Category: Uncategorized

An Orchestral Piece About an Illness that Preys On Ultra-Cavers

Rapture for Orchestra by Patrick Harlin from Patrick Harlin on Vimeo.

That piece–which I *love*–was inspired by this: A ‘Blind Descent’ Into The Deepest Caves On Earth : NPR

Drowning, poisonous gas inhalation and electrocution are perils of journeying through a supercave. Tabor says there are more than 50 ways for a person to die during these explorations.
There’s also a danger of developing an illness known as “the rapture” — an extreme reaction to darkness and depth. Those who have suffered from it describe it as being similar to an anxiety attack while on methamphetamines.
“At some level, everyone’s brain will start to say, ‘I don’t belong here. This is a very dangerous place.’ It’s an ancient primordial instinct and it just says, ‘You have to get me out of here, right now.'”

Here’s a great interview with the composer, Patrick Harlin, on Michigan Radio.

“Beach Ball Jumping” and other *terrible* Depression Era diversions

These are all courtesy of a 1937 issue of Mechanics and Handicraft magazine; click through for a deeply unsafe barrel-stave kneeboard-ish thing, a floating rifle target (!!!), and more.
That said, *damn* if the kid in the illustration don’t got some cocky *strut*! You go, beach-ball shoes kid! I’ll sign your full-body cast when you get out of the ICU!

via: More Pleasure at the Seashore | Modern Mechanix

OH GOOD GOD! THE SUN IS *REVERSING POLARITY!!!* which is gonna hella screw up my sun compass, right?

I tell you, if it isn’t one damn thing, it’s another. First the hummingbirds are fighting at the feeder, and now this.
The Sun’s Magnetic Field is about to Flip – NASA Science

Something big is about to happen on the sun. According to measurements from NASA-supported observatories, the sun’s vast magnetic field is about to flip.
“It looks like we’re no more than 3 to 4 months away from a complete field reversal,” says solar physicist Todd Hoeksema of Stanford University. “This change will have ripple effects throughout the solar system.”

Good God! A Sunny Day Would Be Gorgeous in a House Made of Heineken Bottles!




HEINEKEN WOBO: A Beer Bottle That Doubles as a Brick – Inhabitat – Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

Envisioned by beer brewer Alfred Heineken and designed by Dutch architect John Habraken, the “brick that holds beer” was ahead of its ecodesign time, letting beer lovers and builders alike drink and design all in one sitting.
Mr. Heineken’s idea came after a visit to the Caribbean where he saw two problems: beaches littered with bottles and a lack of affordable building materials. The WOBO became his vision to solve both the recycling and housing challenges that he had witnessed on the islands.
The final WOBO design came in two sizes – 350 and 500 mm versions that were meant to lay horizontally, interlock and layout in the same manner as ‘brick and mortar’ construction. One production run in 1963 yielded 100,000 bottles some of which were used to build a small shed on Mr. Heineken’s estate in Noordwijk, Netherlands. One of the construction challenges “was to find a way in which corners and openings could be made without cutting bottles,” said Mr. Habraken.

*Please* Write Me the Horror Novels that Would Use these Vintage Safety Posters as Cover Art! @fritzswanson @poormojo @joe_hill #writing






FACT: “Koolmonoxyde” is a damned rad title, too! That package is done, just gimme 85,000 words with abject terror and a strong romantic entanglement. I’m pretty sure David Lynch would buy the movie rights, manuscript unread.
Check them all out here: Vintage Safety – 50 Watts
(via io9: “These vintage Dutch safety posters are stunning, completely terrifying”)

Holy Crap! Is This Ever Wonderful and CREEEEEPY!

Władysław Starewicz (sometimes Russified as “Vladislav Starevich,” with his surname just generally butchered as “Starevitch,” “Starewich,” and “Starewitch”–damn Polish trick alphabet! He later changed it altogether to make it easier on Francophones, calling himself “Ladislas Starevich”) became famous as a Polish-Russian-French animator, a line he sort inadvertently fell into. His first career was as Director of the Museum of Natural History in Kovno, Lithuania. In making documentaries on animal behavior for the museum, he found himself stymied when the nocturnal stag beetles he wanted to film fighting would go to sleep under the bright lights required by earlier motion-picture cameras. So, he faked up the stag-beetle fight in stop motion, and after that he was off to the races. After fleeing several wars and uprising, he wound up settled in France, where he would do most of his greatest work.
Starewicz’s 1933 film, The Mascot (aka “Duffy the Mascot”, “Puppet Love,” or “The Devil’s Ball” [?!?]) , is widely regarded not just as Starewicz’s best work, nor as one of the best stop-motion films ever made, nor even as one of the best animations ever made, but as among the greatest short films ever made (the most notable film aficionado to take that position is Terry Gilliam, predictably). Thanks to the Internet, you can judge that on your own. Without a doubt, it is one of the most endearingly creepy films I’ve ever seen:

I got the tip on this from this Slate article, showcasing another film made by Starewicz, The Cameraman’s Revenge:

I *love* that Starewicz imbeds the middle of his movie into the end of his movie. Also, that it’s such a Russian-style “happy ending.”
If all this has you feeling inspired, you can do worse than dropping a buck or two on an iPhone app (which my son and I continue to occasionally monkey with).