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November 30, 2006
Is it safe?
James Dean & Paul Newman in a screen test for “East of Eden”. (From TickleBooth)
“Is it safe” scene from Marathon Man
"Office Space" Recut
Old fashioned cinema houses from around the world
Actual English subtitles used in films made in Hong Kong
(No time to blog tonight….)
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November 30, 2006 in Cinema | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Pith Helmets
Pith Helmets. The pith, or cork, of certain trees lent itself as the basis of a headgear that was strong and protective and at the same time lightweight and comfortable
Vintage condom package design. (From Blort)
The Space Cube is the world's smallest personal computer. The unbelievably minuscule cube (2 x 2 x 2.2 inch case) packs 300 MHz CPU and 64 MB of SDRAM
Redesigned flags of the world, as per client’s suggestions
Hello Kitty Toilet Paper. (From J-Box)
Video of mannequins on skateboards. (YouTube)
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November 30, 2006 in Shopping | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 29, 2006
Naked Yoga
“Oblivion”, an exhibition of recent aerial work of the city of Los Angeles by photographer David Maise
From 1894 to mid-century, the Parkinson firm played a primary role in shaping the character of downtown L.A. While scores of fine Parkinson buildings have been demolished to make way for progress, to date, almost 60 of them have survived in the downtown Los Angeles area alone. (From The Parkinson Archives)
Naked Yoga Los Angeles is a private club for men who enjoy the freedom of practicing yoga without the restriction of clothing
1955 Nevada A-bomb tests as seen from downtown Los Angeles
… I wanted to celebrate my tenth anniversary in Los Angeles by doing something absolutely nuts: Walking the entire length of Wilshire Boulevard. To my pleasant surprise, almost 30 people I had never met decided to come along for The Great Wilshire Boulevard Walk
Hazy LA smog
The Dungeons and Dragons House, 20 Westminster, Venice Beach. Also there, House of David, Christmas 2005
Abandoned Shopping Carts of Los Angeles
Los Angeles Crime Incident Lookup
The North Hollywood shoot-out, February 1997
The bunny museum in Pasadena
/// Add it to your del.icio.us /// A Huge Depository of Unusual Links About Los Angeles and Orange County Here
November 29, 2006 in Los Angeles | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 28, 2006
Lots of amperage
The largest superconducting magnet ever built, (Click for High-Res) in the Atlas detector at the Cern lab, has been powered up successfully. Engineers sent a current of 21,000 Amps round the coils. Atlas will analyze collisions in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which will recreate conditions just after the Big Bang.
More about the ATLAS experiment plus a video explaining it. There will be a test tomorrow. You can also visit CERN next time you are in Geneva
Photos of Plasma & High Voltage Sparks. (flickr set. Thank you, Richard Morrow)
Simplicity, new concepts from Philips
A moving stone bicycle. More from Japan: See-through Refrigerator
Medieval and renaissance scientific instruments from four European museums: the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford, the Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, Florence, the British Museum, London, and the Museum Boerhaave, Leiden. (From Barista)
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Grab a graphic to link to Grow-a-brain
November 28, 2006 in Science & Inventions | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 27, 2006
A Blog Timeline
The evolution of a blog design, as conceived by MBoffin. Inspired by it: Yahoo in time and wikipedia timeline. (Designed by Computerroriginaliascience)
FRN, a new blog about trains and the people crazy about them
Mad Libs Fill-In-The-Blog, from “Not All Who Wander Are Lost”
Donald Crowdis, the World’s Oldest Blogger. (The only blogger born in the 1910’s, according to The Ageless Project. From Boing Boing)
(Unrelated photo above from Negatendo)
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November 27, 2006 in World of Blogging | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Hidden Story
The story of what does not get reported in Iraq by the mainstream media. Learn about journalism in Iraq
Eager to bring accountability back into government? Here's a suggestion. Find out what happened to the nearly $9 billion dollars of Iraqi oil funds and reconstruction cash missing in action since the beginning of the war
Our choices in Iraq are not limited to “Go big, go long, or go home.” We’ve got options
The quiet day we lost the war, April 12, 2003
Re-post: More than a number
Fernando Botero Paints Abu Ghraib
Helicopters on rooftops of the largest embassy in the world
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November 27, 2006 in War in Iraq | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Batch No. 5
(Click on any graphic to biggify)
Fire truck pix from Rhys Postlewaight. The latest 40 images posted to Live Journal
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November 27, 2006 in Gifs and pix | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 26, 2006
Kerouac, Ginsberg and friends
R.A. Maguire cover art. Robert A. Maguire illustrated over 600 covers for such publishers as Pocket, Dell, Ace, Harper, Avon, Silhouette, Ballantine, Pyramid, Bantam, Lion, Berkeley, Beacon and Monarch. (From Hanuman)
Who is Arthur Dent?
Books that have been given up. Found at a thrift store, in the garbage, in closets . Now ReMade into something different. Ophelia Chong’s Re-made books
Silent footage of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Lucien Carr, and others in New York, Summer 1959
First Lines to Richard Stark's Parker Books. (From Incoming Signals’ post about crime novelist Donald Westlake, alias Richard Stark)
Joel Derfner’s Gay Haiku
My Penguin: Books by the Greats, Covers by You
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November 26, 2006 in Books & Literature | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Secret Santas
For 26 years, a man known only as Secret Santa has roamed the streets every December quietly giving people money. He started with $5 and $10 bills. As his fortune grew, so did the gifts. In recent years, Secret Santa has been handing out $100 bills, sometimes two or three at a time, to people in thrift stores, diners and parking lots. So far, he's anonymously given out about $1.3 million. It's been a long-held holiday mystery: Who is Secret Santa?
This holiday giving started in December 1979 when Larry Stewart was nursing his wounds at a drive-in restaurant in Kansas City after getting fired. "It was cold and this car hop didn't have on a very big jacket, and I thought to myself, `I think I got it bad. She's out there in this cold making nickels and dimes,'" he said.
He gave her $20 and told her to keep the change.
"And suddenly I saw her lips begin to tremble and tears begin to flow down her cheeks. She said, `Sir, you have no idea what this means to me.'" (From Presurfer)
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Other heroes:
Dr. Ashis Brahma, a physician with the International Rescue Committee, about attacks on himself and those he works with in Chad, along the border with Sudan's Darfur region
January 13, 2007 update: Millionaire Secret Santa dies
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November 26, 2006 in Heroes | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Here on Planet Kolob
Deleted Dinner prayer at Mark Foley’s house – Extremely embarrassing. (YouTube)
A portrait series of Eastern Orthodox women with icons of their patron saints. (From Tazzle)
Australian filmmaker John Safran is so fed up with Mormons ringing his doorbell early in the morning that he flies to Salt Lake City Utah and tries to convert Mormons to atheism. Needless to say, the locals were not pleased. Part of an 8 part television documentary series John Safran vs God
Cartoon about Mormon Theology. (From Blurbomat)
All about Mormon underwear
Das Fliegende Spaghettimonster Sighted In Germany
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November 26, 2006 in Spirituality | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 25, 2006
All Blacks Haka
A Stone Circle at Whanganui Bay, Lake Taupo
You Want Testosterone? I'll give you some testosterone
I wanna buy The Barton Estate! (Thank you, Doddery. TradeMe = the Kiwi eBay)
Fast-motion video of a scenic drive from Te Anau to Queenstown, New Zealand (original video was 40 minutes). On the left-hand side is Lake Wakatipu
I love the Mutton Birds' haunting "White Valiant", but I have no idea what it means. Can somebody tell me what the song is about?
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November 25, 2006 in Music from New Zealand | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Endurance 50
After running 50 marathons, in 50 states, in 50 days, Dean Karnazes is now running home, from New York City to San Francisco
Amateur Wrestling Collectibles Gallery - Artwork & Prints though the 19th Century. (From Quiddity)
Art is subjective. In comparison, bowling is far more simplistic. You either love it, or you hate it. Bowling Art
World's Largest Skateboard Ramp, built by Bob Burnquist
The Big Kite Stunt
The Madden Curse
Bring the 2016 Olympic Games to Chicago
The World Pie Eating Championship - not previously known for its adherence to the principles of healthy eating - has been rocked by new rules designed to help the fight against obesity.
In a break with tradition, contestants will no longer have to eat as many meat and potato pies as possible in three minutes. Instead, they will compete to eat just one pie in the fastest time. And for those health-conscious professional pie-eaters, the competition will include a vegetarian option for the first time
White Sifakas monkey dancing. (From Particles)
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November 25, 2006 in Extreme Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 24, 2006
In God We Trust
From a television coin with a moving image to odd-shaped Zambian coins and more at Unusual coins. (From Pennylicious)
Home of the world's largest collection of 1968 pennies
An online gallery of Colonial American Currency
$8 billion in Chinese Hell money
Stuff that people write on money
Spending Godless Money. Use a red pen or stamp to "de-God" all of your paper money. It's fun. It's easy
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November 24, 2006 in Money & Finances | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Traffic Control in Denmark
The 2400 years old Tollund Man
This movie was made by the Danish Road Safety Council and aims to draw attention to speed signs and speed limits in Denmark. Despite a decrease in speed violations, 7 out of 10 Danes still exceed the speed limit on a regular basis. Respecting the speed limits is the simplest way to save lives. (May be NSFW in some countries)
Jeg går en Tur - A self portrait by Lasse Gjertsen (Not a Dane)
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November 24, 2006 in Traveling Places - Denmark | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
DC Cockfighting Crackdown
The United States Congress in photos
Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld are now species of slime-mold beetles - but strictly in homage. (From Brain Shrub)
Republican hypocrisy on moral values, in alphabetical order (Including Sex Slavery, at the bottom)
Which Bush sucks more?
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November 24, 2006 in Politics | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
You can't outstubborn a cat
Scott Adams asked his readers for some philosophical brevities. He received over 500 of them. From "To be old and wise you must first be young and stupid" to "All deaths can be linked to cardio-respiratory failure"
Blink wildly and then close your eyes really tight for an interesting light show. (Amusement Potential: 1-5 minutes). Other Things you can do with absolutely nothing
Just say 'No' to TV. Do it for your country
Thirty years ago, a pack of teenage friends could see the end coming. They were football jocks, mostly, guys who had bonded as freshmen and sophomores on the gridiron at Corona del Mar High School. When high school ended and they scattered to the winds, they wondered, what would become of those friendships forged?
So they made a pact, 17 of them. They would gather every Thanksgiving for the rest of their lives, wherever they were, to play some football. They persuaded a parent to buy them a bottle of champagne, tore off the label and affixed their pledge. They would play it till their legs gave out, till the last surviving man could pop the cork and toast the other 16.
It sounded nice enough. But there was no good reason to expect it would stick. This Thanksgiving, however, the jocks will celebrate the 30th get-together of what they call the Last Man Society. With few exceptions, for war deployments or personal crises, most have managed to make it every year. And so far, all are still standing. (LA Times Bugmenot)
Where To Buy Gelatin For Your Next Jello Wrestling Theme Party
Unrelated: It all started back in 1994 when several dozen Cheap Suit Santas paid a visit to downtown San Francisco for a night of Kringle Kaos. Things have reached Critical Xmas and Santarchy is now a global phenomenon
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November 24, 2006 in Do Something with your Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
DONT WORRY IM FROM TECH SUPPORT
For all your im in ur cats doing ur thingz needs
Kitten and his box. (Loud YouTube. From blanketfort)
Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers
How to assemble a Christmas tree when you have two cats and a dog
Re-post: A swinging cat
Also: Sloth Pictures
A Drinking Cat Fountain provides pets with an enjoyable "falling stream" of water
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November 24, 2006 in Animals | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Fruits of the Sea
What's a public space without an extended guide in mandatory self-correction and self-surveillance that reads like an IRS tax code? Other public space rules
Google building in Newport Beach
Orange County’s own full-service animal crap removal company, member of the Association of Professional Animal Waste Specialists
Items found during California's Coastal Cleanup Day
A self-guided driving tour of John Steinbeck's Pacific Grove and many other Literary Locales, More than 1,000 picture links to places that figure in the lives and writings of famous authors. (From Bifurcated Rivets)
Turner New Zealand Restaurant, 650 Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa. A list of Arabic restaurants in Orange County
Unrelated: One of these mornings
You're gonna rise, rise up singing,
You're gonna spread your wings, child,
And take, take to the sky,
Lord, the sky
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November 24, 2006 in Orange County, California | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 23, 2006
Hit by a meteorite
The complete line of Mercedes-Benz bicycles. (From Information Junk)
All about the Daimler DS420 Limousine
An Experiment by Marc Horowitz - 7 Days in a Sentra
The Car, the Hole, and the Peekskill Meteorite. (From Good Shit)
You can now give your Porsche an exclusive personal touch. Instead of the type designation, you can have a customized text in the same font placed on your Porsche. Texts can be made for all 911 models - Cayenne - Boxster and Cayman
The real Drift-King. The ultimate drift
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November 23, 2006 in Cars | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, as read by a 6 year old
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness"
The Modern Child Unfriendly Alphabet. (From Twisted twee)
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November 23, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 22, 2006
I can't help it if I'm still in love with you
While working at the music and neuroimaging lab at Beth Israel/Harvard Medical School in Boston, I developed a quick online way to screen for the tone deafness. It actually turned out to be a pretty good test to check for overall pitch perception ability. The test is purposefully made very hard, so excellent musicians rarely score above 80% correct. Give it a try. (From Buzz)
Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major
Btw, It ain't cool being no jive turkey, so close to Thanksgiving
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November 22, 2006 in Music_ | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
中华人民共和国
My first visit to China was short but overwhelming. I found the country completely modern, highly developed, vibrant & friendly. This was the first time that I traveled in a group (Sponsored by the the Rialto Chamber of Commerce), instead of on my own, and it allowed us to cram many sightseeing events & locations into a trip which lasted less than 2 weeks.
We visited only 4 cities, Beijing, Suzhou, Hangzhou and (my favorite) Shanghai (with 18 million citizens). Here is my photo album from the trip. (It’s very colorful, and as usual, curiously random).
I have no doubt that the 21st century will be dominated by the Chinese, and that the sooner we learn the culture & speak the language, the better we’ll be. The most amazing feat is the relatively-peaceful transformation of the country from a Maoist world view into the capitalist system as it manifests itself today.
Of the many personal observations, I’ll just note here that we passed by thousands of high-rise apartment buildings under constructions, and that most of all the hyper-progress seems to have happened in the last 15 years. The cities are new, clean, crime-free and offer everything a westerner can imagine (except cheese). Traffic happens magically.
I’ll be back with many odd subjects later. Like always, I rely on others to express some of my interests with this series of links:
May Day vacation in Sichuan
Gilded Splendor – Virtual Tours of Liao Tombs (907-1125)
Minsk World is a military theme park located in Dapeng Bay, Shenzhen. Minsk World is unique in that the park grounds include the huge former Soviet aircraft carrier Minsk re-designed as a tourist attraction. It is the fifth-largest aircraft carrier in the world. (From Things Magazine)
Chairman Mao tea set, from a 5-part Slate series At Home in Shanghai
KFC is big in China and Colonel Sanders icons are eerily reminiscent of the old Chairman
Trailer to Bertolucci’s Last Emperor
The many historical capitals of China
The Nanjing Massacre (Warning! Grusome)
Mondophoto.net - 4200 Public Domain photos of China
Elsewhere: Hello, world! - A visual code for Google earth
Mega Machu Picchu (Approx. 60,000 x 26,000 pixels)
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November 22, 2006 in Traveling Places | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack
November 21, 2006
Rubik in Hebrew
Rubik's Cube Mario Pop Art Wall Hanging. Previously blogged by Gary Fixler – The Rubik's Magnetic Cube Project. Not impressive enough? See the video in action
How To Solve A Rubik's Cube In 5 Easy Steps. (Metacafe) If you could understand that then good for you.
In Cubic Checkers the cubes have four units, cubes rotates round two lines. This is "hierarchic" checkers. (Thank you, Vladimir)
The cube in Hebrew
In other news, the whole line of Dora Aquapets
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November 21, 2006 in Games - Rubik's Cube | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Yuppie ghettos
The Web Log of Brick and Garden Real Estate
Denver Lender, written by Phil Leto, a mortgage broker in Denver
The Gowanus Lounge
The Tucson Foothills
Geri Sonkin’s Long Island Real Estate Blog
Derek Pierce‘s REI Secrets
Mammoth Lakes Real Estate blog
Paul Dizmang‘s 417 Dwellings blog from Springfield, MO
A blog from Northeast Los Angeles
Eastern Connecticut Real Estate Blog
Michael Cohen’s blog about Hamptons real estate
Sam Chapman's Austin Real Estate News
/// Add it to your del.icio.us /// A Huge Depository of Real Estate Blogs as well as Grow-a-Brain’s Extensive Real Estate Archives Are Here
November 21, 2006 in Real estate Blogs | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack
November 20, 2006
Hipster Wigs
Rock & Surf Wigs
The Latest from Paris
Terror T-Shirt and American Gulag bracelets
The shoe wheel storage system
Laura Mercier's