Carol of the Old Ones

Christmas Post

Thank you Telstra for the present of having my phone and internet line down for a week just before Christmas!

Any way here are some Christmas links I've enjoyed....

Tim Minchin has released his song White Wine in the Sun on iTunes and Youtube which summarises Christmas pretty well for me and is actually quite a pretty song.

The media fail to recognise a journal's Christmas article as a joke, so the status quo of health reporting is maintained.
Santa is bad for Your Health (via Bad Science)

And 21 and 24 from "Venture Brothers" in happier times with their version of Wonderful Christmas Time

Hubble Christmas Cards

The Hubble telescope makes many images available for public access and they have made a selection of cards from some of these photos -
Greeting Cards from the Hubble Site

via Bad Astronomy

Super Vans

Marvel Superheroes that just belong on vans - via "The Beat"

Molecules with Silly Names...

If you don't think it's funny that chemists would name a molecule "Arsole" perhaps this will all be a bit juvenile for you -
Molecules with Silly Names"
via Ben Goldacre's blog

"Their souls make his tummy happy..."

"Little Cthulhu is the perfect, child-friendly way to introduce your little one to the traditions of the Old Cult."

Tardis Cake

This is pretty much the most amazingly complicated fan model I've seen and it's edible!
Made by Barbara-Jo from Do it Myself

Clocks

I love clocks - it's just something about the delicate workmanship and the precision gears and mechanisms - I have a clock in almost every room of the house - wish I had something as beautiful as these clocks though.


Incredible Astronomical Clocks via "Dark Roasted Blend"

"I can read movies.."

A very cute collection of movie-inspired "retro" book covers made by a graphic designer.
I-can-read-movies.

Cosmos Remix - Carl Sagan (featuring Stephen Hawking)

Weird but kinda touching.
via Graham Lineham

Another tragic consequence of global warming...

Melting Ice Caps Expose Hundreds of Secret Arctic Lairs

Via "The Onion" of course


And in other news Charlie Brooker doing Gameswipe - it's on Twitter it must be true.(via Scott)

Venture Bros New Series Four starts on October 18th in the US

Dust Storm

We're in the middle of a dust storm that travelled really quickly from NSW to QLD. The sky looks really smoky rather than the amazing red that Sydney got.

Pics here from the Brisbane Times

"Warrior monks who pass through walls"...

Pretty stellar cast - saw Jon Ronson when he gave a talk at the Brisbane Powerhouse, so I'll definately be checking this one out.

Glass Microbiology

Transparent, three dimensional sculptures of viruses by Luke Jerram.
Glass Microbiology

He makes an interesting point about how he avoids the "artificial" colourization that exists in most representational diagrams of microorganisms.

Maru: emerging volumetric performance artist

Maru: emerging volumetric performance artist



"One of the most exciting artists to emerge from Japan is Maru, a prolific cross-disciplinary volumetric performance artist whose pieces have acquired him a cult following in recent months. Maru's pieces -- shown exclusively by Mugumogu Gallery in Tokyo -- are videos of performances, always staged in the same minimal, monochromatic apartment setting"

A Day Without Cats

Apparently some websites have declared today "A Day Without Cats" - due to the the lack of exposure of other animals on the internet. Seems like they are asking for trouble - wonder if any 4chan hack attacks will occur in retaliation.

"I think you've got to forgive that of a talking dog..."

I check out comedy clips pretty regularly on Youtube - this one is probably my favourite from "That Mitchell and Webb Look"

Hitler Finds out About Another "Downfall" Parody

I was completely unaware of the "Downfall" meme, but this is still pretty funny - Hitler is mad as hell and he's not going to take it anymore.

Link to Downfall Parody at Funny or Die

via Graham Lineham

100 Years of Visual Effects

Cute little collection of the "history of visual effects". Probably misses a few important moments, ("2001" and "The Matrix" for example), but nicely put together. (and kid friendly as it was made for a classroom demonstration)

from Gizmodo

Matt Brooker (aka D'Israeli) artist of "Lazarus Churchyard", "Scarlet Traces", and 2000 AD artist has a blog post up on how he went from traditional techniques to digital.

D'Israeli tells how he went digital

If you are not familiar with his work, the complete "War of the Worlds" comic he did with Ian Edginton is available online at the Dark Horse website.

6 Bullshit Facts About Psychology that Everyone Believes

From Cracked.com - 6 Bullshit Facts About Psychology that Everyone Believes

Because I am a curmudgeon I never believed the self-esteem one - I mean if psychology has taught us anything it's the human race is doomed.

Charlie Brooker's Screenwipes

I recently watched the entire series of Charlie Brooker's Screenwipes and Newswipes - a show on the telly that takes the piss out of shows on the telly. If you enjoy clever insights mixed with Viz magazine style humour you'll probably like this too.

The above segment shows the "Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson" which has to be seen to be believed.

Buffy Slays Edward

Twilight dissing has become an internet past-time so it was inevitable really....the creepy stalker thing must really turn tweenage girls on.

"Don't cut yourself on the crocodile sweetie..."

There is just something about old decaying playground rides and sculptures that is just .... horrifying - yes, that's the word.
Nightmare Playgrounds from "Dark Roasted Blend" is hysterically weird.

"I Didn't See Fight Club"

Woohoo! Venture Bros Season 4 Trailer at Adult Swim. Can't wait.

Don't Blame the Writers

I must admit to being overly picky about movie plots - if a movie has a big budget and good actors and special effects, to have a plot that seems cobbled together from a series of set pieces seems a bit inexcusable. However I realise the movie making process often isn't exactly smooth sailing and this elderly article about the writing of "The Puppet Masters" is fairly interesting.


Q: When is a Spaceship Not a Spaceship?
A: When It's a Brain Coral.
Writing the Screen Adaptation of
Robert A. Heinlein's The Puppet Masters

Terry Rossio, 1995


After reading it you don't wonder how bad movies get made, but how do good ones?

Do you remember the Sprieg Brothers highly enjoyable zombie/comedy/horror movie "Undead" that was made locally in Brisbane?
Well they have made another movie dealing with vampires. I was a little dubious at first, as the genre seems to have been a little sucked dry of late (sorry). But the trailer looks like it doesn't deal with sparkly vampires and actually addresses the question of "what happens when the vampires stupidly achieve their goal of world domination?".

DayBreakers Trailer at YouTube

District 9

Managed to score free tickets to "District 9" a lower budget SF piece by South African director Neill Blomkamp - it was a nice change of pace from the disappointing blockbusters of earlier this year with a weird mix of documentary, body horror (think Cronenburg) and action movie.

It was based on the short movie "Alive in Joberg" which is available on YouTube.

Star Trek the Musical

Shatner of the Mount


Le Wrath di Khan (Robot Chicken)
This is seriously the best thing I think I've seen all year.


via the incomparable Graham Lineham

Picard Sings!

Thanks JB.