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May 31, 2007
Tonight, the Moon will be Blue
For me it happens around 8:04 PM Central Daylight Time. Adjust to your time zone accordingly.
But "meaning is a slippery substance," writes Philip Hiscock of the Dept. of Folklore, Memorial University of Newfoundland. "The phrase 'Blue Moon' has been around a long time, well over 400 years, and during that time its meaning has shifted."Blue Moon?The modern definition sprang up in the 1940s. In those days the Maine Farmer's Almanac offered a definition of Blue Moon so convoluted even professional astronomers struggled to understand it. It involved factors such as ecclesiastical dates of Easter and Lent, tropical years, and the timing of seasons according to the dynamical mean sun. Aiming to explain blue moons to the layman, Sky & Telescope published an article in 1946 entitled "Once in a Blue Moon." The author James Hugh Pruett (1886-1955) cited the 1937 Maine almanac and opined that the "second [full moon] in a month, so I interpret it, is called Blue Moon."
This was not correct, but at least it could be understood. And thus the modern Blue Moon was born.
Surveying the last four centuries of literature and folklore, "I have counted six different meanings which have been carried by the term," recounts Hiscock. In song, for instance, Blue Moons are a symbol of loneliness; when love conquers all, the Blue Moon turns gold. (See old Elvis records for more information.) "This makes discussion of the term a little complicated," he says.
Posted by Groonk at 06:22 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Science
May 30, 2007
Grant Morrison Warps Reality. Talks Sigil Magic.
Funny how I can research the various forms of magic(sigil magic, chaos magic) til I'm blue in the face, only to find the info I needed through sideways means months after the initial search began.
(via magickal youtube)
Posted by Groonk at 02:50 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Research, Video, Weird
Charles Nelson Reilly (1931 - 2007)
Charles Nelson Reilly, the Tony Award winner who later became known for his ribald appearances on the "Tonight Show" and various game shows, has died. He was 76.[...]
His larger-than-life persona and affinity for double-entendres also landed him on the "Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson more than 95 times.
Reilly ruefully admitted his wild game show appearances adversely affected his acting career. "You can't do anything else once you do game shows," he told The Advocate, the national gay magazine, in 2001. "You have no career."
Funny that it's the game shows I remember him from. Back when I watched those terrible things.
The game shows and one of the best X-Files ever filmed: "Jose Chung's "From Outer Space""
(via nydailynews)
Posted by Groonk at 12:41 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of People Who Died
Who's Dead Again?*
No time to watch "Human, All Too Human," a documentary about Frederick Nietzsche. Dropping it here for later review.
(via smashing telly)
Posted by Groonk at 12:13 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of History, Movies, Video
Wally Schirra, Mercury 7 Astronaut
Because I didn't catch this when it happened a month ago.
Schirra was the only astronaut to fly on Mercury, Gemini and Apollo flights. His Apollo 7 mission in October 1968 was a 10-day testflight for procedures and equipment used on later flights to the moon.It was the first flight after the Apollo 1 tragedy in January 1967 in which three astronauts burned to death in their space capsule during a launchpad practice session.
Schirra was a Navy test pilot when he joined NASA in April 1959.
The Mercury 7 astronauts included Schirra, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Deke Slayton, Alan Shepherd and Scott Carpenter.
[...]
Of those seven astronauts, only Glenn and Carpenter are still alive.
(via yahoo news, wiki, wallyschirra.com )
Posted by Groonk at 11:15 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of People Who Died
When SUPERBAD gets KNOCKED UP, Funny Happens
It looks like Judd Apatow decided to parody the I HEART HUCKABEES disaster that leaked on the intertubes many moons ago. Apatow's parody is basically an advertisement for the Heigl-icious comedy movie KNOCKED UP that's hitting a theater near me soon. I Watch Stuff explains:
This one imagines Michael Cera of Arrested Development and the upcoming Superbad as the original star of Knocked Up who gets fired for being difficult.
Katherine Heigl, you know I could watch you sit at restaurant tables all day. Twice on thursday. But my observation focuses on Micahel Cera.
Hearing Michael Cera say 'fuck' is like watching a smurf...well...fuck, right before your eyes. You're amused by what you just saw/heard but you can't help but think some part of your soul just died. You're gonna have to work hard to shed that ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT George Michael-image.
Otherwise, Judd Apatow, you're just a damn genius. As are you, Michael Showalter.
(via iwatchstuf.com)
Posted by Groonk at 10:35 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Movies, Video
Cellphones aren't Killing Honeybees
Meant to post on this many weeks ago. Neil Gaiman had a reader who informed him that the "mysterious bee deaths" that the media latched onto for whatever reason was actually due to mites. Let Sharon Stiteler inform us properly:
Our bees are Minnesota Hygienic Italian Bees developed by Marla Spivak at the U of M. She is one of the researchers studying Colony Collapse Disorder--she said that this has been a problem for the last 15 years and this year the media has grabbed on to the story. has studied the Varroa mite, which over the past 20 years has become a major threat to commercial honeybees. First discovered in the United States in 1987, the mite weakens the bee's immune system. It kills off most bee colonies within a year or two after invading. Beekeepers use pesticides to control the mites, but Spivak has studied ways to breed honeybees that are resistant to it. The bees have been bred to have a "hygienic" behaviors. They sense when brood is diseased and cleans them out. They also clean out any dead bees as well. This behavior cuts down on foul brood and other colony problems.
Marla wrote an article about Sharon's bees:
http://www.beeculture.com/storycms/index.cfm?cat=Story&recordID=290
Oh, and about that research that "pointed the finger" to cell phones? Well, they hadn't even studied cell phones. Wired points us to this:
Good story for sure, except that the study in question had nothing to do with mobile phones and was actually investigating the influence of electromagnetic fields, especially those used by cordless phones that work on fixed-line networks, on the learning ability of bees. The small study, according to the researchers who carried it out too small for the results to be considered significant, found that the electromagnetic fields similar to those used by cordless phones may interrupt the innate ability of bees to find the way back to their hive.Those searching for answers for the recent disappearance of millions of bees in the United States - what researchers are calling colony collapse disorder - jumped on the possible explanation though there was one particular, cellphones and cordless phones emit different types of radiation and what you learn studying one type is not necessarily significant to the other, according to the researchers.
I still say the bees are hatching other plans.
(via wired and neil gaimman)
Posted by Groonk at 02:32 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Science
His Followers Will Come in Waves
Applegeeks comedy: I like very much.
(via applegeeks lite)
Posted by Groonk at 01:33 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Just Freaking Neat
May 28, 2007
LISTEN: There Be Pirates, Lads and Lasses
Sing along with me. Cause I'm singing like a pirate full of rum and wandering ambition.
Yo, ho, haul together,
hoist the Colors high.
Heave ho,
thieves and beggars,
never shall we die.Yo, ho, haul together,
hoist the Colors high.
Heave ho, thieves and beggars,
never say we die.Some men have died
and some are alive
and others sail on the sea
– with the keys to the cage…
and the Devil to pay
we lay to Fiddler’s Green!The bell has been raised
from it’s watery grave…
Do you hear it’s sepulchral tone?
We are a call to all,
pay head the squall
and turn your sail toward home!Yo, ho, haul together,
hoist the Colors high…
Heave ho, thieves and beggars,
never say we die.
(via stealth fiction)
Posted by Groonk at 11:18 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Digital Share, Movies, Music
May 25, 2007
Tania Derveaux will Blow 40,000 Guys for Votes
Is she lying? Only 40,000 guys will know for sure.
Sex and politics have always ridden in the same cart very comfortably.
Tania Derveaux is ready to give out 40,000 blowjobs to men that vote for her in the next Belgian election. Tania is currently the leading (of course) NEE party senate candidate. Tania says she will take a 500-day tour around the world and blow dudes every single day. That's about 80 dicks a day!
In order to receive a oral tongue bath from Tania you have to be 18 or older, wear a condom and Tania can deny you for any reason. She said, "We adhere to high standards of service but due to time limitations each performance can last no longer than 5 minutes."[...]
The next Belgian election is June 5th and at least 40,000 votes are needed to start a political group.
Since I have no aspirations for porn, I never thought I'd get to see an actual Blowjob Request Form. If all I needed was a form to get a hummer...hell. I'd have printed that out decades ago.
Extra bits of internet crazy:
Some notes after having received more than 1000 applications:
- submitting several applications will not result in more blowjobs
- Services for female applicants can only be provided in Second Life if the applicant has the necessary avatar modifications
(via ONTD)
Posted by Groonk at 04:31 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Politics, Sex, World
Thrice Caught in the Gaze of the Deerman
If he spies you 3 times. You die.
A week ago the column was devoted to recalling the legend of the half-man, half-deer who supposedly lurked in the woods north of Kewanee.We were responding to a request from Neponset seventh grader Gus Block who asked the newspaper to "uncover the truth" in an unbiased fashion. Gus had heard some "pretty tall tales" about this Deerman from his "parents and other old people" and wondered if his leg was being pulled. We have since learned Gus overheard the adult Sunday School class at the Church of Peace reminiscing about stories of Deerman one Sunday morning and his curiosity was piqued so he penned a letter to the paper.
[...]
As we explained last week to Gus and the rest of our readers, the legend of Deerman began in the early 1960s in a column in this newspaper called "Mostly Malarkey," written by editor and publisher Jerry Moriarity.
For several years the rumors of sightings and encounters circulated and "Deerman was here!" could be found scrawled on road signs, barns and walls throughout the Kewanee area.
[...]
... A Kewanee serviceman who asked to remain anonymous for his own safety read the Deerman column on our website and was amazed that the legend still exists. "The story I heard as a kid in the '80s was that Deerman was created by a man who earned his living skinning and tanning hides in his barn. Somehow, late one dark and stormy night, something happened and he was given two legs of a deer, a man's torso and arms (for writing), and the gigantic head of a 10-point buck," said our serviceman. "It's important to note that Deerman was not a cruel freak of nature, but the result of an unholy obsession with taxidermy."
Half-man, half-animal legends being bandied about at Sunday School, you say? One would think that the Deerman and Jesus just wouldn't mix.
(via warren ellis, star courier)
Posted by Groonk at 03:46 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Myth
July is for Reading
While everyone else has visions of horcruxes dancing in their heads. My mind is fixed on CROOKED LITTLE VEIN.
If Chuck Palahniuk was kidnapped, Raymond Chandler was resurrected, their DNA was spliced together, and the mad scientists responsible for those events wanted something to read on lonely nights in the lab, Crooked Little Vein would be the result.[...]
It’s all there in front of you, pulsing with strangeness and testing your stomach’s resolve. Crooked Little Vein is vintage Warren Ellis, and it’s time more people know just what that means.
Indeed, it is.
(via warrenellis.com, the inside flap)
Posted by Groonk at 03:38 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Books, Quotables
Spider Jerusalem's Monoculture Rant in "Talking Text"
Done for some graphics design class that's apparently very popular.
I know I'd like to take it.
(via warren ellis, texty youtube)
Posted by Groonk at 03:14 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Video, Web Design
Blinky, Flashy Transformers Shirts Aim to Hide General Displeasure
Too tired to snark. If you want to afflict your eyes with 7 more of the Bruckheimer Transformers movie marketing machinery via body wear, you can follow the link to ONTD and make your own jokes while I do my best to coax my childhood memories out of the fetal position long enough to pry that bottle of Jack Daniels out of his hand.
Did I say I was too tired? I meant I was too tired to snark effectively.
(via ONTD)
Posted by Groonk at 01:09 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Movies
May 24, 2007
Google's Gone a Bit Goofy
Goofy in a good way.
So far.
(via gmail about page, googled youtube)
Posted by Groonk at 10:07 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Google-fied
May 23, 2007
Worth 1000 Blasts Your Soul
Fine art mixed with current marketing schemes equals rollicking good times for all.
(via boingboing and worth 1000)
Posted by Groonk at 03:26 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Art, Funny, Marketing
May 22, 2007
THE LANDLORD: The Outtakes
(via ONTD and funnyordie.com)
Posted by Groonk at 04:39 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Funny, Video
BLIND CLICK 10: Believe in Harvey Dent
(via ONTD)
Posted by Groonk at 04:26 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Movies
May 11, 2007
In Belarus, They Hand-Paint Hollywood Movies to Winful Effect
Also: For reasons unknown, SHALLOW HAL is called EVIL LOVE in Russia.
More movies after the hop.
(via ontd and englishrussia.com)
Posted by Groonk at 04:10 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Art, Culture, Movies, One Sheets
100 Tons of Explosives Go Boom
Watching shit blow-up on this level is like having a hundred Christmases all at once. Smack in the middle of July. On the beach of your own private island.
(via geekologie and tickticktickBOOM Youtube)
Posted by Groonk at 04:06 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Just Freaking Neat
BLIND CLICK 9: A 7 Foot Long "Nemertean Worm" Says What?
I say it's the remains of a Shoggoth invasion. Who's right? Only science can decide.
(via geekologie)
Posted by Groonk at 03:55 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Animals, Video
May 10, 2007
BLIND CLICK 8
(via metafilter)
Posted by Groonk at 06:12 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Flash
HOT FUZZ, Because HOT BUSH was a Too Porn-y
Pardon me, Mr Pegg...Simon? ATM does not mean "Anal to Missionary." Just a thing I know. No more questions.
Ever.
Infatuated with new media streaming movie thing NGTV.COM. And Carrie Keagan. She's the smart Pamela Anderson, you know.
(via ngtv.com)
Posted by Groonk at 03:45 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Just Freaking Neat, Movies
Bruce Willis Re-affirms Awesomeness Nominally Awesome, Trashes Michael Bay
I was troubled about bad-mouthing Michael Bay's TRANSFORMERS effort even before I watch the movie. It was uncomfortably fanboy, even for me. But Bruce Wills lets me know that I'm not being overzealous. Not one bit. And that my Michael Bay assumptions were pretty much on the mark.
"I would rather eat a live baby in front of my grandma than have Michael Bay direct a DIE HARD movie. I would rather go hunting with Dick Cheney than let that car engine in a human skin leave his satanic fingerprints on John McClane. In fact, this new PG-13 thing is the only part of ruining modern action movies that Michael Bay is not personally responsible for. The rest of it is all him. Don't even fucking say those words in the same sentence, you’re only gonna give them ideas for part 5. It's like saying Candyman in front of a mirror, that motherfucker will show up and snort John McClane's soul right in front of you and then piss it out on your shoes,"wrote Willis. "Would have ruined DH4. Few people will work with him now, and I know I will never work with him again."
--Bruce Willis
This would be the second quote on the blandness of movies these days(first quote was by Scott Wiper). The family friendly trend which is runing it for those of us who want R rated action every now and again. Hello, Mr Hollywood. Not everybody in the wide world has children or needs curse words cut and graphic violence tamed. Entertainment should rise above the age of 18 now and again.
(via iwatchstuff.com)
UPDATE: So Willis is not as awesome as I thought he was and I'm a little less awesome than that. Seems the striked bit was from some random AICN forum poster.
But because I like reading what that guy said so much, I'm only striking it and adding that Bruce Willis did not say the crazed ranting bits. Willis only said Bay would have ruined DH4, people won't work with Bay, and he'd never work with Bay.
In the long run, I think Bay came out better after the rantings of some crazed AICN forum guy.
Posted by Groonk at 01:27 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Movies, Quotables
May 04, 2007
Oh, Dip!: MONSTER SQUAD on DVD
release date: July 24, 2007
DVD Empire's selling it for $14.05.
Waves of awesome are washing over me, right now. It's not as dirty as it sounds. But it feels good in that dirty kind of way.
20 years, though. Goddamn. I'm getting old.
Previously on GNET:
(via ONTD)
Posted by Groonk at 08:09 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of DVD, Just Freaking Neat, Movies
May 03, 2007
Fresh Wounds Breed the Most Fear
Three Panel Soul is a webcomic I've quietly followed for 2 months now. Nice, funny, and simple stories. Imagine my surprise when I discover the latest story is actual truth. And that "terroristic" mysteriously became a word overnight. I'll let Diesel Sweeties' RStevens fully explain.
I've been meaning to post about Three Panel Soul, the new comic by Ian and Matt of MacHall fame- unfortunately I've got to do so under less-than-wonderful circumstances. I love this new strip because I’m finding it a lot more minimalist and relatable… also ridiculously funny.Matt was working as a contractor for a branch of the government. He made the mistake of being interested in the hobby of paper target shooting at about the same time as the VA Tech shootings and talking to someone about this hobby at work. Keep in mind he wasn’t even talking about those shootings, in fact he was discussing how he wanted a gun which would make it difficult to kill someone.
He was promptly fired and not allowed back to work because people were scared of him.
To top it all off, he was later visited by police detectives for making a comic about his experience, because it was a "borderline terroristic threat." (Is "terroristic" even a word? Did they get that from the Colbert report?)
I’m not a lawyer or a reporter or anything, but I would recommend anyone who was one of those things to contact Matt. ( machallboyd ATZORS gmail.com ) If you’re a cartoonist or a webcomics fan, spread his story around. The more people who know about this, the better. He’s a good dude who deserves your support.
(via diesel sweeties and three panel soul)
Posted by Groonk at 01:27 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Digital Share, USA
Ancient Buddhist Paintings Found in Nepal's Caves
KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Explorers have discovered a series of caves decorated with ancient Buddhist paintings, set in sheer cliffs in Nepal's remote Himalayan north, leaving archaeologists excited and puzzled.An international team of scholars, archaeologists, climbers and explorers examined at least 12 cave complexes at 14,000 feet (4,300 metres) near Lo Manthang, a mediaeval walled city in Nepal's Mustang district, about 125 km (80 miles) northwest of Kathmandu.
"Who lived in those caves? When were they there, when were (the caves) first excavated and how did the residents access them, perched as they are on vertical cliffs?" asked Broughton Coburn, an American member of the survey team.
"It's a compelling, marvellous mystery."
(via yahoo news)
Posted by Groonk at 01:20 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of History, Science
BLIND CLICK 7: My New Desktop
(via xkcd)
Posted by Groonk at 12:54 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Just Freaking Neat
They Come to Make Music of Your House
(via teddy kristiansen and whimsically drumming YouTube)
Posted by Groonk at 06:59 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Music, Video, Weird
May 02, 2007
Sex and Death on the Road to Mars
Space Sex. They are all grown-ups at NASA. You'd think they could work out the sex bits fairly easy. As for the issue of death, I suppose that could be based off of current military practices.
One topic that is evidently too hot to handle: How do you cope with sexual desire among healthy young men and women during a mission years long?Sex is not mentioned in the document and has long been almost a taboo topic at NASA. Williams said the question of sex in space is not a matter of crew health but a behavioral issue that will have to be taken up by others at NASA.
[...]
"There is a decision that is going to have to be made about mixed-sex crews, and there is going to be a lot of debate about it," he said.[...]
NASA will consider whether astronauts must undergo preventive surgery, such as an appendectomy, to head off medical emergencies during a mission, and whether astronauts should be required to sign living wills with end-of-life instructions.
The space agency also must decide whether to set age restrictions on the crew, and whether astronauts of reproductive age should be required to bank sperm or eggs because of the risk of genetic mutations from radiation exposure during long trips.
Already, NASA is considering genetic screening in choosing crews on the long-duration missions. That is now prohibited.
"Genetic screening must be approached with caution ... because of limiting employment and career opportunities based on use of genetic information," Williams said.
(via apnews)
Posted by Groonk at 12:01 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Mars
Scott Wiper Talks THE CONDEMNED and the Hard-Boiled Action Movie
Scott Wiper's got a knack for the ahrd-boiled type of movie. The flicks that are over the top, but not in that Roger Corman type of way. Mostly in that John McClanekind of way. He entertained me with a flick(A BETTER WAY TO DIE) I saw on HBO, or Showtime, some time ago.
But I felt there was a vacuum as an action film, I don’t see any “Die Hard”s – rated R. “Lethal Weapon” – rated R. “48 Hours” – rated R. All I was seeing was these PG-13 action films made for $80 million and they have to entertain everyone from my two sisters to my mother. So when I first pitched how I would do this movie, I said, first and foremost rated R. It’s the whole essence. There’s a whole faction of people out there, and they’re not just men, and they’re disappointed with action films because they’re sugar coated.
--Scott Wiper
(via joblo.com)
Posted by Groonk at 07:55 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Movies, Quotables
May 01, 2007
Disney Releases 9 Minutes of Ratatouille
Ratatouille is the latest Brad Bird effort being created via Pixar. Now Bird is one of my favorite directors ever. Nothing can stop that man from putting out a good story that lasts. He did The Iron Giant and The Incredibles.
Hmmm. maybe he should call it The Ratatouille, just in case.
(via iwatchstuff and disney)
Posted by Groonk at 01:12 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Digital Share, Movies
Secrets of the Red Light District Revealed
This week might be celebrity quote week. I haven't decided yet.
The following are two seperate bits on James Gunn's visit to the Red Light District in Amsterdamn. The first quote being about a prostitute by the name of Wet Pussy. Yup, Wet Pussy.
The second is from a prostitute named "Emma" and a sad/insightful interview he had with her.
She pulled on my arm, and tried to forcibly pull me into the little room. But I am powerful! Much stronger than a prostitute! I stood my ground.[...]
We like to think there's a great divide between "us" and "them", that there's something innately different about us. But the only thing that separates us is that one choice, that simple action. And ALL of us, if put in the right situation on the right day when we're in the right mood can make an unusual choice. As I spoke with Emma, "There but for the Grace of God go I" had true resonance.
(via the james gunn blog)
Posted by Groonk at 11:40 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Quotables, Sex, World
