64 that will let you hook a Guitar Hero controller up. He's also developing a game that works …

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  8. At last, the post you've all been waiting for...

    03 October 2007

    Exoteric life being what it is, I've been waiting for the right time to post about Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day on 8 December 2007. The day is just what it sounds like - it's a Saturday where you wander around someplace pretending to be a time traveler, ideally kitted out in costume and in character but not actually telling anyone what you're doing. The original thread on the Koala Wallop forums goes on to describe a couple of possible schticks that you and your friends can try, such as "We came from a Utopian future but we don't …

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