Seahorses, I Love 'Em (& other Links of Interest)

[candrodor]

Which was already second hand from here.

*sigh*

Why is internets so complicated? ;/

[Lleu]

The Second Defenestration of Prague, rather. And actually, iirc there were a number of less famous Defenestrations of Prague before the first and between the first and second, that never made it into the Canonical Numbering for Defenestrations of Prague.

It makes me wonder -- have any other cities had famous defenestrations? If not, why Prague? Or are people in Prague just more prone to take note of defenestration?

Those Praguites...you turn your back on them for a second and they defenestrate you.

[Alioth]

Which was already second hand from here.

*sigh*

Why is internets so complicated? ;/

Aw crap. I did check through this thread, but not anywhere else.

To atone, I offer colleges selling students' left-behind stuff after graduation.

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One of Jerry Falwell's supporters planned to prevent any disruptions at his funeral by detonating a bunch of explosive devices.

Also, I've posted on this surreal Al-Hurra story in Ephemera, but include it here for the sake of completeness.

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A great photo essay from the Guardian on North Korea. It comes with a commentary track that seems a bit witless to my ears, but the images are striking regardless.

Russians sure do some crazy things with cake.

Shakespeare Illustrated, a great compendium of artworks inspired by the Bard. (Thought little did any of those worthies know that the plays were really graphic novels for the stage.) Both links via the Valve.

Oh, Fate, you big handsome stud. Cracked magazine takes on some of the more wacky/chilling developments in SCIENCE! Highlights include: North Korea giving its neighbours a whole twenty minutes' warning in advance of its nuclear test; Britain buying robotic weapons drones and putting them under the control of a system called "Skynet."

[Salmoneus]

I like the experiment in Geneva in november, which some experts have suggested could create a rapidly-expanding black hole that will destroy the galaxy.

One scientist in chage said it was "probably unlikely" that his experiment would destry the planet, assuming that their theories about high-energy physics were correct. The experiment? To find out if their theories about high-energy physics are correct....

[simon.clarkstone]

I like the experiment in Geneva in november, which some experts have suggested could create a rapidly-expanding black hole that will destroy the galaxy.

One scientist in chage said it was "probably unlikely" that his experiment would destry the planet, assuming that their theories about high-energy physics were correct. The experiment? To find out if their theories about high-energy physics are correct....

BLAM BLAM BLAM

Are the LHC collisions dangerous?

No, the LHC collisions are not dangerous.

http://press.web.cern.ch/public/Content ... n.html#qb2

[zmeiat_joro]

Britain buying robotic weapons drones and putting them under the control of a system called "Skynet."

Actually, the Skynet in the Terminator films is named after the British military satellites in question.

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Britain buying robotic weapons drones and putting them under the control of a system called "Skynet."

Actually, the Skynet in the Terminator films is named after the British military satellites in question.

Has any of the filmmakers made that claim? I thought it was just an unfortunate coincidence.

[zmeiat_joro]

Well, I can't find any sources for that, but I recall reading about it somewhere. In any case, the actual Skynet system predates the Terminator films by 15 years.

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Well, I can't find any sources for that, but I recall reading about it somewhere. In any case, the actual Skynet system predates the Terminator films by 15 years.

Or more? But it's beside the point. It's pretty amusing that twenty-odd years after Terminator has seeped into popular culture, they haven't thought to rename a system they're using to run "Reaper" and "Predator" weapons drones.

The passive-aggressive notes blog. I particularly recommend the series of posts on the mad bomber.

Also, a film classic: Godzilla vs. Disco Lando.

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Out of the White is a fascinating blog about addiction and recovery.

Nasty Methods of Execution.

[Terra]

Ice Cream Theft Leads To Fatal Shootout With Police
I heard this one on the radio today, lolz.

[Risla]

Out of the White is a fascinating blog about addiction and recovery.

Nasty Methods of Execution.

I didn't see one of the nastiest methods of execution there, although they were all pretty bad.:xD

Behold: the steps for an old Indian method:

1. Take victim.
2. Soak leather.
3. Wrap victim in said leather.
4. Leave in sun to dry.
5. Watch organs, muscle, and other such things squeeze out of victim's mouth, anus and other orifices.

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Out of the White is a fascinating blog about addiction and recovery.

Nasty Methods of Execution.

I didn't see one of the nastiest methods of execution there, although they were all pretty bad.

I was surprised they didn't have impalement on there. But a couple of the items are new on me; the "Cave of Roses," for instance.

Behold: the steps for an old Indian method

That is definitely nasty.

[simon.clarkstone]

Nasty Methods of Execution.

I didn't see one of the nastiest methods of execution there, although they were all pretty bad.

I was surprised they didn't have impalement on there. But a couple of the items are new on me; the "Cave of Roses," for instance.

Behold: the steps for an old Indian method

That is definitely nasty.

I wouldn't have said that guillotine and head-crushing are about as non-nasty as as a public execution can be: unconsciousness comes within seconds, or instantly, respectively. I think the Indian method would kill you by making it imposible to breathe: like being "crushed" by a constricting snake.

Crucifixion is possibly the nastiest one there: ISTR that one dies by being unable to breathe because of the position, but you can breathe if you pull yourself up slightly. It has the the mark of a well-designed form of execution: one can delay one's death significantly by willpower, but it is still inevitable.

Have just had that insight, I thought of a new form of execution: The victim is in a circular trench along which a heavy roller runs slowly. They can avoid it easily by moving, but will eventually have to stop and get crushed. (problem: if they are boring they will just jump under it, so it fails there.)

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Flight of the Bumblebee: by Alexander Dmitriev on accordion, some dude on electric rawk guitar, Maksim Mrvica on piano, Rafael Mendez on trumpet (with bonus Mexican Hat Dance), and introducing the WF-4RII droid on flute.

[bi]

Ten simple tips on how to be as good as Steve Jobs when giving a presentation. Maximum win.

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Yet another reason why elephants are awesome.

Hand drawn American movie posters from Belarus.

Headlines we thought we'd never see: e-mail spammer brought to justice!

Some funny: Borats Anonymous, and The Chaser's take on crowd events. (Most of "The Chaser's War on Everything" bits are priceless.)

Tired of having faith in humanity? Check out the story of Edith Rodriguez' death in the ER lobby of King-Harbor hospital. "Turning to Rodriguez, the nurse said, "You have already been seen, and there is nothing we can do" . . . Parked in the emergency room lobby in a wheelchair after police left, she fell to the floor. She lay on the linoleum, writhing in pain, for 45 minutes, as staffers worked at their desks and numerous patients looked on."

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This Journey of Mankind site should be interesting to conworlders. (It's a ripoff of a similar site from National Geographic, but more clearly and cleanly presented.)

Eecards from hell!

Meet Dr. Voronoff, pioneer of the monkey to human testicle transplant.

If you've ever seen Monty Python's Four Yorkshiremen skit, this will sound awfully familiar. At once a lot less funny, and much weirder.

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At his artblog Wicked Crispy, Jeff Victor puts up adorable bobblehead drawings like this one of the Pale Man from Pan's Labyrinth.

She stops just contemplating breast milk cheese and actually makes it.

Steam Trek.

Archaeologists unearth 82,000 year-old jewelry.

[brandrinn]

[frumpwallow]

Robotic teddy bears to rescue fallen US soldiers.

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God, between Flat Daddies and robot teddy bears the US Army just gets weirder and weirder.

This fantastic companion site to Beethoven's Third Symphony includes an interactive timeline of the events surrounding the Eroica's creation, and an "explore the score" feature that actually shows the sheet music and highlights the theme and other features while the music plays.

Also very cool: a virtual tour of Dante's Inferno.

The Mars rover finds puddles on Mars.

A secret slave passage is found under George Washington's house.

[simon.clarkstone]

God, between Flat Daddies and robot teddy bears the US Army just gets weirder and weirder.

There is something about ths that makes me want to cry. Possibly the idea that children may come to think their father turns to cardboard most of the time.

The Inferno is fascinating because of the order in which the sins are put.