Category Archives: Historical

Percy Bysshe Shelley on blogging

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This dude so totally nailed it. Was he blogging at Diary-X, too?

Ozymandias, the blogger

 

Ozymandias

I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read,
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed,
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

-Percy Bysshe Shelley
1792-1822

fun with loopy Japanese art

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Here, straight from Japanprobe, we have Sentimental Journey, a tasty wad of fresh, chewy video from Nagi Noda, who also claims responsibility for the demented poodle exercise video we posted earlier, because we must have been drunk or something. In fairness, this is quite an achievement; with a cast just slightly smaller than that of Cecil B. DeMille’s Cleopatra, Noda manages to outdo George Lucas in the special effects field without, you know, using any special effects. I have only one question:

Why does that woman walk like she just peed herself?

And here, also from Japanprobe, is what Japan thinks happens when Japanese women marry Westerners. Gee, thanks, I always wondered where Danny DeVito came from.

Danny DeVito, you get back in that bathtub right now!

music vid o’ the day: Syd Barrett and hallucinogenic Octopus

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It just doesn’t get any better than this, gentle readers. Syd Barrett, the officially insane and most talented member of Pink Floyd, plus Gimme Gimme Octopus, the bizarre 60’s Japanese children’s show (think HR Pufnstuf on about ten ounces of tequila).

elf/human missing link found

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Ch'yeah, maybe not the missing link. I hope they take those to the drycleaner before returning them.No, it’s totally, totally true and on scientific websites and everything, so suck it unbelievers! I bet you didn’t even clap for Tink!

Alert TORn!!!

It appears that elves may be descended from humans, which kinda throws a wrench into all my Tengmar-speaking friends’ philosophies (yes, I have friends who email only in the Elvish languages of Middle Earth, and further, will not email those who only email in the Elvish languages of the Undying Lands, and no, I am not kidding; where do you think I got this strong an opinion about fandom?). Still, I have candid shots of me frightening Viggo Mortensen, so they’ll cut me a fair bit of slack.

Dr. Charles’ science blog, which I am devastated to learn does not belong to a certain Dr. Charles Dexter Ward who, after all, graduated from his course of study prior to the founding of Yale, reports that preliminary findings indicate that the missing genetic link between elves and humans has been isolated.

It’s not as straightforward as some evidence would lead us to conclude.

C'mon Aragorn, do it for me.

Remember pixies, elves, and the wee folk of legend? They were generally small, musical characters with playful natures, given to singing and dancing. In the Scandinavian folklore, elves were so musically inspired that they could dance a man to death. Were these diminutive characters originally inspired by real humans who carried a genetic variation, namely a deletion of the elastin gene that produces humans of short stature, elfin features, and intense emotional responses to music?

NPR recently ran a story on Williams Syndrome. They profiled a young man who became an excellent drummer, but who struggled in many other developmental areas such as measured IQ, fine and gross motor skills, and attention. His mother noticed that he was unusually sensitive to music as an infant. For example, the child was moved to tears by a Brahms lullaby. He possessed many of the characteristic physical features of Williams Syndrome (WS) which usually include a small upturned nose, long philtrum (upper lip length), wide mouth, full lips, small chin, puffiness around the eyes, and a prominent “starburst” or white lacy pattern on the iris of the eyes.

*runs to mirror*

I'll hold your sword for you, baby!

the revenge of Socrates

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 the death of Socrates. It ain't over yet!

After an apparently-peaceful slumber of some millennia, it appears that the legended philosopher Socrates has returned to wreak vengence on his killers. ABC via Fark.

The only thing standing in the way of safeguarding Kentucky hemlocks is the lack of funding, said Tim McClure, a state forest health environmental scientist.

“If we don’t act on this and put some resources to it, we’re looking at a major problem,” McClure said at Pine Mountain State Park, the latest site to report infested [haunted, ghoul-ridden] trees… Large-scale destruction in neighboring states has cost millions.

McClure said it’s not a matter of “if” more Plato. Yeah, I'd duck if I were you.Kentucky hemlocks will be under attack, “it’s a matter of when.”

So far, the bug [revenant] has attacked at least 100 trees at Pine Mountain and Rebel Rock in Harlan County.

Plato better watch his ass.