Ghost of a flea

Dorrie the Little Witch

I loved the Dorrie books but even the Flea as a boy knew the triumphant hats were impossible. Now I possess just such a hat! I shall post an image as soon as a sympathetic digital camera owning friend of a Flea is available.

"Her hat is always on crooked and her socks never match."

In related witchy news is an opportunity in Norwegian small business loans.

The Norwegian Industrial and Regional Development Fund has awarded Lena Skarninga 53,000 kroner so she can sell elixirs to residents around the forest of Nord-Odal, 93 miles north of Oslo. Skarning, a 33-year-old practicing witch said she plans to make a living mixing potions for clients, selling wares door to door and making house calls.

Flea b-day

Happy birthday to Flea! Happy birthday to Flea!

Ok, my never-ending cold and antihistimine regimine meant I missed the Flea's official anniversary on October 28. Still, I am terrible at remembering birthdays and often forget my own age (I have to work it out from remembering the year of the moon-landing... no, seriously).

The 31st is a good day to mark the occasion. It is my favourite holiday and is also a whole year from my second post. Google the words "Madonna" and "tattoo" and you shall find my excursus on kabbalah. The first hit points to my old home on Blogspot and the second to my jury-rigged proto-blogging at my personal dot com. This year's aim concerns the combination of the words "Kylie" and "bottom". I am sure I get move up from the number seven spot.

And then... This poorly worded post has produced an alarming confusion of events. This is a blogiversary rather than a b-day. Sorry about that! It has not occured to me that the Flea (the blog that is) is a Scorpio...

Invisible Library

Someone very dear to the Flea once commented that there was no such thing as too many books, only not enough bookshelves. Fortunately, many books are in need of imaginary shelving.

In 1840, a curious sales catalog titled "Catalogue d'une tres-riche mais peu nombreuse collection de livres provenant de la bibliotheque de fen M. le Comte J. N. A. de Fortsas." (Catalogue of a very rich but very small collection of books coming from the library of Monsieur Count J. N. A. Fortsas) appeared in Europe. The catalog was indeed small, listing only 52 books, and yet it caused great excitement in the book collecting world. The Count de Fortsas' collection was, literally, unique: the Count collected books of which only one copy existed. And now all of these singular volumes were for sale.

Batmobile

The history and specifications of the original 1966 Batmobile feature at this website.

The Batmobile-to-be was the brainchild of Lincoln Mercury's postwar chief stylist, Bill Schmidt. Inspired by a scuba-diving encounter with a shark, Schmidt sketched a low, long, wide, and flat vision of the future with a predatory full width grille, ominously hooded headlights, and killer tail fins.

Bonfire of the Vanities

The Flea makes its Bonfire of the Vanities debut with a post about echidnas.

Sarah Michelle Gellar

This soundboard is such a good idea. It must only be used for the forces of good!

What I see is that after the sun goes down Spike and all his friends are going to be pigging out at the all-you-can-eat moron bar.

There are yet more Buffy-related sound files out there...

And then... Hmm. Once again, a link that worked yesterday and not today. The Flea's traffic is creeping up but I don't think the collected clicking of Flea-readers could knock anybody off-line. I shall try again later.

Techno

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

World sunlight map

The world sunlight map is just what its name suggests.

The World Sunlight Map provides a computer-generated approximation of what the earth currently looks like. While less impressive than actually being into orbit, this is much more accessible to most of us.

Two-Cow

Political philosophy is explained using two cows (via Chaos Central).

Bureaucracies: You have two cows. The government takes them, shoots one, milks the other, pays you for the milk, and then pours it down the drain.

Simpsons reference

The Meatriarchy makes a brilliant Simpsons reference with regard to Canadian security.

Directorate of Science and Technology

Good news. The CIA Directorate of Science and Technology is exhibiting 40 years' worth of gadgets including and "insectothopter".

The CIA once built a mechanical dragonfly to carry a listening device but found small gusts of wind knocked it off course so it was never used in a spy operation. The agency also tested a 24-inch-long rubber robot catfish named “Charlie” capable of swimming inconspicuously among other fish and whose mission remains secret.

Bad news. It is not open to the public. Some material is available on-line... These pamphlets are particularly interesting.

Trouser Semaphore

The Chaps offer a moving sight.

Within the space of a week, and with minimal amount of application, it is possible to gain a skill of incalculable worth. Across the floor of a crowded cocktail gathering, you too would be able to convey your inner most thoughts and deepest needs to like minded individuals, using nothing more than flexibility of your physique and the rough pliability of one’s trouser cloth. Surely, there is no sight more moving than a man and three square yards of carefully tailored cavalry twill moving in perfect harmony.

Dependency

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Who sung it?

I feel vague embarrassment at my perfect score.

BarbieOS

At last, a Linux based solution for the computing needs of Barbie fans aged four to eleven.

Barbie Wizards guide girls through the process of partitioning their disks, formatting volumes, mounting Samba shares, and installing packages.

Taiwan

Taiwan to make legal gay marriage (via InstaPundit). Wow. This one came in below the radar... and will be sure to annoy all those progressive Europeans who got beat to the punch by Taiwan (?).

The government of Taiwan announced Monday that it will bring in legislation to legalize same-sex marriage. It will make the island nation, off the coast of mainland China, the first in Asia to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.

Ascension Island

The Flea rattles its ghostly chains in welcome to a visitor from Ascension Island. I am still waiting on Inaccessible Island but as another dependency of St. Helena I would say Ascension Island is close enough for government work (though not all that close actually). The local government offers a most hospitable web presence (don't miss the virtual tour).

Ascension has an airstrip although there are no commercial flights to Ascension; RAF flights from Brize Norton to the Falklands stop at Ascension, and USAF flights from Patrick AFB (Florida) serve the US Base on the island. Ascension used to be a "closed" island but tourist access has recently become available, although there are relatively few facilities for tourists or casual visitors. Ascension can be briefly visited as a passenger on the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) St. Helena when it calls at the island.

Two take-offs and two landings a week for commercial flights may have just been approved. Time to pack my bags!

Leatherface

New Like Cinema's on-line auction is selling Jessica Biel's "unforgettable" outfit, Leatherface's four rings and best of all a prop rubber Bloody Chainsaw.

Bid today for your chance to own this amazing piece of horror film history. This prop rubber chainsaw is worn from production and stained with fake blood from Leatherface's slashes. This is a chance you don't want to miss!

Particle Tarot

The Particle Tarot is on my list of future Dave McKean purchases. It is primarily an art piece as it consists only of the major arcana. His Vertigo Tarot is a fully functional spread of major and minor arcana photo-collage comic book stylee.

Romans

An accurate reflection of the Flea though not the super cool Book of Revelation like Suburban Blight's Kelley.

You are Romans.


Which book of the Bible are you?
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Weeeeee

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Mermaid suit

I am convinced I would look fetching in one of these. Frankly, I find this Neiman Marcus ad-copy extremely mermanophobic. Quick! To the Fleajet!

The custom-designed prosthetic suit fits over the hips and envelopes the legs, creating an extremely realistic blend of female and fish.

Insaniquarium

Do not start feeding the fish if you have work to do.

Kylie's assets

The Flea's commitment to Kylie-media means I am all over Kylie's assets. Kylie is worth a reported US$70m including holdings in property, merchandizing and advertizing, singles sales, tours and song royalties. Meantime, Ms. Minogue has decided to cover her most famous asset in a new sartorial philosophy for her latest video. Could this reflect the influence of deranged fans? The Sun has launched a "Don't Cover Up Kylie!" petition in protest.

"Her bottom is now a national institution," The Sun said.

Quite right. Justin Timberlake has admired it, Jean Claude van Damme has claimed credit for it but Johnny Vaughn has summed it up.

"If an alien landed on earth, he would think Kylie's arse is the world's leader."

Truly, Kylie's assets unite us all.

The bathhouse of Jesus

A Roman bathhouse is being excavated in the basement of a modern gift-shop in Nazareth. I quote the following passage for two reasons. First, as it explains the significance of the site for ancient geopolitics and subsequently our understanding of the life of Christ. Second, to point out the contortions some Guardian editorialist went to work the words "occupying power" in there. This sort of news must prove a serious problem for the anti-Israel mind as it is a powerful reminder of the two millenia of persecution of the Jews only now mitigated by the existence of a strong, free Israel.

Freund, of the Maurice Greenberg Centre for Judaic Studies at Hartford University in Connecticut, says the discovery means that historians will have to rethink the place and significance of Nazareth in the Roman empire and consequently the formative experiences of Jesus. It has been assumed that the Nazareth of 2,000 years ago was a poor Jewish village on the periphery of the empire, where local families inhabited caves on the hillside that today contains the modern Israeli-Arab city. On this view, the young Jesus would have had little contact with the Romans until he left Nazareth as an adult; his father, Joseph, one of many craftsmen in the town, may have worked on a Roman palace at nearby Sephori.

But the huge scale of Shama's bathhouse suggests that Nazareth, rather than Sephori, was the local hub of military control from Rome. The giant bath could only have been built for a Roman city or to service a significant garrison town. That would mean Joseph and Mary, and their son Jesus, would have been living in the very heart of the occupying power. This is likely to have huge significance for New Testament scholars in their understanding of Jesus's later teachings.

DigiBless

Like holy water for my files, you say?

Our server and algorithms have been specially consecrated, enabling them to bless any data which passes through their blessing algorithms. Increasingly the electronic world is becoming more and more polluted with sin, and evil, and this is a simple easy to use service which brings a little divinity to your online documents.

Anthem of the USSR

And now is the time at the Flea when we dance (but wait there's more!).

Porno karaoke

The Germans are ahead of the curve on this one.

Porno karaoke is similar to traditional karaoke - but, instead of standing in for Whitney Houston or Frank Sinatra, contestants belt out the soundtracks of adult movie stars.

Archaeology vs. liberty

An MSNBC article titled "Security vs. archaeology" shows the newest rhetorical weapon of the fascists is once again in effect. It would appear that only democracies endanger humanity's common heritage of Afghan "oil" and French military contracts.

Spam spam spam

Six different comment spams from different advertizers (but one bot?) force me to disable html in comments. This may not deter the spambots but it will deny them their linky reward.

Hotel Attraction

Antonio Gaudi had plans for a hotel on what was to become the site of the World Trade Center (or thereabouts).

The drawing called for a cluster of steel and concrete parabolic towers at varying heights surrounding a central tower that would stand 1,048 feet tall, according to Paul Laffoley, the Boston architect leading the effort to give the concept a second chance.

"It's like resurrecting something that should have existed in the past," Laffoley said.

Con Te Partirò

This cold is hanging on and seems to have left me in a mood. "I will go with you"... an on-line lounge has a copy linked toward the top of the left-hand column.

Con te partirò
su navi per mari
che io lo so
no no non esistono più
con te io li rivivrò
con te partirò
Io con te

Bocelli's version is wondrous. Kenny's has a certain something.

Ridley. Ripley. Ridley. Ripley.

Ridley to kill Ripley in fifth Alien film.

Ridley Scott says he's thinking about making a fifth Alien movie so Sigourney Weaver's character can be killed off once and for all.

Tru Calling premiere

Eliza Dushku's Tru Calling is to premiere on Fox, October 30. I have been skeptical of the show's premise but will watch any Dushku-media. I shall start by having a look at the thirteen minutes of the show Fox has available for preview...

Nohands

A b3ta poster investigates the life and times of Nohands, a most famous kitten.

Since his initial appearance on Ratemykitten.com over a year ago, the furry creature known as "Nohands" has become a minor Internet legend, spawning hundreds of photoshopped variations, viral emails, animations, and even a dedicated gallery. The picture was originally posted anonymously, and only after some months was claimed by a user called "bugger", who has since remained silent.

Save the Gorilla

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance (via b3ta).

Smashing pumpkins

These are indeed smashing pumpkins. Don't despair of your own pumpkin-carving prowess. You can get some practice on-line. Who knows? Something unique may emerge.

And then... Even more pumpkin goodness including an astonishing Alien pumpkin.

Miss Afghanistan

There are two visions of the world contesting one another for supremacy. One vision holds that a woman who is gang-raped is "partly to be blamed" if she is not wearing hijab and therefore seduced her rapists "by her revealing form and shape." The other holds that a woman can wear just what she pleases. Take Miss Afghanistan, for example.

Miss Afghanistan Vida Samadzai walks during the presentation of the 60 candidates for Miss Earth 2003 International Beauty Pageant in Manila on October 23, 2003. The 25-year-old Kabul born beauty left Afghanistan in 1996 to live in California. Samadzai who is taking up international business at University Cal State Fullerton plans to visit Kabul soon.

I am confident our vision is going to win. The forces of joyous beauty will triumph of the forces of vicious puritanism (the latter link via the dissident frogman).

And then... The InstaMan is on this too.

AMERICA 100, TALIBAN 0: This says it all!

Viking long-ships

"The ship was a dragon...but this ship was far larger, and more carefully put together in all her parts. The king called this ship the Long Serpent... The Long Serpent had thirty-four benches for rowers. The head and the arched tail were both gilt, and the bulwarks were as high as in sea-going ships. This ship was the best and most costly ship ever made in Norway."

The Gokstad Ship may have soon have a sister.

Pulse levels are rising among Norwegian researchers who think they may have found the country's fourth intact Viking ship buried in a mound near Toensberg. The site is just next to the spot where the famed Gokstad ship was found in 1880.

Guinevere

All praise Ith for this... That is Keira Knightley with her Guinevere on. A dark ages Arthur film is sure to please the Flea.

The film is set in the 5th century, around Hadrian's Wall (which has been recreated in Co. Wicklow in Ireland - well, 3miles of it!) and is based upon the presence of Sarmatian warriors who served Rome on the Wall keeping the peace and the Picts out of Britain. Since Hollywood want their films dramatic and flashy, overall historical accuracy has occasionally gone to the wall as well, despite John's best efforts, but the overall effect of the finished production - due for release Winter 2004 - should make up for this, especially since this film is the first proper Dark Age Arthur.

Aragorn's destiny

Viggo Mortensen is interviewed on becoming Aragorn. Alongside it is yet another excellent film-related Quicktime video.

With his ruggedly handsome exterior and coolly courageous performance, actor Viggo Mortensen embodies Aragorn in a way that's wholly true to both J.R.R. Tolkein's literary creation and Peter Jackson's cinematic vision.

Too bad the actor does not believe in liberating people from the forces of evil in the real world. Indeed, he compares the current United States government to Saruman and when seeking to condemn actions in the Second World War can only find the bombing of Dresden in his moral lexicon.

What is love?

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Powers of Ten

This is neat (via Chaos Central).

View the Milky Way at 10 million light years from the Earth. Then move through space towards the Earth in successive orders of magnitude until you reach a tall oak tree just outside the buildings of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida. After that, begin to move from the actual size of a leaf into a microscopic world that reveals leaf cell walls, the cell nucleus, chromatin, DNA and finally, into the subatomic universe of electrons and protons.

Shatnerology

The Flea Presents Great Canadians™ series could have no better start than a celebration of the life and thought of William Shatner. The First Church of Shatnerology explains it all.

Putting a Shatnerologist in a room full of ordinary people is like putting a velociraptor in a room full of wiener dogs.

Ok, so I am not a libertarian either

Andrea writes on why she is not a libertarian. This passage cut to the quick:

(note to NuLiberts: it's not really necessary to go around shrieking "Ha! I'm a Libertarian and you're not!" because, well, no one cares, and it just makes you look like you picked Libertarianism to piss off your Marxist ex-girlfriend)

I have relayed this last sentiment to several friends of a Flea and the resulting laughter is suggestive. Anyway, I am having brunch with (one of) my Marxist ex-girlfriends and I shall see what she has to say about it then. More mocking laughter, I expect.

I should be so lucky

I did not have the heart to report this over the weekend. I find myself in the wrong country... vexed again!

KYLIE MINOGUE will launch her sensational new album with a free gig at London’s Hammersmith Apollo next month.

And the Flea's spectral antennae were about to do a dance until I realized the name of the publication reporting news of "Kylie: Unleashed!", a Kylie video game.

"The game is mostly arse-based, yes. Generally speaking the controls are fairly simple. Left makes her wobble her arse leftwards. Right makes her...well, you can guess the rest."

Dance! Dance! Dance!

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Castellum Laurium

The Dutch town of Woerden on the Rhine was once a Roman fort, Castellum Laurium. River-going technology unearthed by Dutch archaeologists suggests Roman river transport of AD 100 could flow upstream as well as down.

Dutch archaeologists have discovered a Roman cargo ship equipped with oars, a unique find that they say explains how imperial Rome defended itself on its northern frontiers.

Inaccessible Island

The Flea will not rest until my stats package turns up readers from Inaccessible Island. Or at least from Edinburgh of the Seven Seas on Tristan which I gather is the closest inhabited spot.

Inaccessible Island was discovered by the Dutch ship t'Nachtglas in 1652, and named after it, with the phrase "inaccessible" added in parentheses after the name as the sailors who landed were unable to get further inland than the beach. The latter name has persisted to this day, reflecting both the difficulties in visiting this island and the difficulties in reaching its interior.

Obey the suit

Ok, not an ad that will ever air on the virtuous cable television of Toronto the Good due to imagery of questionable taste. And yet l find I must now own a Lutwyche Bespoke suit at all costs.

A headless suit mysteriously interacts with several people in a new viral video promoting U.K.-based tailor Lutwyche Bespoke. In the video, called Obey The Suit, a man whose face is never shown first takes a bite out of a man's sandwich, then slaps the backside of an unsuspecting woman using the copy machine and finally interrupts a business meeting have his way with a participant on the conference room table. Each time, the victims and witnesses react with a smile as soon as they see the suit.

And there was much rejoicing

The Flea's fever has yet to break and the prospect of another raspy lecture this evening is weary making. And yet there is much rejoicing at Flea Towers this morning as a kind hearted Flea-reader has sent the soundtracks to Frank Herbert's Dune and Children of Dune. Brilliant stuff and much appreciated.

Thank you!

And then... No, seriously, thanks. I am listening to the Children of Dune soundtrack. There is a piece called Inama Nushif which played over the birth of the twins montage. It is moving beyond the capacity of my antihistimine addled writing ability to express.

Batman protest

Whatever one might make of the substance of their complaint or their choice of venue these rooftop protestors were wise to avoid Superman outfits as that would have been silly and unconvincing.

Two men dressed as Batman and Robin have climbed on to the roof of the Royal Courts of Justice to protest over the treatment of fathers in the family courts. Eddie Goldtooth and Jolly Stanesby, members of the pressure group Fathers for Justice, scaled the side of the court building in The Strand just after 4am.

Group spokesman Glen Poole said the men were calling themselves "the caped crusaders for justice".

Exquisite corpse

An MTV feature caught my attention as it shares its name with a novel I read several years ago. The term originates in a surrealist game...

Among Surrealist techniques exploiting the mystique of accident was a kind of collective collage of words or images called the cadavre exquis (exquisite corpse). Based on an old parlor game, it was played by several people, each of whom would write a phrase on a sheet of paper, fold the paper to conceal part of it, and pass it on to the next player for his contribution. The technique got its name from results obtained in initial playing, "Le cadavre exquis boira le vin nouveau" (The exquisite corpse will drink the young wine).

Sweet Dreams

By a staggering coincidence this result echoes Sketches of Strain.

"Sweet Dreams" (by Eurythmics)
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
Travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something
Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused


Which 80's Song Fits You?
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Portofino

These 3D views of the Italian Riviera suggest the growing ability of "the internet" to torment those of us about to face a Canadian winter.

Portofino is the glittering jewel of the Ligurian coast. Although there is not much to do here, it is a place to see and be seen (Bogart and Bacall and Taylor and Burton made it world-famous), and the view from the harbor of the port with its brightly painted houses will likely keep your camera busy. Nearby is the monastery of La Cervara and the church of S. Giorgio, which is said to contain relics of St. George brought back from the Holy Land. It was Pliny who first described this stunning natural area and named it 'Portus Delphini'. This over time was corrupted to Portofino.

Robin Hood

The bones of legendary outlaw Robin Hood may have been dug up in the mid-18th Century, according to a history buff.

Let us assume for a moment there was an historical Robbing... err... Robin Hood hiding there somewhere under the layers of French courtly fancies. Whoever he was and whatever he was up to in life chances are he was not shooting arrows a full 650 metres from his death bed (it was only a flesh wound!). The Flea concurs with the thinking of the history buff up to this point. Even so, green tights and wishful thinking triumph over common sense in a BBC story reporting a ludicrous claim to have identified Robin Hood's burial site.

Echidna

The platypus is a totally over-rated marsupial compared to the echidna. Echidnas kick ass.

And then... Not a marsupial at all! I blog corrected... see the comments for details.

Death Star theater

The future home of a Flea needs something like this.

Dillon Works fabricated this 10 seat custom home theater, complete with automatic doors and twinkling star fields. (It even has a THX sound system!)

Group hug

A website offers the opportunity to make anonymous public confessions.

\con*fess"\, v. i. 1. to make confession; to disclose sins or faults, or the state of the conscience.

the idea is for anyone to anonymously confess to anything. it actually feels kind of good to know that someone will read it.

Dub dub

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

Look who's coming for dinner

A Fijian village, believing itself to be suffering a cursed existence, has once again apologized for eating a Methodist missionary.

The residents of Nabutautau say they have had hard luck since 1867, when their tribal forefathers dined on the Rev Thomas Baker, a Methodist missionary. Baker was probably the one of the first white men they had seen. The village in the inaccessible centre of the archipelago's main island, Viti Levu, has been the butt of Fijian jokes for years.

One sample of local hilarity may be found in this rendition of the tale:

The story of Thomas Baker

He was the first missionary to come to Fiji, in 1835, he went to Nabutautau in the Sigatoka River Valley. The chief of the village saw him combing his hair and asked if he could see the comb and he put it in his afro and when Baker was getting ready to leave he just took the comb from the chiefs head without asking permission, in Fiji the head of a chiefly person is sacred and shouldn’t be touched unless you are part of the Tauvu. The people fromt he village got angry about this show of disrespect and ate him and his boots to. That is why they say the slang about the Navosa area “This is Navosa we eat the flesh and eat the boot, Thank you”.

Of course, the did not actually eat the boots. Hilarious!

Asteroid tugboat

Alongside the Flea's concerns about global colding and fascist medievalism is the gnawing anxiety we are all going to be pasted by an asteroid. It is a relief to learn NASA is giving the matter some thought.

In the grand cosmic scheme of things, it’s only a matter of time. Our planet is bound to tangle with an Earth-crossing asteroid, an event sure to make a mess. Some of these space rocks could demolish a city. Other monster boulders, the really big bruisers, could snuff out our civilization. But why be at the mercy of a menacing asteroid that has Earth in its cross hairs? Now an expert team of astronauts and space scientists has blueprinted a safety strategy for Earth: an asteroid tugboat.

And on a tangentially related note, the Star Wars Mosquito Defense System is another idea whose time has come.

Nonverbal communication

The scribbler points to research on "rejection signaling" in women's courtship rituals as evidence "you have to get up pretty early in the morning to get ahead of we professors".

Lord of the things

I am wondering how much money I would need to have before I would consider dropping US $5995.00 on a Gandalf statue. A desktop Orthanc seems more plausible (also available as a 3D puzzle) and these Stone Trolls appeal to me. Even so, I cannot help but wonder if the book is getting lost in all these mathoms. And I cannot decide if the travesty that is Lord of the Rings Monopoly must be mine.

The board contains familiar Monopoly elements such as "Go," "Free Parking," and "Jail" and Lord of the Rings locations like Helm's Deep, Isengard, and Weathertop, all against a map of Middle-earth. The Monopoly railroad locations have been replaced with Lord of the Rings horses -- Brego, Shadowfax, Bill The Pony and Asfaloth. The set includes collectible Pewter game tokens of Aragorn, Frodo, Gimli, Galadriel, Gandalf and Legolas, and a gold-colored One Ring that can be used in a non-traditional version of the game.

I am curious how the Ring fits into a non-traditional version of the game. I would have thought the ability to become invisible could only underline the traditional strategy of surreptitiously helping yourself to extra Monopoly money. This, at least, was the approach of all too many friends of a Flea...

And then... The Monopoly Token Personality Quiz linked through this page explains why I always took the Top Hat.

Zombie watch

The Flea's commitment to zombie-media continues with reports of walking dead in Comoros.

The world's top scientists are scrambling to figure out why the dead are spontaneously becoming reanimated in the African country of Comoros.

And then... Hmm. That link was working yesterday. I shall keep an eye on it.

Unicorn

Do I get to be a sinister and sensual vampire like Ith? Noooooo...

You are Form 3, Unicorn: The Innocent.

"And The Unicorn knew she wasn't meant to go into the Dark Wood. Disregarding the advice given to her by the spirits, Unicorn went inside and bled silver blood.. For her misdeed, the world knew evil."

As a member of Form 3, you are a curious individual. You are drawn to new things and become fascinated with ideas you've never come in contact with before. Some people may say you are too nosey, but it's only because you like getting to the bottom of things and solving them. Unicorns are the best friends to have because they are inquisitive.


Which Mythological Form Are You?
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Sesame Street

The Raging Kraut was home sick and catching up on his Sesame Street viewing with his daughter. Imagine his surprise to see Sesame Street guest Kofi Annan promote the "U.N. Way" to resolve conflicts.

Elmo was arguing with another character about who gets to sing the alphabet song. Historically Elmo always sang the song, but now the other characters are muscling in, wanting a piece of this rich singing pie...

In walks Mr. Annan and dictates that they should solve the problem the "U.N. way" and mandates that they should all sing the alphabet song together- no auditions to see who was the best singer, no digging in to the history of the situation, no exclusion of AWFUL performers - just a compromise solution that rewards the slackers in the group and punishes those that have worked hard and are actually better than average.

Tate Modern

The Turbine Hall is the most impressive feature of the Tate Modern, a gallery housed in the converted Bankside Power Station. It is host currently to a peculiar atmospheric piece called The Weather Project. Another reason for the Flea to miss London (though I did get to see Anish Kapoor's peculiar installation in the same hall).

In contrast with the Unilever sponsored showpiece exhibit was an impromptu display by Banksy, an agit-prop and graffiti artist. Banksy's work strikes the Flea to be less creative than any given day at b3ta. His marketable politics look like more commercial anti-pop to me. Even so, I like the idea of do-it-yourself accession to museum and gallery collections.

The stunt was planned with precision and executed with aplomb. Disguised as a pensioner, Britain's favourite graffiti artist, Banksy, shuffled into Tate Britain and stuck one of his own creations on to a gallery wall.

The picture - a small oil painting of a bucolic scene disfigured by blue and white tape to represent a police line - might have still been there had the glue not proven too weak. After several hours hanging next to a 19th century landscape, Banksy's painting, entitled Crimewatch UK Has Ruined the Countryside For All of Us, crashed to the floor and the stunt was discovered.

Satisfaction

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

And then... The original video for this tune lacks a certain something of the revised version.

Dwarf injured

John Rhys-Davies was injured, possibly severely, in an on-set accident.

The actor who plays dwarf Gimli in the The Lord of the Rings films is suing producers of the mini series "La Femme Musketeer" for negligence after he suffered serious injuries in an on-set accident.

Evil Dead

Ain't It Cool News reports the following item of self-explanatory import.

"I would love to do the 4th Evil Dead film!"

Gematriculator

Despite being full of Kylie-content the Flea is measurably less good than Argghhh!!! according to an on-line Gematria calculator.

360 degrees

I have no plans to stand at the top of Everest. It is nice to have a look round though.

When I reached the south summit I was suffering from a lack of Spanish Olives. I was most preoccupied with thoughts of the tin of olives sitting in my tent at base camp. The preoccupation was the result of a very intense dream about olives which was interrupted by the alarm summoning me to our summit attempt. When I reached the south summit the view to the main summit interested me from a mountaineering point of view and all dreamings of olives were banished from my head.

Dating game

British archaeologists suggest the age of cave paintings in what is (for) now France have been grossly exaggerated, saying "If the French are right, it would be as if they had found a Renaissance painting from the early Middle Ages."

The age of the cave paintings at Chauvet, the Sistine Chapel of palaeolithic art in south eastern France, has become the subject of a war of words between British and French archaeologists. The British claim the French may have exaggerated their age by 18,000 years under official pressure to promote them as the oldest cave paintings in the world.

The French government loose with the truth for glory and commercial gain? Mais... ce n'est pas possible! We cannot know for certain as they will not only independent laboratories to verify the carbon dating results of the single French lab tasked for the job.

Punishment

Superhero Hype has a great shot of the Punisher from the forthcoming film. I enjoyed the not very good Dolph Lundgren version but then I am easy to please. The Tim Bradstreet rendition remains the definitive Punisher.

Death warmed up

My lectures are done for the week and it is now time for me and my cold to bundle-up at Flea Towers and get back to writing. Kind Flea-readers have rushed to my aid with offers of chicken soup and a mysterious wish-list item. Not surprising, the Canadian version of Amazon is non-convenient and hassleriffic... but the thought is much appreciated. I am touched!

One more post after this then it is time for eggs Béarnaise to get my strength up.

And then... Urgh. Yet worse today. The Grand Marnier and Amaretto blueberry tea I was prescribed did their trick last night but the effect sadly does not last. The gracious provider of said tea expressed a certain skepticism as to where I could have procured proper eggs Béarnaise in the Annex. Château Flea, of course!

All proper tea is best

"We don't have many plimsolls as such," the employee says. "What are they for?"

"I am being trained for the life of a boulevardier," says Temple. "Each morning I must walk along Jermyn Street at a brisk pace, turn left into St James Street, pausing to select the evening's cigar at Davidoff's before ambling to my club, where I shall spend the rest of the day ensconced in an armchair, reading The Times."

By an astonishing coincidence, the Flea is also in training for the life of a boulevardier. Still more astonishing, these Chaps have conducted research into the semiotics of hair that sheds light at long last on my Victorian hairstyle of boyhood. Here is a movement to take note of though for now I have my own research to conduct.

Tomorrow, multinational chains such as McDonald's, Starbucks and Gap will face a new wave of actions against their homogenisation of our high streets. The protests will come not from rowdy mobs of anti-globalisation campaigners sporting dreadlocks and combat trousers, but from polite, well-spoken gents dressed in bespoke tweed suits and hand-stitched brogues.

Marching under the banner "Civilise the City", these self-styled Chaps will disrupt the normal day's business at global chains by enquiring about the availability of devilled kidneys in fast-food outlets and asking to be measured by the head-cutter at clothes shops more used to dealing in S, M, L and XL. Neatly printed banners bearing slogans such as "Give three-piece a chance" and "All proper tea is best" have been made in preparation for the day, the aim of which is to restore good manners, real food and fine tailoring to our city centres.

Helen Mirren Appreciation Society

Helen Mirren discusses her nude "romp" with Kylie Minogue's boyfriend.

"There's one scene where he's lying naked and he's unbelievably beautiful. "And I'm sitting next to him and thinking 'Oh my God, I'm so old and ugly' - and yes I did take my clothes off too.

I find this last bit about the old and the ugly difficult to believe. I am sure he is very nice and so forth but he is only Kylie's boyfriend. The Flea is second to none in Kylie-media worship but Helen Mirren is perfection itself. Prime Suspect, for example, is the best crime drama I have ever seen and Excalibur! would not have been the same without her. Time to join the Helen Mirren Appreciation Society.

Tiny Demons

This coincidence is eerie in more ways than one. First, Andrew Ian Dodge is blogging on a recording artist I had no cause to think of for years until yesterday morning. Second, the artist in question is Todd Rundgren. Creeeeeepy!

Andrew has "Hello It's Me" posted at Dodgeblogium. In return, the Flea offers "Tiny Demons".

One of them plays a piccolo in my ear
Another one makes me smell things that aren't there
And they know where to hide
And they know everything that's inside
Of my head
Tiny demons, inside me

Listen, listen

His toe hurts

I read this and my problems seem small in comparison. Not a post for the squeemish... you have been warned!

Willow weds

Alyson Hannigan married her longtime beau, Angel's Alexis Denisof (news), this weekend, E! News Live has confirmed.

The Flea rattles its ghostly chains in ambivalence. Yay! Boo! At least an Alyson Hannigan sitcom is in the offing.

Lemur blah blah blah

This is the worst of my teaching schedule for the current academic year. I gave three lectures to courses in three departments Monday, taught another course at the University of Toronto last night, get on a quarter to seven express bus out to Waterloo this morning to give two lectures at Wilfrid Laurier and then scramble back to Toronto for another U of T lecture tonight. Fortunately, I have yet to run out of things to drone on and on about. Unfortunately, I have picked up a cold so my throat is sore and my thought can be summed up thusly.

Meshugga Beach Party

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

But wait, there's more Meshugga Beach Party goodness (via Attu)!

Which Rat Pack Member Are You?

That grasshopper bit is uncanny in its accuracy (via Emperor Misha I).

Gilgamesh and Amelia Earhart

"I don't want to say definitely it was the grave of King Gilgamesh, but it looks very similar to that described in the epic," Jorg Fassbinder, of the Bavarian department of Historical Monuments in Munich, told the BBC World Service's Science in Action programme.

The BBC reports the possible discovery of the tomb of Gilgamesh while the Pacific Daily News reports a possible clue to the resting place of Amelia Earhart.

The claim rests on a story told by an 81-year-old World War II veteran who was stationed in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 1944 as a gunman for the Marines. The veteran, Saint John Naftel, of Alabama and some local collaborators have identified what they believe may be the gravesite of Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan, who disappeared somewhere in the Pacific in the summer of 1937 while they were attempting to circumnavigate the globe.

Chaco Canyon

Archaeologists have long wondered how the sophisticated Chaco civilization, which built huge multistory dwellings in the high desert of north-central New Mexico, thrived in such an arid climate. The answer, in a word: imports.

The University of Colorado Museum investigates an early system of planting, harvesting, storing and distributing food in what is now the American southwest.

Street Fighter Kylie

I cannot understand how I have yet to see this film.

Cammy's ready to fight! She's trying to look real serious and mean, and I know that she could kick my butt, but I can't help but think that she's so cute!

The Gender Genie

This gadget has predicted accurately the gender of every author I have tried so far (via Fimoculous). The algorithm on which it is based is surprisingly straight-forward.

Inspired by an article in The New York Times Magazine, the Gender Genie uses a simplified version of an algorithm developed by Moshe Koppel, Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and Shlomo Argamon, Illinois Institute of Technology, to predict the gender of an author.

The Meowtrix: Relittered

Someone else with more free time than the Flea.

Free your mind. This Febtembruary. Not really. Vote fish.

La Sagrada Familia

Construction of La Sagrada Familia cathedral may be seventeen years ahead of schedule.

Gaudi's neo-Gothic monument was due to be finished in 2040, but thanks to donations from tourists and new technology, could now be finished in 2023.

Air Force Druidry

My druid round-up left out at one who served in the United States Air Force. It turns out Rocket Jones is a lapsed druid. Brilliant! I sometimes tell people I am a lapsed agnostic (antagognostic?).

I can relate. The last time I was asked to put by religious beliefs in a box was for the last Canadian census. The Flea's answer: "Jedi Knight (excluding Episode I)".

Spam

The Flea got its second round of comment spam yesterday. The first was just over a month ago and was so odd I did not know what to make of it at the time. Yesterday's was posted by a Russian site selling a non-family oriented product. I deleted the comments as soon as I saw them but I fear this is only the beginning. Reading comments is about half the Flea-fun for me now and I would be most disappointed if I had to disable them.

The IP address of the recent offenders is:

68.47.172.4

And then... Here is another: 212.179.224.136

And then... And another: 205.188.209.135

CAPTCHA

Could the Flea become CAPTCHA enabled (via a most useful comment at James Seng)? What is CAPTCHA? This is an acronym for A Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.

Since 1950, when British mathematician Alan Turing wrote an article called "Computer Machinery and Intelligence" for an Oxford philosophy journal, people have applied the phrase Turing test to any experiment in which subjects must distinguish between man and machine by exchanging information with the unknown entity. Such tests strive to determine whether a computer exhibits human intelligence, indicated, in Turing's view, by the computer successfully fooling subjects into believing it's human. CAPTCHA turns the game around, with the machine separating humans from computers.

Future histories

The Return of the King and both The Matrix sequels make this a banner year for film. The movie event for me, however, was the Sci-Fi Channel's rendition of Children of Dune (which told the story of Dune Messiah as well as the book of the title). Leto II is, in my humble opinion, the greatest hero of all fiction so I was inevitably a demanding viewer. The acting, the effects and above all the music were an astonishing portrayal of Frank Herbert's stories in all their tragedy and adventure. It is just possible I shall one day see something I would never have dared hope for... a film version of my favourite novel, God Emperor of Dune.

One of us had to accept the agony. He was always the stronger.

CGI special effects have enabled the telling of stories which would have been prohibitively expensive if not impossible until recently. The latest example of this was Sci-Fi Pictures' Riverworld, a film whose existence I did not suspect until it turned up on tv Saturday night. I am still looking forward to the new Battlestar Galactica mini-series even if Starbuck has undergone a gender change.

Soon it could be time to brush up on my psychohistory. Ain't It Cool News reports a possible "faithful" film adaptation of the first two Foundation novels by Isaac Asimov.

Twentieth Century Fox has just hired a writer to script two movies at the same time, ala "Lord of the Rings," these being the scripts to FOUNDATION and SECOND FOUNDATION. They tell the story of Hari Seldon and his science of psycho-history, which predicts the next thousand years of the human race. The future is put in jeopardy by the appearance of the Mule, a mutant who takes over the galaxy, and who can't have been part of Seldon's Plan. Fox obviously sees this as a sci-fi Lord of the Rings. The writer is Jeff Vintar, who penned next summer's Will Smith starrer "I, ROBOT" based on his original screenplay "Hardwired," with characters and concepts from Asimov, a sort of "early days at U.S. Robotics" prequel that Alex Proyas [DARK CITY] is directing.

Bring on Foundation!

And then... More films good. More books bad. At least when the books in question are the offensive, lamentable prequels to Frank Herbert's masterpieces. Now they are threatening to write "Dune 7" based on Herbert's notes. If only Brian Herbert would follow the example of Christopher Tolkien and publish the notes along with other commentaries. A re-release of the Dune Encyclopedia would also be much appreciated in preference to the "canonical" crapola which is getting into print.

And then... Mike Campbell is reading God Emperor... I can hardly wait to have a chat about it. It may not be posted here, however, for fear of spoilers for a story which spans six novels.

Mike agrees the music was tremendous. And it was the montage scene at the birth of the twins which moved me to tears.

Boycott the Matrix

"Why suggest that either my faiths of anarchy must be chosen or my goals for profit."

Why, indeed? This quote is from articles which date back several months but which are still news to me. Marcus Chong, the actor who played Tank in the first Matrix film is reportedly suing the directors and producers of its sequels. This website advocates a Matrix boycott in sympathy.

We are advocating downloading, boycotting, and/or participation in a letter-writing campaign to oppose the verbal harrassment, character assasination, and eventual arrest of Marcus Chong ("Tank" of The Matrix) during failed salary negotiations by the Wachowski Brothers and Joel Silver, producers of the Matrix sequels. The role of "Tank" has been eliminated for the first sequel.

I'm a Pepper

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

(And when you are done being a Pepper you can teach the world to sing if you like.)

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It took a whole lot of swatting before I tired of this.

Four-twenty

Be groovy through the night with the Gang's bright light! This Mystery Machine LED Clock has tons of far-out features.

While I appreciated the Flea-reader tip about the true grooviness of this Cartoon Network ad for a Scooby Doo Mystery Machine LED Clock I confess I had to do some Googling to understand the reference. It is a sad state of affairs when I can count myself among the two-thirds of the population relying on Entertainment Weekly text-boxes for definitions of the not-so-latest hip lingo.

"This idea of 420 being a 'secret code' is kind of funny, when you think that a third of the population is in on the secret. We're going to be selling tickets to our 420 party at $50 a pop--that's how mainstream we think it is."

A Pre-Raphaelite

Not shocked by this (via Absinthe & Cookies):

which art movement are you?

this quiz was made by Caitlin

Evolution of alphabets

The evolution of the Latin alphabet is demonstrated using a superbly realized animation. The page links to more materials for a University of Maryland course on the history of alphabets. This would be a fun course to teach.

Most peculiar carvings

University of Newcastle archaeologists are asking the public if they have seen anything like the mysterious Northumberland rock carvings recently brought to their attention by a farm worker. They have a Mythos look about them to my eye.

"We have absolutely no idea what they are," says Mazel, an archaeologist at the University of Newcastle. "They are nothing like anything we, or anybody else we have talked to, have seen before." He believes the carvings were not created recently - in the last 15 to 20 years - and could be as ancient as 3000 years old.

Moonrakers

The Flea stands ever ready to provide up to the minute items of an historical interest for tourists of Salisbury and region. The locals have are sometimes referred to as "moonrakers"...

Wiltshire smugglers were carrying illicit brandy when they were surprised by Excisemen. In a thrice, they dumped the brandy into a pond and commenced to rake at the water with their long handled implements. When the Excisemen asked what they were about, they replied that they were "raking up the cheese", pointing at the moon's reflection in the water. Considering them fools, the Excisemen moved on, leaving the Moonrakers to retrieve their 'loot' and proceed on their way.

There is much more to do than Stonehenge. Far from me to belittle the place as it is fully of hengey goodness but I think you get more henge for your money at Avebury. This is bit further north so I am assuming travel by car from Salisbury. England is such a compact country that distance does not present an obstacle. A trip to Avebury should include nearby Silbury Hill and best of all the West Kennett Long Barrow.

Late Neolithic chambered Long Barrow, about 3700 BC.
One of the biggest barrows in Britain, this is a spectacular barrow measuring 340 feet long by 75 feet wide, and a line of stones at its east end up to 12 feet high forming a corridor 40 feet into the barrow. There are five sarsen stone chambers inside the barrow and they may be visited at any time by the public. From the many excavations carried out on this barrow there have been about 42 burials discovered belonging to a tribe or family.

This is a barrow with a difference as travellers can walk right into it. The place had been picked clean of swords of the men of Westernesse by the time of my visit but were also apparently barrow-wight free so it all balanced out. I was at Avebury with some druid friends and acquaintances as part of a Lughnassad day in the country by way of celebrating a "hand-fasting" ceremony using one of the convenient giant-rocks-with-hole-in provided by the locale.

The particular druids I accompanied on the day were from the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids ("odd-bod" offers degrees by correspondence) as opposed to the Ancient Order of Druids. This latter group are, naturally, Christians which might seem odd though I think they are a druidy group of Masons. There are plenty of other people calling themselves druids including at least two other groups on the day I was at Avebury though I do not think they were from the Hasidic Druids of North America (I doubt I could have made them up). Rollo Maughfling, Arch Druid of Britain (of the Glastonbury Order though he makes some grander claims) got on everyone's nerves with a speech which, when combined with the factionalism of that harvest day, made me wonder if I had stumbled into a Monty Python sketch. Also in attendence was King Arthur who was poking around the place with Excalibur in one hand and a smoke in the other. His winsome hangers-on leant credence to his kingly claims. I am sad to report nobody from the Temple of the Children of Lileth was on hand for Flea-instruction in herb or latex lore.

Once a visitor is done with all the mystic tourism Marlborough is close to hand for a bit of shopping or lunch.

Another afternoon away lies to the west of Salisbury at Stourhead (pronounced "star- head" for some reason), a stately home whose interiors are much of a muchness (as my Grandad would say) but whose garden is triumphant. The word "garden" does not convey the scale of the phenomenon. A fine National Trust gift shop on the estate was the source of an oil-skin walking hat that has kept the rain of several countries from troubling the head of a Flea. Just a bit further on is Sherborne Castle. This will be one of my first stops the next time I am in the area as I have not been there and I am on an Elizabethan kick thanks to Neil Gaiman's 1602.

More important than any of these suggestions is a last piece of advice: pick up a copy of The Rough Guide for England. It will include details for local sites like the Cathedral and Old Sarum, how to get there and suggestions for food and drink once history gives way to dinner.

And then... Paul may be satisfied by my quiz result:

You are the French Guard.
Slightly off, living in an area you really don't belong in, you lie and taunt those around you. From all the cruel memories of your childhood, you decide to take revenge on cute furry farm animals. They make good cannonballs. Ppffftt!


What Monty Python Holy Grail Quest Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Olsen Twins

Hey Flea, Flea-readers might say, why do you never report on the Olsen twins? Hey, I might reply, there is a limit. Cup of Chicha's recent twin fact checking means I am saved - for the moment - from adding them to the Fleascope. I am particularly intrigued with the idea of connecting the Olsen twins to structural linguistics. "Systems of difference" are on the agenda for tomorrow's semiotics lecture to my intro cultural studies students and I got some splainin' to do. The Olsen twins are the obvious way in to the material once the connection is pointed out.

Whin, Beruthiel and Legolas

I am re-reading The Lord of the Rings in anticipation of the third film. Tolkien's language never ceases to move me. What is more, I must have read the book twenty times and am always surprised by new detail. The Company of the Ring is passing through the land once known as Hollin when Tolkiens' eye for landscape presents the reader with a plant I had not heard of: whin. It is an attractive type of gorse... who knew?

A passing reference to Queen Beruthiel also piqued my interest.

" 'Do not be afraid!' said Aragorn. There was a pause longer than usual, and Gandalf and Gimli were whispering together; ... 'Do not be afraid! I have been with him on many a journey, if never on one so dark; ... He is surer of finding the way home in a blind night than the cats of Queen Beruthiel.' "

One mystery remains... why would the western gate to Khazad-dûm refer to the place pejoratively as the black pit, "Moria". Internet speculation raises the possibility of waymeat.

Not My Job!

Last night, I listened to a Real Audio file of Clive Barker taking part in an NPR game-show showing off his expertise on anti-gravity technology (the link is about half-way down the page). The game-show farce was fun but there is also some more serious talk of interest before the foo fighting questions begin. The interview allows Barker to promote the first in the Abarat series of children's novels. I purchased a copy when it came out but did not make it through the first chapter at the time. It will have to wait for my hypothetical island vacation scheduled to take place alongside the release of the first Abarat movie in 2005.

Scottie translator

We aw loove Kylie at Ghost ay a flea. It is high time Scootlund designed a tartan fur 'er jist lake they did fur Madonna.

Mentor

A personality test with some interesting questions. The Flea's results...

Like just 6% of the population you are a MENTOR (SEAT). Some would call you the most powerful and influential of all people. Those people are wrong.

You won't die a lonely death, but towards the end you'll grow introspective, wondering if your life meant anything. This will last for decades, and you'll die after your spouse.

Pole position

Some specific vanity Googling is making its way through the blogosphere. I had not realized yours truly is the 24th Google hit for the word "Nicholas" thanks to the old BugSplat site where each entry included the name. "Packwood" puts me in the 2nd and 4th spot but it is a relatively unusual name so no surprise there.

More satisfying is the Google top-spot for the word "flea" from a field of 1,760,000. My contribution to the word "ghost" languishes in the fifty-four spot but that is out of 19,800,000 results. I have added the whole title to my "posted by" field and am curious to see what Google will make of the change this week...

Flea cookies

Thanks everyone for the help in figuring out the difficulty some readers were experiencing with image reception (I am v. pleased with the Cylon on the sidebar). One reader was warned by his firewall of an incoming cookie from the Flea. Is anyone else receiving an alert of this kind? What could be causing an alert like this? Most worrying to me, is this something my stats package is doing without me knowing about it? Apologies for my computing ineptitude.

Mephisto

The Flea's attic apartments are now home to a signed 1987 P. Craig Russell lithograph of Mephisto. Mephisto is a fine villain though not one of my favourites. I was after the poster as it is graphically powerful, presented the opportunity to own a signed Russell and it was not expensive as he is (unjustly) not as sought after as other comics artists. It is going to share pride-of-place with my Tim Bradstreet original Dark Knight sketch... Next on the hit-list: something by Dave McKean.

Niue

The Flea's international readership is a constant source of fascination to me. It is gratifying to learn these posts have some passing import to people in Macedonia or Malaysia. Truly, love of Kylie unites us all. My stats package thoughtfully puts a national flag next to each country domain as it pops up on the server so it was easy to spot one I did not recognize.

The Flea rattles its ghostly chains in welcome to visitors from Niue. Niue, it turns out, is a beautiful island east of Tonga in the south Pacific. Niue is the smallest independent national polity in the world with a population somewhere in the range of 1800 people. I do not know if Niue has diplomatic representation in Toronto but the Government of Niue should feel free to deputize me as I shall be in need of somewhere warm and pleasant to think about in the next few months of winter. Niue used to have the somewhat more dramatic, if arguably problematic, name of Savage Island. This was perhaps due to these tree-climbing monster crabs which are crying out for garlic-butter.

I will survive

Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.

How everyday things are made

Stanford's Alliance for Innovative Manufacturing offers on-line introductory videos showing how everyday things are made.

If you've ever wondered how things are made - products like candy, cars, airplanes, or bottles - or if you've been interested in manufacturing processes, like forging, casting, or injection molding, then you've come to the right place.

Tallest structure

Ananova reports the possibility of a structure much taller than the 1776 feet envisioned in Daniel Libeskind's proposed construction on the site of the World Trade Center.

After a meeting Mr Libeskind, Roland Betts, a director with the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, told the New York Post: "The reception is better at 2,000ft." Sources at the LMDC, which was formed to oversee the redevelopment of , said Libeskind's latest drawings show the building rising to at least 2,000ft, and possibly as high as 2,100ft.

Yes, please. 1776 has an obvious symbolic value but I believe the sight of the tallest structure in the world would make an even stronger statement.

A minor quibble... the 1483ft Petronas Towers are (just) the tallest buildings in the world (and only because their masts are a permanent part of the structure in comparison with the Sears Tower's antennae which for some reason do not count as such). They are the tallest regularly inhabited "buildings" but not the world's tallest "structure." This remains, for the moment, Toronto's much taller CN Tower at 1815ft or 553m.

Journalist

This appeals to me (via Raging Kraut).

ENFP - "Journalist". Uncanny sense of the motivations of others. Life is an exciting drama. 5% of the total population.

Take Free Myers-Briggs Personality Test

Tottenham Court Road

INT. SUBWAY STATION - NIGHT

as the Passenger puts his coin in the vending machine.
The camera is on ground level and as we watch the
Passenger, the Wolf's legs flash by us.

Underground Week at the Flea™ is on the prowl at Tottenham Court Road tube. An American Werewolf in London is a classic with an impressive re-release site promising an ipix experience of film locations (coming not very soon!).

I wait for a proper look at The Slaughtered Lamb and try to put my finger on quite what it was that made this film so frightening. Hair growing where it never grew before is a disconcerting experience. I once had a professor with legendary ear-hair and have lived in fear of the day great tufts will sprout from the ears of the Flea as some sort of karmic balancing of the scales for my youthful amusement. Of course, there are more immediate metaphors the werewolf tranformation scene evokes that are visceral and can reach through the film's humour and manifest absurdities. The film is a fantasy but it speaks to something real.

Tottenham Court Road differs from the last three imaginary or inaccessible Underground stops at the Flea and unlike Neverwhere's Angel Islington features as more than a borrowed name. The not-so-abandoned Aldwych was the shooting location but Tottenham Court Road tube is actually there and Flea-readers everywhere can make their way into its intestinal passage-ways and peculiar Italian-bistro colour-schemes. A common theme in internet writing on the subject is that the werewolf's stalk through the station remains so scary that people are reluctant to risk visiting the station themselves.

Time to see the movie again. I shall be watching for a recurring John Landis trope provided I can bring myself to poke my head out from under the covers in the Tottenham Court Road stalking scenes. The director includes an "easter egg" phrase "See you next Wednesday" in many of his films that turns up in a poster somewhere in the station. It is said to be a tribute to Stanley Kubrick but its somewhat course debt to Cockney rhyming slang is explained here.

Aniston vs Heineken

This just in: beer is desirable.

I can see me lovin' nobody but you
For all my life

Cute, nice and interesting

This just in: Kylie is