Category: Other

Carl Sagan Quotes on Marijuana in LSD Technicolor | 420 Tribune @420Tribune.com: “‘The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world.’”

DNA tests link Southern leprosy cases to armadillos | NOLA.com: “With some genetic sleuthing, scientists have fingered a likely culprit in the spread of leprosy in the southern United States: the nine-banded armadillo.”

Drug-bashing RI Republican charged with drug use | The Raw Story: “Robert Watson, a high-ranking Republican state legislator in Rhode Island, is in hot water after being charged with driving under the influence of marijuana and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Drug charges alone would be bad enough for a public official, but Watson, Rhode Island’s House minority leader, is still remembered for his controversial anti-drug, anti-gay and anti-immigrant remarks.

In February, Watson said the Rhode Island legislature had their priorities right ‘if you are a Guatemalan gay man who likes to gamble and smokes marijuana.’

Watson was a guest on a radio show soon after the luncheon where he made the misstep, and in response to the outcry over his comments said, ‘I reject the suggestion that it’s insulting.’ He went on to say that lawmakers were ‘preoccupied with a number of issues, primarily social issues,’ when Watson thought they should focus on the economy.

‘I apologize when appropriate and/or necessary,’ Watson told the Providence Journal in February. ‘I identify this situation as representing neither circumstance.’

Watson was pulled over at a police checkpoint Friday, East Haven police told the Associated Press. Police noted a ‘strong odor of marijuana’ coming from Watson’s car, and charged him with possession and driving under the influence. The lawmaker was released after he promised to appear in court, and has not yet issued a statement.

“

 

20 Banned Books of 2010: “Before jumping into this, it’s important to note that a ‘banned’ book is often just a challenged book. In library lingo, this means a parent (usually) or a concerned citizen has filled out a request to have a particular book reviewed and then pulled from the shelves. Most often, a library or book store has a criteria used for selecting works and when a book is challenged, the librarian checks to see if the book in question meets that criteria. If the book is justified, it stays in the library. If it’s not, it’s usually up for the principal and then school board to be banned and then removed.

This process has been developed to keep school boards and principals from removing works without any due process. Of course, even the best laid plans fail – as evidenced in the list below. These twenty titles are among the most amusing ‘banned’ books from 2010 according to various library resources in the US and the UK. As you look at the list of the top twenty banned (or controversial) books, you’ll notice that most are more tame than the song you just heard on the radio – but one person’s obscene is another’s Mark Twain it would seem.”

 

JUST CHAD!

30 Awesomely Bad School Portraits – Worst Class Photos | Ace Online Schools: “One of the major advantages of going to school online — besides avoiding stories like these — is that there’s no yearbook and thus no school portrait capturing the awkwardness that is your life. Not YOUR life, of course, but, you know, one’s theoretical life (ahem). Granted, you can still commemorate this time in your life for all eternity by going down to you local Glamour Shots studio (and frankly, some of the folks below might have done so), but before you do, take a peek at what can go wrong.”

JUST CHAD!

30 Awesomely Bad School Portraits – Worst Class Photos | Ace Online Schools: “One of the major advantages of going to school online — besides avoiding stories like these — is that there’s no yearbook and thus no school portrait capturing the awkwardness that is your life. Not YOUR life, of course, but, you know, one’s theoretical life (ahem). Granted, you can still commemorate this time in your life for all eternity by going down to you local Glamour Shots studio (and frankly, some of the folks below might have done so), but before you do, take a peek at what can go wrong.”

Tofu Love : Peas and Thank You:

“Whenever anyone tells me they don’t like tofu, I simply say, ‘Yes, you do. You just don’t know how to cook it.’”

DreamWorks Animation Flips Its Lid for Sid & Marty Krofft’s Lidsville – FOX19 News and Weather – Greater Cincinnati Area: “Information contained on this page is provided by companies via press release distributed through PR Newswire, an independent third-party content provider. PR Newswire, WorldNow and this Station make no warranties or representations in connection therewith.

SOURCE DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc.

GLENDALE, Calif., Feb. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (Nasdaq: DWA) today announced that it will bring the well-loved Sid & Marty Krofft characters from the 1970’s television series Lidsville to the big screen in a feature film by the same name.

Conrad Vernon (Monsters vs. Aliens, Shrek 2) – animation veteran and lifelong fan of the Krofft’s work – brought the project to DreamWorks Animation. Brothers Sid & Marty Krofft will serve as executive producers. Vernon, DreamWorks Animation’s head of development Alex Schwartz and development executive Chris Kuser are overseeing the project at the studio.

‘Sid and I have had a longstanding relationship with Jeffrey Katzenberg and we’re excited to bring Lidsville to DreamWorks Animation,’ said Marty Krofft. ‘It’s incredible to envision a high-quality 3D animated movie being made out of one of our favorite shows.’

‘The Krofft brothers helped define a generation with the wildly imaginative characters and worlds they created,’ said Alex Schwartz, head of development for DreamWorks Animation. ‘I am thrilled that Conrad is joining forces with them on the first animated feature film adaptation of their work.’

‘Over the past year I’ve had the privilege of working with and getting to know Sid and Marty and I thought their brand of crazy kookiness would work well at DreamWorks Animation,’ added Vernon.

Lidsville will take inspiration from the premise of the original television series, in which a young rebellious kid falls into an alternate reality world of living hats and talking caps. The Los Angeles public TV station KCET Kids & Family Channel recently announced that it will feature the Lidsville television series in an all-new ‘The Sid & Marty Krofft Hour’ together with H.R. Pufnstuf during its weekend programming block on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 9:30-10:30 a.m.

About Sid & Marty Krofft

Brothers Sid & Marty Krofft have been producing quality family entertainment for over 40 years. Sid & Marty became a household name in the ’70s with a series of remarkable programs that featured elaborate sets and fanciful characters. H.R. Pufnstuf was the first in a long line of beloved programs created by the Kroffts, including The Bugaloos, Lidsville, Land Of The Lost, Far Out Space Nuts, Sigmund & The Sea Monsters and The Krofft Supershow which included Electra Woman & Dyna Girl, Wonderbug, Dr. Shrinker and Bigfoot & Wildboy. The Kroffts’ success with Saturday morning television prompted a demand for them to produce prime-time programming. They produced various prime-time series and specials, including The Brady Bunch Hour, The Donny & Marie Show and Barbara Mandrell & The Mandrell Sisters. On April 5, 2011 Vivendi Home Entertainment will begin releasing The Complete Series Collector’s Editions of all the classic Krofft shows, including H.R. Pufnstuf, Lidsville, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, and The Bugaloos.”

 

The Life & Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch: Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Buns: “Not only is this my first pumpkin post for this Fall, it is also my first ever Pumpkin Cinnamon Bun recipe! My friend Theresa came to visit me over the weekend so I decided that as a special treat I would make the Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns. I have only eaten a Pumpkin Cinnamon Bun once, and that was at a little mom/pop diner in Watertown almost 2 years ago – where I really didn’t care for it at all. I’m thinking I didn’t care for it because it was dry and just not flavorful enough for me. (probably was more than a day old…..) “

7mate – Channel 7 – Yahoo!7 TV: “Female feet fetish

Tarantino loves female feet. He’s obsessed with them. And that’s why he’ll try his best to have as many shots as possible of the feet of the actresses (and even extras) in his movies. Some of the actresses who have exposed their beautiful (and not so beautiful) feet in Tarantino movies are: Uma Thurman, Angela Jones, Jennifer Beals, Bridget Fonda, Lucy Liu, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Rosario Dawson, Zoe Bell, Mélanie Laurent.”

 

sebastian errazuriz: metamorphosis: “chilean born, new york-based designer and artist sebastian errazuriz’s ‘metamorphosis’ bookshelf is hand carved from baltic birch plywood. it was created for the exhibition of his furniture work ‘beautiful premonitions’ which opens april 28th, 2011 at the cristina grajales gallery in new york. originally based on the thick ivy that he used as natural shelves for his childhood garden toys, errazuriz collaborated with woodworkers from the horm furniture company to develop the piece entirely in italy.”

Syd Barrett and Sid & Marty Krofft – The Bugaloos lost demo Recently Syd Barrett’s original demo for the Bugaloo’s theme song was discovered in a discarded paintbox. Originally recorded in 1970 and not released until…

Lucid Dreaming | Cracked.com: “

Just The Facts

1. Lucid dreaming is a scientifically proven phenomenon.

2. While some get into lucid dreaming in order to treat chronic nightmares, or to experience all facets of the human experience, approximately 99.8% of people use it as a tool for cheap and interactive 3D porn.

3. A lucid dream is a dream in which the dreamer is aware that he or she is dreaming, and he or she can even choose to control and manipulate his or her dream. Dream, dream, dream.

4. Lucid dreams are oftentimes random and fleeting occurrences, but with minimal effort you can learn to initiate them at will.

How to Take Control of Your Dreams:

So, you’ve doubled your weight over the past five years, you own a record-shattering collection of greasy pizza boxes and broken aspirations, and you’re beginning to consider installing a toilet bowl in the place of your computer chair? You have come to the right place. In a lucid dream, you can do almost anything. You can leap over skyscrapers, practice public speaking in front of audiences of billions, and even try holding a female’s hand, no sedatives required!

In order to even begin to get control over your dreams, there are a few preliminary tasks you must complete. But don’t give up. The benefits of learning to lucid dream are remarkable, and they’re all named Yvonne Strahovski.”

 

Mexico’s drug war – The Big Picture – Boston.com: “Mexico’s drug war Mass graves. Dismembered corpses. Entire towns besieged. Macabre visions grow in depravity as the drug war in Mexico drags on. Since President Felipe Calderon began using the army to contain the violence four years ago, rival gangs have escalated their turf battles over smuggling routes, and 35,000 lives have been lost, half of those in just the three northern states of Chihuahua, Tamaulipas and Sinaloa. The drug criminals have expanded their shadow by intimidating police forces, using kidnapping and extortion, trafficking migrants, and even pirating oil from Mexico’s national oil company, Pemex. Of course, calling this issue ‘Mexico’s drug war’ is inadequate. Much of the drug product is destined for the United States, and by some estimates, over $20 billion flows south annually to pay for it. Guns made in the U.S. cross the border as well. The last 16 pictures in this entry were made by Nadav Neuhaus, who was gracious enough to share them with us. Neuhaus spent two years living in Ciudad Juarez documenting the drug war. You can see more of his work by clicking on the link below. — Lane Turner (36 photos total)”

Michael Jackson Swigging Vodka With Two Little People On His Lap | someecards.com: ” Prepare to be shocked that this is the only photo you’ve ever seen of Michael Jackson swigging vodka with two little people on his lap.”

Bad news – Page 1 – Music – Dallas – Dallas Observer: “The pain of losing a friend is never easy, but it becomes infinitely harder when that loss is a result of a conscious decision. The suicide of Mark Migliore, a successful engineer and investor who used his money to document the psychedelic music scene through his Rockadelic Records, has left the Texas psych scene reeling.

Migliore, who co-owned the vinyl-only label with Rich Haupt, was dedicated to psychedelia both historic and contemporary, preserving both the efforts of unknown ’60s acts (for which he searched relentlessly) like Dark Shadows and offering current Dallas psych bands like the Burnin’ Rain a place to be heard. Obscure and seldom remarked upon here, Texas psychedelia is hugely popular in Europe, where bands that Americans seldom hear about get eight-page magazine spreads complete with color photos.

Migliore grew up in Dallas and attended Jesuit High School. His family was already well-off, but his skill as an engineer and his investment acumen–particularly in real estate–made him quite wealthy. A source who worked with him at Texas Instruments in the early ’80s recalls a ‘guy who was good at his job but still cool and very much into music; back then he kinda had a new-wavey haircut–which wasn’t common there.’

Migliore’s wealth allowed him to indulge his love and many local musical adventurers–J. Bone Cro’s Womb Tune Records, Mike Pemberton and the Burnin’ Rain, and the Vas Deferens Organization, to name but a few–relied on him to various degrees. It also allowed him to indulge a serious drug habit which in the past few months had resulted in behaviors eccentric and unacceptable even by rock ‘n’ roll standards. The death last year of Chris Edgerton, his running buddy in every sense of the word, reportedly had a profoundly destabilizing and depressing effect on him. Migliore had recently checked himself into Minnesota’s heavy-duty Hazelden rehab facility, but left after only a few days. Upon returning to Dallas he found many concerned friends with helping hands extended, but it was somehow not enough. Last week he got into his car, drove out of town, and put a gun to his head.

‘He was successful on so many different levels that it’s really hard to understand,’ says Vas Deferens’ Matt Castille, mirroring the incomprehension and pain of Migliore’s friends; although his mission was obscure, more than a dozen people called Street Beat after the news broke, expressing shock and dismay. Haupt says he will continue with Rockadelic and honor all the label’s obligations, but the more troublesome implications of Migliore’s death remain. If Migliore could see the pain and sadness produced by his departure–if he could feel the void that so many now are feeling–perhaps he would reconsider, but of course it’s too late for that. It always is.”

 

Sherlock Mustache Pipe Jet Black by PhantomGlassStudio on Etsy: “This is a thick sherlock pipe colored with Jet Black frit! There is a black mustache adorning the mouthpiece. The piece is thick and magnifies the color inside!! This piece is truly unique and hard to find!

This pipe was made with heavy wall borosilicate(also known as pyrex) tubing, and was properly annealed in a digitally controlled kiln to ensure a lifetime of durability.

THIS PIPE IS INTENDED FOR TOBACCO USE BY PERSONS 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER ONLY!!!”

 

ATLAS HOODS: THE CROATIAN TATTOOED GRANDMA CULT – Viceland Today: “That little girl in the middle there is Tea Turalija. She grew up in Bosnia and Herzegovina surrounded by tattooed women. Every day she would plant kisses on her great grandmother’s hands, thinking nothing of the etchings on her arms. When she got older, Tea discovered that all the inked-up old folk around her were from the final generation of a secret Catholic cult that developed while Bosnia was occupied by the Ottoman Empire. The cult members identified each other by tattooing their hands and arms using a compound ink that was made up, in part, of human breast milk.

The cult died out when communist Yugoslavia decided religion shouldn’t exist shortly after World War II, but now that that’s all over and done with Tea is trying to revive the craze.”

 

In honor of his pending departure: The top 10 craziest things Glenn Beck ever said | The Raw Story: “

4. ‘I’m thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I’m wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out. Is this wrong? I stopped wearing my What Would Jesus — band — Do, and I’ve lost all sense of right and wrong now.’ — May 17, 2005

3. ‘The only [Katrina victims] we’re seeing on television are the scumbags.’ — Sept. 9, 2005

2. ‘You know, it took me about a year to start hating the 9/11 victims’ families. It took me about a year. Just like, oh, shut up. I’m so sick of them because they’re always complaining. […] I didn’t think I could hate victims faster than the 9/11 victims.’ — Sept. 9, 2005

1. ‘They [Democrats in Congress] believe in communism. They believe and have called for a revolution. You’re going to have to shoot them in the head. But warning, they may shoot you.” — June 9, 2010″

 

Lula Côrtes é sepultado em Pernambuco – Música – iG: “O cantor, compositor e poeta pernambucano Lula Côrtes, 61 anos, foi sepultado ontem à tarde do Cemitério de Jaboatão Velho, próximo do Recife. Pioneiro ao unir rock a ritmos nordestinos, Côrtes estava internado no hospital Barão de Lucena, na capital pernambucana, para tratar um câncer na garganta, que se espalhou pelo corpo. Sua última aparição pública havia sido em São Paulo, no último final de semana, em um show com Alceu Valença.”

Why Is the Fed Bailing Out Qaddafi?:

Barack Obama recently issued an executive order imposing a wave of sanctions against Libya, not only freezing Libyan assets, but barring Americans from having business dealings with Libyan banks.

So raise your hand if you knew that the United States has been extending billions of dollars in aid to Qaddafi and to the Central Bank of Libya, through a Libyan-owned subsidiary bank operating out of Bahrain. And raise your hand if you knew that, just a week or so after Obama’s executive order, the U.S. Treasury Department quietly issuedan order exempting this and other Libyan-owned banks to continue operating without sanction.

Manhattan dentist sent 31 pounds of pot, worth $50K, in the mail: “A Manhattan dentist got a mystery UPS package Friday from a real dope – it was filled with 31 pounds of very pungent pot.

Dr. Richard Lyons couldn’t believe his nose when he opened the box that was delivered to his Chinatown office.

‘From my 70’s days, when I saw the green and smelled it, I knew it was marijuana,’ said Lyons, whose graying ponytail could qualify him for a bit role in a Cheech and Chong movie.

Lyons, 61, said he had no idea how the pot – worth up to $50,000 on the street – wound up at his place, but he immediately called the cops.

‘I was shocked – shocked! And annoyed,’ he said. ‘Even if I got an ounce of marijuana, I would have notified the police.

‘It’s not legal. I didn’t buy it!’

Lyons said the pot was wrapped in a black plastic bag ‘with a bunch of baby wipes on top’ that had been placed inside a plastic bin and then the box.

It arrived at his office at 10:30 a.m. and was signed for by an assistant. When he got in about 3 p.m., he opened the box to discover the tightly packed fresh-plucked buds.

He said called police, but when they hadn’t arrived after an hour, he got nervous that the intended recipient might show up to collect the weed – and called the press.

When cops arrived at the office on Worth and Mott Sts. – where a large red canopy advertises ‘Dr. Toothy’s Dental World’ – they had to borrow blue dental masks because the fumes gave them a headache.

The box had a return address for a Gwendaline Lyons in Katy, Texas. No listing could be found for the person.

A UPS spokeswoman said the express delivery service would open an investigation in the matter and contact the NYPD.

Anyone wishing to claim the package can contact the 5th Precinct detective squad at (212) 334-0742.”

 

Britney Spears’ Femme Fatale reviewed: an avant-garde pop masterpiece, really. – By Jody Rosen – Slate Magazine: “But Spears’ blankness gives her songwriter-producers the opportunity to go nuts, taking wild liberties with beats, melodies, and effects. Britney’s star power, meanwhile, provides cover for the weirdness—anything she records, no matter how strange, instantly becomes pop. She may be a terrible musician; she’s certainly the most awkward performer of any major diva. But she is a great avant-gardist.”

Uncommon Act of Design: Fake Bus Stop Helps Alzheimer’s Patients | Fast Company: “One of the most pernicious symptoms of Alzheimer’s is that patients, in a fit of confusion, feel suddenly disoriented from their surroundings and wracked with a need to just get home. As a result, Alzheimer’s patients in nursing homes often escape–wandering at large, with no memory of who they are, oblivious to danger. The obvious (and common) solution is to lock up Alzheimer’s wards. But then, that seems cruel and it often aggravates a panicking patient even more.

Via Radiolab’s podcast comes a remarkable story of how the Benrath Senior Center in Dusseldorf, Germany, found an alternative solution. The staff there noticed that escaped Alzheimer’s patients often head directly to their only exit: Public transportation.

So they built a fake bus stop, right in front of the clinic. It works. Seniors trying to escape wander out and settle there—offering the staff a neutral ground to soothe them back inside. The seniors even tend to get lulled by the wait for a bus–they often flash back from their imagined past and snap back into the present. That single idea has since changed care at the senior center–the nurses now lead patients back from ‘other worlds’ by allowing them to explore the conceit, rather than trying to convince them otherwise.

That’s a brilliant act of design, in the same manner as the ‘@’ sign: The idea’s inventor, an adviser to the senior center, managed to re-appropriate the common bus stop–and everything it symbolizes–in a way that essentially hacks the mind.

Check out the full story at Radiolab–it’s a tearjerker. And then add Radiolab to your podcasts.

[Image by emrank]”