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Cookie O’Puss

R did not believe me when I told her about Cookie Puss. And then she doubted Cookie O’Puss! So here is the proof. Shield your eyes. And this here ditty actually gets stuck in my head sometimes: I love it when they say “freshhhhhh” near the end. Gotta dig Wikipedia’s reasoned notes on Cookie Puss: [...]

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It sounded hissy

I had a dream on Tuesday night in which someone explained to me that before records and wax cylinders, snakes were a choice recording medium. I don’t know how you’d use or play them back, maybe like a wire recorder? Anyhow I recall looking into a basket of snakes and each one was a different [...]

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Terrible Tilly

One mile west of Tillamook Head on the Oregon coast sits a lonely rock with an empty seagull-poo-splattered lighthouse. This is its story. On October 21, 1879, four laborers were put on the rock. The rest of the crew followed five days later. Putting men on the rock entailed stringing a 4 ½” line from [...]

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Museum of the Phantom City

Museum of the Phantom City is a free iPhone app that catalogs and maps the unrealized grand visions people have had for New York City in the past 100 years. Put another way: Irene Cheng and Brett Snyder designed the Phantom City iPhone app to “transform the city into a living museum of speculative proposals [...]

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Petroglyphs

Technically, petroglyphs (carvings) and pictographs (paintings). Along the Colorado River canyon near Moab there are lots of drawings and carvings made by ancient and more recent native peoples. We got a little guide book at the excellent Back of Beyond bookstore and got to see a half-dozen sites on both sides of the river just [...]

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Mesa Verde Pt 2

We return to Mesa Verde and sign up for a tour of Cliff Palace, the largest of the cliff dwellings/observatories/storehouses/temples built by the ancient Pueblo culture. They had fields (growing squash, beans, and corn) on top of the mesa and houses and other structures beneath. The backs of some of the caves acted as a [...]

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Mesa Verde pt 1

From windy Navaho Lake we make our way to Durango. I was expecting some kind of cowboy town; instead we got a 6 lane highway and a super Walmart. We did find an outdoors store, of the sort that only carries Coleman gear, sports junk, and guns. Assault rifles, from the looks of things. We [...]

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In Memorium, Gert Schwarz (1915-2009)

SCHWARZ–Gertrude Charney, 94, passed away peacefully August 23, 2009. Beloved wife of the late Casey, loving mother of Naomi and Ruth, grandmother of three, devoted aunt, great-aunt and great-great-aunt to the Schwarz and Charney clans. A piercing intelligence, sharp wit, and loving heart, she was a powerful presence, and deeply loved. Related posts No related [...]

What Exactly Is Meant By ‘Occult,’ I Wonder?

Been looking for that spell book from A.D. 830? Perhaps you’re delving into Astrology, but you only trust 14th century astrologers? Or maybe you just like old pretty things. You might want to browse through Digital Occult Manuscripts. Related posts No related posts.

Leaving Me in the Lurch

I love this saying and have been using it more frequently in the last few months, or at least have more frequently noticed that I use it. And now I know where it comes from. lurch |lərtʃ| |ləːtʃ| noun (in phrase leave someone in the lurch) leave an associate or friend abruptly and without assistance [...]

Gloucester Cheese Rolling (and chasing)

Last weekend you may have missed the opportunity to watch people kill themselves in pursuit of a wheel of handmade double Gloucester cheese. Here are some earlier attempts (it’s documented to be at least a 200-year-old tradition). The official site has a good picture from the top of the steep hill and entry forms for [...]

Virtual CBGB

As far as I can remember this place was a pit, but still, history, you know, plus the chance to once again see the horror that was the men’s room. via WFMU’s Beware the Blog Related posts No related posts.

Coughs are for suckers

Frank Zappa did the music (though not the animation nor the voiceover, I suspect) for this Ludens cough drops ad from 1967. Speaking as someone who’s had a horrible cough for days, I am totally behind the sentiment of this. Also dig the hand-drawn look of the packages. via BoingBoing Related posts No related posts.

Telegraph: something I didn’t know about it

Western Union was still using the wire telegraph until January 26, 2006. Related posts No related posts.

Pardon me, but aren’t you Jimmy Randolph

Home sick from elementary school in NYC in the ’70s? This ad should be familiar. The copy is burned into my brain. Related posts No related posts.

SSFB live at the Bard Art Department

DJ Flack has posted two live Soothing Sounds songs from 1990. Sloppy/tight and excellent. I miss this band. Related posts No related posts.

Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer

In case you haven’t already seen this, an amazing and unedited interview with hedge-fund-manager/stock-show-host Jim Cramer. It’s about 15 minutes long and comes in three parts. The middle bit is where Mr. Stewart really takes Cramer apart. .cc_box a:hover .cc_home{background:url(‘http://www.comedycentral.com/comedycentral/video/assets/syndicated-logo-over.png’) !important;}.cc_links a{color:#b9b9b9;text-decoration:none;}.cc_show a{color:#707070;text-decoration:none;}.cc_title a{color:#868686;text-decoration:none;}.cc_links a:hover{color:#67bee2;text-decoration:underline;} The Daily Show With Jon StewartM – Th 11p / [...]

Looting Magdelen Island

View Larger Map Looters are digging up Magdelen aka Goat Island. But can you camp there? Related posts No related posts.

Astoria Theatre:RKO Keith::Sword and the Sorcerer:?

Cinema Treasures is a website dedicated to movie theatres, present and past, around the world. Yes, there are old movie theatre nerds. Here I found information on the old Astoria Theatre on 30th Avenue and Steinway, a childhood multiplex with sticky floors, sleepy ushers, and easy sneaking between screens. They also had Dragon’s Lair in [...]

Rubbed smooth by mammoths

A Prof Parkman thinks the unique smooth marks on edges of boulders on the Northern California coast were made by mammoths rubbing themselves clean of mud. Also some cool Pleistocene coastline stuff. Related posts No related posts.