Monday, June 30, 2008

Not for Phobophobics

Anthrophobia or Anthophobia- Fear of flowers.
Coprastasophobia- Fear of constipation.
Euphobia- Fear of hearing good news.
Levophobia- Fear of things to the left side of the body.
Phobophobia- Fear of phobias.

The Phobia List

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Mostly Ghostly Music Sharing Blaaahhhggg!!! Needs our help!

Please help support Dave's Mostly Ghostly Music Sharing Blaaahhhggg!!!!

AMERICAN EXORCIST: Critical Essays on William Peter Blatty

My friends Ryan and Mike have had their essays published in American Exorcist: Critical Essays on William Peter Blatty!


...if you purchase the paperback through the link below, a tiny smidgen of the sale will go towards The Exorcist Fansite. Every little bit helps!

So help support a great site, and buy your copy of American Exorcist HERE.

The Birds Barbie


It’s coming! It’s coming! (Get it?) Mattel is coming out with a new Barbie doll from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 horror film The Birds!
It’s not yet available, but boy, when it comes out, it’ll be an instant classic: Link - via Presurfer
Source: Neatorama

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Somewhat pointless

I have another picture blog. All about Halloween and spooky things. Since I already have a pointless picture blog, should I bother keeping this one?

Ps. Ignore doubles. I just posted ones from the spooky one on the pointless one because I'm figuring I'll delete the spooky one.

Monday, June 23, 2008

A sad loss ...

ET breaks the news that comedian George Carlin has died from heart failure. The man who made famous the "seven words you can never say on television" passed away at 5:55 p.m. Sunday at Saint John's Hospital in Santa Monica, his longtime publicist said. He was 71.

Monday morning, his daughter Kelly Carlin McCall had the following to say about her dad: "Most people know George Carlin as an icon of comedy and an advocate of free speech. I just know him as Dad ... And what a dad he was. He taught me the value of speaking the truth in a world that doesn't always want to hear it and gave me the gift of laughter. He was loved and revered by so many and will be missed beyond words -- but never forgotten. Our family wishes to thank everyone who has sent love and support our way. Your kind words and thoughts are bringing much comfort to us during such a difficult time."

His wife, Sally Wade, also spoke out about the loss of her "soul mate." "George Carlin was and always will be the greatest love of my life. We had meeting of the minds, heart and spirit. It was a big love. He was my soul mate and always will be. Tomorrow is our tenth anniversary, and it was the best ten years of my life. It's quite a shock right now, but I wish to express my sincere thanks and prayers to all who have reached out during this very difficult time. It is deeply appreciated."

Link

RIP George Carlin

I am greatly saddened to have learned of Carlin's death. I've loved him since I was a kid. I burned through Napalm & Silly Putty and Brain Droppings in awe and shrieking laughter. I can't even count how many times I watched his Carnegie Hall special from 1982. I always laughed. I thought he'd live forever; 3 heart attacks (according to Wikipedia), and still doing , Hell, everything. Books, tv, movies, a kiddy show, and even The Simpsons. He is more than his 7 words. Bye-bye, Georgie, I will always think of your soul as being stuck on my roof. Tippi's too.

George Carlin mourned as counterculture hero

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television. Some People Are Stupid. Stuff. People I Can Do Without. George Carlin, who died of heart failure Sunday at 71, leaves behind not only a series of memorable routines, but a legal legacy: His most celebrated monologue, a frantic, informed riff on those infamous seven words, led to a Supreme Court decision on broadcasting offensive language.

The counterculture hero's jokes also targeted things such as misplaced shame, religious hypocrisy and linguistic quirks — why, he once asked, do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?

Carlin, who had a history of heart trouble, went into St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica on Sunday afternoon complaining of chest pain and died later that evening, said his publicist, Jeff Abraham. He had performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas.

"He was a genius and I will miss him dearly," Jack Burns, who was the other half of a comedy duo with Carlin in the early 1960s, told The Associated Press.

The actor Ben Stiller called Carlin "a hugely influential force in stand-up comedy. He had an amazing mind, and his humor was brave, and always challenging us to look at ourselves and question our belief systems, while being incredibly entertaining. He was one of the greats."

Carlin constantly breached the accepted boundaries of comedy and language, particularly with his routine on the "Seven Words" — all of which are taboo on broadcast TV to this day.

When he uttered all seven at a show in Milwaukee in 1972, he was arrested on charges of disturbing the peace, freed on $150 bail and exonerated when a Wisconsin judge dismissed the case, saying it was indecent but citing free speech and the lack of any disturbance.

When the words were later played on a New York radio station, they resulted in a 1978 Supreme Court ruling upholding the government's authority to sanction stations for broadcasting offensive language during hours when children might be listening.

"So my name is a footnote in American legal history, which I'm perversely kind of proud of," he told The Associated Press earlier this year.

Despite his reputation as unapologetically irreverent, Carlin was a television staple through the decades, serving as host of the "Saturday Night Live" debut in 1975 — noting on his Web site that he was "loaded on cocaine all week long" — and appearing some 130 times on "The Tonight Show."

He produced 23 comedy albums, 14 HBO specials, three books, a few TV shows and appeared in several movies, from his own comedy specials to "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" in 1989 — a testament to his range from cerebral satire and cultural commentary to downright silliness (sometimes hitting all points in one stroke).

"Why do they lock gas station bathrooms?" he once mused. "Are they afraid someone will clean them?"

In one of his most famous routines, Carlin railed against euphemisms he said have become so widespread that no one can simply "die."

"'Older' sounds a little better than 'old,' doesn't it?," he said. "Sounds like it might even last a little longer. ... I'm getting old. And it's OK. Because thanks to our fear of death in this country I won't have to die — I'll 'pass away.' Or I'll 'expire,' like a magazine subscription. If it happens in the hospital they'll call it a 'terminal episode.' The insurance company will refer to it as 'negative patient care outcome.' And if it's the result of malpractice they'll say it was a 'therapeutic misadventure.'"

Carlin won four Grammy Awards for best spoken comedy album and was nominated for five Emmys. On Tuesday, it was announced that Carlin was being awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, which will be presented Nov. 10 in Washington and broadcast on PBS.

"Nobody was funnier than George Carlin," said Judd Apatow, director of recent hit comedies such as "Knocked Up" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." "I spent half my childhood in my room listening to his records experiencing pure joy. And he was as kind as he was funny."

Carlin started his career on the traditional nightclub circuit in a coat and tie, pairing with Burns to spoof TV game shows, news and movies. Perhaps in spite of the outlaw soul, "George was fairly conservative when I met him," said Burns, describing himself as the more left-leaning of the two. It was a degree of separation that would reverse when they came upon Lenny Bruce, the original shock comic, in the early '60s.

"We were working in Chicago, and we went to see Lenny, and we were both blown away," Burns said, recalling the moment as the beginning of the end for their collaboration if not their close friendship. "It was an epiphany for George. The comedy we were doing at the time wasn't exactly groundbreaking, and George knew then that he wanted to go in a different direction."

That direction would make Carlin as much a social commentator and philosopher as comedian, a position he would relish through the years.

"The whole problem with this idea of obscenity and indecency, and all of these things — bad language and whatever — it's all caused by one basic thing, and that is: religious superstition," Carlin told the AP in a 2004 interview. "There's an idea that the human body is somehow evil and bad and there are parts of it that are especially evil and bad, and we should be ashamed. Fear, guilt and shame are built into the attitude toward sex and the body. ... It's reflected in these prohibitions and these taboos that we have."

Carlin was born on May 12, 1937, and grew up in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan, raised by a single mother. After dropping out of school in the ninth grade, he joined the Air Force in 1954. He received three court-martials and numerous disciplinary punishments, according to his official Web site.

While in the Air Force he started working as an off-base disc jockey at a radio station in Shreveport, La., and after receiving a general discharge in 1957, took an announcing job at WEZE in Boston.

"Fired after three months for driving mobile news van to New York to buy pot," his Web site says.

From there he went on to a job on the night shift as a deejay at a radio station in Fort Worth, Texas. Carlin also worked variety of temporary jobs, including carnival organist and marketing director for a peanut brittle.

In 1960, he left with $300 and Burns, a Texas radio buddy, for Hollywood to pursue a nightclub career as comedy team Burns & Carlin. His first break came just months later when the duo appeared on Jack Paar's "Tonight Show."

Carlin said he hoped to emulate his childhood hero, Danny Kaye, the kindly, rubber-faced comedian who ruled over the decade Carlin grew up in — the 1950s — with a clever but gentle humor reflective of the times.

It didn't work for him, and the pair broke up by 1962.

"I was doing superficial comedy entertaining people who didn't really care: Businessmen, people in nightclubs, conservative people. And I had been doing that for the better part of 10 years when it finally dawned on me that I was in the wrong place doing the wrong things for the wrong people," Carlin reflected recently as he prepared for his 14th HBO special, "It's Bad For Ya."

Eventually Carlin ditched the buttoned-up look for his trademark beard, ponytail and all-black attire.

But even with his decidedly adult-comedy bent, Carlin never lost his childlike sense of mischief, even voicing kid-friendly projects like episodes of the TV show "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" and the spacey Volkswagen bus Fillmore in the 2006 Pixar hit "Cars."

Carlin's first wife, Brenda, died in 1997. He is survived by wife Sally Wade; daughter Kelly Carlin McCall; son-in-law Bob McCall; brother Patrick Carlin; and sister-in-law Marlene Carlin.

Associated Press writer Christopher Weber contributed to this report.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Friday, June 20, 2008

Haunted Locations Around the World

When Sarah Winchester’s husband died in 1881, she got a case of the spooks. The gun maker’s widow became convinced that she needed protection from the evil spirits of all the people killed by Winchester rifles. (Winchester Model 1873 was affectionately known as “the gun that won the West.”) Her spiritual counselor advised her to find a house that would attract good spirits, but confuse evil ones.

Instead of moving, however, the widow hired a team of carpenters and craftsmen to add rooms to the Victorian mansion indefinitely. The expansion continued for 31 years until her death in 1922. After Sarah’s death, the workers began hearing their names being whispered from the deserted hallways, as well as footsteps; one of them claimed to see the widow’s ghost. They all decided to look for new work shortly thereafter.

Link

Linkdump

The 50 best pun stores
How to Get Rid of Stuff
Joshua Heineman
Holder's "Stuph File"

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Hammer or Universal poll results

Hammer
3 (21%)
Universal
7 (50%)
I could never choose!
4 (28%)

Votes so far: 14

Friday, June 13, 2008

Friday the 13th


The time has come again... Nothing notably unlucky happened to me today, for which I'm grateful. As I am on any other day where nothing unlucky happens. When i was a kid, someone told me that one bad thing and one good thing will happen to you on Fri 13. That's the best superstition I know; it almost never fails.

Here're a couple of classic sites with the Friday 13th info you crave.

Snopes.com
Crystalinks

And my favorite poem with 13 in it.

The Tale of The Thirteenth Floor by Ogden Nash

The hands of the clock were reaching high
In an old midtown hotel;
I name no name, but its sordid fame
Is table talk in hell.
I name no name, but hell's own flame
Illumes the lobby garish,
A gilded snare just off Times Square
For the maidens of the parish.

The revolving door swept the grimy floor
Like a crinoline grotesque,
And a lowly bum from an ancient slum
Crept furtively past the desk.
His footsteps sift into the lift
As a knife in the sheath is slipped,
Stealthy and swift into the lift
As a vampire into a crypt.

Old Maxie, the elevator boy,
Was reading an ode by Shelley,
But he dropped the ode as it were a toad
When the gun jammed into his belly.
There came a whisper as soft as mud
In the bed of an old canal:
"Take me up to the suite of Pinball Pete,
The rat who betrayed my gal."

The lift doth rise with groans and sighs
Like a duchess for the waltz,
Then in middle shaft, like a duchess daft,
It changes its mind and halts.
The bum bites lip as the landlocked ship
Doth neither fall nor rise,
But Maxie the elevator boy
Regards him with burning eyes.
"First, to explore the thirteenth floor,"
Says Maxie, "would be wise."

Quoth the bum, "There is moss on your double cross,
I have been this way before,
I have cased the joint at every point,
And there is no thirteenth floor.
The architect he skipped direct
From twelve unto fourteen,
There is twelve below and fourteen above,
And nothing in between,
For the vermin who dwell in this hotel
Could never abide thirteen."

Said Max, "Thirteen, that floor obscene,
Is hidden from human sight;
But once a year it doth appear,
On this Walpurgis Night.
Ere you peril your soul in murderer's role,
Heed those who sinned of yore;
The path they trod led away from God,
And onto the thirteenth floor,
Where those they slew, a grisly crew,
Reproach them forevermore.

"We are higher than twelve and below fourteen,"
Said Maxie to the bum,
"And the sickening draft that taints the shaft
Is a whiff of kingdom come.
The sickening draft that taints the shaft
Blows through the devil's door!"
And he squashed the latch like a fungus patch,
And revealed the thirteenth floor.

It was cheap cigars like lurid scars
That glowed in the rancid gloom,
The murk was a-boil with fusel oil
And the reek of stale perfume.
And round and round there dragged and wound
A loathsome conga chain,
The square and the hep in slow lock step,
The slayer and the slain.
(For the souls of the victims ascend on high,
But their bodies below remain.)

The clean souls fly to their home in the sky,
But their bodies remain below
To pursue the Cain who each has slain
And harry him to and fro.
When life is extinct each corpse is linked
To its gibbering murderer,
As a chicken is bound with wire around
The neck of a killer cur.

Handcuffed to Hate come Doctor Waite
(He tastes the poison now),
And Ruth and Judd and a head of blood
With horns upon its brow.
Up sashays Nan with her feathery fan
From Floradora bright;
She never hung for Caesar Young
But she's dancing with him tonight.

Here's the bulging hip and the foam-flecked lip
Of the mad dog, Vincent Coll,
And over there that ill-met pair,
Becker and Rosenthal,
Here's Legs and Dutch and a dozen such
Of braggart bullies and brutes,
And each one bends 'neath the weight of friends
Who are wearing concrete suits.

Now the damned make way for the double-damned
Who emerge with shuffling pace
From the nightmare zone of persons unknown,
With neither name nor face.
And poor Dot King to one doth cling,
Joined in a ghastly jig,
While Elwell doth jape at a goblin shape
And tickle it with his wig.

See Rothstein pass like breath on a glass,
The original Black Sox kid;
He riffles the pack, riding piggyback
On the killer whose name he hid.
And smeared like brine on a slavering swine,
Starr Faithful, once so fair,
Drawn from the sea to her debauchee,
With the salt sand in her hair.

And still they come, and from the bum
The icy sweat doth spray;
His white lips scream as in a dream,
"For God's sake, let's away!
If ever I meet with Pinball Pete
I will not seek his gore,
Lest a treadmill grim I must trudge with him
On the hideous thirteenth floor."

"For you I rejoice," said Maxie's voice,
"And I bid you go in peace,
But I am late for a dancing date
That nevermore will cease.
So remember, friend, as your way you wend,
That it would have happened to you,
But I turned the heat on Pinball Pete;
You see - I had a daughter, too!"

The bum reached out and he tried to shout,
But the door in his face was slammed,
And silent as stone he rode down alone
From the floor of the double-damned.

Best of luck to you this Friday 13th, and every other day.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Donuts



The donuts blink in unison.


Source: The Presurfer

The Simpsons film references


I'm very happy to have found these pictures matched up! View the rest at Actualidad Simpson. Source: Laughing Squid

Monday, June 2, 2008

Linkdump

OTR Horror
... By it's Cover Horror etc.
Gasoline Alley Monster Toys
Chris Beetles Art Gallery

House of Wax (1953) Trailer

Resume Bloopers

Languages: “Fluent in English. Also I have been heard muttering Gibberish in my sleep.” (Resumania)


More HERE.

Fire at Universal Studios

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. (AP) — One of Hollywood's largest movie studios starred in a disastrous sequel Sunday as a fire ripped through a lot at Universal Studios, destroying a set from "Back to the Future," a King Kong exhibit and a streetscape seen frequently in movies and TV shows.

It was the second fire at the historic site in nearly two decades, leveling facades, hollowing out buildings and creating the kind of catastrophe filmmakers relish re-creating. This time around, thousands of videos chronicling Universal's movie and TV shows were destroyed in the blaze.

But Universal officials said that they were thankful no one was seriously injured at the theme park and that the damaged footage can be replaced.

"We have duplicates of everything," said Ron Meyer, NBC Universal president and chief operating officer. "Nothing is lost forever."



Source: The Associated Press

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Ghost in a bottle: Supernatural or Novelty?


I wish I had a spare $20 kicking around to get one of these...
Each Ghost is captured from a reported haunted establishment, (house, hotel, ship, cemetery, etc), by our Ghost Hunters.


We seal the ghost in it's own bottle. The bottle is sealed for your protection.


No maintenance required; except occasional dusting.

You may release the Ghost at your own discretion and at your own risk.

The Ghost in the Bottle is contained mysteriously and is therefore sealed with wax shortly after the Ghost is caught. The bottle is sealed for your protection. It comes with very important information . We supply the Ghost, you supply the name. Individual Ghost experiences may vary as "Each Ghost is Unique"!

But, like any other supernatural being in a bottle, it comes with warnings...

Many people nationwide have already purchased a bottle or two. Some respond stating that they did break or open the bottle and nothing happend and went on to say that it was a neat gift novelty and great conversation piece.

But there are quite a few that broke or opened the bottle and stated that nothing happened at first but, later began hearing noises during the night, missing car keys, T.V. remote, refrigerator door left open and some reported that they have seen ghostly images.

NOTE: WE CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY MISFORTUNE TO BEFALL YOU SHOULD YOU TAKE POSSESSION OF THIS OBJECT.

It is not recommended that you break or open the bottle.

The intent of this product is for entertainment purposes only. We have had several customers open or break the bottle and contact us stating that unexplained things have occurred in their homes and how could this activity be stopped?!
If you open or break your bottle you may experience any or all of the following:

• A voice out of nowhere.

• Muffled Moans and Groans for long periods of time during the day or night.

• Doors opening or closing slowly.

• A feeling someone is following you around your home.

• The T.V. volume Increases or Decreases by itself.

• Water left running at the sink.

• The feeling someone is watching you.

• Noises leading into or out of rooms that no one is present in.

• A unfamiliar smell of perfume or cologne.

• Small items moved (favorite items to move are shoes, car keys, T.V. remote and jewelry).

• Lights coming on or going off by themselves.

• Electrical appliances coming on by themselves (sometimes they are not even plugged in).

• Phone calls (yes, sometimes they call).

• Your night light may be turned off during the night.

• Bed covers pulled off you, or you pillow may be tossed on the floor during the night.

• Touches (light pat on the back, the touch can be warm or cold).

• Activity will usually peak around 3:00 am in the morning or on rainy days.
You may experience other Ghostly situations not stated above.

So, best of luck with your Ghost in a bottle, and keep an eye on your night light.

Source: The Presurfer

150 Things you didn't know about the Human World

It should read "150 Things you probably didn't know about the Human World", but whose that picky? Here is my favorite thing I didn't know:

In Ancient Peru, when a woman found an ‘ugly’ potato, it was the custom for her to push it into the face of the nearest man.

Link

Source: The Presurfer