Heal the Bay has produced a video describing the migration of the common plastic bag.
And yes, that is Jeremy Irons narrating.
Category: Weird
Before I add Heidi Montag to My List of They Who Must Not Be Named,
I must note that her plastic surgeon died in a car accident while texting and driving:
Plastic surgeon-to-the-stars Frank Ryan was killed Monday when his jeep rolled over an embankment off Malibu’s Pacific Coast Highway outside of Los Angeles. Authorities believe Ryan was distracted by text messaging at the time of the accident.
Ryan, 50, was known for performing extreme plastic surgery on Hollywood celebrities, including “The Hills” star Heidi Montag. Ryan reportedly performed ten procedures on Montag in one day, including work on her ears, chin, nose, and breasts.
You know, there is a segment of our society that I neither understand nor approve.
They are free to neither understand nor approve me as well.
Still these events evoke Zathras to me:
At least, there is symmetry.
Rest assured now. Ms Montag is on my list of They Who Must Not Be Named.
Gr8 Practical Joke
A few years back, some people in and around San Diego commissioned a sculpture of a surfer called the “Magic Carpet Ride”.
It’s been rather controversial amongst the surfers, who felt that the statue, “short of the macho image they thought their sport should project.”
As a result of this, it has been a target of of some pranks since it was unveiled in 2007.
This is, of course not particularly surprising, when you juxtapose a statue and a sub-culture that prides itself on being unconventional:
Ever since, the statue, known locally — and derisively — by local surfers as the “Cardiff Kook,” has routinely been dressed in different costumes by snarky locals. At various times, the statue of a young male surfer has been adorned with a ballerina’s tutu and luche libre wrestler’s mask, a woman’s bikini and other costumes, most recently a tennis outfit with racket.
That being said, about a month ago, some prankster has entered realm of the masters of the art.
He, and his minions, got jiggy late one night with some serious paper mâché. They encased the statue in the maw of a large Great White Shark,* creating the illusion of his being swallowed up by a gargantuan selachian.
This is up there in the “one for the ages” category, up there with Davidson HS senior Kyle Garchar, who got the fans from Darby high school to spell out “we suck” at the Darby-Davidson football game.
Brilliant, just brilliant.
*Actually, it might be big enough for C. Megalodon. That’s one big mofo.
Less Weird, But Just As Stupid
Rand Paul’s “kidnapping” of a fellow swim team member wasn’t a kidnapping.
She was tied up and all, but it was more on the order of a hazing, so it was consensual, and still really fracking weird.
Still no word on the whole “Made to worship the Aqua Buddha” thing.
Kidnapped, Made to Smoke a Bong, and Worship Aqua Buddha?
We have a report that as a some sort of twisted college prank, while an undergraduate at Baylor, Rand Paul and his friends kidnapped a coed, and then made her take bong hits worship “Aqua Buddha” in a stream.
This is whack, and I hope that Paul doesn’t do drugs any more, but it raises a question: If he was into this, why did he go to Baylor, where they ban premarital sex because it might lead to dancing.
This is a weird news day.
This is Not The Onion
E=mc2: Could it be ………… Satan?Andy Schlafley, daughter of noted wingnut Phyllis, has declared that Einstein’s theory of relativity is a liberal conspiracy:
The theory of relativity is a mathematical system that allows no exceptions. It is heavily promoted by liberals who like its encouragement of relativism and its tendency to mislead people in how they view the world.
……
See, e.g., historian Paul Johnson’s book about the 20th century, and the article written by liberal law professor Laurence Tribe as allegedly assisted by Barack Obama. Virtually no one who is taught and believes relativity continues to read the Bible, a book that outsells New York Times bestsellers by a hundred-fold
Seriously, you cannot make this sh$# up.
The Trippiest Russian Military Demonstrations Ever
Them Russkies Know How to Drive a Tank
Seeing a tank do motocross jumps is almost as weird as the guys with the flaming helmets
Courtesy of Danger Room.
I do have a couple of geek notes about these displays:
First, look at the main gun: They have a larger bore (125 mm vs 120 mm in the west) and a longer length, which implies to me that, probably for metallurgical issues related to wear, they operate at a lower pressure than the western (German) guns, and make up for it with barrel length and bore diameter.
Also, Russian tank suspension ant track designers take a back seat to no one.
I half expected one of the tanks to throw a track.
Finally, is it just me, or did the tanks curtsy at the end of the top video?
Better Than Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Jane Austen’s Fight Club:
It’s not just a send up of Jane Austen, and Fight Club, but also of those damn Merchant-Ivory films.
When Alan Keyes Calls You Crazy………
You are completely batsh%$ insane:
“The 14th Amendment is not something one should play with lightly,” Keyes said in response to a question from ThinkProgress at the Tea Party Express press event today. “Lindsay Graham used the term — as people have carelessly done over the years — referring to the 14th Amendment as something that has to do with ‘birthright citizenship’ and we ought to get rid of ‘birthright citizenship.'”
“Well, let me see,” Keyes added sarcastically, “If citizenship is not a birthright then it must be a grant of the government. And if it is a grant of the government, it could curtail that grant in all the ways that fascists and totalitarians always want to.”
This is like Keith Richards telling you that you do too much drugs.
How Not to Make Friends With Your Friends at the Department of Homeland Security
Put these handy dandy stickers on your suitcase, which are sure to get you a body cavity search:
OK, maybe this one will get you a date:
Porter Goss???
As a part of Congressional ethics reform, the Office of Congressional Ethics was established in 2008.
It’s co-chair is Porter Goss, whose aides both in Congress and while he was at the CIA, were convicted of corruption, which (unsurprisingly, it involved Republicans) and whose number 2 at the CIA was sleeping with a woman who was sleeping with a Russian spy at the time of he hired him. (My archive of my posts on him are here)
He was also the guy when asked about an investigation of the invasion or Iraq, he quipped that he would wait for a blue dress.
This is like putting Keith Richards in charge of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
This may explain why the only two Congressmen brought up on charges so far are Black Democrats, and, just heard on Olbermann, that there have been 8 investigations, and all 8 of them were of Black Democrats.
Jeebus! I understand that this needs to be a bipartisan commission, but you should not be putting rat f%$#ers on the commission so that they can attempt to gain partisan advantage.
Worst Website Ever…
Yvette’s Wedding Dresses , in Panama City, Fl.
May cause your eyes to bleed, and turn down the volume, the accompanying music sucks too.
You Win a Brand New Car! Or a Spiff Horse Drawn Carriage!
They are having a blood drive in Ohio, where donating blood enters you into a competition for a brand new car, or, if you so choose, you can win a brand new custom made horse-drawn buggy:
During the traditionally slow summer months for blood donation, the Northern Ohio Blood Services Region of the American Red Cross offers an incentive: Donate a pint, get a chance to win a car.
It’s a tried and true promotion. From charity golfers to high school boosters to game show contestants, who wouldn’t want to drive home in a brand … new … car!
How about a culture that shuns such modern contrivances. Say, the Amish.
Turns out Amish people are faithful blood donors in this district, which encompasses Geauga, Holmes and Tuscarawas counties – all centers of Amish population.
The Red Cross doesn’t want to forget them, said spokeswoman Christy Chapman. So in addition to the car, donors can win a brand…new…buggy!
Seriously.
Obviously, this is a sensible and humane way to encourage blood donations by accommodating the needs of a supportive community, but I also find it a hoot.
What can I say, I’m not a good person.
Signs of the Apocalypse, Republican Tax Cuts Edition
Who is the latest economics notable criticizing the Republican desire for never ending tax cuts?
Why it’s 1980s wunderkind David Stockman, who was Ronald Reagan’s director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Not only does he excoriate supply side, “Tax Cuts Pay for Themselves,” mentality, he lays the financial crisis at the feet of these policies.
We are living in Bizarro world when David Stockman is the voice of reason.
If You are on Twitter
Check out the hash tag #Wookieleaks.
A sample tweet:
Protocol droid fluent in 6 mil languages discharged for violating DADT. #wookieleaks
The Taiwanese Assesment of Sarah Palin
I’m not sure if it’s the same folks as “Apple Daily,” who did those animations of a prominent golfer who is on my list of They Who Must Not Be Named which Olberman featured prominently, but the style, as well as the cultural sensibilities, seem to be very similar.
I’m not sure if this means that they Don’t understand the United States, or if it means that they Do understand the United States.
If the producers of this video do actually understand us, we are in for a world of hurt as a nation.
People With Too Much Time on Their Hands
Jewell, who goes to the Karaoke bar in disguise, and sings Jewell songs:
When the Going Gets Tough, the Ukrainians Gets Weird
An-124 Ruslan (NATO Designation: Condor)Yes, it appears that Antotov is serious about bidding on the KC-X tanker contract, and they have just asked for a 60-day freeze on the competition so that they can get their bid together.
These folks haven’t even decided what plane to submit, with reports of their considering, “three potential offers based on the An-124-KC and two new aircraft designs – the An-122-KC and An-112-KC.”
The AN-124 is clearly too big for the competition, it’s bigger than the C-5, and the competition is for a medium tanker, the KC-10 is the big boy, and according to the Wiki, the An-122 appears to be a 2 engined variant of the of the Ruslan, and lord knows what the AN-112 is.
On the plus side of the bid, Russia’s mega transport does appear to have much better rough field capabilities than the competition, both because of the multi axle main and nose gear, and because its high wing is makes engines less likely to suck debris off an unprepared strip.
Still, this is so silly as to be surreal.
I think that someone, possibly on the side of their US partner might be playing both ends against the middle, and the money is heading to Lichtenstein.
Best Headline Ever
Click for full size
I do not believe that this was unintentional
As I look now, the headline remains unchanged, but here is a screenshot for posterity.
My guess is that someone will get fired over this, but you are not supposed to make jokes like this in journalism.
Talk About the Odd Couple…
Noted liberal Barney Frank and noted crazy wingnut Ron Paul have joined forces to cut the defense budget.
They are, of course, completely correct. Excessive defense spending is out of control, and is a clear and present danger to the safety and security of our society, but this tag team is a bit surreal.