Doktor Anon

Burn in Effigy

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:15:30 GMT

How could I forget? Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

Ninja Assassin

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:48:01 GMT

Since I cannot embed the actual trailer for Ninja Assassin, you get the Lego version. Enjoy!

Blood

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:03:27 GMT

During blood donation, does anyone else quietly consider which arm to choose based on the idea that the wound might get infected and that arm might need to be amputated?

Or am I the only one?

Eye of the Aesir

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:13:42 GMT

Odin hung himself for nine long days and nights to learn the secrets of the runes.

How far are you willing to go?

Surfacescapes

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:49:58 GMT

A D&D program for Microsoft Surface. Brought to my attention by Penny Arcade, for those of you who have not seen it:

For classic1st

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:26:08 GMT

From texts last night:

(480): I just gave the bartender my number in roman numerals. If she figures it out, she's worth a shot

The Ballad of G.I. Joe

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:22:25 GMT

Snatched from the savage jaws of theglen:

Fact:

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:39:12 GMT

The Maestro of Murder got his coattails stuck in a cotton gin.

Question

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:55:31 GMT

Have you ever had an erotic dream about Edward G. Robinson?

Good. Me, neither.

However, now that you've read that, it's in your subconscious. You've seen it; you can't unsee it.

So, perhaps you will blessed by Edward G. Robinson's DSLs in the future.

Some men aren't looking for anything logical.

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:17:40 GMT

Some men just want a tangerine.

Two videos, culled from The Dark Knight, showing that Alfred has an unnatural obsession with tangerines.

The first is introduced as a music video. The second is a more linear skit. Enjoy!

The second must be seen at its point of origin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS6bD3SpIvk

Swiss arrest Polanski on US request in sex case

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:04:20 GMT

Made even weirder because Susan Atkins just died. Synchronicity in nature.

Swiss arrest Polanski on US request in sex case

By ERNST E. ABEGG and BRADLEY S. KLAPPER, Associated Press Writers

ZURICH – Director Roman Polanski was arrested by Swiss police as he flew in for the Zurich Film Festival and faces possible extradition to the United States for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl, authorities said Sunday.

Polanski was scheduled to receive an honorary award at the festival when he was apprehended Saturday at the airport, the Swiss Justice Ministry said in a statement. It said U.S. authorities have sought the arrest of the 76-year-old director around the world since 2005.

"There was a valid arrest request and we knew when he was coming," ministry spokesman Guido Balmer told The Associated Press. "That's why he was taken into custody."

Balmer said the U.S. would now have to make a formal extradition request.

Polanski fled the U.S. in 1978, a year after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with the underage girl. The director of such classic films as "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby" has asked a U.S. appeals court in California to overturn a judges' refusal to throw out his case. He claims misconduct by the now-deceased judge who had arranged a plea bargain and then reneged on it.

Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza had dismissed his bid to throw out the case because the director failed to appear in court to press his request.

The Swiss statement said Polanski was in "provisional detention for extradition," but added he would not be transferred to U.S. authorities until all proceedings are completed. Polanski can contest his detention and any extradition decision in the Swiss courts, it said.

Polanski has lived for the past three decades in France, where his career has continued to flourish, and he received a directing Oscar in absentia for the 2002 movie "The Pianist." He is married to French actress Emanuelle Seigner, with whom he has two children.

Polanski has not been extradited from France because his crime reportedly was not covered under treaties between the United States and France.

He has avoided traveling to countries likely to extradite him. For instance, he testified by video link from Paris in a 2005 libel trial in London against Vanity Fair magazine. He did not want to enter Britain for fear of being arrested.

In Paris, Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said he was "dumbfounded" by Polanski's arrest, adding that he "strongly regrets that a new ordeal is being inflicted on someone who has already experienced so many of them."

Those comments referred to the fact that Polanski, a native of France who was taken to Poland by his parents, escaped Krakow's Jewish ghetto as a child and lived off the charity of strangers. His mother died at the Auschwitz Nazi death camp.

Mitterrand's ministry said Sunday that he was in contact with French President Nicolas Sarkozy "who is following the case with great attention and shares the minister's hope that the situation can be quickly resolved."

Polanski worked his way into filmmaking in Poland, gaining an Oscar nomination for best foreign-language film in 1964 for his "Knife in the Water." Offered entry to Hollywood, he directed the classic "Rosemary's Baby" in 1968.

But his life was shattered again in 1969 when his wife, actress Sharon Tate, and four other people were gruesomely murdered by followers of Charles Manson. She was eight months pregnant.

He went on to make another American classic, "Chinatown," released in 1974.

In 1977, he was accused of raping the teenager while photographing her during a modeling session. The girl said Polanski plied her with champagne and part of a Quaalude pill at Jack Nicholson's house while the actor was away. She said that, despite her protests, he performed oral sex, intercourse and sodomy on her.

Polanski was allowed to plead guilty to one of six charges, unlawful sexual intercourse, and was sent to prison for 42 days of evaluation.

Lawyers agreed that would be his full sentence, but the judge tried to renege on the plea bargain. Aware the judge would sentence him to more prison time and require his voluntary deportation, Polanski fled to France.

The victim, Samantha Geimer, who long ago identified herself publicly, has joined in Polanski's bid for dismissal, saying she wants the case to be over. She sued Polanski and reached an undisclosed settlement.

Zurich Film Festival organizers said Polanski's detention had caused "shock and dismay," but said they would go ahead with Sunday's planned retrospective of the director's work.

The Swiss Directors Association sharply criticized authorities for what it deemed "not only a grotesque farce of justice, but also an immense cultural scandal."

Charles Manson follower Susan Atkins dies

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:00:10 GMT

Charles Manson follower Susan Atkins dies

By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch, Ap Special Correspondent

LOS ANGELES – Susan Atkins, a follower of cult leader Charles Manson whose remorseless witness stand confession to killing pregnant actress Sharon Tate in 1969 shocked the world, has died. She was 61 and had been suffering from brain cancer.

Atkins' death comes less than a month after a parole board turned down the terminally ill woman's last chance at freedom on Sept. 2. She was brought to the hearing on a gurney and slept through most of it.

California Department of Corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton said that Atkins died late Thursday night. She had been diagnosed with brain cancer in 2008, had a leg amputated and was given only a few months to live.

She underwent brain surgery, and in her last months was paralyzed and had difficulty speaking. But she managed to speak briefly at the Sept. 2 hearing, reciting religious verse with the help of her husband, attorney James Whitehouse.

She had been transferred to a skilled nursing facility at the California Central Women's Facility at Chowchilla exactly one year before she died.

Tate, the 26-year-old actress who appeared in the movie "Valley of the Dolls" and was the wife of famed director Roman Polanski, was one of seven murdered in two Los Angeles homes during the Manson cult's bloody rampage in August 1969.

Atkins was the first of the convicted killers to die. Manson and three others involved in the murders — Patricia Krenwinkel, Leslie Van Houten and Charles "Tex" Watson — remain imprisoned under life sentences. Thornton said that at the time of Atkins death she had been in prison longer than any woman currently incarcerated in California.

Atkins, who confessed from the witness stand during her trial, had apologized for her acts numerous times over the years. But 40 years after the murders, she learned that few had forgotten or forgiven what she and other members of the cult had done.

Debra Tate, the slain actress's younger sister, told the parole commissioners Sept. 2 that she "will pray for (Atkins') soul when she draws her last breath, but until then I think she should remain in this controlled situation." Debra Tate noted that she would have a 40-year-old nephew if her sister had lived.

Atkins' prosecutor, Vincent Bugliosi, had spoken out earlier in favor of release, saying the mercy requested was "minuscule" because Atkins was on her deathbed.

Atkins and her co-defendants were originally sentenced to death but their sentences were reduced to life in prison when capital punishment was briefly outlawed by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1970s.

During the sensational 10-month trial, Atkins, Manson and co-defendants Krenwinkel and Van Houten maintained their innocence. But once they were convicted, the so-called "Manson girls" confessed in graphic detail.

They tried to absolve Manson, the ex-convict who had gathered a "family" of dropouts and runaways to a ranch outside Los Angeles, where he cast himself as the Messiah and led them in an aberrant lifestyle fueled by drugs and communal sex.

Watson had a separate trial and was convicted.

One night in August 1969, Manson dispatched Atkins and others to a wealthy residential section of Los Angeles, telling them, as they recalled, to "do something witchy."

They went to the home of Tate and her husband. He was not home, but Tate, who was 8 1/2 months pregnant, and four others were killed. "Pigs" was scrawled on a door in blood.

The next night, a wealthy grocer and his wife were found stabbed to death in their home across town. "Helter Skelter" was written in blood on the refrigerator.

"I was stoned, man, stoned on acid," Atkins testified during the trial's penalty phase.

"I don't know how many times I stabbed (Tate) and I don't know why I stabbed her," she said. "She kept begging and pleading and begging and pleading and I got sick of listening to it, so I stabbed her."

She said she felt "no guilt for what I've done. It was right then and I still believe it was right." Asked how it could be right to kill, she replied in a dreamy voice, "How can it not be right when it's done with love?"

The matronly, gray-haired Atkins who appeared before a parole board in 2000 cut a far different figure than that of the cocky young defendant some 30 years earlier.

"I don't have to just make amends to the victims and families," she said softly. "I have to make amends to society. I sinned against God and everything this country stands for." She said she had found redemption in Christianity.

The last words she spoke in public at the September hearing were to say in unison with her husband: "My God is an amazing God."

She spent 37 years in the California Institution for Women at Frontera. When she fell ill, she was moved to a medical unit at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla. She died there.

Susan Denise Atkins was born May 7, 1948, in the Los Angeles suburb of San Gabriel. Her mother was stricken with cancer and died when she was 15. Her father, reportedly an alcoholic, sent her and her brother to live with relatives.

While still in her teens, she ran away to San Francisco where she wound up dancing in a topless bar and using drugs. She moved into a commune in the Haight Ashbury district and it was there that she met Manson.

He gave her a cult name, Sadie Mae Glutz, and, when she became pregnant by a "family" member, he helped deliver the baby boy, naming it Zezozoze Zadfrack. His whereabouts are unknown.

The Manson slayings remained unsolved for three months, until Atkins confessed to a cellmate following her arrest on an unrelated charge. Police found Manson and other cult members living in a ranch commune in Death Valley, outside Los Angeles.

Besides Tate, their other victims were celebrity hairdresser Jay Sebring, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, filmmaker Voityck Frykowski and Steven Parent, a friend of Tate's caretaker; and grocery owners Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. Atkins also was convicted with Manson of still another murder, of musician Gary Hinman, in July 1969.

Atkins married twice while in prison. Her first husband, Donald Lee Laisure, purported to be an eccentric Texas millionaire. They quickly divorced. Whitehouse, her second husband, is a Harvard Law School graduate and had recently served as one of her attorneys.

___

EDITOR'S NOTE — Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch, the AP's trial reporter for 40 years, covered the Manson Family trial.

(This version CORRECTS that Tate was one of seven people murdered, not six.)

An old Flemtor blessing

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:05:43 GMT

"May your mind be blown like Allen Ginsberg in a kindergarten class."

Small wonder that the little-known Flemtor culture died out during a prison riot in 1988.

Also, in a conversation regarding The Wizard of Oz, some of my associates wonder where the Scarecrow got the revolver. I assume they made some purchases or otherwise acquired objects in the Emerald City before going to the Wicked Witch's castle; my question is where it went. The Wicked Witch might have an aversion to cleaning buckets, but I'm pretty sure she has difficulty with high-momentum lead, too. It seems like a useful object to have around.

Though, sadly, it probably wasn't an Object. That would be even more useful. Unless it wasn't, of course.

NASA launches rocket, dozens report strange lights

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:07:00 GMT

NASA launches rocket, dozens report strange lights

Sun Sep 20, 12:29 am ET

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. – NASA says it successfully launched a rocket in Virginia as part of an experiment, and the blast may have caused dozens of people to report seeing strange lights in the sky.

The space agency said it launched the Black Brant XII on Saturday evening to gather data on the highest clouds in the Earth's atmosphere. About the time of the launch, dozens of people in the Northeast started calling local television stations to report seeing strange lights.

The calls came from as far away as Boston, which is about 380 miles northeast of the launch site.

The rocket is designed to create an artificial cloud. NASA hopes the experiment will provide information on the formation and properties of noctilucent clouds, which occur at high altitudes.

Echoes

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:22:36 GMT

We laughed as we took the sledgehammers to the support columns. It was hard, sweaty work, but we smashed the house in no time at all. Physics told us what to do; just a few swings of the hammer, and it collapsed.

We celebrated in the dust-covered backyard with a bonfire. We burned all the money. We wanted to have a feast, but we realized all the food was still in the refrigerator. So we just stole from the neighbor's garbage.

We're going to live under the bridge in the north of town. We've got it all planned out.

I've already carved the sigils. No one will ever find us there.

Epiphany

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:48:07 GMT

It is possible to sing "Big Rock Candy Mountain" to the tune of the Gilligan's Island theme song.

Conversely, this implies that it is possible to sing most of Emily Dickinson's poetry to the tune of "Big Rock Candy Mountain."

It is not possible to do this with the poetry of Shoggoth Dickinson, however. Shoggoth Dickinson's poetry cannot be pronounced by your pitiful huu-maan mouths, and the only song that matches the meter scheme is the mad piping of the daemon flautists in the Court of Azathoth.

Strangeness

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:53:40 GMT

Where did these people originate? The people with gaping holes where a Humanity should go?

Is the universe so sick as to spawn them spontaneously?

I think I need proof that not all humans are bastards. I think one goes crazy without that information, like slowly losing REM sleep.

We're all wisps of smoke caught in a spiderweb, I fear. What will happen when the wind blows?

Scotchman says:

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 02:59:14 GMT

Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny.

Disclaimer: The author of this message may not actually be the Scotchman.

Violation

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:41:51 GMT

I just received an advert for Scientology on Obsidian Portal.

Wait, what?

Also, Hitler just gave you AIDS:

Germania - Aids is a Mass Murderer from PUPIA Tv on Vimeo.

Dirty old man

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:07:22 GMT

Smile a cockeyed Crawling Chaos grin.

Heh, heh. Cock.

Break

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 03:34:22 GMT

Did the Earth shift on its axis, moving slightly off-kilter?

Or have I merely ceased to be human?

Tim Gunn: Comic crimefighter against fashion evils

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:33:26 GMT

Does this mean that Disney will own Tim Gunn's soul?

Tim Gunn: Comic crimefighter against fashion evils

By SAMANTHA CRITCHELL, AP Fashion Writer Samantha Critchell, Ap Fashion Writer

NEW YORK – Tim Gunn is taking his fight against fashion crimes from the workrooms of "Project Runway" to the pages of a comic book. And, wow, does he get to wear a power suit.

The "Loaded Gunn" story line — to save an exhibit of extraordinary superhero clothes from a cadre of villains — is part of a book that reintroduces a group of Marvel's high-fashion "Models Inc." comic characters from the 1960s.

"It's a little `America's Next Top Model' — without Tyra (Banks) — and a little `Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,'" says Marvel editor Charlie Beckerman.

The Gunn project evolved on a whim, but it turned out Gunn was a childhood comic fan and a good sport, Beckerman says.

Gunn says the experience has been "the most bizarre thing."

"It's exciting and exhilarating, but bizarre. When they came to me, I said, `I'm about to turn 56 years old. Are they crazy?' But it kept revealing itself in layers and next thing, I'm wearing the `Iron Man' suit. I was dumbstruck."

Personally, Gunn says he always fancied himself more of a Batman type, but he's pleased with the result.

"Most superheroes are fighting the same thing — good vs. evil — but who's taking on crimes against fashion? Me!"

The biggest offense, hands down: clothes that don't fit properly, Gunn says. And, if he had the truly incredible power to remove one item from closets all around the world, no question it would be Crocs.

"It's the No. 1 fashion crime item — and I see it a lot," Gunn says.

DON'T PANIC

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:15:32 GMT

We're all worried about it.

I talk of course about the Rapture. The thing about the Rapture is, sure, yeah, you've been saved, but what about your pet? Your pet is going to have to stay on Earth while you experience the pleasures of Heaven, and since the Rapture just happens, you won't have time to prepare. Your pet will just be left in your home to starve.

Worry no more.

Eternal Earth-Bound Pets, USA has the answer for you. Their staff of confirmed atheists will stay behind on Earth to watch your pet when you've gone to your eternal reward.

From the website:

"You've committed your life to Jesus. You know you're saved. But when the Rapture comes what's to become of your loving pets who are left behind? Eternal Earth-Bound Pets takes that burden off your mind.

"We are a group of dedicated animal lovers, and atheists. Each Eternal Earth-Bound Pet representative is a confirmed atheist, and as such will still be here on Earth after you've received your reward. Our network of animal activists are committed to step in when you step up to Jesus."

And later, their rate structure:

"Our service is plain and simple; our fee structure is reasonable.
For $110.00 we will guarantee that should the Rapture occur within ten (10) years of receipt of payment, one pet per residence will be saved. Each additional pet at your residence will be saved for an additional $15.00 fee. A small price to pay for your peace of mind and the health and safety of your four legged friends."

Neoteny

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:12:33 GMT

As an addendum to the news story I posted yesterday, Penny Arcade has reported that there are too many Beasts:

Disney to buy comic book powerhouse Marvel Entertainment

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:43:39 GMT

Disney is already introducing Steamboat Hulk and Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer Supreme's Apprentice.

Disney to buy comic book powerhouse Marvel Entertainment

The estimated $4-billion deal would give Disney access to a library of more than 5,000 characters and help it strengthen its appeal to the young male audience. Ike Perlmutter, Marvel's CEO, will work directly with Disney to build and integrate Marvel's properties.

By Dawn C. Chmielewski

Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

9:33 a.m. CDT, August 31, 2009

The Walt Disney Co. today announced that it had agreed to acquire comic-book giant Marvel Entertainment, creator of such characters as Iron Man and Spider-Man, in a cash-and-stock deal worth an estimated $4 billion.

The acquisition would give Disney access to a library of more than 5,000 characters -- several of whom have inspired major films for other Hollywood studios. Marvel, meanwhile, gains the clout of Disney's ability to take a popular character and make money on it through films, television and licensed merchandise.

"We believe that adding Marvel to Disney's unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation," said Disney President and Chief Executive Robert A. Iger.

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Marvel, including its more than 5,000 characters. Ike Perlmutter, the comic-book company's chief executive officer, will oversee the properties and work directly with Disney to build and integrate Marvel's properties.

Iger has shown a willingness to make key acquisitions to bolster the company. In 2006, he negotiated a $7.4-billion deal that brought Pixar Animation Studios, the creator of such successful films as "Toy Story" and "Cars," in house.

Analyst David Joyce of Miller Tabak & Co. said the acquisition will help Disney appeal to young men who have flocked to theaters to see Marvel's superhero fare in recent years. That contrasts with Disney's recent successes among young women with such fare as "Hannah Montana" and the Jonas Brothers.

"It helps Disney add exposure to a young male demographic it had sort of lost some balance with," Joyce said, noting the $4 billion offer was at "full price."

Disney said Marvel shareholders will receive $30 per share in cash, plus 0.745 Disney shares for every Marvel share they own. That values each Marvel share at $50 based on Friday's closing stock prices.

Marvel shares jumped $10.17, or 26%, to $48.82 shortly after the market opened. Disney shares fell 47 cents, or 1.8%, to $26.37.

Disney said the boards of both companies have approved the transaction, but it will require an antitrust review and the approval of Marvel shareholders.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

dawn.chmielewski@latimes.com
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times