Karma not so Instant

A judge orders the release of Abu Ghraib photos and the Securities and Exchange Commission upgrades Sen. Frist stock inquiry to a formal investigation.

Bush still thinks all his folks doing a fine job.

Teen Films his own Death with Camcorder

and catches the killer.

All Over the World

This planet's metros showcase some of the world's coolest art.

Because I'm a Sucker for Lists

I give you the list Dubya's nicknames for the hapless people he works and lives with. Prepared not to be bowled over by the cleverness.

Woogle. It's the new search engine craze.

It creates image messages from your Google Image search by using some of your favourite phrases, but to start you off, "love is blind." Also, try Toogle for images made out of their search-terms.

Just a spoon full of sugar

changes the context of a reaaaalllllyyy creepy movie. Thanks to Sean D for sending this weird little gem.*





*You'll need your speakers - more than half the fun.

This Woman's Working Again

What you see below are lyrics to a new Kate Bush song that will be on the new Kate Bush album. The album, Aerial, will be released on November 7th. Kate's new single KING OF THE MOUNTAIN is out on October 24th.

She said: "I'm so pleased with everyone's work on this record. There are some lovely performances and I hope you will all feel it's been worth the wait. Bertie (Her son, Bertie, now seven, provided the drawing of a king on a mountain for the sleeve of her new single.) keeps me very busy, he is so much fun".

KCRW out of L.A. will be playing it at some point today. You can go through their podcasts and real audio to listen. The track was played for the first time on BBC Radio 2 on 21st September 2005, and was made available for download as of 27 September.

King of the Mountain

Could you see the aisles of women?
Could you see them screaming and weeping?
Could you see the storm rising?
Could you see the guy who was driving?
Could you climb higher and higher?
Could you climb right over the top?
Why does a multi-millionaire
Fill up his home with priceless junk?

The wind is whistling
The wind is whistling
Through the house

Elvis are you out there somewhere
Looking like a happy man?
In the snow with Rosebud
And king of the mountain

Another Hollywood waitress
Is telling us she's having your baby
And there's a rumour that you're on ice
And you will rise again someday
And that there's a photograph
Where you're dancing on your grave

The wind is whistling
The wind is whistling
Through the house

Elvis are you out there somewhere
Looking like a happy man?
In the snow with Rosebud
And king of the mountain

The wind it blows
The wind it blows the door closed

I'm so tired, I haven't slept a wink

Dropped Jon and Ruth off at the airport pre-sunrise. Because I didn't sleep my tired personality stepped into the spotlight. That would be the manic child that likes to say, "Whooooo!" and tends to look away from the road while driving. As I drove back, the normal me took over. The one that suddenly thinks, "Shit! Did I remember my keys?" Only to finish the thought two seconds later by concluding that I wouldn't be driving unless I'd remembered my keys.

Now I sit in front of Jon and Ruth's computer. I watch the house while they're away to make sure it doesn't change the locks or have wild parties. Watching with me are four sullen cats that during my stay will become addicted to catnip and unhealthy amounts of wet food.

I will be typing on this crap keyboard until I destroy it late one night and buy them a new one.

May not one night.

Maybe not so late.

"It will be National Geek Day"

Time magazine presents an interview with Neil Gaiman and Joss Whedon.

TIME: Neil, you're a big blogger these days, right?

NG: I've been blogging since February of 2001. When I started blogging, it was dinosaur blog. It was me and a handful of tyrannosaurs. We'd be writing blog entries like, 'the tyrannosaurus is getting grumpy.'

These days there are 1.2 million people reading it. It's very, very weird. We have this enormous readership, as a result of which now I feel absolutely far too terrified and guilty to stop. I'd love to stop my blog at this point, but there's this idea that there will be 1.2 million people's worth of pissed-off-ness that I hadn't written anything today.

JW: That's the problem with doing anything. Everybody expects you to keep doing it, no matter what.

NG: For me, it's always that Mary Poppins thing. I'll do it until the wind changes. The joy of doing Sandman was doing a comic and telling people, no, it has an end, at a time when nobody thought you could actually get to the end and stop doing a comic that people were still buying just because you'd finished. Probably of all the things I did in Sandman, that was the most unusual and the oddest. That I stopped while we were outselling everybody, because it was done. What everybody wants is more of what they had last time that they liked.

First Live Giant Squid Photographed

This extraordinary image, captured by Japanese scientists T. Kubodera and K. Mori, marks the first-ever record of a live giant squid in the wild. The mysterious deep-sea creature has inspired countless sea monster tales and a variety of scientific expeditions. To reaf about the very weird and very violent sex lives of squids, click this.

It's time to write your mother, it's time to pay some bills.

This is what we call the Muppet Stamps!

The New Yorker's Paul Rudnick's take on Intelligent Design

Day No. 1:

And the Lord God said, “Let there be light,” and lo, there was light. But then the Lord God said, “Wait, what if I make it a sort of rosy, sunset-at-the-beach, filtered half-light, so that everything else I design will look younger?”

“I’m loving that,” said Buddha. “It’s new.”

“You should design a restaurant,” added Allah.

Read the rest here.

Snippets from the Doomsday Times

The Bush administrations appeal to Americans for money to help pay for the reconstruction of Iraq has raised only $600 (£337).

The appeal for donations to rebuild New Orleans have attracted hundreds of millions of dollars. Of course, Hurricane Katrina survivors who want to apply online for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance need Microsoft's Windows operating system and Internet Explorer Version 6.

"The US has lost control of their budget at a time when racking up deficits has beenauthorizedd without any control [from Congress]," French Finance Minister M. Thierry Breton said, allegedly quoting Alan Greenspan in a rare moment of simple honesty. "We were both disappointed that the management of debt is not a political priority today. The situation that is creating tension today on the currency market ... is clearly the American deficit." Well, ddduuuuhhhhhh! What funny is that Greenspan did not want America and the world to hear this.

FEMA director Michael Brown is being retained by the agency as a "consultant."

Geneva Convention? We Don't Need No Stinking Convention!

The Bush administration threatens veto against Geneva Convention.

Senators John McCain, John W. Warner, and Lindsey Graham disgusted by the latest torture scandal in Iraq*, are seeking an amendment to a defense bill which would require the military to abide by the Geneva Convention. McCain, himself a victim of torture while a prisoner during the Vietnam War, made it clear Sunday that he did not believe that the military, including Pentagon leaders, had gotten the message that the United States must obey the Geneva Convention and abstain from torture.

The Bush administration is reportedly opposed to any such legislation, and have threatened to veto it. To make matters worse, many prominent Congressional Republicans are also opposed to abiding by the Geneva Convention, to the point that overturning such a veto is far from assured.

* "On their day off people would show up all the time," the sergeant continues in the HRW report. "Everyone in camp knew if you wanted to work out your frustration you show up at the PUC tent. In a way it was sport. The cooks were all U.S. soldiers. One day a sergeant shows up and tells a PUC to grab a pole. He told him to bend over and broke the guy's leg with a mini Louisville Slugger that was a metal bat. He was the cook."

Stuff

I have two dressers and a lengthy closet full of clothes. Yet, I wear the same clothes for the most part. When I go through the dressers and closet to throw things away, I end up thinking, "Well, I wear this so I won't throw it away." But clearly I don't wear all of these clothes. It would take ten women two months to wear all these clothes.

I need help.


Serious help.


Let's not even talk about the drawer full of junk I never use that I have moved from place to place for over a decade and a half.

Soooooo, this isn't shocking.

You are a Social Liberal (73% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (20% permissive) You are best described as a: Socialist Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

I Swear, it isn't Porn

Although my mom thinks it is. My story for the Stirring up the Storm anthology is the featured story on the Erotic Authors Association this month. I still see flaws (I will always see flaws in everything I write) but I love this story. This is a character I could write a book around.

Marilyn Jaye Lewis did a brilliant job. Please, read the story but still buy the book. That's the best way to tell someone they've done a great job with a book.

Apparently, I have a thing for boots.

The newest kids are nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Morphing from Johnny Cougar then evolving back into John Mellancamp, gave the world "Hurts so Good" "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)" "Jack & Diane" and "Crumblin' Down" and on and on and on. Although not my kind of music, I can't deny the man's talent. He writes stick in your head songs and sings them with grit and emotion.

I can't tell you how many times I heard "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" as I slinked and slithered my way through the eighties. For a Mid-West white girl like me, this was the first taste of Rap I had after Blondie's "Rapture". Grandmaster Flash ushers rap into the Hall like no one else can.

Miles Davis, the "Picasso of Jazz," was a genius. A jazz genius. So, not sure what he's doing here but I bow to the man. Bitches Brew should be in every collection.

Mention Blondie and the yap leads to Debbie Harry, her looks, her bod. All of it undeniable. Damn, I wanted the green boots from Parallel Lines sooooooo bad. What made and still makes Blondie one of my favorite bands is the amazing music. "Fade Away and Radiate" from Parallel lines is still one of my favorite songs. Attitude you can listen to, dance to and keep in your collection despite outgrowing your first leather jacket.

Cat Stevens was nominated. I'm very happy to see him nominated. We all know the recent history - let's not debate it. "First Cut is the Deepest" (not the Sheryl Crow monstrosity - Rod Stewart did a damn fine job), "Wild World" and the first and only song I learned to play on the guitar, "Morning has Broken". Still love the man.

The Patti Smith Group was nominated. I can't even begin to explain the full on worship I have when it comes to Patti Smith. I wept listening to her music. When I saw her on television I was transfixed. She was moving. Patti moves. I won't even start listing the songs because they'd all end up on here.

The Sex Pistols were nominated.

The Stooges were nominated. Baby, "I Wanna be your Dog". Yeah, yeah, I know. "Lust for Life". Ruined. Destroyed by a cruise line. And it's not with the Stooges. I had the great fortune of seeing Iggy Pop perform; all sinew and twisted man power. Loved it. I'd lick his boots. Passed by him on 2nd Avenue in New York. He was a grinning bastard. I love that city for that moment.

Lynyrd Skynyrd was nominated. OK. "Free Bird". Skynyrd was more than that. They sang with balls and brains. This is another band that could have me rattling off songs 'til dawn. Their legacy is huge and spawned one of recent favorites, the Drive by Trucker's Southern Rock Opera.

Black Sabbath was nominated. I linked to the box set. You're not going to going to cover them with a greatest hits album. We can all name bands that changed rock forever - Black Sabbath did that in dirty black spades.

The Dave Clark Five was nominated. Honestly, don't know the music. "Catch Us If You Can!" I know that one.

The J. Geils Band was nominated. I feel bad for them - you know, for "Freeze Frame". The eighties wrecked a great band. "Love Stinks" - that was a great damn song. I linked to a live album that shows what those Boston boys could do.

Chic was nominated. I really, really didn't like disco. There's no way, after hearing this song bellowed by stupid pre-teens in the locker room after class, that I can say anything good here. Sorry.

Joe Tex was nominated. Classic soul music and a favorite of mine - "I Gotcha!"

The Sir Douglas Quintet was nominated. Try "Mendocino", "Wasted Days & Wasted Nights", "Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone?" - you'll know it! Total Texas.

Musicians, industry professionals and journalists vote the results of which will be announced in December.

UPDATE: I should add that if the Sex Pistols end up in the Hall, this world is even more fucked up than a jaded little shit like me thought.

Leaving nothing behind

China, that frontier of censorship, has really let the shit hit the fan.



September 6 saw nearly 1,100 public toilets across the city upgraded. But there is a big but to this upgrade. No more than two flies or two pieces of waste are allowed in Beijing's public toilets at any given time.

That's right.

Two.

Pieces.

And it is the job of 400 people to make sure they stay that way. No benefits but llloooootttss of job security.

Woy yoy yoy yoy, yoy yoy-yoy toy!

Lego Jennifer, red-haired rasta, Born in America, made into a toy girl.

Lovin' the round, happy breasts.

Thanks, JR.

For the link and the round, happy breasts.

Get Thee to the Regina Apostolorum on Time

Exorcism. It's all the rage in pontificating circles.

A course given at the Regina Apostolorum last year was attended by 130 people. This year they expect even more. Why?

Because as many as 5,000 people are considered members of Satanic cults in Italy, with 17-to 25-year-olds making up three quarters of them.

You may remember the story of rock band Beasts of Satan from last year. I didn't, so I looked it up. The 'band' had a tendency to brutally murder it's members and followers all for the sake of pleasing Satan.

I dug up this odd tidbit indicating that at some point, Mother Teresa underwent exorcism. Curiouser and curiouser.

And here is info on the exorcism of Anneliese Michel which spurred the movie you know of without my saying a thing.

He made it clear that he was not a "Jewish James Bond"

Simon Wiesenthal, 'Conscience' of Holocaust, dead at the very ripe old age of 96. Just living that long is a testament to this mans courage. He referred to himself as a "deputy for the dead."

He angered many, he was honored by many. But none can debate his tenaciousness towards the task he undertook in 1945.

Because They Can

The "Have dog will dress it up" philosophy brings us beedogs.

Yes.

Dogs dressed in bee costumes.

Enjoy.

Today, all day is...

...Talk like a Pirate Day!

And if'n you're needin' some help with that, go here and translate a URL.

Just to let everyone know...

... I adore David Bowker. Even more than ellipses... which is a helluva statement because I lllloooovveeee ellipses.

Goooooood Monday Mullet to Ya!

Yes, the cut to fashion 'muscle' shirt says it all, kids.

Save Me!

See that guy? He's Joe Williams.

See that thing he's got? It's a Hydrogen Generating Module, or H2N-Gen for short. Joe says this machine can produce a more complete burn, greatly increasing efficiency and reducing fuel consumption by 10 to 40 per cent - and pollutants by up to 100 per cent.

But, this could be a moot point. Because at 9:15 a.m. EDT on June 1, 2014, the world, hell - this entire solar system, will be destroyed by a 10 million mile wide cosmic dust cloud.

"The good news is that this finding confirms several cutting- edge ideas in theoretical physics," announced Dr. Albert Sherwinski. Al really knows how to put a cheerful spin on things.

"The bad news is that the total annihilation of our solar system is imminent."

Oh.

At this news some may want to turn to God for solace. Some may have forgotten how. Let "Hey God" help! As they themselves will tell you, it's like praying - only with more swearing.

He has been a bit busy so be patient while you wait for a reply.

Touching Him with a Twelve Foot Pole

Jason Messenger, a senior instructor with Epic Aviation in New Smyrna Beach, was flying with student pilot Kenneth Barrett. They were about to land shortly before 9 a.m. Their Cessna 172RG's suddenly indications that the landing gear had not locked into place.

After unsuccessfully trying to recycle the gear, then bumping the malfunctioning right wheel into place by bouncing the aircraft's working wheels off the tarmac, an alternative plan was needed.

The plan was daring, difficult and cool as hell.

As emergency crews stood by, Epic Aviation president Danny Perna got behind the wheel of a Jeep and with two passengers, rolled out to the runway. The idea? Race under the airplane as it flew low overhead and tug the malfunctioning landing gear into place.

After two unsuccessful attempts, Perna and his team borrowed a 12-foot pole from firefighters. The plane made one more failed pass. Then an unidentified man reached out, extended the pole from the Jeep as it raced down the runway at about 65 mph and nudged the landing gear into a locked position.

Without a Trace

Now you, too, can vanish. Step by step instructions from Vanishing Point.

Scales of Evil

For all you aficionados of charts systems, penal codes and forensic psychiatry, I give you the Evil Ranking System (ERS). It's based on a scale created by Dr. Michael Welner, of New York University and forensic psychiatrist with New York University, originally referred to as the Depravity Scale.

In the first study, Dr. Michael Stone of Columbia University examined the biographies of more than 500 killers in New York's Mid-Hudson Psychiatric Centre and developed a 22-level "graduations of evil" list." After years of study, we have learned to recognize the traits of these people: what they do and why they do it," he said. "It is time to give them the proper appellation - evil."

Stone is also quoted as saying: "the bulk of evil on a world scale is committed by ideologues and their followers." Wars and persecutions, from the Spanish Inquisition to the fighting in Bosnia, show people are capable of "bottomless cruelty to those outside the tribe, especially in times of hardship and hunger," he said.

It is commonly used to compare the evil in murder cases, to more precisely sentence criminals.

Radar Online has taken the scale and applied to celebrities.

Scott Manning has meticulously computed the worst dictators of all time. That's a fun list.

And the Discovery Channel has taken both the scale and Dr. Stone and made a show out of them: Most Evil.

Crime Library has a profile on Dr. Welner as well as in depth studies of cases both men have studied and testified for during the judiciary process. Dr. Katherine Ramsland has a three part series in which she dissects evil on all it's different levels.

A New Meaning to Giving the Finger

"It's not something that's been done lightly and to chop a finger off, it's a bit drastic."

I have to agree.

Brett Blackwell, who plays for Glenelg in South Australia, has been in pain since breaking the finger three years ago. Doctors offered to fuse the bones to relieve the ongoing pain but there was a catch - it would end his rugby career.

Tuesday, Blackwell had his ring finger amputated.

"I love my footy and love playing sport and if that's going to help me to succeed at this level then it's something you've just got to do," he said.

Glenelg club manager Ken Applegarth said the decision was an emotional one that confirmed Blackwell's commitment to his sport.

"He just really wants to continue to play at the highest level," he said.

"He's been catching the ball on his wrist and bruising that all the time, so it's affected him, and he's made a pretty emotional decision."

Passing Notes in Class

U.S. President George W. Bush is writing a note to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a Security Council meeting at the 2005 World Summit and 60th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York September 14, 2005. Perhaps he shouldn't have had all that coffee before entering the chambers.

UPDATE: The photographer, Rick Wilking, speaks.

Because you know you always wanted to know

what happened to the cast of Willy Wonka, the White Shadow and Debbie Does Dallas, all of this carefully researched info is here for the reading.

Julie Dawn Cole - Veruca Salt

The only one of the original five children still acting, Julie has appeared on numerous British TV shows. She also performed in an acclaimed comedy show at the 2004 Melbourne Comedy Festival entitled “The Veruca Salt Sessions”.

Joy!

As I do with all storms that pass through, the smallest crack of thunder had me running outside to watch nature's festivities. The sky was full of huge, black clouds and three bolts of lightning would shoot out from three different directions. But the thunder, I thought, was lacking in power.

"C'mon. You can do better than that!" I bellowed at the sky.

It did.

From the south, I could see the tops of trees swaying madly. In a manner that can best be described as rolling, the wind swept through at what I later found out was 70 mph carrying branches, birds and basically anything that wasn't tied down.

"OK. I'm impressed!"

After things quieted down a bit, I headed back inside. With my hand on the doorknob, I swore to myself. I knew without even going in the power would be out. And it was.

With a night of darkness, and thusly no reading or computer, ahead of me, I got in the car and went to viddy the damage. Trees were snapped in half. Big, fucking huge trees. In half. Driving into town, half the intersections lights were gone. Sirens filled the air. There were more people on the streets, looking decidedly confused, than I see at parades.

Driving then from county to county, it was apparent the power outage was widespread. Yapping with my sister on the phone she told me the news - the power could be out for up to two days. I repeated that back to her than to myself quite a few times. Two days!

This meant no water, no flushing, no shower.

Shit.

Lanterns and flashlights were grabbed by one and all as a deck of cards hit the kitchen table.

Next morning, the chainsaws and generators were the sound de jour. Power still out. Shit.

A trip for D cell batteries, water and fast food was in order.

But, lo, I spied with my tired eye a vision in orange climbing a pole next door. Could it be? Yes, yes it could! The dude that takes the fried squirrels off the lines a few times a year was hooking the house back up! I'm not ashamed to say I did a little dance all the while squeaking with joy.

I witnessed a storm of low hurricane winds that lasted ten minutes and wrecked three counties. The power was out all of thirteen hours. And I was a crabby shit.

What the people on the gulf coast are going through makes me look like the spoilt little energy junkie that I am.

I am donating more money today.

Have some vacation time stored up?

Then, as the lucky winner of the eBay auction:

The Ultimate Hippie Vacation!

you and a guest will be picked up by the auctioneer's crazy brother-in-law, Cody, in his huge hippie bus, and he will take you on what he calls, "The Ultimate Hippie Vacation!"

Starting at a mere .99 cents, this dream tour has moved up to three, count 'em, three digits! Get in and bid while the biddings still biddable you crazy bidding bidders, you!

Block by block, the gallery was filled

with Lego interpretations of Modern Art at Art Craziest Nation, Walker Art Gallery from 20 August 2005 - 29 January 2006

Tool of the Week

The BURDIZZO® EMASCULATONE 9

Not making this up, people. Scary name, huh? Want to know what it does?

"The Burdizzo Emasculatone is an elegant little tool especially suited to crushing the spermatic cords of a variety of male mammals. It really helps to make a neat job of what would otherwise be an unpleasantly messy endeavor, and the Burdizzo achieves the goal of bloodless castration admirably."

I'm shivering in my computer chair and I don't even have spermatic cords. If you're wondering why I would showcase such a terrifying instrument, it is merely because of the amusing review here.

Goodbye Kitty

Oh, don't bother with the email thingy. Couldn't get rid of it. Left it. Moved on - amused.

Sometimes it's better to elope...

...than to wear what is can be seen on the pages of And the Bride Wore... From strange head gear to flower abuse, all is not well at these weddings.

Turdzilla seeks musicians!

The chance of a lifetime! TURDZILLA, a concept band by those wacky boys that brought your GWAR, are looking for musicians. What is Turdzilla?

Turd-zil-la /terd-ze'-la/,

noun. 1. a rock band from Thailand and America

2. a large burning excrement, humongous digestive waste, a mountain of dung

exclamation. a battlecry of revenge (as in) Turdzilla!

New Orleans Detective Lawrence Dupree CNN they were trying to rescue people with a helicopter and the people were so poor they were afraid it would cost too much to get a ride and they had no money for a "ticket." Dupree was shaken telling the story. He just couldn't believe these people were afraid they'd be charged for a rescue.

From the DomeBlog

You've heard of it - the blog sent out from the Superdome and the George R. Brown Convention Center giving the nasty reality of life after Katrina to cyber readers everywhere.

Here's a taste from Purva Patel

U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's visit to Reliant Park this morning offered him a glimpse of what it's like to be living in shelter.

While on the tour with top administration officials from Washington, including U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao and U.S. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, DeLay stopped to chat with three young boys resting on cots.

The congressman likened their stay to being at camp and asked, "Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun?"

They nodded yes, but looked perplexed.

With a group of reporters and press officers in tow, DeLay then moved on, chatting with others, including a local IRS representative. He then visited with job recruiters set up in Reliant Park.

Earlier DeLay spoke with volunteers and thanked them for their service.

"You are becoming famous all over this country and even the world," he said, adding that he's often approached by lawmakers commending Houston's response to the disaster.

Sitting around with nothing to do?

Many take newspapers, crosswords puzzles, very large novels but if you want to do something truly productive the next time you're keeping the Tidy Bowl Man company, try Toilet Paper Origami. Learn here how to make your own sunglasses!

In a Shutnell

Having once again spiked a fever, I find myself even more easily amused than usual. You can imagine the abundant joy I took when finding the following:

Dictionaraoke

Yes, a singing dictionary. Because some of you kids are just weird enough and just board enough, there is a section that tells you how to lay down your own tracks. I expect assignments on my desk tomorrow morning.

This went far to dissipate my disappointment that I was no longer able to read my book of choice, The Company by Robert Littell because I find it just too damn heavy. Not in subject. Too heavy in the, "I know! I'll keep this blimp from flying away by tying it down with this book!" heavy. I'm not sick enough to be reading People Magazine and watching the Shopping Network, though. Thank Odin for small blessings.

I was also heartily amused to see Cheney get a taste of his yesteryear comment of "Go fuck yourself" which spilled out of his mouth just over a year ago. Although the handy words on the bottom of the screen said that Cheney found most people "upbeat", one perky person from Gulfport gave the world some deja audio when the told the VP to self copulate.

Still bored. Poor baby! Why not go play Flying Spaghetti Monster until all your troubles just float away like the terrified people you approach with your noodley appendages!

Song in my head today: Werewolves of London. Aaaaahhh-oooooooooo!

What's in the head, in the head?

Ahhhh, not zombies.

Take a look.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

and they spend far too much time looking through Dionne Wawick's Cosmic Peephole.

It is here that I found out that Jon Jordan inflicts grievous genital harm on a Sally Jesse Raphael voodoo doll.

After Bouchercon Teetotalling

Is your liver still doing somersaults?


Are your eyes still red?


Does the mere thought of alcohol make you shiver in fear?


Visit the Museum of Anti-Alcohol Posters, ya'll!

From the people that brought you Kitten War

Cats in Sinks

We are you.

Put your prejudices aside and read Anne Rice's answer to the question:

Do You Know What It Means to Lose New Orleans?

"a surgically-gifted madman"

This phrase, when applied to a book that I, in a feverish state, am about to read is like Pavlov's dog hearing a bell. Well, I didn't drool, but I did giggle in anticipation.

The Cabinet of Curiosities was picked up, read and laid lovingly to rest next to my pillow in one sleepless night. A delightful concoction of science, horror and unadulterated mystery provides for not only a whoddunit but a whatdunnit that will have your nose buried in the pages until the final revelations.

I'm going to grab something from the authors website to summarize the story lest I spoil:

In the 19th century, New Yorkers flocked to collections of strange and grotesque oddities called "cabinets of curiosities." Now, in lower Manhattan, a modern apartment tower is slated to rise on the site of one of the old cabinets. Yet when the excavators break into a basement, they uncover a charnel pit of horror: the remains of thirty-six people murdered and gruesomely dismembered over 130 years ago by an unknown serial killer.

In the aftermath, FBI Special Agent Pendergast and museum archaeologist Nora Kelly embark on an investigation that unearths the faint whisper of a mysterious doctor who once roamed the city, carrying out medical experiments on living human beings. But just as Nora and Pendergast begin to unravel the clues to the century-old killings, a fresh spree of murder and surgical mutilation erupts around them. . . and New York City is awash in terror.

Pendergrast is a the Shadow meets Sherlock Holmes sans the misogyny. I welcomed the lack of everyday man as I embraced a character that would have seemed overwritten in any other context. Awash in forensics but never a dry tome; rich in characters but never lost with them, THE CABINET OF CURIOSITES filled my brain to the rim and left it sated.

And I mean that in a good way.

Three Dimensionality

Beyond being pleased as punch to use the above phrase, I was deeply impressed by what an obviously talented and cheerful man can do with chalk and a slab of street.

Virtual Street Reality

Love for Sale

An intrepid, if a bit bitter, woman has taken revenge into her own hands by selling:

Lot of 23 CDs my bastard ex threw at me! (With case!)

Judging by the ex's taste in music, she's well rid of him.

Housing for the Thin Man

A London home, in dark paint at centre, which is just 5ft 5ins (162.7 cm) wide in places has gone on the market for 525,000 pounds ($945,315). The property, which is in Goldhawk Road, Shepherds Bush area of London, measures 9ft 11ins (298 cm) at its widest point and is described by the property agent as "utterly amazing". The bathroom is so tiny that it only contains the bath and a bedroom has a built-in bed to save space. (AP Photo / Michael Stephens/PA) ** UNITED KINGDOM OUT - NO SALES **

To be or to not give a flying fuck

Just ask a philosopher.

Out of context and in your face

weaselwords

What will he do?

The Ahhhhnold has until October 9 to sign or veto California's same sex marriage bill, which was passed Tuesday by the California Assembly after the state Senate did the same last week. If enacted, the bill would create the nation's first legislatively imposed, rather than judicially imposed, marriage equality regime. Please himself, his constituents or the conservatives? Well, with his approval rating, pleasing anyone would be a change of pace.

Much of America is distracted but many are still watching. When I was a little girl I heard tell that America was the land of the free and the brave. May that be reflected in Mr.S's legislative choice.

Jon Jordan!!!!

I call you out to give me back my Air CD that I graciously (rare for me) loaned you about... um... a long time ago!

Ruth Jordan!!!

I call you out!

You may be overcome with evil laughter when you hear that I awoke from a wonderful dream this morning that was spoiled only by Eddie Rabbit singing "I Love a Rainy Night". Laugh while you can and know that revenge will be mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in. "

Genius poet/singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen is devastated. Financially, that is.

In a strange story that pits Buddhist against Buddhist, 70-year old Cohen is suing his longtime manager and finacial adviser Neal Greenberg for gross mismanagement of funds.

Cohen discovered last fall that his retirement funds, which he had thought amounted to more than $5 million (all figures U.S.), had been reduced to $150,000, he wasn't so sanguine.

"I was devastated," Cohen says. "You know, God gave me a strong inner core, so I wasn't shattered. But I was deeply concerned."

Definitely Enough Said

"Almost everyone I've talked to said we're going to move to Houston. What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. (Said with concern.) Everybody is so overwhelmed by all the hospitality. And so many of the peoples in the arena here, you know, they're underprivileged anyway, so this--this (she chuckles slightly) is working very well for them."

Thanks for the babble, Babs. You've put into words exactly what these people will be contending with beyond the loss of everything they owned and loved. Apathy and scorn.

FEMA recommended organizations looking for donations and/or volunteers listed here.

A Belated Monday Mullet

Back in hack

Sitting in front of the computer, Rock Star Energy drink by my side (diet, of course!), many who know me well will be shocked to hear the following:

Nothing caught on fire, no engine trouble - nothing. It may well be, may I dare to hope, that my bad travel karma is at an end.

I drove down to Chicago with the utterly charming Ayo Onatade and the newly signed and companionably Tourrettic Sean Chercover.

But I do sit here hacking up a lung and developing an acquaintance with the odd colors a body can produce when it has a bad cold thanks to John Rickards who I will hereafter refer to as Contagion. He very happily and willfully spread this virus from bar to bar. Laugh in triumph while you can, but know that revenge will be mine, oh spiteful Contagion!

The Crimespree party on Thursday was a rousing success. So much so that actually walking more than a few feet was impossible. I was quick to sit my ass down on a comfy sofa with Dave White, Contagion, Bryon Q, the lovely Banks Babes and Otis Twelve (whose story Dead Puppies made it's debut in issue #7). I was happily ensconced there for quite a while then, remembering my host duties, made another attempt at mingling.

This netted a great conversation with Todd Robinson from Thuglit. You probably saw him if you were there - big, brawny guy, sounds more than a bit like Reed Farrel Coleman (who I think is the sexiest man in crime fiction) and he had on a shirt that said simply -THUG. I sooooooo wanted one.

At this point, if I begin to list everyone I saw and spoke to this would get ridiculous.

Highlights:

• Hugging. Lots of hugging.
• Bowling - who knew the UK produced such genius bowlers?
• Tapas!
• Sashimi
• Barbara Serenella showing up on Wednesday. I have endless respect for that woman.
• Meeting the minds behind Bleak House.
• The weird ways yoga kept making an appearance in words and in actions throughout the convention.

I hope everyone made it home safely and contentedly.