Month: December 2007

More fun with Amazon reviews: this time, Bic pens

More fun with Amazon reviews: this time, Bic pens:
Mike says: Some folks are having great fun with their reviews of a standard Bic black ballpoint pen.

200712121341

“I looked down at the Bic Crystal black medium ballpoint pen which I held in my hand, only to see darkness. I dashed it against the wall, recoiling in horror. I saw in the corner of my eye my faithful notebook, which now lay on the ground. Once unmarred, I saw now the small mark which I had made with the devil’s own pen. It spread across the page like a plague, and looking at it I gazed upon true horrors. For, what I thought had been ink was in fact a portal to a dark, unforgiving dimension. A portal whose maw was now widening to engulf all hope and joy in the world.

‘God, what have I done?’ I exclaimed as I weeped and fell to my knees, ‘What have I done?’

From beyond the Dark Gate I heard these words, words which I can never forget. A terrible, booming voice said to me, ‘Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fthagn!'”

Link

‘General Information: MDMA’
Erowid recently posted a scan of a lovely historical artifact: a flier from back when MDMA was legal, and info was being passed around about its potential therapeutic use. This particular flier, provenance apparently unknown (Erowid simply describes it as a “1980 flyer”), describes various techniques for leading MDMA sessions, and ends with the always accurate reminder: “There are no casual experiments.” Amen.
LINK : www.erowid.org
Scotto Mdma-Flier 35369-1

Mall cops flag juicy cars for thieves

Mall cops flag juicy cars for thieves:
Cops in Rockdale, Georgia are putting helpful yellow stickers on the windows of cars that have packages in plain sight so that crooks know which cars to break into.

Officers with the Conyers Police Department will be on foot patrol in the parking lots of major shopping areas in the city over the next couple of weeks. They will place yellow tickets on vehicles with packages or boxes of merchandise that are visible on the seats or floorboards of cars; in other words, vehicles that are easy targets for thieves.

Conyers Police Chief David Cathcart said the yellow ticket program is part of an overall crime prevention program to help remind people to be careful with regard to their Christmas packages.

Link

Best Buy threatens blogger over someone else’s parody

Best Buy threatens blogger over someone else’s parody:

Best Buy sent a cease and desist letter to blogger Scott Beale (Laughing Squid) for having had the audacity to blog news that prankster/comedy troupe Improv Everywhere selling t-shirts that were a parody of the Best Buy brand. Whether or not the parody is legally in the clear is one matter, but Best Buy nastygramming Beale for simply blogging about it — not selling the shirts or participating directly? IANAL, but seems *way* out of line. Above, the parody logo that appeared on the t-shirts in question.

Dalí: Painting & Film

Dalí: Painting & Film:
Spellbounddream
Last evening, I visited the Dalí: Painting & Film exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Overall, it was a fantastic exhibition and I learned quite a great deal about Salvador Dalí’s interest in film that went far beyond his collaborations with Buñuel, like the famed “Un Chien Andalou.” Dalí created wonderful storyboards and set designs for quite a few unrealized films, including a collaboration with the Marx Brothers! Here’s a quote from a 1937 letter Dalí wrote to surrealist André Breton: “I’m in Hollywood, where I’ve made contact with the three American Surrealists, Harpo Marx, Disney and Cecil B. DeMille.” I also hadn’t realized that Dalí created the dream sequence for Alfred Hitchock’s Spellbound (1945). Apparently, a phantasmagoric ballroom scene was shot for this sequence but ended up on the cutting room floor. Dalí’s artwork and notes for this part of the dream are quite remarkable. It’s sad that the footage was lost.

Link to Spellbound clip, Link to Dalí: Painting & Film at the LACMA

Previously on BB:
• Salvador Dalí on “What’s My Line?” Link
• Salvador Dalí TV commercials Link

Mogoloid-A-Palooza, A Devo Themed Extravaganza

Mogoloid-A-Palooza, A Devo Themed Extravaganza:
Mogoloid-A-Palooza
The Church of Sub-Genius presents Mogoloid-A-Palooza, celebrating 10 years of Mongoloid recreating the prime years of Devo. The event takes place this Saturday, December 8th at 12 Galaxies featuring Master of Ceremonies Dr. Howland Owll, performances by both Mongoloid and Mongolounge, a special guest appearance by Church of Sub-Genius co-founder Rev. Ivan Stang and a bunch of other great stuff.

The Church of Sub-Genius presents:
MONGOLOID-A-PALOOZA a DEVO themed extravaganza!

Saturday, December 8, show starts at 9pm
12 Galaxies, 2565 Mission Street @ 22nd in San Francisco
$10 tickets, 21 and over
Devolving the night away….

Featuring performances by:

Mongoloid – hard core DEVO – perform daring Devolutionary doctrine live on-stage – 2 sets!

Rev. Ivan Stang – founder of The Church of the SubGenius – will Slack yr whirld

Dr. Howland Owll (AKA “Dr. Hal”) – raconteur extraordinaire – masters your ceremony

Mongolounge – DEVO done Lounge-style – make it swank, swanker, swankest

KROB – Master of the Sonic Realms (as seen at Ask Dr Hal) blombs yr mind-gels in 4-D

DJ Big Daddy – spinning your ears, rocking your socks, save yr wails, raise yr lighters

With:

Weird video from the vaunted vaults of the SubGenius archives

Paintings and artwork of long-time Devo illustrator KRK Ryden