« July 2007 | Main | September 2007 »
August 30, 2007
Space Wolf: Awooooo!
There is more than one way to kill a werewolf, yes?
Plus: you may now wear Space Wolf on your body. The other mark of true fame is t-shirts.
(via hickee hub and wolfy youtube)
Posted by Groonk at 05:46 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Just Freaking Neat, Marketing, Video
Galaxies Like to Eat Each Other
And to the Andromeda Galaxy: I hope that you're lactose intolerant.
(via yet another blog and History Channels The Universe)
Posted by Groonk at 05:30 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Just Freaking Neat, Research, Science, Video
August 28, 2007
Klaatu Barada Nikt-eww...Damnit!
Hey. It's ok. No one makes their first jump.
Look at what lives on Google video:
I bring this up because there are rumors Keanu Reeves will be in the remake of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL.
Which is perfectly fine if Reeves is playing Gort. Tell me I'm wrong. I dare you.
(via ontd and googlevideo)
(This post wasn't really about snarking Reeves acting "ability." I just wanted to keep up with TDTESS for later watching. Consider the snark the toy surprise in your Cracker Jacks.)
Posted by Groonk at 04:30 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Movies, Video
August 27, 2007
Astronomers Look for Lunar Explosions this Tuesday
On Tuesday morning, Aug. 28th, Earth's shadow will settle across the Moon for a 90-minute total eclipse: full story. In the midst of the lunar darkness, Cooke hopes to record some flashes of light--explosions caused by meteoroids crashing into the Moon and blasting themselves to smithereens."The eclipse is a great time to look," says Cooke, who heads up NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The entire face of the Moon will be in shadow for more than two hours, offering more than 7 million sq. miles of dark terrain as target for incoming meteoroids.
(via yahoo news)
Posted by Groonk at 12:29 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Science
August 24, 2007
Astronomers Squee Over Finding a Great Big Nothing
Astronomers have found an enormous void in space that measures nearly a billion light-years across.It is empty of both normal matter - such as galaxies and stars - and the mysterious "dark matter" that cannot be seen directly with telescopes.
The "hole" is located in the direction of the Eridanus constellation and has been identified in data from a survey of the sky made at radio wavelengths.
(via bbc news)
Posted by Groonk at 02:28 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Science
Extensive Comics Covers Browser Kills All Your Time
Tom Muller shared a link to a cover browser warning all who follow it will lose hours of their precious time clicking through it.
He wasn't wrong.
He follows up such a wonderful link with something so horrible that decent people should turn their eyes from it: Worst Album Covers.
But none of you fine readers will. I know who reads my noise.
(via tom muller)
Other comic book covers:
Posted by Groonk at 01:01 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Research
Neopagan Group Worships Death. Wants Recognition
Curiously, their deity of choice has a remarkable resemblence to Death of the Endless. A small fact not missed by Death's creator.
A small religious group that worships the grim reaper and is fighting for government recognition unveiled a softer image of their Death Saint today: a woman with a porcelain face, brown, shoulder-length hair and long thin fingers.
Hundreds of worshippers filed into the Santa Muerte sanctuary in central Mexico City to see the statue in a flowing golden dress and veil, clutching a rose. She offers another option to followers who have traditionally prayed to figures of a skeleton dressed in a black cloak and carrying a scythe, or in a long flowing white gown.
David Romo, the Traditional Mex-USA Church's archbishop, said the new incarnation of the saint appeared to a woman in a dream in December and told her to ask Romo to commission a statue so devotees could see her new look.
He denied the change is a publicity stunt to win government recognition and shed the group's image as a cult dabbling in black magic.
Death came to him in a Dream, eh? Gaiman should sue for trademark infringement.
(via neil gaiman and brisbane times)
Posted by Groonk at 12:26 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Culture, Religion
The Tasman Outflow Connects the Weather...Maybe
The newfound Tasman Outflow is part of the "super-gyre" ocean current pathway which helps connect the Indian, South Atlantic and South Pacific oceans and is part of the global heat conveyor belt known as the thermohaline circulation. It's not certain, however, just how big a player the Tasman Outflow is."It's another link between the Pacific and Indian Ocean," said Ken Ridgway of the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). "The other is through Indonesia." Ridgway and his colleagues report on the Tasman Outflow in the August issue of Geophysical Journal Letters.
(via discovery)
Posted by Groonk at 12:04 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Research, Science
August 23, 2007
The Poe Toaster Revealed: Mystery Deepens
I'm unsure on how to feel about this. I made the Poe Toaster my personal weekly hero back in January. The Emo Kid/Tragic Goth in me could have lived a lifetime without knowing the(possible) truth.
But the birth of long lasting cultural mythology makes an interesting read. I read the article and was surprised. How strange that it didn't seem to diminish the yearly ritual for me.
"We did it, myself and my tour guides," said Sam Porpora. "It was a promotional idea. We made it up, never dreaming it would go worldwide."Porpora is an energetic, dapper fellow in a newsboy cap and a checked suit with a bolo tie. He's got a twinkle in his eye and a mischievous smile, and he tells his tale in the rhythms of a natural-born storyteller.
No one has ever claimed ownership of the legend. So why is Porpora coming forward now?
[...]
Porpora's story begins in the late 1960s. He'd just been made historian of the Westminster Presbyterian Church, built in 1852. There were fewer than 60 congregants and Porpora, in his 60s, was one of the youngest. The overgrown cemetery was a favorite of drunken derelicts.
The site needed money and publicity, Porpora recalled. That, he said, is when the idea of the Poe toaster came to him. The story, as Porpora told it to a local reporter then, was that the tribute had been laid at the grave on Poe's January 19 birthday every year since 1949. Three roses -- one for Poe, one for his wife, and one for his mother-in-law -- and a bottle of cognac, because Poe loved the stuff even though he couldn't afford to drink it unless someone else was buying.
The romantic image of the mysterious man in black caught the fancy of Poe fans and a tradition grew.
Not surprising that some have contested Porpora's story.
(via cnn and Dunc)
Posted by Groonk at 02:20 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Myth
Zombie Ronald Will Eat You in Your Sleep
I don't know what's going on in this picture but this is the creature I set loose on the noisy bastards upstairs.
*Knock. Knock.*
"Oh. Hello, Mr McDonald Person. We'd like a McMuffin to charge up and have more noisy, neighbor-disturbing sex."
"Well that's a mighty strong grip you have. Please don't attack me with those curiously sharp Mutant Clown Teeth."
"Ummm. Ow. Please stop chewing on my medulla oblongata."
(via ponzu and a very angry, very awake groonk)
Posted by Groonk at 01:43 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Weird
August 15, 2007
Cause You're a Dying Star. That's Who You Are.
(via bbc)
Posted by Groonk at 02:36 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Just Freaking Neat, Research, Science, Weird
James Bond is Stuck in the 60s
No duh, Mr Damon. The recent CASINO ROYALE was a good effort in renewing my Bond movie interest, but it's been boring before that. Not to mention silly and nonsensical.
"Bond is an imperialist and a misogynist who kills people and laughs about it, and drinks Martinis and cracks jokes," he told reporters.[...]
"The Bourne franchise is not about wearing Prada suits and looking at women coming out of the sea with bikinis on," Damon said. "It's about essence and truth, not frippery and surface."
Good job of pushing your movie. Extra points for using "frippery" in a sentence.
(via bbc)
Posted by Groonk at 02:26 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Marketing, Movies, Quotables
August 13, 2007
Human 2.0 or The Technological Singularity
Yes, it is more than a MI:3 MacGuffin.
Yet another documentary I don't have time to lay eyes on.
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BywCMkbG-Jg2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmzPHzu7RlI
3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28Go3Thymuo
4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xLYI3Q6BcI
5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyRiizhPrvE
6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f48NT73ex2o
you can also read Ray Kurzeils "The Singularity Is Near" (http://www.kurzweilai.net/)
and about AI development: http://www.novamente.net , http://www.numenta.com
(via The convulsing Engine)
Posted by Groonk at 02:16 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Books, Research, Technology, Video
Mike Wieringo (1963 - 2007)
It's been a while since I've posted one of these. I wish it had been a little bit longer.
Wieringo was 44 years old. He was a vegetarian, and "one of the healthiest ones of us in the bunch," as his longtime friend and collaborator Todd Dezago described him. Currently, there are no details about services or a funeral.
Wieringo worked every day, updating his blog and website with a constant stream of sketches at MikeWieringo.com. His last sketch was posted on Friday.
[...]
Wieringo was born June 24th, 1963 in Venice, Italy, and first caught the attention of comic book fans when he joined writer Mark Waid on DC's The Flash with issue #80 in 1993. Together, the two co-created the character Impulse, the future speedster brought back to the present. Wieringo (or, 'Ringo as he was better known by then) moved on to Robin at DC, and then moved to Marvel, where he settled in on Sensational Spider-Man with writer Todd DeZago.
The pairing with DeZago was something of fate, as the two co-created and launched their creator-owned property Tellos, which saw several projects and miniseries published over the years. Ringo moved back to DC for a run on Adventures of Superman, and then, in 2002, reunited with Waid for a run on Fantastic Four that was perhaps best known for fan outcry when Marvel announced that they were going to replace the team. Marvel quickly reversed their decision, and the two completed their run on the series.
Ringo then moved to Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man with writer Peter David, and most recently, completed a Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four miniseries written by Jeff Parker. His next project had not been announced, although, as readers of his blog knew, he was very excited at the prospect of doing more Tellos work, with an eye on being able to debut something at next month's Baltimore Comic-Con.
His art was unique and as I'm reading more about Wieringo, he had an unbelievable web presence. I'm just now realizing I crossed paths with him several times on The Engine. As I rummage through his work, I'm also realizing his art was a considerable influence on my life.
Today, I am sad.
(via Bad Signal and newsarama)
Posted by Groonk at 01:10 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, People Who Died
August 12, 2007
Saturn has 60 Moons
(via bbc news and die puny humans)
Posted by Groonk at 07:14 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Science
Using Trees to Terraform Mars
MEXICO CITY - Scientists are using the pine-forested slopes of a Mexican volcano as a test bed to see if trees could grow on a heated-up Mars, part of a vision of making the chilly and barren red planet habitable for humans one day.Planetary scientists at NASA and Mexican universities believe if they can warm Mars using heat-trapping gases, raise the air pressure and start photosynthesis, they could create an atmosphere that would support oxygen-breathing life forms.
[...]
The scientists are studying what makes trees refuse to grow above a certain point, where temperatures drop and the air becomes thinner, to see how easily they could grow on Mars.
"Things don't really start cooking from a biological point of view until trees start growing. Trees are the engines of the biosphere," McKay said.
[...]
In the long term, Mars's low gravity could also have odd effects on would-be settlers, causing people to grow alarmingly tall, and cosmic radiation could cause cancers and mutations.
McKay ruled out anything more permanent than short-term research bases for the next century. "I don't have this vision of people moving to Mars the way people settled the New World, setting up homes and bringing their families."
(via msnbc and The Sputtering Engine)
Posted by Groonk at 07:08 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Mars, Research, Science
August 09, 2007
A Tornado Hit New York City
It was the first one to hit brooklyn since record keeping began in 1950.
Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Meteorologists confirmed that yesterday's storms in the New York area included a tornado that cut a 9-mile path through Staten Island and Brooklyn.The twister, estimated to have winds of between 111-135 miles (179-217 kilometers) an hour, damaged the roofs of 11 homes in the Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn, and later tore off the roof of a car dealership at the corner of 66th Street and Fifth Avenue, the U.S. Weather Service said in a report on its Web site.
The tornado, which touched down in Staten Island at about 6:22 a.m. local time, caused extensive damage to trees, the service said. The tornado was a Category 2 on the 0-5 classification scale used by the weather service, in which 5 is the most powerful.
(via bloomberg and my parents)
Posted by Groonk at 09:12 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of USA
August 08, 2007
Dinosaurs: Imprinted in Sand and Time
Dinosaur research. Top Secret, yah.
(via Dino Stomping YouTube and waverly films)
Posted by Groonk at 10:52 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Funny, Research, Video
Guess Which THE STATE Member is Pimping a New Show
Trick question. There are Two, count them, TWO State members pimping new internet shows. And they are:
David Wain's new whorebaggery appears on some new video site called My Damn Channel.
THE MICHAEL SHOWALTER SHOWALTER
While Michael Showalter's funny business(see: more whorebaggery) appears on College Humor.com.
If we were gonna have a video embed code fight, I'd declare College Humor.com the winner. Just a little bit smoother that My Damn Channel's.
(via various places)
Posted by Groonk at 07:23 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Flash, Funny, Research, Video
August 07, 2007
Has It Really Come Down to This?
(via digg)
Posted by Groonk at 05:04 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Grammar
Joss Whedon Teaches Kids New Words...and Talks SERENITY
And maybe, just maybe, SERENITY II.
WATCH: Joss Whedon 'Serenity' Q&A Session in Australia Part 1
Part 2-6 you have to suss out on your own. To the singing that happened at the end of Part 6.
Stop it.
Don't doubt I won't fly down under and rip the tongues from your mouths to stop it. Your eyes you'll keep and I'll tell you why. How else would you buy and enjoy the visual wonder that are FIREFLY and SERENITY DVDs?
(via the unstoppable signal youtube)
Posted by Groonk at 04:37 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Interviews, Just Freaking Neat, Movies, Video
A Magic Gallery Full of Wonder...and Posters
Did my damnedest to find someone other than Houdini to promote this find. Alas there are only so many hours in the day.
Posted by Groonk at 04:01 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Research
Alexander was Second to Alexandria
History is a quirky bird.
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Alexander the Great founded Alexandria to immortalize his name amid his quest to conquer the world - but his was apparently not the first city on the famed site on Egypt's Mediterranean coast.[...]
"This was proof that there was significant metallurgy and human activity going on back 1,000 years B.C.," Stanley said. "Alexandria did not just grow out from a barren desert, but was built atop an active town.
"We had five well defined components that fit - and we had the story. And the story was that Alexander the Great did not come first to set up Alexandria, there was already something there."
Stanley could not say exactly how big the community was, only that it appeared more developed than a small fishing village.
Posted by Groonk at 03:48 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of History
August 06, 2007
Japan Marks Hiroshima: Will Never Seek Atomic Weapons
JAPAN vowed today never to seek atomic weapons and urged nuclear powers to give up their own arsenals 62 years after the world's first nuclear attack on Hiroshima.Some 45,000 people recited silent prayers at 8.15am (9.15am AEST), the exact moment in 1945 when a single US bomb instantly killed more than 140,000 people and fatally injured tens of thousands of others with radiation or horrific burns.
"I have strengthened my determination not to repeat this tragedy,'' Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a speech in the western city.
(via digg)
Posted by Groonk at 05:17 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Only in Japan
Today it Rained Fire Half a World Away
Thus ending a war that cost countless lives in battle and would have had an even bloodier invasion had the Allies traditionally attacked Japan.
Aug. 6, 1945: 'I Am Become Death, Destroyer of Worlds'1945: The United States becomes the first (and remains the only) country ever to use an atomic weapon in warfare, obliterating the Japanese city of Hiroshima and instantly killing 70,000 people. (Many thousands more would die later from the effects of radiation poisoning.) Three days later, the port city of Nagasaki is destroyed by a second atom bomb with the ultimate loss of 140,000 lives. Japan surrenders shortly thereafter, ending World War II.
Several countries, including Nazi Germany, had pursued the development of an atomic weapon but none matched the U.S. Manhattan Project in terms of the resources, energy or scientific manpower devoted to making the bomb a reality.
Such dates should be remembered.
(via digg)
Posted by Groonk at 02:53 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of History, WorldWarII
YO, GABBAGABBA!
That's http://www.yogabbagabba.com/:
As it was explained to me:
A show that we've been working on premiers this month! Aug 20th on Nick Jr. It's great, a preschool show that adults can watch with guest stars like Mark Mouthersbaugh, Tony Hawk, The Shins, Cornelius....Created by the Aquabats.
BONUS: Biz Markie teaching kids how to beat box:
It looks hell more entertaining than anything I've seen my nieces and nephews watch.
(via puny entertainment)
Posted by Groonk at 09:03 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Video
August 02, 2007
Today I learned about "Vegansexuals"
No, really. VEGANSEXUALS.
But seriously, get the fuck out my face with that shit.
(via applegeeks lite and buzzfeed)
Posted by Groonk at 03:33 PM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Comics, Culture, Sex
MIT Fall Fashion: The New Spacesuits are In
MIT folk have designed a new kind of spacesuit.
You can't tell me they didn't watch Robotech as kids.
(via geekologie)
Posted by Groonk at 09:56 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Mars, Research, Science
Sexy Robot Women Collected on One Poster
Ain't It Cool ran a Robot Poster contest and the winner was this:
And a mighty fine winner indeed.
I can name about half of them. The rest, well even *I* am not that geeky.
(via ain't it cool and some random search i was doing)
Posted by Groonk at 09:40 AM | Comments (0) | Ministry of Art, Robots, Sex
