Eat bugs for Earth Day

Via The New York Times: "David Gracer eats bugs. Not any old crushed, oozy, sidewalk kind of bug, but insects selected just like any other food — for sustenance and taste. He eats them sautéed, filleted and roasted. And he thinks you should eat them, too.

"Wielding a grasshopper covered in burned caramel, he said: 'Insects can feed the world. Cows and pigs are the S.U.V.’s; bugs are the bicycles.' Provocative as that sounds, insects do meet the test of environmental sustainability: they create far more edible protein per pound of feed as cattle. Moreover, given world consumption trajectories, scientists warn that a complete collapse of global fish stocks is possible in the next 40 years. We might want to hedge our bets. Perhaps then it’s no surprise that the concept of bugs as food is getting serious consideration from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations."

Cheap Perfume Song-Off Deadline approaches!

This is just a reminder that the deadline for the 2008 Pieces of Flair Cheap Perfume Song-Off is coming up soon! Get your entry in by Noon EST on April 3, 2008 to be a part of the magic. Otherwise, you may have to wait for the Kentucky Hiccup song contest.

Jello Biafra freaks out!

Watch the video here!

Confused? You've just been RickRoll'd, I think. It's what the kids are doing these days.

Here's a video of some dude "liverickrolling" (?) a Scientology protest:



Keeping you up-to-date on the latest memes, just another valuable public service from your friends at PoF.

Props to Shaun.

My (Creepy) Fake Baby

The latest in a long series of fake baby (or pieces thereof) products, the process of making these tots is called "reborning" and it has it's own show!

Get down with The Heavy

According to PopMatters, The Heavy's debut album "kicks Lenny Kravitz’s career to the corner and runs it over a few times for good measure. In one crucial sense, the Heavy are throwbacks. They’ve delivered a bold, uncompromising, barnstorming debut without regard for current trends, fashions, or indie cred. You can dismiss lazy comparisons to Amy Winehouse and 'dirty soul'. The coolest thing about Great Vengeance and Furious Fire is it’s too busy kicking your ass to think about just how cool it is."

You can check out some songs here, or for a while at least, listen to the whole thing.

The Abston Church of Christ

Via Dark Roasted Blend: "Amy Hughes has created a lasting piece of LEGO awesomeness - with incredible amount of detail (every 'special quest' has a story, and the whole thing was created in the loving memory of her cat 'Precious')."

Food fight!

Evidently, this is a recreation of some of the more (in)famous attacks and battles in history.

Reason has the full scoop, but I first spotted it via the excellent new Crispy on the Outside.

Meat candy

"The salty chunks of bacon make a delicious and unique counterpoint to the subtle sweetness of the maple, and oh, yeah- you'll be eating an oh-my-god bacon lollipop!

"A perfect gift for the sweet-toothed pork aficionado in your life."

Too bad they're sold out for the next few months...

Feces-tossing inmates demand tastier meals

"In the latest legal battle over the prison cafeteria standard known as Nutraloaf, the Vermont Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether it's punishment or a method of behavior modification.

"Savory it isn't: It's made of whole wheat bread, nondairy cheese, raw carrots, spinach, seedless raisins, beans, vegetable oil, tomato paste, powdered milk, and dehydrated potato flakes.

"On Monday, the court [heard] arguments in a class-action suit brought by inmates who say it's punishment and that anyone subjected to it should get a formal disciplinary process first.

"'It's commonplace in other states as a way of providing nutrition in a mechanism that dissuades inmates from throwing feces, urine, trays, and silverware,' said Corrections Commissioner Rob Hofmann."

You Suck at Photoshop

Via Laughing Squid: Want to learn how to use Photoshop, loser? Let Donnie Hoyle show you how.

Robots!

Lots of robot news lately: The robotic pack mule featured above; real-life robo-cop some guy built in Atlanta (not as awesome-looking as the movie version, but good effort); and on a sad note this fellow checks out via robot.

Robot reporting: yet another valuable public service provided gratis from the good folks here at PoF.

Even more: Robots in classical art. Via Julian.

How can we afford to do this? Volume, volume, volume!

Terrifying moments in medical malpractice

"Woman Goes for Leg Operation, Gets New Anus Instead" That's an actual headline from Fox News. Upon first inspection I thought someone had sent me a clever spoof, especially because the video feature right next door is entitled: "Is your vagina depressed?" But, no, this is the state of the world we live in. Enjoy.

All apologies for not rappin at you for awhile. I was on the road for the past week, but have returned to supply regular doses of bloggy goodness.

Props to sagefats.

Drew's beard earns whopping 9.9

Via Beard-Revue: "Toothpaste has designed a truly remarkable facial decor.

"The duality of writer vs. cartoonist is clearly represented in his beard. The handlebar alone is worthy of review, but the Amish curtain tips the scales. Usually, the moustache is complementary to the beard. But here two autonomous growths behave in a jaw-dropping symbiotic fashion, where each culture draws equal attention to the greater whole."

Minivan Police!

From the same people that brought you "The Littlest Lawnmower" and "Beatitudo" comes "Minivan Police!"

In the wake of 9/11, law enforcement agencies have shifted their attention away from the War on Drugs to combat the War on Terror. During the heyday of the former, police stations drove flashy Corvettes taken from drug kingpins. Terrorists, however, typically prefer to maintain a lower profile.

Given the number of minivans taken from potential terrorists in Tuscola County, Michigan, the locals made a fateful decision: start up a minivan police squad. While the first cops on duty are reluctant about the job, they soon find themselves bonding over minivan chase stories and enjoying the luxury of their spacious interiors. There will be laughs, there will be tears, but most of all there will plenty of gritty on-the-street minivan action!

Radiohead video contest

While I hate to draw attention away from the PoF Cheap Perfume Song-Off, we can't really compete with a $10k prize.

Lower your seed for the tournament

"'I thought it was a great idea,' says Dr. Brady Walker, 38, one of the institute’s doctors. 'Guys would, electively, never have anybody do anything to their testicles. That’s just the male mentality.'

"But throw in the allure of pizza, a doctor’s 'no-exerting-­yourself' edict and four days of watching low-seeded teams challenge high-seeded teams — and a man’s nobility might soar like Maarty Leunen on a breakaway jam."

UPDATE: In other areas, guns are apparently more of an incentive than b-ball.

Another job idea...

Sorry for the lack of posts. Now working and job-hunting. I also seem to have a steady stream of house guests this month, so no promises for improvement.

Don't make Edward Norton angry

I suppose Tim Roth will serve as enough of an anger-inducing rationale to bring out the Hulk in Bruce Banner. My hope, though, was that the studios would go a more creative route by having the pivotal moment in the film come when Bruce walks into a Brandon Bird gallery show.

Meshuggah video contest

Need a pick-me-up? Good news - Meshuggah's new album is out this week and you can check out some tracks here. They're sure to brighten your day.

Of course, on the off chance you prefer Broadway musicals to death metal, you could check out Meshuggah-Nuns instead.

UPDATE: "You think you can compete with the drumming intensity of MESHUGGAH’s Tomas Haake? Well, prove it! Record your best replication of the track 'Bleed' on video and upload it on your MySpace Video section or YouTube.com!"

Tiki-licious

Isn't it about time you let Henrik Van Ryzin upgrade your beverage container? Even if your conspicuous consumption budget is running low, you can still visit his site and admire the Hawaiian goodness.

Steve from the Sneeze is lucky enough to get his own Sneeze-themed Tiki mug - perhaps a PoF mug is not too far off.

Automato the Catsup Crapper

With Automato it looks as though the folks at MIT are busy advancing robotic technology...or at least the fine art of Chindōgu.

You can get your fill of catsup crap here, here and here.

It's alive!

Not really, but it is pretty cool. I think that Ben Stein as narrator would be the only way to improve this video, but I guess he's busy off fighting "Big Science," whatever that means. (Go ahead, watch the flash intro. I dare you.)

Props to Kevin on the liquid video.

Introducing the Apple iWipe

Via Engadget: "one particular engineering soul figured a spare Macintosh SE case would look a whole lot better in his bathroom than in the trash, so he whipped out a screwdriver, removed some internal brackets and gave the unit a fresh coat of paint. $15 and a few hours later, out popped his new toilet paper dispenser."

Full-length Sigur Ros film on YouTube

"'heima' is sigur rós's first ever film, filmed over two weeks during the summer of 2006 when the band undertook a series of free, unannounced concerts in iceland. they hauled 40-plus people round 15 locations to the furthest flung corners of their homeland for their debut venture into live film, to create something, well, inspirational.

"loosely based on a documentary format - and including personal reflections from the band - 'heima' also serves as an alternative primer for iceland the country, which is revealed as less stag destination-du-jour and more desolate, magical place where human beings have little right to trespass."

Bronze Condoms

If you found one of my bronze condoms, I hope I can persuade you to place it in a new location that you feel it would be beneficial. I only ask that you take a quick photo or two of it in its new home and send them to me in an email, along with a description of its new location.

Via Shaun.

Gygax death outs Tim Carney as dice dork

The trouble with having a bunch of brothers in the journalism industry is that you can never be sure when your past will be used for material. Case in point, Brian Carney's Wall Street Journal column on the passing of D&D creator Gary Gygax, which includes this heartwarming gem:

"But at the risk of sounding like a geek and a curmudgeon at once, in my day we did it the old-fashioned way. In all likelihood we were in somebody's basement, sitting around a table with our dice at the ready and our character sheets in front of us. My brother John was the dungeon master, and he was a good one, too. My brothers -- Mike and Tim -- and I, along with our friends Chris and John (I'll withhold their last names to protect their reputations), spent hours at a time exploring a world that existed only in our imaginations."

UPDATE: Todd contemplates the lasting political impact of D&D by analyzing the Brothers Carney, "or at least a Platonic ideal of each of three of the Carneys," through the lens of Gygax's order/chaos dichotomy.

Mailbox chaos!

Imagine a world where any maniac could design a mailbox without the approval of The United States Postmaster General...if you dare!

The possibilities are too horrifying to ponder long - what about the mailbox/pit bull cage/piranha tank? Or the bucky ball with bonus rotary blades design? I can see the movie version now...a cautionary tale of freedom run amok. Only someone of Charles Band's caliber could bring this subject to the big screen with the right flair!

Wingsuit flying

"Wingsuit flying is the art of flying the human body through the air using a special jumpsuit, called a wingsuit, that shapes the human body into an airfoil which can create lift. The wingsuit creates the airfoil shape with fabric sewn between the legs and under the arms. It is also called a birdman suit or squirrel suit."

You can get yours here.

2008 Pieces of Flair Cheap Perfume Song-Off

Do you love writing songs but lack inspiration? You've come to the right place! Let the subject of cheap perfume be your muse just as such fabled artists as Modest Mouse and Avril Lavigne have.

To prod you along, PoF is hosting its first ever Cheap Perfume Song-Off. Readers can listen and vote to determine who will walk away Winner of the Pieces of Flair 2008 Cheap Perfume Song-Off.

If in the process the PoF Cheap Perfume Song-Off raises some awareness for the Anosmia Foundation, well, all the better.

Need more inspiration? Check out the song-offs from years past: Zombies and Robots!

UPDATE: Song-Off ends with no entries! That means Journey gets all the cheap perfume!

Garfield minus Garfield

Via Drawn!: "It’s Garfield Minus Garfield, a brilliantly surreal remixing of Jim Davis’s ubiquitous comic strip in which the monday-hating cat is removed from the strip entirely. In most cases (though the premise sometimes falls short) it becomes a more surreal, and much funnier strip."

More fun with Garfield.