Sdtrk: some ghastly ambient noise

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY INSIGHTS TO SOLVING THIS THING AT ALL? COS I SWEAR TO CHRIST, IT’S DOING MY HEAD IN.

http://dagobah.biz/flash/DarkRoom.swf

The only one I’ve been able to suss is blue. That’s the only one I’ve been able to suss, and that took half an hour.
I get the impression that once someone kens how to solve that puzzle, a singularity will immediately open right there, right in the poor bastard’s lap, swallowing Everything into its endless void. But y’know, I’m okay with that

EDIT (11.47 pm): Just got yellow. Take that, you Cenobite shits
EDIT (12.16 am): Just got purple. PROTIP: Grab a pen and paper, cos you’ll need to take notes. You think I’m joking?

Sdtrk: ‘A girlfriend is…’ by Vena cava

Unfortunately, despite the fact that we’ve got a month until Festivus, it’s pretty much been cancelled this year, on account of Michael Richards acting like a complete fucking twat. Now, I’ve seen the video of him ranting onstage, and followed that up with his apology on Letterman, and I’m still trying to assess it all.
Stand-up comedians get heckled all of the time; it’s part and parcel of the trade. Richards has been in that business for a long time, and I’m certain that he knows there’s a professional way to handle hecklers, and then there’s the other way, which is to let them get to you. You could say ‘yeah, he lost his rag, but people who get angry say a lot of things they don’t necessarily mean in the heat of the moment,’ and I would agree. But he didn’t stop with a sentence — he just went on and on with it, to a disturbing degree. To me, that indicates that he wasn’t just going for the shock value, this was a nerve that obviously got touched, and he was off shouting things that might well have been inside him for quite a while.
Me? I hate plenty of people. Tons. Do I hate them because of their skin colour or race? No, I despise them because of how they behave. And ultimately, that’s how Richards should’ve conducted it. If they were making a ruckus, well hey — that, as they say, is showbiz. But the shit that he’d said isn’t stuff that you just say off the cuff. He shouldn’t have said it. He honestly shouldn’t have been thinking it, but you can’t control how people think. Unfortunately.

A lot of people remarked that after this, his career has been effectively shot in the face, but unfortunately, Mel Gibson is still working; more than likely, with his best pals, the Jews.* However, Gibson probably has more money than Richards — as he told his arresting officer, he owns Malibu — so there’s that to consider.

Then there was his apology on Letterman. Before I’d seen it, I was quite sceptical, as I just saw it as him really trying to cover his ass after the fact. In day-to-day affairs, I’m much more of a cynical individual, and personally, I think most people are lying much more often than they tell the truth. But watching the apology segment from start to finish, he does appear somewhat sincere — he’s realised he’s made a grand mistake, and seems penitent about it. He was visibly getting frustrated at points, mainly cos Letterman’s audience was at points laughing… I don’t know if they thought he was making some misplaced attempt at humour, or if they were laughing cos they simply didn’t know how to react.
I guess if Richards is genuinely honest about wanting to make amends, we’ll see how he goes about it in the next couple of weeks. I did notice one thing, though; his apology was a general one to everyone present that eve, and to ‘Afro-Americans’ *coughshockinglyoutdatedcough* everywhere, but he didn’t really specifically say he was sorry to the two hecklers.

It’s occurred to me that I’ve talked more about mainstream media with this single post, than I ever have in the entirety of ‘Shouting etc etc’, which means that this was almost a waste of a post. But I’ve loved ‘Seinfeld’ for years, and it could be argued that the only reason that I’m writing this is that it’s due to a performer that I enjoyed, making horrible remarks that affect me on an obvious level.

So! Onto other news: I dreamt last night that I had taken a nap for an hour, cos I had to go to class later that eve, in order to turn in my final paper. But when I awakened (in the dream; yes, it’s rather meta), it was still sunny out, but I knew that I had overslept by several hours. I’d attempted to check what time it was, but my alarm clock and my watch both read 7.77. Well, my watch read 7.77, and the clock was 7.73. Understandably, I was panicking cos I had no idea what the hell time it really was…
As an aside, you notice there’s no speaking clock anymore? I don’t know when they finally got rid of it, but you can no longer dial (area code) 555.1212, and hear the Robot Lady announce, with unerring precision, what time it was. Or is. If they fired her, at the very least, I hope she has a decent job now.

‘Even a stopped clock is right twice every day. After some years, it can boast of a long series of successes’
— Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

And speaking of automata and mainsprings, new YouTube videos are up, cos it’s that time again (pun not intended). Happy 23rd, and Happy Cholera Blankets Day! Go listen to the new Ricky Gervais podcast!

*Don’t get me wrong; in Mad Max, he was a badass, but then he started crapping on about that stupid religious cult he’s in, and therefore lost all respect from me, as well as anyone else with a functioning brain in their head

Sdtrk: ‘Bob e Helen’ by Piero Umiliani

Back during the Nineties, I used to pay bi-monthly visits to a place in downtown Detroit called Mario’s Mannequins, which was a seller/refurbisher that had been around since the Twenties. I’d walk through the retail area on the ground floor, and take the lift to the third floor where the showroom was, and spend a couple of hours taking photos with my film camera, soaking up the peaceful ambience of being alone in a room filled with beautiful Mannequins. I did that for a couple of years, until Mario closed his shop shortly before the Nineties ended. Despite the ever-present smell of paint, it was a fine place.

For the record, although I’m less than two miles away from Ferndale, this bloke isn’t actually me, as I’m so over Mannequins now. Well, in my own fashion.

Man With Mannequin Fetish Arrested Again

FERNDALE, Mich. (AP) — A Detroit man with a history of smashing store windows to grab female mannequins has been accused of indulging his fetish again. Ronald A. Dotson, 39, was arrested and jailed Oct. 9 after breaking a window at a cleaning-supply company to get at a mannequin in a black and white French maid’s uniform, police said.

A judge Thursday ordered him to undergo a psychiatric examination to determine whether he is competent to stand trial on charges of attempted breaking and entering.

“Mr. Dotson went to prison and they haven’t helped him,” said his lawyer, Edward Cohn. “He got out of prison and he was right back out there. It’s pretty bizarre.”

Dotson had been out of prison for less than a week when he was caught. His erotic pursuit of mannequins over the past 13 years has led to at least six convictions for breaking and entering and a stint in prison, police said.

“He told his parole officer he was going to buy a mannequin so he didn’t have to do these break-ins anymore,” said Detective Brendan Moore said. “Apparently that didn’t work out.”

Arrested a second time, sir? Did it never occur to you to check eBay, sir? *shaking head*
Christ, what a knob end

Sdtrk: ‘Eyes of a dreamer’ by Charles Manson

RE. the latest Overcompensating.com: I have to say that I cannot disagree with Jeffery Rowland’s reasoning.

Also, from the gaping maw of a coworker earlier today:

‘I had an omelette that was just too big yesterday.’

Who says things like that? Plus, the bloke who said it was a giant chunky bastard, which leaves me to wonder — what constitutes ‘just too big’ for him? An omelette four feet in diameter, perhaps? The mind boggles..

More updates at a later date. Right now I’m in the midst of a flurry of Emails, and I’ve just downloaded the first three episodes of ‘Dexter’, which I hear is rather interesting

Sdtrk: ‘Oh! How to do now’ by the monks

[02.34.27 PM] KrazyQ: Who will I turn to for my crocodile hunting training? WHO? Crocodile Dundee is only a FICTIONAL character and can teach me NOTHING. NOTHING!

Steve Irwin, long overdue for poetic justice, was finally hoisted by his own petard, via a vengeful manta ray’s tail stinger piercing his heart.

Obituary: Steve Irwin
BBC News | Monday, 4 September 2006, 10:26 GMT 11:26 UK

With his trademark khaki shorts, chirpy manner and an obvious love of wildlife, Steve Irwin was known to television viewers around the world simply as “the crocodile hunter”.

But Steve Irwin’s popular image, wrestling crocs and other creatures, belied the fact that he was implacably opposed to the hunting, not just of crocodiles, but of any animal.

A natural showman as well as a conservationist and zoo owner, Irwin was committed to educating people about wildlife.

He often did this by putting himself at great risk, confronting crocodiles, venomous snakes and other dangerous beasts in their own environment. This fascinating television was often punctuated by his trademark yell of “Crikey!”

But his unconventional approach drew criticism from those who believed his idiosyncratic style to be irresponsible and cavalier.
the rest of the article is here

There but for the grace of God goeth the Crocodile Hunter. Who will shout at and sexually molest the many animals of the world, now that he’s gone?

Technorati tags: Steve Irwin, animals, Crocodile Hunter, shouting, yelling

Sdtrk: ‘Going south’ by Indian jewelry

So I’d done a post last year about Daisuke ‘Dice-K’ Enomoto, who would’ve been the first otaku in space. What d’ye mean, you don’t recall? (Actually, I was suprised myself that that was written almost a whole year ago..)
Well, turns out he can’t go. His mum wouldn’t sign his permission slip, the poor bastard.

I suppose he can blame this on the misfortune of his birth

Health test defeats space tourist
BBC News | Monday, 21 August 2006, 16:18 GMT 17:18 UK

A Japanese businessman hoping to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) has failed his medical test, according to Russian space agency officials.

Daisuke “Dice-K” Enomoto, 34, was hoping to become the fourth space tourist after being chosen to fly on board a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

He was due to accompany the 14th space station crew on a flight next month.

Previous private space explorers are Americans Dennis Tito and Greg Olsen and South African Mark Shuttleworth.

Russian Federal Space Agency spokesman Igor Panarin said that Enomoto was “deemed not ready to fly for exclusively medical reasons”.

He was due to begin the journey on 14 September with US commander Miguel Lopez-Alegria and Russian flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin.
the rest of the article is here

Medical reasons are the exact sort of thing that’ll probably end up keeping a lot of us trapped on earth, instead of being spacebound. I want to be a Newtype too, damnit!

As an aside, I love the illo that someone drew of him that he’s got on his website, as reprinted above. Of course, it’s a lot funnier if you’re a Gundam fan, but nevertheless

EDIT (23 Aug): Changed the news article links to the BBC News page. Why? Cos if you look at the photo they have of Dice-K, you’ll see a Zeon patch on the right shoulder of his flightsuit. Very savvy

Sdtrk: ‘Yoshino no yamazakura’ by Merzbow

Awwww!

Do not be fooled – this is the face of a kitty petty criminal

Feline stealing gardening gloves of Pelham
By JIM FITZGERALD, Associated Press Writer | Fri Jul 21, 4:13 AM ETPELHAM, N.Y. – A pink and white gardening glove was missing from Jeannine Goche’s front porch. But there was absolutely no mystery about who had taken it.

Willy, the cat who loves gloves, had struck again.

“It has to be him,” Goche said. “I’ve heard about him.”

As if the gardeners of Pelham don’t have enough to worry about, with the rocky soil and the slugs and the big trees that cast too much shade, a feline felon has been sneaking into their backyards and carrying off at least two dozen gardening gloves.

Goche’s flower-patterned glove may soon take its place on the clothesline that’s strung across the front fence at Willy’s home in this village just northeast of New York City, which he shares with Jennifer and Dan Pifer, their 19-month-old son, Hudson, and a mutt named Peanut Chew.

Above the line is a sign that says: “Our cat is a glove snatcher. Please take these if yours.”

Nine pairs of gardening gloves and five singles were strung up Thursday morning. Willy, looking innocent, was playing with a beetle in the driveway and occasionally dashing after Hudson.

“This all started about the time people began working in their gardens, I guess March or April,” Jennifer Pifer said. “Willy would just show up with a glove, or we’d see them on the front steps. I guess it’s better than if he was bringing home dead birds.”
the rest of the article is here

Now show me a cat that steals bras and knickers, and I’ll be super-impressed

Posted in Nature, unnatural, What the | 2 comments »