Words for the wise from the mouth of a fool.
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The weblog of Seth Johnson -------------- INKSLINGER.ORG -------------- OD ARCHIVES -------------- FEEDS Posts:  Shared Items:
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Friday, May 02, 2003
Anybody who's been with me to the House on the Rock knows that my favorite object in that entire sprawling collection is their Schermuly Rocket Pistol. So when I casually followed the web search for Rocket Pistol info that led someone to hit OD, I was stunned to find "Schermuly and His Rockets"--a fantastic, picture and info-packed page on the man behind the company. Early prototypes, rocket-lofted kites, variants on the rocket pistol I've seen at HotR--it's a great page. The rest of the site it's on, cyberheritage, is definitely worth a look for WWII buffs and Anglophiles.
I carry a digital camera everywhere, so why not a can of beans? I now have a new summer goal: to add a picture from the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame to Beans Around the World. (via J-Walk)Countdown until someone installs a industrial-strength Walk/Don't Walk LED sign as a casemod begins.....now.
Thursday, May 01, 2003
The Dr. Chris meme spreads to MeFi, as a link is posted to the tutorial showing how to recreate the amazing Photoshop work in last week's FARK thread.
Via BoingBoing, a profile of fire-and-brimstone cartoonist Jack Chick. I stumbled across a battered copy of exactly the Chick tract described in the article at a rural McDonalds over the weekend, and edutained myself as I ate an vanilla cone.
The first panel immediately plunges you into the action, as a paramedic huddles over Bobby, a teen who just overdosed on speed (we know this because the paramedic tells the crowd "HE OVERDOSED ON SPEED!"). "Wow! What a drag!" thinks one bystander. An elderly man preaches the gospel to a kid and is mocked and beaten by a man in a leisure suit. The bully drives off with the kid; their car is immediately hit by a speeding train. "YAAAAAA!" they scream. In the next panel they're in the Inferno.
Sadly, while I was entertained I was not saved. I blame the cursed frogurt.
You can check out some Chick tracts for yourself on his website, or read some parodies at the Jack Chick Parody Archive.
"I, of course, am comics #1 fan, but I'm afraid that I will be far too busy placing Alan Moore into a giant mylar snug and filing him between Doctor Who and Yasmine Bleeth..."
Okay, but anyone else making their plans for this weekend shouldn't miss out on Free Comic Book Day. It was nice to get a couple free books last year, but this year there's a cornucopia of great stuff being given away. I'm going just for the new Milk & Cheese strip by Evan Dorkin, but I'm willing to put a money-back guarantee on Leave It to Chance. It was a great book, and I look forward to its return this summer. There are also a number of books I've never read before that I can't wait to check out.
This Saturday. Be there or be squarer.
Wednesday, April 30, 2003
- 80 two-and-a-half gallon water containers, $295.20
- 270 boxes Barilla castellane, $510.30
- 150 cans Sclafani crushed tomatoes, $177
- 70 cans of tuna of choice, $160.30
- 70 cans of Goya beans, $41.30
While you're redecorating your apartment, why not stock your larder at the same time? (via Gawker item on the Shelter Project)
"I want to return these animal crackers," Loon says Saturday. "Why?" the clerk asks. "The seal was broken." Hiyo! As Shoe jokes go, that's a good 'un.
I wish the latest Funny Pages had a permanent URL, so I would remember to enjoy it more often.
"I'm always encouraging my students to read newspapers, but I never require that they read (it). The Constitution forbids cruel and unusual punishment."
"I have to read it, but it is without question the worst metropolitan newspaper in America."
"(If I ever won the lottery,) I would give a lot of money to education, children, the homeless, that sort of thing...if there were any money left over I would start what this city really needs -- a competing daily newspaper."
Find out what (in 1999) the Columbia Journalism Review called the worst newspaper in America. (link via Bookslut)
John Steed + Ben Kenobi equals....an online ad for the Guardian, apparently:
Don't click there, by the way; bad enough that I reproduce the ad--I'm certainly not going to redirect you.
Geraldo says "OMG I H8 U!!!1!!!!!1!" to the media as he starts up his own ALL CAPS ALL THE TIME pseudo-blog. (via Buzzmachine)
Uncle Guns passes along a link to the South Park Character Creator. Tens of minutes of fun await you as you create your own custom character in the Tuesday, April 29, 2003
Have fun with the terrific Safety Sign Builder: pick your colors, choose your pictogram, enter your text--and get a PDF suitable for printing (via the J-Walk, which also provides a link to the ubercool Bookman.) OD readers should email me their favorite signs and I'll post them here.
"A robot might not necessarily appreciate hymns, for example, and the human congregation would not appreciate the creed being said 1000 times faster by the robot. So, it is possible that there might be specialised churches for robots where together they can have their own services. On the other hand it is possible that robot services could be conducted over the Internet."
Stumbled across in a Google search, a paper revealing everything you wanted to know about the religious life of robots--which has in turn been picked up by fans of the show Small Wonder. Meanwhile, the author of the paper has posted an open letter to the Pope suggesting the development of a Catholic robot.
Don't miss the source of this post's image.
Via PCJM, war stories from a custodian at the Magic Kingdom. As it's hosted on Geocities, the site is often down under increased traffic load, but come back a few times until you get a chance to read it.
I've been looking forward to the upcoming DC miniseries BARNUM since discovering it a few months ago, and now I'm even more excited after checking out the online preview (PDF link).
Oh, and Brian will understand why there's no way I could pass up Formerly Known as the JLA after seeing the cover.
Monday, April 28, 2003
Edward Tufte deconstructs a Power Point presentation (via boingboing). Yet another reason his book The Visual Display of Quantitative Information should remain high on my "read soon" list.
At long last our scientists have developed the technology needed to produce a soldier large enough to combat the King of All Monsters:
UPDATE: Note the fine Engrish in the photo's caption: "Godzilla stomps the ground and spread around clouds of dust, being assisted by a Toho Company film production staff... Showing to the public of the filming of Japan's quintessential B-movie monster is the first time in the 46 years history."
Chomsky: How do you think these wizards build gigantic towers and mighty fortresses? Where do they get the money? Keep in mind that I do not especially regard anyone, Saruman included, as an agent for progressivism. But obviously the pipe-weed operation that exists is the dominant influence in Middle Earth. It's not some ludicrous magical ring.
Part One and Part Two of "Unused Audio Commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, Recorded Summer 2002, for the Fellowship of the Ring Platinum Series Extended Edition DVD. (via MeFi)
Zinn: Now Frodo, son of Drogo, agrees to take the ring to Mount Doom. Something tells me that no one in Mordor calls it Mount Doom.
Taj Mahal just came up in my Winamp playlist singing "She Caught the Katy":
She caught the Katy, and left me a mule to ride.
She caught the Katy, and left me a mule to ride.
My baby caught the Katy, left me a mule to ride.
The train pulled out, I swung on behind.
Crazy 'bout her, that hardheaded woman of mine.
So my question of the moment: what is the "Katy"? Just a few minutes with Google turns up the answer:
"Katy, or KT, stands for Kansan and Texas Railroad (K&T)."
More on the Katy can be found on the official site of the Katy Railroad Historical Society.
Idiots on Parade: an angry Cubs fan throws his celphone at a player on the field. (via Gizmodo, who accurately notes "Throwing a cellphone at someone is about as smart as throwing a rock that you've written your home address on.")
Sunday, April 27, 2003
Which is bigger, the Battlestar Galactica or the Empire State Building? Could the battleship Yamato fit inside the mothership from Close Encounters of the Third Kind? King Kong or the Stay-Puft Marshmellow Man: who's taller? Now you know--and don't miss dragging your favorite objects around to compare them to one another. (via BoingBoing)
Note that these are not idle measurements--many have been carefully calculated by obsessives. Gotta love 'em.
UPDATE: I've heard that the drag-around feature is for IE users only. Sorry to those of you using other browsers.
You owe loyalty to the Governor and the press is not your friend. ...
A cabinet member who is thought to have leaked is at best seen as a free-lancer and at worst a traitor.
Old WisPolitics-related habit, I suppose, but since stumbling across it a while back I've been keeping an eye on the Wisconsin Report. From behind a veil of anonymity--which I now realize is better protected on a Blogspot blog than it would be if the page was hosted on its own webspace and could be WHOISed--the mysterious "Editor" reveals some intriguing, interesting, and startling things. Don't miss the April 25 entry (sorry; permalinks don't appear to be working--follow the link above and scroll down) with the "TEN RULES FOR NEW CABINET SECRETARIES".
I'm still waiting for the awesome Stikfa dragon to come out this summer, but in the meantime there's a lot of other cool toys coming out to tempt my pocketbook: Playmobil's expanded Viking line, the incredible figures coming out from DC Direct, Bitman, remote-control minitanks, and even Tron Kubricks--including tanks, light cycles, Recognizers, and a cute lil' MCP!
Oh yeah--and Rune figures look like they're finally on the way.
I do not, however, feel the need to pick up any GI Joe-scale MREs.
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