I Let My Fists Do The Talkin’

Eric Skillman is the art director of many a Criterion DVD package. He has a blog where he talks about the process of designing the covers (and insides) of those releases. Interesting!

http://ericskillman.blogspot.com/

Designed for an audience of one.

The odd bodies and random movements bring to mind the awkward terribleness (and to me, deliciousness) of the Law & Order video game adaptations.

In every Catalan navity scene there is a figure taking a dump behind the Baby Jesus. It is called the Caganer or “shitter.” It is often made in the likeness of a celebrity or world leader.

I first heard of Caganers on my favorite television program, QI (which makes Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me look like it’s taking a dump by comedy-panel-quiz-show comparison despite often featuring my hero Paula Poundstone.)

Take it away, Stephen Fry—

The UK Telegraph presents a slide show of this year’s crop.

This all was confirmed by college chum Mo, who picked up not only the caganer but the Caga Tió as a part of her personal Christmas traditions on a trip to Catalonia.

Catalan children beat presents out of a pooping log on Christmas with sticks—where has our American Christmas spirit gone?

Apparently, a year ago a local station (local to me here in NY), using Amy Sedaris’ book as a jumping off point, challenged people to improve food with eyes.

I love food with eyes.

(Found on on the blog, “Food with Eyes“)

This is your new favorite website ever:

Everything is Terrible!

There’s source material here for a million Waverly parodies

This site is to found video what April Winchell is to found audio. As in, the creme de la crap that I will be completely immersed in for weeks and then forget about for two years and then find again and get really into again.

Swiss (French?) artist draws dead celebrities as unholy reanimated corpses

Franglishly titled “Portraits As Living Deads”

via Drawn

Brandon Bird’s Site | Brandon Bird’s Blog

Misanthrope Specialty Co.’s Unflattering Portraits

via Drawn

Blue Tea covers a big swathe of 20s/30s travel poster-inspired Sci Fi art advertising interplanetary travel, time-jumping tourism and anti-Cylon propoganda.

I am taking a more mundane trip myself… first back to DC for the weekend and then a week in Seattle and Vancouver.

The most magnificient URL in the universe:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_oil#Use_as_a_means_of_intimidation_in_Fascist_Italy

Not as extreme (X-treme!) as Steve Don’t Eat It, I’ve been enjoying the taste-test reviews of horrible processed food products on Supertaster.

Processed food is amazing and disgusting.

Ice Cream People

This has already been written about many, many places but if you haven’t seen it—
Green Porno

Worth it just to hear Isabella Rossallini’s prononciation of “anus.”

Insuring the Aging American Population is priority ONE!

I don’t think I even saw this when it first aired in 1995, but it’d genius. Everything Sam Waterson does is absolute golden magic. (I am 99% posting this for Sarah Wilkes, but everyone else will enjoy it, too.)

The quizzes on Sporcle have become an obsession, particularly naming the countries of Africa (always forget at least two, but a different two each time), Europe (can’t spell Liechtenstein), and US Presidents (damn you, Millard Fillmore).

I have not taken a science class in 15 years, but this is still a bad showing. Remembered only through half-recall of Tom Leher’s Elements Song and the Metal Men from DC Comics.

I’m sure tons of people have already seen this video linked elsewhere (particularly those who browse to graphic design blogs), but I’m grateful to see lastFM did the legwork of researching the specific 1980s station idents/production company logos/early CGI wankery being graphically namechecked here.

What I wonder is if the swooshes, whirrs, and other associated “logo noises” are actually on the song itself.

Washington Post’s Peep Show 2

In 1957 the respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop….. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in, and many called up wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti trees. To this question, the BBC diplomatically replied that they should “place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.”

(from Swilkes)

Totally charming. However, the first 1:20 are credits. Boo! Skip ‘em.