December 30, 2004
The Call of Cthulhu
The Call of Cthulhu: the trailer. I downloaded the cyclopean version and found the most merciful thing in the world is the inability of my merely human mind to correlate all the contents of the dread vistas it opens (via La Petite Claudine).
Blogamy
SondraK and I are pleased to announce our betrothal. This is a polygamous arrangement by virtue of at least two previous blog crushes and, of course, my own devotion to an Australian pop-singer. Now all we need is Elvis...
Mrs. Blog
I cannot quite believe I am reading this early use of the term Blog in a Superman comic so you should just have a look for yourself (via Small Dead Animals).
Blog vacation
I am taking a couple more days away from the computer. There may be some updates so please do check back over the weekend and the Flea will resume normal publication this coming Monday. Depending on my continuing comment-function malfunction I may disable them entirely while I am away from the machine so as to reduce potential silliness.
Happy new year!
Mylo
It is a sad state of affairs when I am taking tips on hipster music from The Telegraph. That said, Mylo is chillin'. There are are couple more Mylo samples here... that Stevie Nicks riff is amazing. And Ministry of Sound is hosting a couple complete Mylo tracks.
Tsunami, cont.
Among the tens of thousands missing or dead are these Britons, including immediate family members of Richard Attenborough. CNN is reporting three-thousand Americans are still missing, placing this calamity on par with September 11, 2001 for loss of life. And, of course, there are the vast majority of the dead whose remains will never be found and whose stories will never properly be told because poverty and circumstance place their lives beyond the sphere of the lucky few who get to spend their morning web-surfing.
The scale of this thing is beyond comprehension. As usual, blogs and "the internet" come closest to capturing what little I can understand.
Corporations give to tsunami relief
International Rescue Committee
Oxfam
Premier clubs help relief fund
Sumankumar's yak pad
Tsunami Disaster in Penang Island
Tsunami Information Resource Page
And I have no idea what to make of this:
"But we're not too worried about staying - we've got a holiday to have."
Making sauce
The Flea's objectification prevention committee chair forwarded news of Victoria University Professor Ralph Pettman's decision to start a "social movement". After much thought on things to worry about, he decided to start a social movement aimed at preventing people from having sex at Mount Everest base camp.
Footprints Tours guide John McKinnon, who has been travelling to Nepal since the 1960s and lived there for two years, said he was astonished at the proposals. He doubted Sherpa were offended by tourists having sex. "I find that claim rather questionable. Sherpas have a very raunchy sense of humour," he said.
Because it's not like there are real problems in south-east Asia at the moment. Perhaps his initiative suffers more from horrible timing than the mere fact of not being a terribly good idea in the first place. Why, I ask in purely rhetorical fashion, is it that so many social movements are aimed at preventing other people from enjoying themselves? This is a good time for me to announce the creation of my own social movement aimed at encouraging people to have sex at the summit of Everest, the 5.5 Mile High Club. Now all I need to do is see if, like Pr. Pettman, I can get a two-thousand dollar grant from my university to fund a website devoted to building support for the idea.
Hunter
| You Are a Hunter Soul |
 You are driven and ambitious - totally self motiviated to succeed Actively working to achieve what you want, you are skillful in many areas. You are a natural predator with strong instincts ... and more than a little demanding. You are creative, energetic, and an extremely powerful force. An outdoors person, you like animals and relate to them better than people. Souls you are most compatible with: Seeker Soul and Peacemaker Soul |
A fun quiz though I am somewhat skeptical of the result (via Rue who is a Warrior Soul.
December 29, 2004
Hagbard Celine
- Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, Illuminatus!
The Streets: The irony of it all
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.*
*Language, drug use and social commentary warning. Hey, it's The Streets.
Comments update
Hi everybody, we are having technical difficulties with TypeKey so please post comments as usual and they will be in the pending queue until I see them. If all the bells and whistles work properly in the end, I will still want to review comments before publishing them.
I want to thank andúnië for installing MT3 at the Flea. It is a smokin' interface!
Update: Oops! Looks like TypeKey is eating comments as they are not making it as far as my control panel. Sorry for the delay. Nice and quiet here though. Yep.
Update: I have turned off TypeKey for the moment. Comments are still moderated and there will be a delay in previewing as I am going grocery shopping. Woo! Yay!
Tsunami
Update in a new entry: Anyone who cannot wait to express themselves might consider a visit to The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami blog for "News and information about resources, aid, donations and volunteer efforts." The link arrives via Instapundit, who has other tsunami-related charity links (and a useful stinginess update).
Update: Arthur C. Clarke, resident of Sri Lanka, is unharmed.
"Curiously enough, in my first book on Sri Lanka, I had written about another tidal wave reaching the Galle harbour (see Chapter 8 in "The Reefs of Taprobane," 1957). That happened in August 1883, following the eruption of Krakatoa in roughly the same part of the Indian Ocean."
I am still waiting for news of a friend with a home in Thailand. It was an odd experience to run down a mental checklist of people I know who are in the area at least some of the time. I also want to say hello to the lone Flea-reader in the Cocos Islands. News reports suggest the swell was only a half-metre by the time it got that far though with low-lying islands I am not certain how much of a problem something slightly higher might have been. God bless.
Hamster
My hamster got 499cm before running off the track.
Update: I am not terribly video-game adept but this one was pretty easy for me. Not so for Jay Currie.
Stellar geography
This stellar geography of the Babylon 5 galaxy should come in handy.
Hypercube²
Want. Hypercube². Now. (via La Petite Claudine)
Oou: The Insane Language
Sonja Elen Kisa designed Oou, a language intended to, amongst other things, produce an "alienating, intoxicated effect." This and so much more can be explored at Sonja's Linguistic Surrealscape including 1-2-3 Cthulhu!, a streamlined rule-system for Call of Cthulhu and a guide to Speak Klingon Like a Restless Native (via Variaciones en re menor).
Elf-shot
A young brother and sister discovered a "strangely shaped" stone on Arthur’s Seat identified as a Bronze Age arrowhead. Good thing they had not wandered into an Alan Garner story.
Alan Saville, Senior Curator of Earliest Prehistory at the National Museums of Scotland, said: "This arrowhead helps to throw light on the importance of the Arthur’s Seat area for Bronze Age settlement."
Pastoral
Few people are more suspicious of anthropology and anthropological rhetoric than I am but it sounds as though a traditional curator or two among all the First Nations' perspectives would not have gone amiss at the Museum of the American Indian. The New York Times comments on "an astonishing uniformity in the exhibits' accounts of religious beliefs" and "a kind of warm, earthy mysticism with comforting homilies behind every facade, reviving an old pastoral romance about the Indian."
But the museum almost seems afraid of distinctions. There are display cases of objects made with beads, organized with no particular logic; a beaded horse-head cover from 1900 North Dakota appears near a mid-19th-century sea-otter hat from the Aleutian Islands. One wall holds ''star'' objects, whose only connection is that they have pictures of stars on them. Some tribes are asked to present 10 crucial moments in their history; the Tohono Oodham in Arizona choose, as their first, ''Birds teach people to call for rain.'' Their last is in the year 2000, a ''desert walk for health.''
December 28, 2004
Destiny's Child: Lose My Breath
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
Malaysian Pop Idol
Something light-hearted from a part of the world in trouble. Malaysian Pop Idol may offer an astoundingly bad (if obviously heartfelt) Kylie cover but still looks more entertaining than the Canadian version.
Qoo
I shall not rest until I have found a local Qoo supply. I want to try the "blue" flavour which is white grape, apparently. So Xiaxue got a Japanese bottle but I think the HK Qoo site is much cooler (Qooler... sorry).
Witches
I am not certain the earliest representation of witchcraft in Europe qualifies as objectification but the term "porno-erotic" is certainly suggestive.
The 13th-century mural was discovered four years ago at Massa Marittima, a town south-west of Siena. Dr Ferzoco believes it was intended as a warning, by supporters of the papacy, of the anarchy and licentiousness that would supposedly engulf the town if it fell into the hands of their political rivals.
The Guardian is peculiarly reticent to show us this groundbreaking representation and I had to look elsewhere for the witches in question.
WTF
Sort of like having a comments section but with Christmas lights (via Raymi) (Also, and sorry to be pointlessly critical in a nsfw aside, but argyle socks? Seriously.).
December 27, 2004
Breton Fisherman’s Prayer
The sea is so wide,
And my boat is so small.
Samaritan's Purse
Canadian Red Cross
December 25, 2004
Happy Christmas
With best wishes to Flea-readers everywhere!
Sinterklaas
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.*
*And if you think Dutch Christmas is odd check out the Bavarian version.
Star Wars Holiday Special
Scenes from that notorious Star Wars Holiday Special arrive courtesy of "the internet". I could not get the film to run but you may have more luck than I did.
Christmas in R'lyeh
Dodgeblogium speculates on Christmas at the Cratchitts (and surely that's Chra'chtts or some such).
December 23, 2004
Kylie Minogue 2005
Once again 2005 finds Kylie Minogue smart, popular and pretty (with a hat tip to an eagle-eyed Flea-reader!).
Chrismakkuh
Happy Chrismahanukwanzakah to Flea-readers everywhere (though my family are celebrating the more traditional Chrismakkuh). The Flea will return next week after a few days of holiday... I mean... it's not like I need to blog all the time. It the nervous tick comes back I may take a small hit and post one or two things here or in my guest-blogging gig at The Jawa Report.
Triple Trouble
Have your elves kick some other elves' butts!
The Beatles
The Beatles had Christmas records?
Women are not for decoration
Knowledge is Power continues the objectification debate.
Tardis Tennis
The Hand of Munger suggests I have to link to him if he links to something like Tardis Tennis. Yep. Pretty much.
The Maze
Entrance to the Maze.
Like all others they think the Maze was made for them; actually, it is the other way around. They think I am some poet who will lead them through the symbols and spaces of this Underworld. They think I will teach them lessons. They should call me Cerberus...I am the lesson.
Southpark Ray 2
Southpark Ray, Part 2: "More guns - Still no Kenny". A great follow-up to Southpark Ray though this game/interactive story comes with an extreme violence warning. Not even remotely safe for work! My score:
Just like Mike, you work for Pete. You do as your told, you do it right, and you go along with anything else that presents itself. Your a bit of a worrier and you dont expose yourself to danger, but you figure why should you? Let somebody else do it. So apart from the cheesy clothes, annoying voice, and wierd looking facial hair, Your just like Mike! This is the third best rank.
Capezios
Oh man, I forgot I owned these things. Capezios: the 80s in shoe-form (via Protein Wisdom by way of INDC Journal).
Guldgubber
Eleven "guldgubber" golden reliefs, and the possibility of many more, have been unearthed at an archaeological dig somewhere in eastern Norway.
They date from 600-700 AD, are only about 1.1 centimeters in size and are believed to have been used as a form of payment or offering at rituals. The last ones found in Norway were unearthed at Borg on Lofoten in the 1980s
These guldgubber cufflinks are nice too.
December 22, 2004
T?gin Smiðµ²¢ maxlength=
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.*
*And drink mead. Tyr has some great visual pointers here for Hand of Vecna, my hypothetical Viking metal band of the future.
Light sabers
Play with light sabers. You know you want to.
Letters to Walken
A Cornell arts project takes the form of Christmas letters to Christopher Walken.
Unreal estate
A gamer spent $26,500 (£13,700) on an some virtual real estate.
Entropia allows gamers to buy and sell virtual items using real cash, while fans of other titles often use auction site eBay to sell their virtual wares. Earlier this year economists calculated that these massively multi-player online role-playing games (MMORPGs) have a gross economic impact equivalent to the GDP of the African nation of Namibia.
Fylingdale Top
What may be the world's oldest landscape painting has been discovered after a moorlands fire by RAF Flyingdales.
"It turns out to be an astonishing archaeological landscape," said Nick Redfern, regional inspector of ancient monuments for English Heritage, who was left open-mouthed when the hidden treasures of Fylingdale Top were revealed, near the Anglo-American Star Wars defence base.
December 21, 2004
The Yellow Sign
- Robert W. Chambers, "The Yellow Sign" (1895)
Berzerker
Berzerker makes me very happy. I loved those old Vectrex graphics and Tempest was the one arcade game where I kicked ass.
Smeagol
What made Gollum mad?
(via Living the a/typical Piscean dream...)
Daisy Duke
How did I not know Jessica Simpson was to star as Daisy Duke in the new Dukes of Hazzard movie? This is inspired casting.
Pillow Fight II
Once again I am forced to ask, objectification and marketing: is there a relationship? This Miller Lite bikini pillow fight ad features Pamela Anderson. Now she has American citizenship does this still count as Canadian content?
Update: And to any finger-pointing types out there I would like to add a new aspect of the Flea's editorial policy quoted directly from Blue-Eyed Infidel (via SondraK).
Pierced Eyeglasses
These pierced eyeglasses are on my "to do" list for when blogging leaves me wealthy and eccentric.
Kiwami
Honda's hydrogen powered Kiwami concept vehicle might make an excellent Flea-mobile (via Ookii Ne).
Flea Towers
The future Flea Towers will be a co-op. Once the BlogAd revenue kicks in (via Gothamist).
December 20, 2004
Tongue in chic
I found a discounted (the fools!) copy of "Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue in Chic Peek Behind the Pose" by Nietzschean super-being, Paris Hilton. Who knew the Necronomicon would be packaged in sparkling pink? While I have yet to find the specific section dealing with the evocation of Nyarlathotep, Ms. Hilton does give specific instruction in how to be an heiress. For example, Rule No. 6:
Update: As of the time of this update, "P" is for Paris Hilton.
Röyksopp: Poor Leno
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
Double Happiness
If there was a Shanghai Tang in Toronto I could go look at this Double Happiness turtleneck over and over again before deciding, no, I really don't have US$295 for a sweater (via Spirit Fingers).
And then... Hmm. Shanghai Tang does not like pointy links. The sweater can be found in the men's sweater section. Spirit Fingers' post is much more interesting, however, in wondering at this latest plundering of Tibetan culture. Not the Double Happiness sweater, that is, but the "nomadic" fall/winter line as a whole.
Sexual harassment
There is a telling irony that this sexual harassment training video is almost certainly not safe for work. If this is how the HR people mean to address the issue things are worse than I thought. Please tell me this a joke. Please.
(Hat-tip to the Flea's sexual harassment prevention co-ordinator who was probably harassing me by sending it.)
Political
More evidence of the political status of archaeology. This latest agreement between Iran and... wait for it... France also includes a deal to develop hotels. So much for science.
Hierakonpolis
A ceremonial enclosure of the Pharaoh Khasekhemwy, known as "the Fort" (the enclosure and not the pharaoh, that is), at Hierakonpolis is "the oldest freestanding mud-brick monumental structure in the world." It has an even more evocative name, "Shunet es-Zebib", the "Storehouse of the Flies".
Cake, please
Which Eddie Izzard line are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Via the enigmatic Thesaurus Rex.
December 18, 2004
Evanescence : My Immortal
But though you're still with me
I've been alone all along
- Evanescence, "My Immortal"
Fallen (2003)
Speegle
Still having visions of that skeletal metal foot crushing a human skull as I type the words "Ghost of a flea" into Speegle.
Doc Ock
Doc Ock Rampage is self-explanatory. Time to smash some stuff.
Pillow Fight
Objectification and marketing: is there a relationship? This lingerie pillow fight ad for AViC Cable calls for a critical reading.
Chill out
A Paleolithic flute is being played for the first time since the Ice Age.
The flute was dug up in a cave in the Swabian mountains in south-western Germany, and pieced back together again from 31 fragments. Its discovery suggests that ice age man, who roamed across Europe during prehistoric times, had precocious aesthetic talents, and probably discovered music far earlier than previously assumed.
El Castillo
The El Castillo pyramid at the Mayan city of Chichén Itzá may have been built in part to mimic natural sounds.
Declercq was impressed when he heard the echo for himself at an acoustics conference in Cancún in 2002. After the conference, he, Lubman and other attendees took a trip to Chichén Itzá to experience the chirp of El Castillo at first hand. "It really sounds like a bird", says Declercq.
December 17, 2004
Dorothy Parker
- Dorothy Parker
The Streets: Weak Become Heroes
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.*
*Waving a lighter back and forth over my head with lurve to SondraK.
Mary Wells
So I only got 8 out of 10 but I must now rush out and buy a best of Mary Wells album and listen to it compulsively and imagine I am in a John Waters movie. I also kick ass on Abba and Led Zeppelin knowledge and would have done much better at David Bowie lore if not for that vile Labyrinth soundtrack (via ASV).
Contortion typing
Ashley Benigno reports on an unending war.
Dimebag Darrell
A tribute to Dimebag Darrell, recently of Damage Plan, less recently of Pantera.
Danica
Place your bid on this hot dress worn by Parker Posey in Blade Trinity.
Place the state
This drag-and-drop place the state game is tricky in the fly-over spots with no handy coastline to use as a guide. Still, my score of 86% and average error of 44 miles would have been better had I not been sloppy with my mouse handling.
War of the Worlds
A War of the Worlds teaser trailer is now on-line. Despite my earlier scepticism I think this could be cool. It is odd to hear H.G. Wells' introductory words transposed to the twenty-first century. For one thing, probably half the people I know believe this world is being watched by alien intelligences. It is convincing them of the danger of all too human hostile intelligences that is difficult.
Airbus A 380
All AgitProp, all the time... has an image of the new double-decker Airbus and shudders to wonder "how long it would take to get off the plane if you're not in First or Business Class..." On the plus side are the Airbus A 380 interiors.
December 16, 2004
Raj Bhakta
"British battleships are a great way to find names."
As season two of The Apprentice comes to a close the Flea honours Raj Bhakta: reality tv hero and role-model. Make of his political ambitions what you will...
Donald Grump
Donald Trump meets Donald Grump (via Gothamist).
What If
Kate Winslet sings a Christmas carol. Ish. What If.
Pac's Jungle Trip
Pac's Jungle Trip is the most inventive Pacman variation I have seen. A bit creeped out by the California Raisin though.
Three-dots tattoo
Sinosplice has an intriguing question about Chinese three-dots tattoos.
While Wikipedia comes closest to an answer to the three dots mystery, one of the comments to the post should receive an award for inventiveness. Brilliant. (Not my comment, obviously.)
Google Scholar
Google Scholar takes that next virtual step toward making my job redundant.
December 15, 2004
O mighty Isis
Bitchin' Monaro reminded me of a cult gem: Isis. I should be able to turn on the tv and watch Isis, like, right now. I loved the Isis comic too.
I can fully relate to her dual person teacher/foe of evil problem. Where, o where, is the flying archaeologist in a stylin' headband for me? Here are some great Isis screencaps and an Isis photo gallery (objectification warning) and an inevitable Wonder Woman vs Isis page (snarky comments about Amazons and tax-dollars warning). So. Wonder Woman vs Isis. Tough call.
Update: The Jawa Report considers the issue in light of the War on Terror.
Full Metal Alchemist
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.*
*This one scares me.
Curses, spells and incantations
Some handy tv curses, spells and incantations courtesy of "the internet". Admittedly, knowledge of the Fonzarelli Curse has limited application.
Darkness
Darkness looks like a fun and creepy haunted house movie. I especially like the jerky, stop-motion thing ghosts have been doing since House on Haunted Hill.
The Magic Roundabout
Some films sneak up on you... like this remake of The Magic Roundabout (hat tip to the Flea's dromology expert).
Bonfire of the Vanities #76
A seasonal Bonfire is underway at Feste...a foolsblog.
Gesamtkunstwerk
What's David Bowie got to do with occultism and gnosticism?
Yes, yes, much the same could be said of the Gesamtkunstwerk of the Flea.
Berlin-era Bowie
This is the correct Bowie for me. And yet I had the feeling I should be staring vacantly out the window of a limo. Quite convinced of it, actually.
December 14, 2004
Food Court Druids
Food Court Druids: my tribe!
(via Gawker)
John Hughes High
"Let's get one thing straight: this is not a cheerocracy. I'm the cheertator. I make the cheercisions around here."
Christmas cheer
The Sun reports Kylie has brought her bottom out of retirement.
Blue Steel
I thought I had seen the stupidest reality show yet when my childhood was violated by the first episode of The Real Gilligan's Island. That was before watching the premiere episode of Manhunt, "the search for America's most gorgeous male model," being rebroadcast on Life Network. One of the first guys kicked off the show was convinced it was due to being "over-studly". Ahh. I relate.
So, either this is meant to play up to Zoolander expectations or these guys truly are morons (my international model name is Max Coil, btw). Blue Steel is mentioned approvingly... and what is with the embedded model?
Victoria's Secret
I can't imagine there are many Flea-readers interested in this uncensored Victoria's Secret Christmas Commercial. I post it as part of my ongoing effort to document the life and work of Kate Moss. (Better add this Joe Boxer ad for gender-equity purposes.)
Update: The new link is active!
Shop Smart Vol. 1, No. 1
Shop Smart at the Flea™ No.1 is the first of a continuing series relating adventures in bad customer service. Today's case study features Baskin-Robbins.
I have had a hankering for pistaccio-themed ice cream and your new Baskin-Robbins franchise at Bloor & Walmer (366 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M5S 1X2 Tel. : 416-xxx-xxxx) seemed to address this wish with your Pistaccio Almond flavour ice cream. The first time I entered the store was an early weekday evening about a month ago. My pistaccio urge would have to wait as the store was unattended. Even a sideways look around the counter into the back did not reveal any staff. Suppressing a mad urge to serve myself I decided fate was signalling to me my waistline could do without your product.
Which brings me to this afternoon (Dec. 13, 2004). This second time I entered your store I found myself in line behind a young gentleman placing a complex order for himself and his three young women friends. I was happy to wait. Five minutes later the store manager offered to serve me and, a month late, I placed my order for a single scoop. She turned away to serve me when she spotted another party of people had entered the store and were looking at the cakes. At this point she decided to go serve them by preference to me. My frustration may have shown on my face as the staff member still serving the first party asked if I had placed an order. I explained that I had, said "Bye" and walked out.
I suppose the margins on an ice cream cake, and certainly the size of this individual sale, may be more attractive to your company than a single scoop of ice cream. That said, I see no reason to try to spend money on your stores again be it for a single scoop of ice cream or for my future cake needs.
Yours,
Ghost of a flea
Just under fifty-five thousand unique readers from 128 countries in November 2004 including 76 countries where there are no Baskin-Robbins. Don't worry... I can't buy their ice cream either!
Please note: this note was directed to Baskin-Robbins through their corporate owners, Allied Domecq (who also own Dunkin Donuts) because the Baskin Robbins website features no obvious customer service interface. The Allied Domecq website submission feature froze up so I am not certain the message was received. A call to the customer service number met with a suggestion that this was the responsibility of Baskin-Robbins' Canadian subsidiary. Baskin-Robbins: you are a global brand. How you manage those brands in national markets is your difficulty, not your customers'. This is especially the case when your website refers disgruntled folks to a US customer service number. After some further cajoling the following email address was made available: customerservice@dunkinbrands.com.
Shop Smart at the Flea™ customer service tip: get a reference number for your phone call. This is the only way you can follow-up on your time and effort to help large, impersonal corporations in the complex task of scooping ice cream and making change.
December 13, 2004
Molly Ringwald
For some reason half my women friends are rabidly anti-Molly Ringwald. They just don't get her. And I say that as more an Ally Sheedy kind of guy (obviously). Plus, that Judd Nelson Breakfast Club detainee was just trying to disguise his true feelings (go... to... Oprah!).
Bender: Oh, this should be stunning.
Claire: 'Cause you're afraid.
Bender: Oh God, you richies are so smart, thats exactly why I'm not heavy in activities.
Claire: You're a big coward.
Brian: I'm in the math club.
Claire: You're afraid that they won't take you. You don't belong so you just have to dump all over it.
Bender: Well, it wouldn't have anything to do with you activities people being a**holes now would it?
Claire: You wouldn't know. You don't know any of us.
Bender: Well, I don't know any lepers either but I'm not gonna run out and join one of their f***in' clubs.
Andrew: Lets watch the mouth, huh?
Brian: I'm in the physics club.
Bender: Excuse me a sec. What are you babbling about?
Brian: Well, what I said was that I'm in the math club, the latin club and the physics club.
Bender: Hey, cherry, do you belong to the physics club?
Claire: Thats an academic club.
Bender: So?
Claire: So, academic clubs arent the same as other kinds of clubs.
Bender: But to dorks like him, they are. What do you guys do in your club?
Brian: In physics, well, we talk about physics... properties of physics.
Bender: So its sort of social. Demented and sad, but social, right?
"Demented and sad, but social, right?" So true. So like blogging. This Judd Nelson soundboard is handy for 80s nostalgia at the office. "Don't you EVER talk about my friends!"
Alter Ego: Rocker
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.*
*Warning: possible objectification! Best to watch it again for further critical reading.
Ong Bak
No safety nets. No computer graphics. No strings attached. Tony Jaa.
2004 Weblog Awards
Thanks to everybody who voted Flea! Considering the number of uniques alongside the number of votes - and the number of voters who voted daily - every one of you is much appreciated (and I know who many of you are!).
Congratulations to Kate of Small Dead Animals for taking the Best Canadian Blog category from a strong field and to Dodgeblogium for a valiant fight in the Best UK Blog category. Argghhh!!! wuz robbed for Best Military Blog! And Kerry Spot for Best New Blog? I think not.
Plain of Jars
While the work of the Mines Advisory Group to rid Laos' Plain of Jars of unexploded munitions can only be admired one wonders if ancient Tcho Tcho remains are best left undisturbed lest contemporary Laotians and the rest of humanity are exposed to a mind-bending truth that shatters our conceptions of humanity's primacy only to reveal our true insignificance before cosmic forces beyond our ken.
Ringed by mountains, the plateau is a magnificent place to spend eternity. The containers are gathered in seemingly haphazard clusters on promontories and levels, some upright, others fallen over. They reveal scant details of their origins.
Ornithopter
University of Toronto professor, James DeLaurier is trying to build a working ornithopter (hat tip to the Flea's aviation expert).
And the words "flapping-wing aircraft" are certainly evocative.
December 11, 2004
By the Lords of Kobol... vote Flea!
And then... Lackluster voting in today's Best Culture Blog category leave me no choice but to replace the Colonial Viper with Number 6... By the Lords of Kobol, vote Flea!
(And Tricia Helfer counts toward my preemptive Canadian content quota, btw.)
And then... There is still time to vote! You can truly make a difference in the life of one blogger. Also, I have an astonishing Flea-dance ready for tomorrow. Seriously.
And here is the rest of the original post...
A glowing review of the Battlestar Galactica remake at Zacht Ei. I could not agree more.
Battlestar Galactica 2004 (BSG), a remake of the late 70's series, avoids this pitfall. BSG doesn't fall for the nihilistic approach which seeks to solve problems through the aforementioned self-denial, avoidance and retreat.
Kerowack: Dirty Bumf
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
Strindberg & Helium
A note to thank the two folks who thoughtfully reminded me of Strindberg & Helium this week. Helium!
"Bleeding!"
I am pretty certain Helium would be all happy like and give you a big kiss and follow you around and be your friend and everything if you took these final opportunities to vote Flea for Best Culture Blog.
Skeletal Systems
The skeletal systems of twenty-two present and past cartoon characters. The Schmoo's vestigial arms are particularly impressive.
I decided to take a select few of these popular characters and render their skeletal systems as I imagine they might resemble if one truly had eye sockets half the size of its head, or fingerless-hands, or feet comprising 60% of its body mass.
Master/slave
Ok, when I read the phrase master/slave I thought of Depeche Mode, not American history. And most "progressives" are anything but classical liberals, btw.
Among other terms on the top 10 list of politically charged words and phrases, issued by the word usage group Global Language Monitor, were "non-same sex marriage" to describe heterosexual unions, "waitron" for waiter or waitress and "higher being" for God, a term some people found too religious.
December 10, 2004
Danica Talos
Loving Parker Posey as a vampire. But have I been turned into a Parker Posey vampire familiar? No. And can I find good Parker Posey vampire screencaps? No.
Chanukah
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.*
*Oy is just yo backwards! As in, "Oy! There is no way I am going to catch up to that Llama dude in the Best Culture Blog category!"
(with a seasonal hat tip to tipperography)
Bad ass toy
I figure at least half the Flea's readership can add this model jet to their X-mas wish list.
Witch Plane
While this Witch Plane would be great for Flea-readers celebrating older seasonal holidays.
Mudcraft
Mudcraft is an original, inventive and above all time-consuming game that is guaranteed to lower office productivity everywhere. I feel strangely protective of these little mud guys.
Arthur Treacher's
Among Toronto's missing restaurants is a source for Arthur Treacher's fish and chips. Seriously, there is an Arthur Treacher's in Grand Cayman but nothing north of the border. That said, I may now hold the secret to their fish batter recipe... pancake mix and club soda (hat tip to SondraK who has the scoop on McDonald's Filet-O-Fish).
2 cups All-purpose flour
3 cups Pancake mix
3 cups Club soda
1 tablespoon Onion powder
1 tablespoon Seasoned salt
Dip moistened fish pieces evenly but lightly in the flour. Dust off any excess flour and allow pieces to air dry on eaxed paper, about 5 minutes. Whip the pancake mix with the club soda to the consistency of buttermilk- pourable, but not too thin and not too thick. beat in the onion powder and seasoned salt. Dip floured fillets into batter and drop into 425 oil in heavy saucepan using meat thermometer. Brown about 4 minutes per side. Arrange on cookie sheet in 325 oven until all pieces have been fried.
About Canada
The brain trust is maxed out as Anne Coulter and Carolyn Parrish offer thoughts on Canada. Coulter displays her typical, grossly aggravated rhetorical dyspepsia while Parrish demonstrates that peculiarly Canadian humourlessness that sends our best comics south of the border. Parrish does not appear to understand her leg is being pulled about the dog-sleds even after she has been told her leg is being pulled.
December 09, 2004
Saturn 3
Martin Amis wrote Saturn 3? Martin Amis? If not for Zardoz, this would be a contender for cheesiest sf film of all time. People keep telling me how much my sense of humour reminds them of Amis' novels. There may be a connection here somewhere.
“I’m with the Major.”
“For his personal use only ?”
“Yes.”
“That’s penally unsociable on Earth.”
And then... Mike Campbell includes Beneath The Planet of the Apes on the list of the worst (time to see Zardoz... no contest, seriously!).
The Streets: Fit But You Know It
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
Flea got mail
Lots and lots of mail this week and it is much appreciated. Unfortunately, it has hit the critical mass where I do not think I can answer all of it during marking season! I want to thank everyone for their kind words, their continuing Best Culture Blog votes and above all for news of Kylie Minogue as a nativity angel.
And then... The Flea is so close to overtaking Gawker...
Girls with guns
Lots and lots of girls with guns in cinema and television.
Mini Putt 3
Mini Putt 3 may be enough to get you through until Friday.
Calorie curmudgeons
No Food for You! offers a welcome riposte to the calorie-nazis.
Gang Signs
More nonverbal communication research in the form of "gang signs" arrives via "the internet".
Eminem's Mosh
Guerilla News Network hosts Eminem's latest featuring the new ending. Let no adjective be spared in the name of progressive hyperbole!
December 08, 2004
Nicholas Roerich: Tibet. Himalayas. 1933
- H.P. Lovecraft, "At the mountains of madness" (1931)
Pseudo-Elizabethan
For all your pseudo-Elizabethan place name generation needs.
New York Changing
New York has seen some changes since the 1930s.
The A. Zito Bakery at 259 Bleeker St. is my favourite.
An education special
From the Secret Diary of a School Teacher.
December 07, 2004
The Johnson Family
- William S. Burroughs , The Place of Dead Roads (1983)
Hobo Slang
The Original Hobo Nickel Society presents a dictionary of hobo slang. I picked up the term "angel" from a dear friend who used to hitchhike across the States and Mexico before adopting the settled life of an anarchist women's collective.
I would be grateful for all Flea-readers to be my angels and remember me in today's vote for Best Culture Blog. One percent and I can overtake Gawker. Just saying.
Idle hands
A MediaWeek article claims 99.8 percent of all indecency complaints to the FCC in 2003 were filed by a single "activist" group, the so-called Parents Television Council. Sounds like spamming and trolling combined into one attention-seeking, time-wasting, self-righteous grievance. So. Much like the pinch-faced, finger-wagging trolls of the blogosphere then.
Word Leaves
I found Word Leaves too nerve wracking to play for long.
Hanse Colani Rotor House
Designer Luigi Colani's "space-saving house with a six square meter cylinder inside that contains a bedroom, kitchen and bathroom." Nice that they left room for a lawn.
Pornaoke
Ok, so you really can't make this stuff up. An activity not generally associated with audience participation (hat tip to the Flea's whiskey expert).
December 06, 2004
Ultimate Kylie
The Sun hosts twelve of Kylie Minogue's "raunchiest videos" taken from her "great new career-spanning DVD Ultimate Kylie". Flea-favs "Love At First Sight" and "Come Into My World" could hardly be described as raunchy but the Sun's bandwidth is still much appreciated in this matter!
Elsewhere, Ministry of Sound is devoting its bandwidth to "The Sexiest Music Videos of All Time" (via La Petite Claudine). Some of these do qualify as raunchy.
Leningrad: Menya zovut Shnur
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.*
*"Menya zovut Shnur" which, roughly translated, means "Remember today's vote for the Flea for Best Culture Blog"!
(Even though I lurve SondraK right back!)
Leninade
Leninade is a soda pop that truly captures the spirit of the Russian Revolution.
Tank Wars
Tank Wars is satisfying despite my utter incompetence with elementary ballistics.
Coffee table
This website purports to describe a fellow who kept the body of his dead wife and incorporated it into a coffee table. I am not sure what it says for "the internet" that I cannot tell whether or not this is meant to be a joke.
Black MA-1 flying jacket
Thesaurus Rex has become obsessed with owning this “Pattern Recognition” Black MA-1 flying jacket. Having not read the book I am not getting the obsession but his brother is deranged to think anything but the branded product will satisfy. It has to be the real simulated jacket or nothing.
December 04, 2004
Best Culture Blog
Flea would win if that Eurotrash pop music garbage qualified as culture. - The Jawa Report
Vote Ghost of a flea for Best Culture Blog! Remember: one vote per computer per day could make all the difference! 7500 unique Flea-readers in the last three and a half days but only 166 votes... I hope the Flea is a better read than that!
And then... Remember: one vote per computer per day so please vote again after midnight! Much appreciated!
A Night at the Roxbury
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.*
*Probably best to right-click download this one.
Fatcat & Satan
I am not sure what the moral of the Fatcat & Satan story is but I am left in sorrow for the plight of Fatcat (nsfw due to lots of swearing).
Chi Chian
Prepare to lose your weekend to Chi Chian.
i-foot
Ookii Ne reports on Toyota's new i-foot "mountable walking robot" that gets around the machines-conquering-the-world Dalek/stairs interface problem.
Toyota: not anti-war against the machines. Just on the other side.
Templars
One of many organizations claiming descent from the Knights Templar is after an apology from the Pope. While generally pro-Templar, if not this particular bunch of supposed Templars, I cannot see the point of an apology 700 years after the fact if it is not to be apologies all round. Unless I am mistaken, the current Queen of Canada claims sovereign power as a successor to Edward I. In 1306, for example, England expelled many thousands of Jews who had survived earlier extortion and massacre. But then Edward had ripped off the Templars too so we might expect another angry note in the post from Hertford.
The letter, signed by the Secretary of the Council of Chaplains on behalf of the Grand Master of the Poor Fellow Soldiers of Jesus Christ and the Temple of Solomon Grand Preceptory, with a PO box address in Hertford, formally requests an apology “for the torture and murder of our leadership”, instigated by Pope Clement V.
And then... ideofact has more.
December 03, 2004
Statler and Waldorf
A critical point some critics of this blog have missed is that it really is not all about the bikini. It is about the character of the person wearing it. Take Catherine Bell, for example. She may wear a regulation bikini and, let's face facts, that is entirely impressive in itself. But it is Mac MacKenzie, the character she plays on JAG, and the idea the actress shares some of Mac's ass-kicking personality that makes her so compelling. Gentlemen, if I can get comments working today I am certain you will agree.
Now, Statler and Waldorf may be more about objectifying than being objectified but they still kick ass and take names (if only from the cheap seats). Is there a better pajamastani male role-model than that? The voice of the peanut gallery takes pride of place in Male Objectification Week at the Flea™.
Statler: "We're online to meet babes!"
And then... Though Ash would also have been an excellent choice.
To Flea-readers everywhere
Your vote can make all the difference... once a day from every computer you own! Please give some thought to voting Ghost of a flea for Best Culture Blog.
Update: Gawker has got its readers voting. A couple thousand Flea-readers are going to see this today: please help me out with your vote! It takes seconds but could make a big difference in the day of this blogger.
And on my ballot more boxes are checked. Some votes are difficult...
Best New Blog
How am I supposed to choose between INDC Journal and The Jawa Report (the Blogger Formerly Known As My Pet Jawa)? Like Bill says, "remember, multiple votes, multiple days."
Some votes are easy...
Best Humor Blog
Protein Wisdom
Best Military Blog
Argghhh!!!
Best UK Blog
Dodgeblogium
And some votes are impossible...
Best Canadian Blog
Best of luck to the blog quebecois, Being American in T.O., All AgitProp, All the Time, small dead animals and Daimnation!
Chupa Chups
This Chupa Chups ad is probably bad. And by bad I mean morally bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. By which I mean entirely against the spirit of gender equity embodied in Male Objectification Week at the Flea™. Time to practice that Tibetan mind control.
Craziest
I would live for the triple-triple score if I played Scrabble. Quite moving, actually.
Virtual Mountain
The Flea is an avid cyclist but mainly of the going a fair distance quickly on a flattish surface variety. The Virtual Mountain P.O.V. camera is of the hard core off-road school.
Unst
I shall not rest until I have completed a pilgrimage to the Unst bus shelter.
Flattery
Zacht Ei points to an article at Front Page Magazine. Bad form, Front Page people. Very bad form.
I guess I should be happy, since I'm writing this blog in English to improve my fluency in written English, so one day I would be able to get my stuff published in American and British outlets. Well, mission accomplished. Thing is, I always imagined my name would be there, too.
December 02, 2004
James Bond
Male Objectification Week at the Flea™ is, like, totally about Sean Connery as James Bond. Obviously.
Goldfinger Into Miami
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance (indirect link... and there is plenty more Bond theme goodness to be had!).
Walther PPK
The guns of the original James Bond are featured at Long Mountain Outfitters.
Grip
Stirring music makes me want an X-Type Jag even more than I already do.
BMW M5
Another great Fleamobile if I were considering Eurosteel. Or could afford one.
Society of Enigmas
Welcome to the Society of Enigmas.
Card throwing
How does a playing card become deadly?
Today, hit-men of the Far East and those who've studied such disciplines, are best feared for their "poker-face". Adapting a facade as another poker addicted person, or casino dealer these people can stun, bleed, and even put people into coma with deadly accuracy at up to about 20-30 feet. Not that great a distance, however more than enough when you're at a poker table. This is done with pressure points. But to hit those tiny zones, you need great accuracy with more power than you need with throwing dagger
December 01, 2004
Ham Tyler
Thanks to reader demand, Male Objectification Week at the Flea™ is seething in CanCon rage with Michael Ironside as Ham Tyler in V. Like many a Canadian bad-ass the full expression of his ability could only be found south of the border. Our loss. Today's objectified male also covers the crucial balding-guy with an attitude problem category.
And then... That's CanCon rage. CanCan rage is something else entirely.
And then... Trudeaupia is making it difficult for me to concentrate on my commitment to gender-equity.
Depeche Mode: Enjoy The silence 04
Now is the time at the Flea when we dance.
Wave Gotik Treffen
Astonishing achievements in fashion by visitors to this 2002 Leipzig music festival suggest my regothification efforts need to be re-doubled.
Kubrick2001
2001: A Space Odyssey explained in Flash animation.
Why I Hate The 1980s
I found this Why I Hate The 1980s website shockingly 80s-ophobic. The government should give me a grant to explore my feelings on the matter. Great use of the term Chavs in the introduction, btw.
Top Bombing
John Smith's presents an impressive UK Olympic diving performance.
Comment malfunction
Sorry for the ongoing comment drama, folks. Idiots, spammers and Blacklist heartburn are all contributing factors. This is end of term for me so my off-line life means it may take some time to address these issues. Your continuing patience is most appreciated.