Friday Ephemera

Things I must track down, #312. // Not everyone can do this. (h/t, Drunkablog) // When slugs make love. // A visual history of the mobile phone. // The making of a giant cardboard camera. // Magnetricity. (h/t, The Thin Man) // Machinarium. // Alternative timelines. (h/t, Mr Eugenides) // Nintendo flashback, 1988. // Findings of a radiographer. // The Bloodybelly Comb Jelly. // The YikeBike. // The Smart Hand. // A piano speaks. // The inherent grotesquery of child beauty pageants. // A world of vampire tat. // Carl Sagan sings again. // And, via The Thin Man, it’s the return of Mr Elvis Aaron Presley.

Comments

[newbie]

The brick balancing guy is incredible.

[mlrosty]

OT but David did you see Question Time?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00nft24/Question_Time_22_10_2009/

[sk60]

Thanks for showing me how uncool my phone is.

[David]

mlrosty,

I watched it this morning. It started briskly enough and there was some pleasure to be had watching Griffin squirming when confronted with his own words. And I’m guessing quite a few viewers registered his body language, dishonesty and profound lack of charisma. I think “creepy” is the word. I even felt some small and temporary affection for Bonnie Greer, which surprised me.

But it went downhill pretty quickly and the broader arguments became confused and inconsistent. Sayeeda Warsi rightly called out Jack Straw on his denial of immigration as an explanation for the BNP’s allure, then she blew it with some evasive guff about Islam and by playing semantics and saying “there’s no such thing as a bogus asylum seeker.” Straw in turn later conceded that a points-based immigration filter was something positive and popular – which doesn’t quite square with his initial insistence that immigration isn’t a factor in the BNP’s recent prominence. It was all just a bit too woolly and I’m sure better panelists could have been found.

[Cambias]

What's really awesome about the brick dude is that this isn't some Cirque du Soleil act or one-time stunt -- it's how the guy moves bricks off his boat, all day, every day. It's like seeing someone commuting daily from Long Island to Manhattan by leaping onto the roof of a cab and riding it like a surfboard while reading Newsday.

[mlrosty]

"I even felt some small and temporary affection for Bonnie Greer, which surprised me."

Was it because she was the one who had to sit next to Nick Griffin? She's only bearable compared to him.

[JuliaM]

"The inherent grotesquery of child beauty pageants."

Ugh! I can never see a documentary on these ghastly things without thinking of JonBenet Ramsey and the circus around that crime...

[JuliaM]

'Sexy Vampire Reusable Cloth Menstrual Pad'

Wait, what..?

And did anyone else click through for the special 'Twilight' model? Because, I'm rather wishing I hadn't...

"Toss it in the fridge for that authentic experience."

Authentic?!?

[Anna]

Julia, your best bet is to go with the Twilight shower curtain. "To satisfy the boy-crazy tween in all of us... Buy it for your lil' sister."

[David]

I’m not even sure what “Twilight” is. “High School Musical” with Goths? Or is it just about the adventures of a big disembodied head?

Because I quite like the sound of that.

[AntiCitizenOne]

That's Xardos.

[Anna]

""High School Musical" with Goths?"

Kinda.

http://www.newmoonthemovie.com/

[David]

Ah. Pallid youths, teen angst and gratuitous shirtlessness. I can see the intended demographic.

[Anthony]

The radiographer should be sacked.

[wayne fontes]

I've never seen Twilight but I'm guessing this short video pretty much captures the essence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu_PY405f40

[JuliaM]

"The radiographer should be sacked."

Why? There's no patient information on those xrays. And for obvious reasons, no-one's likely to want to stand up in court and say 'Yes, your honour, that's MY hot sauce bottle there' are they?

[David]

Wayne,

So “Twilight” is aimed at people who’ll grow up to watch more serious works, like, er, “Dante’s Cove”? Where action figure acting is the norm, people are called Ambrosius and shirts fall off at the merest breeze.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85jGLaG_LCQ

[wayne fontes]

Thanks for that David. I had no idea that "Dante's Cove" even existed. The trailer gave me the impression it's kind of the gay answer to "Charmed" with less shirts and poorer acting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CItDjidqVAk

[Anthony]

You should consent to having even anonymous data shared. That is standard practice in medical journals.

I find it amusing that people get very concerned about their data being held by governments, but rogue irresponsible individuals posting to a blog medical details? That's fine.

[Simen Thoresen]

The mostly-brilliant Penny-Arcade had a strip on what the next evolution of the undead-romance genre would have to be;

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/10/12/

After watching a bit of The Vampire Diaries, I do feel and share their pain.

-S