Bleh, and Other Non Seasonal Thoughts - 2009-12-21 21:32:34
<<< Previous - Warning: The Following is Silly | Next - Because You Can't Miss This: The Octopus and The Coconut Shell >>>Well Jon still has a cough, and I'm either struggling not to get his cold or developing a new one of my own. So "bleh" sums it up. Or "blah," take your pick.
As usual I found most of these links wandering around the net and then was bad about documenting where I found them. Oops. But the links helped fend off my attack of the blah a bit.
OSIM uCrown 2 Soothing Head Massager with Music
Saw a picture of this on a blog - without any title - and did some Googling til I found out what in the world it was. I look at this and think 1) that is one of the dorkiest things I've seen and then 2) you know, with the wrong type of pressure and some very bad music, this could be a torture device.
Stylophonica - the official home of the Stylophone
"Invented in 1968 by Brian Jarvis the Stylophone is an iconic pocket electronic musical synthesizer that has gone on to become an international phenomenon. Re-launched in 2007 by Brian's son, Ben Jarvis, the Stylophone brand goes from strength to strength."
I can't play it, but I can admire it. There's an
iPhone app, but none for Droid. (That I could find.) Humph.
Author Candace Sams Melts Down in Amazon Comments
That's a link to the blog Genrewonk with excerpts from the thread, because it's the best rundown without having to go read the whole thing. When Amazon had to step in and remove some of Ms. Sams comments - well, it can only make you wonder how much worse this was without the deletions. Definitely a wtf WAS she thinking kind of thing - and the sort that would only be gossip in a small circle back in the day before twitter and other real time info sharing. Apparently her tantrum has spread all over the net at this point. Also an update on what she
posted on her Facebook page, before she realized that, oops, she should have put her Facebook posts on the private setting.
I'm enjoying reading and listening to
Funky16Corners and in particular recommend
One for the Kids - especially if you're one who recognizes Electric Company samples. Or want to hear a song called "Do the Funky Penguin." Not a podcast (or one that' an iTunes subscribed thing anyhow), but well worth putting on your RSS feed - all sorts of interesting stuff there.
Going through these
BPM analzying software trying to find one that will work on Windows - seems odd that iTunes wouldn't just have this sort of thing built in. As part of their Genius algorithmy thing.
The Haunted Mouth
Once upon a time, kids were shown films during class to teach them all about keeping their teeth clean... I wish I could say that I'd seen this one, but we got cartoons instead - not that they were anything fun - nope they were the same Educational Message type. I just can't remember any as amusing sounding as this one. Don't miss on the same website:
King Winterbolt
Which I totally remember seeing - but somehow it didn't seem as disturbing as these stills look. Hmmm.
In other news, let me be the first to welcome our future cephalopod overlords...
Tool Use Found in Octopuses
Brandon Keim, Wired, December 14, 2009
"After years of surprising scientists with their cleverness and smarts, some octopuses appear to also use tools. Veined octopuses observed off the coast of Indonesia carried coconut shell halves under their bodies, and assembled them as necessary into shelters — something that wasn’t supposed to be possible in their corner of the animal kingdom."
[YouTube video at that link]
Octopus snatches coconut and runs
Rebecca Morelle, BBC News, 14 December 2009
"...One of the researchers, Dr Julian Finn from Australia's Museum Victoria, told BBC News: "I almost drowned laughing when I saw this the first time."
He added: "I could tell it was going to do something, but I didn't expect this - I didn't expect it would pick up the shell and run away with it."
...After turning the shells so the open side faces upwards, the octopuses blow jets of mud out of the bowl before extending their arms around the shell - or if they have two halves, stacking them first, one inside the other - before stiffening their legs and tip-toeing away."
And yes, there are photos. And do go watch that video!
Mac and Me
A movie that is/was so bad that I dare not search on YouTube for an example of why. Because I'm just starting to feel better - and that could definitely send me back into the worse category. Ugh. Much better to check out the site
Kinder Trauma - and see the
horror of Mac and Me there...
Wait, speaking of trauma, here's another entry from Haunted Closet that sparks a memory:
Struwwelpeter, Little Suck-a-Thumb, and other cautionary lessons for children
If you scroll down to the black and white drawings of Max and Moritz - my grandmother had that book in her house. No idea where it went to - but I remember it had the German next to the English. And of course I was disgusted yet fascinated by the story of the two evil children.
And yet strangely I feel so much less blah now that I've shared the horror. Heh...
2
Comments
Comments:
To add your comment, click here.
