:: June 27, 2002
Austin egg roll cart a front for crime. If you've ever been a UT student, the egg roll cart was your friend. Damn, I wish I'd known they were hawking Vicodin! ::
:: June 24, 2002
Speaking of montages: Clip art goes to war in this definitive collection of Leaflets Dropped Over Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. Actually, I can't be sure they use clip art or montages, but the images definititely have that feel to them. (Via Larkfarm) ::
Cut and Paste: A History of Photomontage ::
:: June 21, 2002
Bubbles the Artist is either an outsider artist that has made the big time or a big timer who paints like an outsider artist. I'm not one to make those distinctions. On the big-time side, there's the Bubbles-created official Lily Tomlin website and an animated show for Oxygen. Then there's this Jennifer Aniston site, and I'm not sure whether it's reverential or a parody or both or neither, but it's definitely weird. Bubbles' paintings are accompanied by interesting stories and sometimes by obnoxious yet compelling MIDI music. Finally, there's the Bubbles Basement gift shop, with some fine non-Bubbles-created crap to buy. ::
:: June 19, 2002
Finally, my hometown puts itself on the map. ::
View-Master Fantastic!
I would like to take this opportunity to announce that I am now a rabid View-Master collector. I don't have anything yet, but you wait, oh, you just WAIT.
View-Master Resource: many excellent scans of old manuals and reel packets.
The View-Master Ultimate Reel List: Fascinating facts gleaned from this list include "During World War II the U.S. Armed Forces commissioned View-Master reels for use in various training activities."
View-Master Information: Cool but sometimes badly scanned images of all the models of viewers, projectors, and accessories.
I hope you're as excited about my new hobby as I am. Thank you, and good afternoon. ::
My dad and his homemade model-airplane-wing-building robot were filmed for a show called Models, which will air on the Hitler History Channel tomorrow (Thursday) night. A summary of the show from the website:
Though they duplicate the real world for fun and fantasy, models are not always toys and they're not always tiny. We explore the magic of these fascinating replicas -- from the Rover and Lander models for the Mars Exploration Project to ancient Egyptian ship models found in tombs to English ship models from the Age of Sail. We also look at the rage for hobby modeling, with Lionel trains leading the pack, watch models go to war with scale warplanes in WWII, and invade science fiction films.
Check your local listings, dog. ::
Fuckthatjob.com is a place to post ridiculous want ads and related frustrating job search ephemera. Stupid employer-driven job market. It was bad enough when I was told at interviews that I was competing with a dozen interviewees whittled down from 300 applications received in the space of two days ... in the past month I simply haven't been able to find anything to apply for.
Anyway, it's comforting to find that it's not just me. Or disturbing.
(via Metafilter) ::
:: June 17, 2002
PJ Chmiel's personal site is inventive and delightful and I would would very much like to steal the whole thing and make it my own. He's PETA's web designer (but not for much longer) ... think what you want about the organization, but you can't mess with the web design he's done for them. He also adds to the growing body of found art on the web with his Photos Found on a Thrift Store Camera. (via Scrubbles) ::
:: June 16, 2002
Yes, my dad is this nice and generous and weird. He's smart too, despite the blood loss. Happy Father's Day, dad! ::
:: June 14, 2002
Discards: Photographs That Time Forgot: Matt of Scrubbles.net has published a small portion of a vintage slide collection his man Christopher recently acquired. Clean, sharp Sixties interiors and some dioramas to boot. This will make Charles Phoenix jealous or proud, or perhaps a heady mix of both. ::
:: June 13, 2002
This lights my fire for the web and its possibilities like nothing else has in quite a while: old yearbooks online. School staff, alumni, or genealogy freaks scan old yearbooks in their entirety (or close to it) and put them online for the world to browse. What a labor of love, and what a source for outsider-y design inspiration and image-lifting. Here's a list of the book collections I've found so far.
Greece Athena High, Rochester, NY (1971-2002)
Montreat College, Asheville, SC (1955-2000)
Wagner High, Clark Air Base, Philippines (1953-1991)
Lake Shore High, Detroit(?) (seven books between 1959-1969)
Eisenhower High, Decatur, Illinois (1958-2002, frames, click "yearbooks" in left-hand navigation)
Belair School, Mandeville, Jamaica (1970-1985, sparse -- mostly covers, some pictures)
Heidelberg American High, Heidelberg, Germany (nine books between 1948-1983)
Frankfurt American High, Frankfurt, Germany (1960-1966)
Bonus: yearbooks featuring Star Wars cast and crew, including scans of covers. ::
WAYS I HAVE ANSWERED THE PHONE AT DIFFERENT JOBS.
by Kevin Fanning.
Good morning, [company name], how can I help you?
Hello, [company name]?
[company name], this is Kevin?
[company name], this is Kevin.
This is Kevin.
[company name].
Um, [company name]??? (Temp job)
Hi, [company name]. ::
Slow Boil: Hell©ös Longest Continuously Published Journal of Writing in the new Whaleane #2 ::
:: June 12, 2002
The Cockroach Diaries 2002
One dead. The small kind, "the ones you have to worry about." This after I read this, thinking, nah, I can't have another Cockroach Diary entry without an actual cockroach sighting. Eerily enough, friend Zach recently sympathized with my not wanting to squash cockroaches: "It's like squooshing a Cadbury Creme Egg."
Count:
Dead: 1
Alive: 0
Unknown: 1
TOTAL for 6/12/2001: 2 ::
:: June 11, 2002
Nutty sports ideas at Halfbakery. Start a league in your town!
Tri-sketball
"Why are sports limited to only two teams competing at a time? Wouldn't it be great to change a basketball court from a rectangle to a triangle with three baskets? Three teams could compete simultaneously ..."
Mob Rules Soccer
"Mob Rules Soccer is a game of soccer played on a large scale. It is played with a standard ball, on a standard field. There are 256 players (128 per side) ... The goalkeeper is chosen at random at the beginning of each round, by a referee with a bullhorn. Drinking is not allowed on the pitch ..."
Ball Dogs
"Next time Wimbledon is about to be held, organise 4 or 5 of the sort of dogs who are insanely obsessed with retrieving balls to fill in for the ball boys/girls ..."
The 'Miniature Golf' version of (anything)
"Think about your favorite sport. Now think about your favorite sport with a giant windmill in the middle. A lot better, isn't it?" ::
Hello Kitty Has No Mouth, and yet in space you can hear her scream. And other aphorisms. (via Larkfarm) ::
On Amazon: entertaining reviews of David Hasselhoff's greatest hits album. ::
:: June 10, 2002
Joining the ever-amazing world of Australia's Renewal.org is Art Crimes, a site documenting acts of vandalism/hooliganism against works of art. When these incidents are taken as a whole, the line between destruction and creation gets blurry. ::
Streetmattress.com: photos and commentary on abandoned mattresses. ::
Weird and lovely Needlepoint Museum ::
:: June 9, 2002
"When I was first approached to write a porn screenplay, I thought it would be easy." ::
"Silophone makes use of the incredible acoustics of Silo #5 by introducing sounds, collected from around the world using various communication technologies, into a physical space to create an instrument which blurs the boundaries between music, architecture and net art. Sounds arrive inside Silo #5 by telephone or internet. They are then broadcast into the vast concrete grain storage chambers inside the Silo. They are transformed, reverberated, and coloured by the remarkable acoustics of the structure, yielding a stunningly beautiful echo. This sound is captured by microphones and rebroadcast back to its sender, to other listeners and to a sound installation outside the building. Anyone may contribute material of their own, filling the instrument with increasingly varied sounds."
In other words, upload a sound file or phone in, and hear your contribution 40 seconds later with Realaudio. I wish you could see if anyone was in the silo and how they were reacting to your sounds, but it's cool nonetheless to transform this space from thousands of miles away. (via the Sharpeworld Grab Bag Archives -- just call me "sharpefilter") ::
:: June 8, 2002
Naming your thoroughbred horse is a matter of great complexity. You must submit a list of proposed names to a committee, which chooses the one they like best. Names may total no more than 18 letters and spaces. One must be mindful of a score of other restrictions, for instance, names consisting entirely of numbers are forbidden, unless they are above thirty and spelled out. If the name contains a coinage with "no apparent meaning," an explanation must be provided. Unless your horse goes on to fame and fortune, its name may expire and can be snapped up by someone else. You can check the availability of a potential name with The Jockey Club's Online Names Book. Despite the formality, some of the names that have passed muster include:
Killthelawyers
Nocturnal Emission
Fudgebrownienonuts
Mexican Freak
Mr. Adorable
Pantie Raid
Spank Me Silly ::
:: June 7, 2002
"You've probably seen the ads in this paper for free screenings: drop by a business, get a free pass, and see a film before it opens. And if you've attended one of the free screenings you've probably seen the film nerds. You arrive early because the pass says seating is not guaranteed. You think you may be getting there too early, but lo and behold there's already a small line of too-serious people camped out. You probably see them and wonder, 'What's up with them? What must their lives be like?' Meet the passholes." ::
:: June 6, 2002
Yay! ::
Unintentional video game porn and intentional video game porn. Which turns you on more? (Via Metafilter and Sharpeworld, respectively and respectfully) ::
Apocalpyse fears go in and out of fashion like so many pashminas, but at least two sites keep you constantly abreast of end-of-the-world news and information. There's Surfing the Apocalypse dot com and Surviving the Apocalypse dot com, similarly named and both designed in that Heaven's Gate style. Only the latter seems to have undergone its own Armegeddon in February 2002. What a great weblog this subject could make, hmmm?
The former points to this: Astralware.com, past-life regression software. Hello!
Footnote: Ah, of course, the Rapture Index. ::
The Republic of Texas Biker Rally was last weekend, and I shoulda linked to it then, but sometimes you just don't think of these things until it's too late. Only it's not. The Charlie Daniels Band played. Last year or the year before it was David Allan Coe. Three days, 30,000+ motorcycles. It was loud. From the FAQ page:
"Q: I want to be a vendor at the ROT Rally. Are there any goods or services that are not allowed for sale there?
A: For one good reason or another, we can not allow vendors to sell guns (but knives are okay), tobacco products, permanent tattoos, or food or beverages of any kind (including ice). We don't like it, but there's nothing we can do about it. Oh, yeah, prostitution is out too. Moreover, we are completely sold out of all vendor spaces except for a few places for 18-wheelers. If you would like to be on our vendor info mailing list for 2003, send us an email with your postal address and a brief description of your business." ::
:: June 5, 2002
I just want to give a shout out to the Asiafirst Weblog, which focuses on "the art and culture of India and China." Please, if you can recommend any other specialty weblogs here, do. I have a few under the "logs with focus" category on the links page, and would like to add to it. ::
Facts on Farts. This seems like something that has probably been passed around e-mail a million times, but I've never seen it. My favorite questions:"If you were in space without a suit, would a fart have the energy to propel you forward?" and, "Is it possible to freeze farts, and would they still be smelly after they are defrosted?" The Fart Thesaurus is also entertaining. Cheese Toasty! (via Will Chatham) ::
:: June 4, 2002
The committee recommends this paper be taken out back and shot. The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies conference was this past weekend. In its wake, we get the Admissions Committee's colorful commentary on this year's prospective members. (Out of 14 papers, only one got in.) If you want to see what AAN likes, see this year's award winners, with some links to the winning stories. ::
:: June 2, 2002
"Top 10 Reasons to Adopt a Penguin. #10: Have you seen a penguin?!" Penguin Warehouse, Inc., your online source for live domesticated penguins. Clearly it's a joke, but why? (Via Fark) ::
NOTES FOR A REPORT ON THE TOTAL BEHAVIOR OF A SKYSCRAPER IN THE EYE OF A HURRICANE
A working cadre of earth scientists is hoping these forces of change will make your mind cloudy.
Not a month goes by without scientists, armed with computers and top-secret data, collusively deriding crucial system programs and factors to “refresh” your memory.
The mystery is not in the advanced technological applications but rather in the crudeness of the phenomenon and the far-reaching influence and impact of these operations.
To eyes filtering this spectrum, this is a true portrait of a dramatic era.
It may well take decades to pore over these unexplained facts and comprehensive mathematical models.
To improve the equation and aerial tides there must exist long-term insight and critical introspection, to be fair.
They forecast for the stage long and short-term climates, worldwide temperature change, even starlight and infrared/ultraviolet waves.
There are floods coming as well as other natural disasters; A dozen earth-wobbles.
Trade and commerce are hardly contingent on governmental meteorology or the content of the deep sea.
This process took months to hide.
(2002 ChrisWeigeInCahoots.
B: 2.6.02.9:09pm.austin.tx.weige. ::
:: June 1, 2002
On Aprilwinchell.com: An mp3 of Michael Jordan trying unsuccessfully to record the slogan "Gatorade: Is It in You?". Note the marketing hacks in the background totally kissing his ass as he fails to understand he needs to stress the "in" instead of the "you." ::
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